Husna Banu Khanam (18 February 1922 – 30 May 2006) was a Bangladeshi educationist, writer and Nazrul singer. She was a pioneer of

Bengali Muslim Bengali Muslims ( bn, বাঙালি মুসলমান; ) are adherents of Islam who ethnically, linguistically and genealogically identify as Bengalis. Comprising about two-thirds of the global Bengali population, they are the sec ...

women journalism. In 1999, she received the

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

Award for her contribution in music, and in 2004, she received the Begum Rokeya Medal for her contribution to the socio-economic development of women by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Con ...

Background

Khanam was born in a Muslim family of British India (now Bangladesh) of

Pabna District Pabna District ( bn, পাবনা জেলা) is a district in central Bangladesh. It is an economically important district in Bangladesh. Its administrative capital is the eponymous Pabna town. History Archeologist Cunningham conjectured ...

. Her father Abu Yusuf Mohammad Siddik Hossain Khan Lohani was a journalist and literary. Her Mother Fatema Lohani was a teacher. Two brothers,

Fazle Lohani Fazle Lohani (12 March 1929 – 30 October 1985) was a Bangladeshi journalist, television host, songwriter and film producer. He was best known for his popular Bengali-language TV news magazine show Jodi Kichhu Mone Na Koren, which aired on Bang ...

and

Fateh Lohani Fateh Lohani (1920 – 12 April 1975) was a Bangladeshi actor, film director, writer and journalist. Education Lohani passed Matriculation examination from St Mary's Cathedral Mission High School in Calcutta. He completed his IA and BA degrees f ...

were cultural figures. From childhood, she was interested in music and practiced regular music. Poet Golam Mostafa gave her a harmonium gift. When poet

Kazi Nazrul Islam Kazi Nazrul Islam ( bn, কাজী নজরুল ইসলাম, ; 24 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) was a Bengali poet, Bengali literature, writer, Bangladeshi music, musician, and is the national poet of Bangladesh. Nazrul is regarded as one ...

was speechless, she used to go to his home to listen to him.

Education and career

Khanam studied in Rokeya Sakhawat Memorial School. She continued her education even after she got married in class 7. In 1959, she completed her post-graduation in Philosophy from

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

and went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with a scholarship. There she completed an MS in Arts and Crafts. When she returned from the United States, she joined as a professor at the Home Economics College in Dhaka. Alongside, she used to do journalism. She was the first Muslim film woman journalist and founder member of the Pakistan Journalist Association formed in 1967. SHe was in charge of the movie page of Begum Magazine.

Music life

Khanam gets the opportunity to sing in

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

without any audition. During

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, she practiced

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Li ...

and earned a reputation there. She established herself as one of the leading Muslim artists of Calcutta Radio. In 1950, she returned to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

from Kolkata and started living permanently. She came to Dhaka and continued to practice music and performed music in radio. Along with the radio, she also played playback in her film ''Akash and Mati'' and ''Aasia'' directed by his brother

Books

* Garhasthya Arthaniti Paribasha

Awards

(1999) *

Begum Rokeya Padak Begum Rokeya Padak, named after Begum Rokeya, is a Bangladeshi national honour conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement. The award is given by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. The ...

(2004)

Death and legacy

Khanam died on 30 May 2006. A commemorative book titled ''Pathikrit Sangskritik Bektitya Husna Banu Khanam'' on her life was published in August 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khanam, Husna Banu 1922 births 2006 deaths Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Bangladeshi educators Bangladeshi women writers Bangladeshi women musicians 20th-century women musicians