INTERVIEWING AZAM KHAN (DESH TV) From Kabir Suman Online

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• published: 22 Apr 2013
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From : http://www.kabirsumanonline.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on June 6, 2011 by Kabir Suman I heard of Azam Khan in 1992 from the Dhaka based Bangla Rock Band Feedback. That was already twenty years after Azam Khan made his name as the pioneer of a style in music that came to be known as "Bangla Rock". Probably owing to lack of information, West Bengal people assign the credit to the pop group "Mohiner Ghoraguli" who made their debut much later. I tried to gather more information on Azam Khan but I had to wait till 1998 when I met Sabina Yasmin, the great vocalist, to get the details on Azam Khan's work. It was Sabina who would sing for me Azam's popular songs. Everyone in Bangladesh knows at least a few lines of his songs. If anyone starts to sing "Alal o Dulal" anywhere in Bangladesh everyone within earshot would join in. Azam Khan's music succeeded in cutting across class barriers. Starting from the Head of the Government down to a street urchin -- all know at least a couple of Azam Khan's songs. This is a rare achievement. Some of Sabina's musicians filled in with interesting notes on Azam Khan's life. Although he enjoyed massive popularity, he chose not to go along with the mainstream music industry. He never hobnobbed with the high ups, nor was he seen in the musicians' circles. He continued making music and recording his songs. But he remained an outsider. Other "Bangla Rock" musicians of Bangladesh recorded Azam Khan's songs much more than he recorded them himself. I was told that he once opened a small music cassette shop and lived modestly by its sales. His passion seemed to be soccer, though at an advanced age he played a few cricket matches and did quite well. But soccer was his passion. Every afternoon he would be at the local playground and encourage boys to play soccer. The kids of his locality were his pals. Even on 28 March 2011, when I finally succeeded in interviewing him -- he was 62 and he had already undergone surgery for cancer -- he told me when we were taking leave in front of his house that he would have to go to the playground and oversee the local kids' soccer playing. That was Azam Khan, one of the most interesting music personalities of our time. Yesterday, 5 June 2011, when Sabina broke to me the news of his death she also told me that Azam Khan had believed that he had been cured of cancer. When I went to Bangladesh in March, 2011, to visit Sabina, I told her that this time I just had to meet Azam Khan and Sabina should record the interview on her little camcorder. Sabina had just bought her camcorder and she was not too sure about its operation though I had taught her the basic things. However, I told her that whatever she could record would do. It would be our personal souvenir. Sabina made arrangements for the meeting and she also told our good friend Asaduzzaman Noor about our plans. Noor said his Desh TV would record the entire meeting which it did. The Desh TV gave me a copy of the recording. That was so kind of them. I am re-editing the edited version so that we can upload it more readily to my website. I have been told by informed people that no one ever interviewed Azam Khan as extensively as I did. Sabina's presence made it more interesting. At the end she coaxed Azam Khan into singing one of his most popular songs while drumming on a table with his fingers and knuckles to keep the rhythm. Sabina was the first to sing out the first line and Azam Khan couldn't but follow suit. This is surely the last major tv interview that Azam Khan gave. Peace. 6 June 2011 I desperately wanted to meet and interview Azam Khan when I went to Dhaka in March, 2011. Sabina made all the arrangements. Just by the by she mentioned it to our good friend Asaduzzaman Noor who is the chief of Desh TV. Noor at once said that his tv channel would record the interview, too. He told me that his channel would give me a copy of the edited version. That's what my friend has uploaded on my website. But the version I received from Desh TV is not the whole version. There was more to the interview. Sabina's camera recorded that, though the audio was not professional. In a few days, we'll upload that part of the interview for our visitors...... KabirSuman