Roquaiya Hasina - A dedicated Tagore singer
Singer Roquaiya Hasina Neely is well known for her purist approach to rendering Rabindra Sangeet. Her third music album, “Baaje Jhornar Gaan” was released in Dhaka in 2006 and was appreciated by Tagore enthusiasts. The songs are now available on several websites (Google: Roquaiya Hasina). Songs from her third album were played on radio stations in USA and Australia. Her fourth album is set to be released next month.
At the tender age of five, Roquaiya began training in music. A major source of inspiration was her father Rashidul Hasan, a teacher of English at Dhaka University, who was so taken by Rabindra Sangeet that he dreamed that his daughter would one day be an accomplished Tagore singer.
Unfortunately, he did not live to see this day, as he was abducted by the collaborators of the Pakistani army from his residence on Dhaka University campus on December 14, 1971. Later, he was brutally killed.
After the death of her father, Roquaiya and her family went through hard times. However, the young girl didn’t forget her father’s wish and continued her music education. She finished a five-year course in music from Chhayanat. She went on to perform on Bangladesh Betar and BTV in 1977. Now she is enlisted as a special grade artist in BTV and Betar.
Before going to USA with her husband Dr. Shahidul Hassan in 1984, Roquaiya took classes at Chhayanat. She also performed in New York at a programme celebrating the 50th anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Prize on Rabindranath Tagore. She regarded this participation as a great honour and recognition of her dedication to Rabindra sangeet. She sang Tagore songs as a guest artiste at the ‘Rabindra Mela’ in New Jersey in 1988. Among others, renowned artistes Dr. Sanjida Khatun and Banani Ghosh sang Tagore songs at the cultural programme. Roquaiya’s interview was aired from Voice of America (VOA) in 1989.
“I participated at many cultural functions arranged by different Bengali Associations in Canada. The audience admired my renditions and took initiatives to record my songs and released two music albums from Canada in 1988,” she said.
Roquaiya expresses her gratitude to the late Abdul Ahad, late Waheedul Haque, Dr. Sanjida Khatun and Ajit Roy for their inspiration and support. She remains dedicated to music and wants to work with Dr. Sanjida Khatun, Kalim Sharafi, Ajit Roy and other renowned artistes in promoting Rabindra sangeet in the country and overseas.
Source: The Daily Star.
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