Rezwana Choudhury Bannya রেজওয়ানা চৌধুরী বন্যা | |
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Background information | |
Born | [1] Rangpur, Bangladesh [1] | 13 January 1957
Genres | Rabindra Sangeet |
Occupation(s) | Singer, professor |
Instrument(s) | Vocal, harmonium, esraj |
Rezwana Choudhury Bannya is a singer from Bangladesh. She is a legendary exponent of Rabindra Sangeet, the songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. [2] She has won many awards including Bangladesh's highest civilian award, the Independence Day Award (2016) and India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri (2024). [3]
Rezwana was born in Rangpur, Bangladesh to her parents Mazharuddin Khan and Ismat Ara Khan. [4] Her early singing lessons began with her uncle Abdul Ali and continued later under the tutelage of Sanjida Khatun and Atiqul Islam at Chhayanaut and Bulbul Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA) in Dhaka. As she continued taking lessons in music and singing, she also joined the Economics Program at the university of Dhaka after completion of her schooling. [5] However, soon her inner self came to the realization that music was her destiny. She received a scholarship from the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to study in Sangit Bhavana at Santiniketan, the university that was founded by Tagore himself. She took lessons from artistes including Kanika Bandyopadhyay, Nilima Sen, Sailajaranjan Majumdar, Santidev Ghosh, Gora Sarbadhikary, Manju Bandyopadhyay and Asesh Bandyopadhyay. Years after receiving her master's degree from Visva-Bharati, she trained under Kanika Banerjee (Mohor Di) in private sessions for an extended period of time, as she recalled in the Musiana episode, "Meeting Mohar Di", hosted by Srikanto Acharya.[ citation needed ]
In 2021 she completed her research on Rabindra Sangeet at the University of Dhaka, for which she received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.[ citation needed ]
Bannya is currently Professor and founding chair of the Department of Dance at the University of Dhaka; previously, she had been a professor in the Department of Music at the same university. [6] Inspired by Kanika Bandyopadhyay, she founded in 1992 Shurer Dhara, a prestigious music school in Dhaka. with a focus on Ranbindra Sangeet. Bannya is currently Honorary Dean, Faculty of Performing Arts & Chairperson of Music Department of Tagore University of Creative Arts. In 2010, in order to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, she brought out a complete audio version of 2,233 songs in Tagore's Gitobitan, which was titled Sruti Gitobitan. [7]
The music of Bangladesh spans a wide variety of styles. Bangladesh claims some of the most renowned singers, composers and producers in Asia. Music has served the purpose of documenting the lives of the people and was widely patronized by the rulers. It comprises a long tradition of religious and regular song-writing over a period of almost a millennium.
"Amar Sonar Bangla" is the national anthem of Bangladesh. An ode to Mother Bengal, the lyrics were written by Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore in 1905, while the melody of the hymn was adopted from the Baul singer Gagan Harkara's song "Ami Kothay Pabo Tare" set to Dadra Tala. The modern instrumental rendition was arranged by Bangladeshi musician Samar Das.
Bengali music comprises a long tradition of religious and secular song-writing over a period of almost a millennium. Composed with lyrics in the Bengali language, Bengali music spans a wide variety of styles.
Rabindra Sangeet, also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Indian and also the first non-European to receive such recognition. Tagore was a prolific composer with approximately 2,232 songs to his credit. The songs have distinctive characteristics in the music of Bengal, popular in India and Bangladesh.
Kanika Banerjee was an Bengali Rabindra Sangeet singer.
Swagatalakshmi Dasgupta is a Bengali musician and exponent of Rabindra Sangeet.
Kalim Sharafi was a Bangladeshi Rabindra Sangeet singer. He joined at Indian independence movement. He gave his ideas in several publications regarding politics, culture, and Tagore. He is regarded as one of the best Rabindra Sangeet singers in the subcontinent.
Santidev Ghose was an Indian author, singer, actor, dancer and maestro of Rabindra Sangeet.
Nilufar Yasmin was a Bangladeshi singer of Nazrul Sangeet, Rajanikanta Geeti, Dwijendra Geeti and Atul Prasdi genre. She was the fourth of five Yasmin sisters of Bangladesh music. Her siblings are Farida Yasmin, Fauzia Yasmin, Nazma Yasmin, and Sabina Yasmin. She was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2004 by the Government of Bangladesh. She won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her performance in the film Shuvoda (1986).
Shreya Guhathakurta is an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer.
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The 17th Meril Prothom Alo Awards ceremony, presented by Prothom Alo took place on 8 May 2015 at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a part of 2014–15 film awards season.
Papia Sarwar is a Bangladeshi singer. She is an exponent of Rabindra Sangeet, the songs written and composed by Rabindranath Tagore. She earned Rabindra Award from Bangla Academy in 2013, Bangla Academy Fellowship in 2015 and Ekushey Padak in 2021.
The following is a list of notable people associated withVisva- Bharati University and/or Santiniketan, a neighbourhood in Bolpur city in West Bengal, India:
Sangit Bhavana, of Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, started functioning as a part of Kala Bhavana in 1919 and as a separate institution in 1933. It was established by the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Tagore University of Creative Arts is a private university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The vice-chancellor of the university is Syed Mohammad Shahed.
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Samiul Islam Poluck is a Bangladeshi recitation artist and Anchor. He is a gold medalist at Jatiyo Shikkha Shoptaho in 2001. His full name is A F M Samiul Islam. UNESCO honord his Fresh Interpretation of Kazi Nazrul Islam's "Bidrohi" Poem for its centennial celebration. He is featured in India's music labels like Saregama and Hisdusthan Records. He is an enlisted artist of Bangladesh Television (BTV). Also he presented various programs in the country and outside the country.
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