Tapon Majumder
A few learned Bauls (mystic singers) who had dedicated their literary genius to bringing their music to mainstream social life through the passage of time, Kangal Harinath is without any doubt one of them. Travel writer Roy Jolodhor Sen, historian Akshay Kumar Maitreya, Mir Mosharrof Hossein of the famous Bishad Shindhu, Tantrik devotee Shibchandra Biddyanath and Dinendra Kumar Roy are amongst the many intellectuals who were influenced by Kangal Harinath.
Kangal Harinath was born in the month of Srabon 1240 of the Bangla calendar year (1833 in Roman calendar). His birthplace was in Kumarkhali Upazilla which was then in the district of Pabna, it now falls under Kushtia. It was then a center of education, literature and trade. Kumarkhali and the villages adjacent to it were famous for anti-Nil-Chaash (indigo cultivation) and for the anti-tax movement.
In the month of April, 1863, Kangal Harinath’s “Grambarta Prakashika” started its publication. To earn a living, he worked as a bill collector at Nil Kuthi (indigo storage) and was a teacher at a school. His work experience made him passionately oppose indigo cultivation. He had the opportunity to observe the cruelty of the Nil traders. He resigned from his job as a bill collector and did everything he could to oppose the Nil traders. Because of the cruelty of the Nil traders, his magazine “Grambarta Prokashika” took a direct, strong and rebellious stand against Nil-Chaash. Initially, he began to write the whole magazine by hand without a printing machine, as it gained popularity, Kangal established a printing press on his own. The printing machine is still present in Kundupara Kangal Kutir (hut). Before that, the journalist chapter of his life began in Ishwar Gupta’s “Songbad Provakor” magazine.
Realizing the importance of Baul music, Kangal Harinath decided to raise humanity and then turn that humanity into patriotism, and eventually make patriotism bring about social welfare – Kangal started practicing writing Baul music. He was inspired mainly by the legendary Baul musician Fakir Lalon Shah. Lalon was born in a village near Kumarkhali called “Bharara”. Kangal and Lalon had great degree of closeness. Baul-king Lalon often used to visit Kangal Kutir. According to many locals, the frequent visits of Lalon and his gang to Kangal Kutir inspired Kangal’s disciples to form a Baul group. The formation of the group materialized in Bangla year 1287 with the help of historian Akhkay Kumar Moitra and Jolodhor Sen. The group was called “Fikir Chand Fakirer Dol”. He began to write lyrics for Baul songs. His family given name began to fade away with the emergence of his new pen name; a Baul. He produced many songs with the names “Kangal” and “Fikir Chand Fakir”. He stared to become known as “Kangal Fikir Chand”.
With the power of music, he started to strike the minds of the inactive, the redundant and the cruel. His music was simple yet symbolic at the same time. Known to be Kangal’s first lyrics, the following offers fellow human to rise above the temptations of earthly matters:-
“Think day and night indestructible towards truth.
The truth will not be touched by the thief or the robber;
The mind towards the truth – let it flow towards it without any deception.
Fakir Chand says so, what are you doing, don’t be worried,
Let us move towards the truth somehow, there will be no more pain.”
Once it began, it spread to villages, sub-districts, districts and to the provinces. This story is brilliantly described in first volume of Jolodhor’s edited book “Kangal Harinath”. It began the chain reaction which led others like Mir Mosharrof to start writing with pen name “Mosha”.
Kangal Harinaths’s effort to keep harmony in ethnicity and society was remarkable. With humor and thought provoking lyrics, he tried to remove the painful scars of ethnic tension in society. Therefore, he wrote;
“Blinded by different religions, brothers are fighting with their eyes shut,
Open your eyes and see the difference, all are misguided differently;
God is one, think for once – think in a different mood”.
Religious blindness is the root cause of poisonous ethnic tension, Kangal tried to make us understand this fact with his lyrics. His call for overall social welfare can be found in his writing;
“Those who see iron in stone and lead
People call them complicated
These are not hard – they melt away someday
Just heat up in a clever way
The brother who holds a hard soul,
Never does his hear melt.”
Mesmerized by the popularity of Fikir Chand, Akhkhay Moitra commented “didn’t know how it could be done – the way to strike the hearts of the masses of the nation.”
Fikir Chand’s expertise as a lyricist can be traced in some of his songs about human creation. The maturity and the sharpness in his lyrics can only be found in few other Bauls. He toppled all other Bauls except for Fakir Lalon Shah with his evergreen lyrics. His popularity can only be matched with Pagla Kanai and poet Mukund Das. The use of words and the depth of his writing was unique.
The mystery of human creation can be found in Kangal’s writing. The immensity to discover the truth about human creation in Kangal’s writing is not easy to ignore. The usage of analogy and symbolism can be found in many of his writing;
“Where do we come from, where do we go,
Head start to spin, it goes nowhere.
Oh! Brother, the seed of fig tree is too small,
Inside it there are few drops of water.
When dropped on ground, within days it shoots up high.
Oh! Brother, blood and seed,
They are two of the same,
We all know it,
But never feel the mystery.
Again, artists draw,
Insects do the color.
Fakir Fikir Chand says, this is the word,
It is not ours to understand the mystery of the lord.
Once you take a dive in your inner mind, you can not swim out of it”.
Rebel, serviceman, teacher, philanthropist, journalist, spiritualist and trendsetter; people know him by all these characters he played in life. But the main ingredient of him as a man is his Baul songs. They are the best creation of his literary life. The songs were popular amongst the landlords and the kings of his time. His songs are evergreen, and they still manage to evoke strong emotion to the one listening.
His songs also addressed social decay. He was absolutely against living a life of intoxication. In his lifetime, he saw the early demise of great poets like Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Ishwar Gupta because of alcoholism – his heart wept for those great poets. Kangal, therefore, despised all sorts of intoxicants.
The volume of Kangal’s literary work is huge and also diverse in subject matter. Truth-seeking, creationism, symbolism, poverty and regret; all matters of material and spiritual life can be found in his Baul songs. There is spiritual connection between Kangal’s Baul songs and Bangla folk songs.
Most of Kangal’s writings are of an esteemed level – it can only be proved if all his literary work be found scattered around Kumarkhali and its surrounding areas. It is unfortunate that no initiative has been taken to collect the material.
Kangal’s work can be a great catalyst and open the inner eye, thus bringing back humanity in society. His songs on various subjects can curb the current mindset into believing – “I am better than the other”. The diversity in Kangal’s songs holds that power.