[Assam] Bangladesh-born Maqsoodul Haque hopes to reconnect with ghor through album in assamese

[Manoj Das]

Bangladesh-born Maqsoodul Haque hopes to reconnect with ghor through album
in native tongue       The artiste during a concert

*Calcutta, Sept. 10:* His blog describes him as a "usual guy with unusual
interests" but that's Maqsoodul Haque's modesty speaking.

It's actually difficult to say which aspect of Maqsoodul, aka Mac, conforms
to the description "usual". That he is an Assamese Bangladeshi, that he
enjoys cult status as one of the pioneers of Bangla rock, jazz and fusion
music, that he was jailed a few years ago for trying to "jazz-ify"
Rabindranath Tagore's music or that he is aiming to be the first Bangladeshi
musician to release an album of Assamese songs.

A member of the little-known, close-knit community of "Bangladeshi
Auhomias", this 48-year-old man of many parts has long lived a life of
adulation in his country, all the while pining for his roots. "I have a
large, extended family back in Assam and it is as if I am away from home.
But Bangladesh is also my home. If there's a contradiction anywhere, I can't
see it," he told The Telegraph in an email, coincidentally on the very day
an Assam-based music producer contacted him to suggest that he record an
album in Assamese.

Dhaka-based Mac's imposing discography of Bangla music befits his reputation
as a lyricist, composer and singer. His musical career began in 1976 with
Feedback, then a little-known band that played cover versions of Western
pop, rock and reggae at the erstwhile Hotel Intercontinental (now Dhaka
Sheraton) in the Bangladesh capital. Feedback recorded its first Bangla
album, *Ullash *(Euphoria), in 1987 and a series of hits followed.

Between 1990 and 1992, the band recorded *Joar*, a compilation of their best
songs at the HMV/EMI studios of the Gramophone Company of India Ltd in
Calcutta. "I travelled several times to the beautiful city and the album hit
music shelves in India in January 1992. The late Salil Choudhury released
the album. We did several gigs at Nicco Park, Calcutta Swimming Club, Kala
Mandir and Jadavpur University," Mac recalled. But it's after a break of six
years that Mac is coming up with an album, his 10th and one that reflects
the artiste's changing views on life and music. "My new album is titled
mA'AREFOTER pOTAKA, containing 10 songs in the tradition of mA'AREFOT, which
signifies the four stages or ways to search for God. It will have elements
of *kirtan*, *baul*, *fakiri *and a few other forms from our rural
heritage," he said.
    Mac (right) with Bangladeshi rock musician Ayyub Bacchu in a recent TV
show

A risk analyst by profession, Mac's antecedents are in Jorhat district of
Upper Assam. His parents migrated to then East Pakistan along with scores of
other Assamese Muslims post-Partition and, by all accounts, did very well
for themselves. His uncle Ansari went on to become a pilot in the Pakistan
Air Force and one of the country's highly-decorated soldiers.

Assam has never been far from Mac's heart, though visiting "Ai Matri
(motherland)" hasn't been as easy he would have liked it to be. "In the good
old days, I never ever felt that Assam was some faraway land because we used
to make it to *ghorole *(home) by train and my uncles or some other
relatives would be around. That was until around 1965, when everything
changed…"

Known for his radical views, which he expresses through columns in various
publications and websites, Mac believes an Assamese album would be the best
way to re-establish his links with Assam. "I want to be the Bob Marley of
the Northeast! Is that an insane thought or is it too difficult to dream? I
want to stop the war at home, I want the world to hear our side of the
story, I want to let them know that we bleed as much as Iraq," he said.

So will his planned Assamese album be a social and political commentary?

"I am happy to note that someone has actually offered to finance and market
(in Assam) a full album of my Assamese songs that I have to produce. I
naturally have set the precondition that I be able to traverse Assam while I
am recording. Thinking of Jyotiprasad (Agarwala), Chaitanyadeb, Srimanta
Sankaradev, zikirs of Ajaan Fakir and maybe even some tea garden songs and
Buddhist hymns."

For Mac, the greatest source of joy is his 21-year-old drummer son Dio's
shared love of music. "My wife passed away a few years ago. So now my son
and I live our lives together and it's a great pleasure because my son
shares my love and passion for music. He has played in nine out of the 10
tracks in my new album."

Telegraph, Kolkata<http://telegraphindia.com/1060911/asp/guwahati/story_6728839.asp>