National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's works were highly influenced by patriotism, love for humanity, secularism and respecting women. For the third time, Nazrul Utsav kicked off today at the capital's Gulshan Society Lake Park. Commemorating the legacy of the National poet, the two-day-long festival kicked off today on the occasion of International Women's Day.

Organised by Bangladesh Nazrul Sangeet Sangstha, Gulshan Society, and Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre and the Indian High Commission, the festival aims to uphold the legacy of Nazrul, aiming to promote his ideals of humanism and secularism, ensuring that his legacy reaches the masses. Shanta Holdings is the title sponsor of the event.

Hosted by Kaushik Sankar Das, the opening speech was by Ekushey Padak-winning Nazrul Sangeet exponent Khairul Anam Shakil, also general secretary of Bangladesh Nazrul Sangeet Sangstha is the festival's convener. "It was a challenging and time-consuming process to archive Nazrul's original tracks with authentic lyrics, yet we were determined to do it. Thus, over three years, we have successfully archived 375 songs so far, performed by seasoned veterans and emerging artistes from both sides of the border, in exact accordance with authentic lyrics and compositions."

With the ambience of perfect spring in the lake park and the songs of the Cuckoo (Kokil), it was a joyful moment that also led to learning some of the lesser-known facts about Nazrul. Renowned researcher, publisher, and essayist Mofidul Hoque expressed, "On celebrating International Women's Day, I would like to talk about one of the important women in Nazrul's life. Not many know about Masuda Khatun, however, she played an important role in the poet's life. She used to write in disguise as Mrs M Rahman, as a sufferer of this patriarchal society. Although she didn't write much, Nazrul was highly influenced by her work. She was a motherly figure to Nazrul. She was a big support for Nazrul and Pramila Devi's intercaste marriage."

The event was graced by the Chief Guest Pranay Kumar Verma, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, who appreciated this initiative in his speech. Barrister Omar Sadat, secretary of Gulshan Society, shared that in North Dhaka, there are no music, or dance schools available. "Four years back, I was discussing this with Shakil bhai and Kalpana apa, and requested them to take such initiative."

He further noted, "I went to Cuba's Havana and witnessed many sculptures of some extraordinary heroic people – including the likes of William Shakespeare, Mahatma Gandhi, among many others, and I was hoping if any of our important personalities were here. I was surprised to see Kazi Nazrul Islam's sculpture there. Fidel Castro himself was a revolutionary, and so is our Kazi Nazrul Islam. I also learned when Castro was taken to the court, he gave a speech in Spanish, inspired by Nazrul's poem 'Anondomoyer Agomone'."

The festival continued with solo performances, chorus, recitation, and dance performances enthralling the audience present there.

Hosted by Kaushik Sankar Das and Jonaki Jyoti, eminent artistes such as Khairul Anam Shakil, Yasmin Mushtari, Nashid Kamal, and Ferdous Ara will grace the stage alongside Indian artistes including Sreeradha Banerjee, Payel Kar, Debarati Chakraborty, Manomay Bhattacharya, and Raghav Chatterjee.

In addition to live performances, 125 Nazrul songs were added to the previous 250 tracks with authentic lyrics and compositions, which are available for free on YouTube. These recordings, featuring artistes from Bangladesh, West Bengal, North America, and Australia, aim to further propagate Nazrul's timeless music to a global audience.

The celebration of culture, heritage, and the enduring legacy of Kazi Nazrul Islam unites artistes and audiences in homage to the iconic poet and musician and concludes tomorrow, and has over 50 artistes from both sides of the border, six artistes from West Bengal itself.