Ramesh Shil (1877 – April 6, 1967) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

. He belonged to the class of bards, called ''Kabiyals'', who improvised songs in poetic contests evolved in

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 ...

and its outskirts in the 18th and the 19th centuries, and also became known for his composition of songs in the Maizbhandari musical tradition. He was awarded

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 ...

in 2002 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 and career

Shil was born to Chandi Charan Shil and Rajkumari Shil. Shil got his breakthrough in 1945 when he defeated Sheikh Gumani in a song contest arranged by the Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan in

. In the contest, they improvised verses and hurled strophes and antistrophes at each other.

Works

Shil composed about 350 Maizbhandari songs praising the Maizbhandari order and its proponent Ahmed Ullah Maizbhandari. These songs had been published in nine volumes titled ''Ashekmala'', ''Shantibhandar'', ''Muktir Darbar'', ''Nure Duniya'', ''Jibansathi'', ''Satyadarpan'', ''Bhandare Maula'', ''Manab Bandhu'' and ''Eshke Sirajia''. Shil wrote notable songs like ''"Ishkul Khuilachhe Re Maula"''.

Bulbul Lalitakala Academy Bulbul Lalitakala Academy (now known as Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts or BAFA) is an institution of fine arts established in Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Ban ...

honored him as the ''Greatest Bard'' in 1962.

Personal life

Shil first married Apurba Mohini in 1900. They had one daughter Shailbala. After early deaths of next two daughters and one son, he married for the second time. From the second marriage with Abola Bala, they had four sons and two daughters.

References

{{authority control 1877 births 1967 deaths Bengali male poets People from Chittagong Recipients of the Ekushey Padak 19th-century Bengali poets 19th-century Indian male writers