“This last song is the most important for today’s occasion. This is called ‘Jalinabager, Jalalabader’.,, to fit into the rhythm of the song the word Jallianwala Bagh has been compressed as Jalinabager. I don’t know why none has recorded it. This is one of the most important songs probably of the entire IPTA repertoire. About this song : the lyrics were written by Hemango Biswas in 1948. The tune was set by Debabrata Biswas. They were life-long friends, but this, I guess, is their only collaboration. They were friends, co-activists… This song was composed as the inaugural song of the second Congress of the Indian communist Party. And the song was first sung not by Debabrata Biswas but by another IPTA stalwart whose name many people have forgotten today - Binoy Ray. Binoy Roy - under his leadership - this song was first sung in the second congress of Communist Party of India..let me just translate..because all these songs were written way back in the ‘40s but they sound so contemporary……the first two lines of the lyrics roughly mean:
‘The message from Jallianwala Bagh and Jalalabad has arrived.
Wear your armour, courageous man and take to the streets’
One of the lines says:
‘The country has been destroyed by brothers each other’
All the other lines also sound very contemporary to me.”
I sang this at the "Music and Memories from Punjab and Bengal: An evening of songs reflecting on ways of remembrance, sharing of memories/absence of memories", Victoria Memorial Hall, Eastern Quadrangle, Kolkata), November 20, 2019. This was the last song of the programme.
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre # Hemango Biswas # George Da # Debabrata Biswas # Rongili Biswas # Binoy Roy # IPTA # Second Congress # 1948 # Indian Communist Party
16 окт 2024
