Abdul Gafur Hali (also known as Gafur Hali Maizbhanderi; 6 August 1929 – 21 December 2016) was a

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

folk lyricist, composer and singer of the

Maizbhandari The Maizbhandari (), or sometimes Maijbhandari (), order or ''tariqa'' of Sufism within Sunni Islam was founded in the late 19th century by the Bengali Sufi saint Ahmad Ullah Maizbhandari from Chittagong. It is the only Sufi order to have origin ...

musical tradition. He was the first

folk play Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mummers Play and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices ...

author to use the

Chittagonian language Chittagonian ( or ) or Chittagonian Bengali is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of the Chittagong Division in Bangladesh. Chittagonian and Standard Bengali are not inherently mutually intelligible, although it is considered by some a ...

. His works are created mainly in his native language of Chittagong. He was also known by his

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

name, Gafur Hali Maizbhanderi.

Early life and education

Hali was born to Abdus Sobhan and Gultaj Khatun, in Rashidabad; in the

Patiya Patiya () is an upazila of Chattogram District in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. History During the British rule, a police station(thana) was established in Patiya in 1845. It was upgraded to an ''upazila'' in 1984. The region saw revolutionar ...

region within the

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

district in 1929. He married Rajia Begum. Hali studied primary school at Rashidabad and high school at Joara Bishwamvar. From an early age, he was inspired by the works of historically remarkable singer-songwriter Askar Ali Pandit, and latterly became influenced by the Maizbhanderi Sufi Singers, such as Moulana Bazlul Karim Kanchanpuri, Moulana Abdul Hadi, and Ramesh Shil. He never formally learned how to sing or play a

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

, but used to follow their works.

Career

At an early age, Hali achieved 1st position in the audition of Agrabad Radio Station. Since 1963, his songs have regularly been publicized on-air through radio as collected songs because he was not registered. After 7 years, he became a registered singer-lyricist-composer of East Pakistan Radio. It was Hali's profession that, into his eighties, he led his life as a professional lyricist, composer and singer. His lyrics and compositions can be categorized in socio-cultural and Sufi method, where socio-cultural songs are more than one thousand five hundred in number and of

Sufi songs Sufism ( or ) is a mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are referred to as "Sufis" (from , ), and ...

there are also over thousand. Though his family encouraged him to enter other professions, Hali was only interested in music. Once in 1955/56 while singing at Maizbhander Dorbar Sharif, Hali saw huge money over his harmonium, listeners have given out of love, which was his first income as an artist. That made him realize, even by singing a song, one can survive and since then he took it as his profession. His first Maizbhanderi Sufi lyric was: "Will you play How long!/ Will you die not?/ How many has come and gone/ Were they belongs to!". He was a regular lyricist and composer for Television and Radio Channels of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Documentary

The

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Methopother Gaan was developed representing his works and thought. Film maker Shaybal Chawdhury created this 39-minute-long documentary representing Hali as an ideal rural artist. Famous contemporary singers like Shyam Sundar Bhaishnav, Shefali Gosh, Kallyani Ghosh, Abdul Mannan Rana, Selim Nizami and many others re-performed his songs in that documentary.

Academy and Ode

Abdul Gafur Hali Academy was formed regarding Cultural and Social research. As well, a Lyrics and Musical notation collection of Maizbhanderi Sufi Songs; named Hali's Ode - The Tie of Melody (/Surer Bandahn) including his 100 Maizbhanderi and Mystical Lyrics/ Songs and another one named, The Root (/Shikor) including his 100 rural Folk songs was published by Abdul Gafur Hali Academy and patronized by PHP Group.

Famous works

Among more than 1,500; some of his most popular Sufi songs are: * () (Vandari the Eternal the Savior) * () (Pay your tribute to maizbhandar) * () (Game of Mysticism) * () (Gems of Maizbhandar) * () (Let's visit the shrine of Mohsen Aulia) * () (When a Saint Dies!) Meanwhile, over thousand, some popular socio-cultural songs are: * () * () (Man in Panjabi) * () (Oh My Friend, Visit Me often) * () (We were just kids when we fall in love) * () (You just left with no hint back) * () (The flower bloomed) * () * () * () * () During the Liberation War of Bangladesh he sang songs to inspire the fighters, such as:
It is impossible to be familiar with you and me / You are

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

and I am

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

/ Between your country and mine / There is a distance of 2000 miles.

International acknowledgement

Professor Hans Harder of

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

, Germany visited different places in Bangladesh including Maizbhander of Chittagong in 1989 and the reason how, he met Abdul Gafur Hali through another popular singer Kolyani Ghosh. Latterly, Harder published a research work (treatise) named Ferkute Gafur; Spritht Gafur Means, Dippy gafur Says () in 2004. It includes 76 songs of Hali. Hans Harder denoted the songs as, "Mystical songs of East Bengal (Bangladesh) composed by Abdul Gafur Hali". He narrated about Abdul Gafur Hali, "In spite of having any higher degree or designation of any University, Abdul Gafur Hali with his own effort was able to have an extraordinary knowledge". As well, an album entitled, Foreign Beloved ( produced by Indian Music director Koustob Sen Varat, was dedicated to Abdul Gafur Hali. Producer included Hali's five songs in that music album.

Awards

He achieved a number of national and institutional awards. Some of those are: * Rahe Bhander Ennoble Award ( - 2012 * Chittagong Association Award/ Chittagong Summit Dhaka ( - 2012 * Bangladesh Musical Organizations' Association Award ( - 2013 * Sukhendu Memorial Theater Award ( - 2013 * District Cultural Academy Award ( - 2013

Death

Gafur died on 21 December 2016 at Mount Hospital in Chittagong.

External links

Official Website of Rahe Bhander Sufi Order
Rahe Bhander Ennoble Award
Alliance France
Alliances françaises of Chittagong and Dhaka

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hali, Abdul Gafur 1929 births 2016 deaths Bangladeshi composers 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Bangladeshi lyricists Male composers

Sufism in Bangladesh Sufism in Bangladesh is more or less similar to that in the whole Indian subcontinent. India, it is claimed, is one of the five great centers of Sufism, the other four being Persia (including central Asia), Baghdad (in Iraq), Syria, and North Af ...

People from Chittagong District