Ekusher Gaan
| English: "Song of the Twentyfirst" | |
|---|---|
| একুশের গান | |
 Shaheed Minar of Dhaka | |
| Lyrics | Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, 1952 |
| Music | Altaf Mahmud, 1969 |
"Ekusher Gan" (Bengali: একুশের গান [ˈekuʃeɾ gan]; "Song of the Twentyfirst"), more popularly known by its incipit as "Amar Bhaiyer Rokte Rangano" (Bengali: আমার ভাইয়ের রক্তে রাঙানো [ˈamaɾ ˈbʱai̯jeɾ ˈrɔkte ˈraŋano]; "My Brothers' Blood Spattered"), is a Bengali protest song written by Abdul Gaffar Choudhury to mark the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 East Bengal.[1] It was first published anonymously in the last page of a newspaper with the headline Ekusher Gaan, but was later published in Ekushey's February edition.
The song was initially written as a poem in 1952 at the bedside of an injured language movement activist who was shot by the Pakistani military police.[2] The cultural secretary of the Jubo League gave the poem to Abdul Latif to put to a tune, which Latif Atikul Islam first sang. The students of Dhaka College also sung the song when they attempted to build a Shaheed Minar on their college premises, getting them expelled from the college. Altaf Mahmud, a renowned composer and a martyr of the Bangladesh Liberation War, recomposed the song in 1969 using Abdul Latif's version, which is now a quasi-official tune.
The song is often recognized as the most influential song of the language movement, reminding numerous Bangladeshis about the conflicts of 1952. Every 21 February sees people from all parts of the Bangladesh heading to the Shaheed Minar in the probhat feri, a barefoot march to the monument, paying homage to those killed in the language movement demonstrations by singing this song. It is regarded by the listeners of BBC Bengali Service as the third best song in Bengali.[citation needed]
Lyrics
[edit]| Bengali original | Romanisation of Bengali | English translation by Kabir Chowdhury[3][4] |
|---|---|---|
আমার ভাইয়ের রক্তে রাঙানো একুশে ফেব্রুয়ারি | Amar bhaiyer rokte rangano ekushe Februari | My brothers' blood spattered on the twentyfirst of February |
References
[edit]- ^ Harun ur Rashid (12 November 2004). "Ekush". Star Weekend Magazine. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ^ (Al Helal 2003, pp. 586–89)
- ^ Glassie, Henry and Mahmud, Feroz. 2008. Living Traditions. Cultural Survey of Bangladesh Series-II. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Dhaka. pp. 578–579
- ^ "Ekusher Gaan". The Daily Star. 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
Further reading
[edit]- Al Helal, B (2003), Bhasha Andoloner Itihas (History of the Language Movement), Agamee Prakashani, Dhaka, ISBN 984-401-523-5
