Kasim Uddin Folk Museum: Singer Bhupati’s a great initiative

Foundation stone of Kasim Uddin Folk Museum in Ulipur.

An eminent folk singer Bhupati Bhusan Barma has taken a great initiative in Ulipur upazila of Kurigram district on collecting the lost visual items and instruments of folk music art and made a folk museum.

Bhupati Bhusam Barma, 58, is a senior teacher of Durgapur High School in the Ulipur upazila and eminent folk singer (Bhawaya) of the country, who performed several times in West Bengal of India. He is a resident of Durgapur union under Ulipur upazila.

Name of the folk museum is Kasim Uddin Lokoshilpa Sangrohoshala (Kasim Uddin Folk Museum). Bhawaya Juboraj Kasim Uddin was one of Bhawaya eminent artists, who have kept a great contribution to establish the song and make popularity in the country and abroad.

Now the visual items of the Bhawaya song are not being found as usually in urban or rural areas of the country. Names of the lost items are being pronounced in the folk Bhawaya songs, even though people of the new generation are not known well about the folk items. Bhupati has already collected over one hundred items and preserved in the museum.

Singer Bhupati Bhusan Barma standing with his collected folk items

Of the lost agro-based items, plough, wooden yoke, harrow, penti (stick), karail, kurshi, bakua, paat, topa, wicker hat, urun-gyen, kula, pesta etc; of the instruments of catching fish, palo, darki, deru, barshi (fishing hook), chaack, khalay, zina etc and of the musical instruments, khamok, sharinda, ektara, dotara, dugi, tabola, dhol (drum), akrai etc have been preserved there. Besides various books and CD cachets on Bhawaya folk songs have been preserved.

In 1992, a folk music organisation in the name of Bangladesh Bhawaya Parishad was formed in Rangpur district (now division) for teaching folk Bhawaya songs to new generation people. And its branches were formed in Rajshahi, Gaibandha, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram and Rangpur districts. In its continuation, upazila branches were formed in Rajarhat and Ulipur upazilas of Kurigram district. It is mentioned that Ulipur branch was formed on Kurigram-Chilmari road in Durgapur union under Ulipur upazila in 1993.

But all branches except Ulipur Bhawaya Parishad were erased within two or three years due to lack of efficiency of organising activity. Then Ulipur Bhawaya Parishad was renamed as Bangladesh Bhawaya Academy while Durgapur union parishad ex-chairman Al-Haj Golap Uddin Sarkar donated five decimal of land beside Kurigram-Chilmari road in his union in the name of academy in 1994.

Then an academic bhaban (semi-packa a long tin-shad building) was constructed with the help of local cultural minded people and some government aid. At present, the academy is conducting all activities including the central activity. Bhupati Bhusan Barma is the founder director and Head Teacher of the academy.

The academy has been conducting a three-year-long course on five subjects of folk music. The subjects are Bhawaya song and playing instruments dotara, sharinda, drum and flute. The academy students are taught without fees while its teachers or trainers do not take remuneration. Now eight teachers of different subjects are teaching them with free of cost. Before this, ten teachers taught here without remuneration.

The academy was run taking 25 students in opening period, but now 70 students of different areas are learning in different subjects. The classes or seasons are conducted on Thursday and Friday at 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

A total of 2,100 students have taken teach on the subjects from the Bhawaya academy. Of them, 42 students have been renowned in different fields (radio and television) of song. Of the renowned artists, Jiban Chandra Pal, 45, Tapon Kumar Sarkar, 42, Parul Roy, 28, Dulal Chandra Barman, 26, Sujita Roy, 21, and Shaju Ahmed (2^nd runner-up of Close-up One Conterst-2008), 20, are mentionable. Besides, from 2000 the academy has awarded 17 local persons on music, education, drama, journalism and social work for better contributing in their own works.

Students of the academy have performed on Bhawaya song in 601 functions in different regions of the country and abroad. They got popularity with their performs.

“The Bhawaya is a popular folk song to people of the northern region of the country and West Bengal of India. Words of the songs are written taking rural areas’ life style where names of huge items of the life style have been used. But our new generation people are not introduced with the names. When the songs are sung before them, they cannot understand well about the names. Then they are not interested likely to the Bhawaya songs,” said the academy director Bhupati Bhusan Barma.

“I have taken an initiative for collecting the lost visual folk items from different areas and have been collecting the items from the month of May this year. But I cannot storing those properly in want of enough space in the academy bhaban. Now a separate large room is being needed,” said Bhupati.

On this thinking, the foundation stone of a folk museum, named Kasim Uddin Lokoshilpa Sangrohoshala (Kasim Uddin Folk-art Museum), has been laid in the academy premises by Ulipur UNO Muhammad Shafiqul Islam on October 7 this year, said Bhupati.

“Kasim Uddin was a resident of Kurigram district town. But we could not do something for him. Therefore, I have named the folk-art museum in the name of Kasim Uddin to memorise him,” said Bhupati.

“I shall start work of the museum and complete it accordingly. But we request the kind hearted men to help for constructing the museum bhaban. The museum authority will memorise life-long to them with a thankful heart,” said Bhupati.