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book extract

Hasan Raja: The Mystic Song-writer

by Edward Yazijian
***Today most Bangladeshis have heard of Hasan Raja and many can sing or cite at least a line from one of his songs. Even so, there is very little written material available about him in Bengali, and I found virtually nothing in English except for a few isolated quotations. When I researched the life of Hasan Raja by reading available material and interviewing various people, a profile of an extremely complex person emerged.***
THE name of Hasan Raja is well known throughout all of Bangladesh. He might well have remained an obscure author of mystic songs known primarily in his district of Sunamganj if not for the interest shown in him by a fellow zamindar poet. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore mentioned him in various articles and lectures both in India and in his "The Religion of Man" speech given as part of the Hibbert lecture series at Oxford University In 1930. Pandit Kshltlmo-han Sen also included a few of Hasan Raja’s songs in his well-known book Banglar Baul.
Today most Bangladeshis have heard of Hasan Raja and many can sing or cite at least a line from one of his songs. Even so, there is very little written material available about him in Bengali, and I found virtually nothing in English except for a few isolated quotations. When I researched the life of Hasan Raja by reading available material and interviewing various people, a profile of an extremely complex person emerged. Hasan Raja seems to be a man of contradictions. even to the point at which he seems like two completely different people. Although the stories told by various people about Hasan Raja also present conflicting portraits, the most striking contrast is between his day to day life as we know It and the spiritual revelations In his songs. When I first read the songs of Hasan Raja. 1 was struck by their directness and passion. I had the distinct feeling that I was reading of direct experience rather than something learned from a book or heard from another source. The songs are mostly written in the regional Syletl dialect, and although they are considered by many to be unpolished from a literary point of view, they burn with an intensity that I have rarely seen elsewhere. Like many other mystics of South Asia, especially in greater Bengal. Hasan Raja is not easily pigeonholed into any one religious heritage but belongs to a more syncretic tradition that takes inspiration from many different sources. His songs are influenced by Vaishnava padavali kirtana, Sufi poetry and even Buddhism, and he draws on various images and sources to express his deep longing for spiritual union.
Deowan Hasan Raja Chaudhury was born on January 24, 1855 in the village of Lakhanslri near Sunamganj town (presently an independent district), Sylhet. His father Deowan All Raja (Reza) Choudhury was a very powerful zamindar (landlord) of the area. His properties Included the area of Laksmansirl and Ramapasha in Sunamganj. as well as the Am-berkhana. Sadagarhtala, and Tila-garh sections of Sylhet city. Hasan Raja's mother Huramatjahan Bibi was the widow of All Raja's cousin. She became All Raja's third wife and married him in his old age. Hasan Raja's birthplace Laksmansirl was originally her property but became part of AU Raja's holdings after their marriage. Hasan Raja had a half-brother named Ubayadur Raja who was the son of All Raja's second wife. He was 22 years older than Hasan Raja. Hasan Raja also had a half-sister named Shahifa Banu who is known as Syl-het's first woman poet. She was the daughter of a wife of All Raja's who resided at Sadagarhtala. She wrote two books : lyadgare Shahifa in Urdu and a book of songs written in Bengali called Shahifa Sanglt.
Shahifa Banu was locally known as Haji Bibi' because she traveled to
Mecca to perform pilgrimage on more than one occasion. She apparently disregarded the rules of purdah (a variety of practices aimed at protecting the modesty of women, e.g. veiling, indoor seclusion) that were usually followed by women of her social standing. and freely traveled throughout Sylhet without covering her face.
The family of Hasan Raja originally migrated to Sylhet from the town of Ayodhya (the kingdom of Avadh?), Uttar Pradesh sometime in the 16th century. They were originally Hindu Kshatriyas, but Hasan Raja's great-grandfather Birendrachandra Singhadev converted to Islam and changed his name to Babu Khan. According to family legend it was a fouj-dar (military general) of Sylhet who converted Babu Khan to Islam. When Babu Khan's father, Baranasl Ray. found out. he presented a silver elephant to the foujdar and begged him to return his son to the fold of their Hindu family. When the foujdar refused him request. Baranasl Raya then asked that his son at least be permitted to marry a girl from an aristocratic Muslim family. The foujdar honoured Baranasl Ray's second request and arranged Babu Khan's marriage into the prominent Quresh family of Sunamganj. (In the next page I have included the genealogical chart that was collected from Hasan Raja's family in Sunamganj).
When Hasan Raja was born, All Raja took the advice of his older son and named his new-born son Ahidur Raja.
Later a close friend of All Raja's, a scholar of Persian and Arabic by the name of Najir Abdullah named the
boy Hasan Reza, Reza being the Persian version of Raja. This was the name he would be known by for the rest of his life. Hasan Raja was said to be extremely obstinate and uncontrollable as a child. From all accounts his family allowed him to do as he pleased from a very young age. Most likely being the son of a powerful landlord made him exempt from the scolding of his father's subjects. He was left to roam about on horseback with his friends wherever he pleased. Hasan Raja disliked school as a child, so he never really had the benefit of a formal education. His first blo-grapher Prabhat Kumar Sharma claimed he was totally Illiterate, but not everyone agrees with him.
Some relatives of Hasan Raja claim to possess manuscripts directly written by him but no one has had the opportunity to see anything written in his own hand except for his signature on a few official documents. Without such evidence it would be difficult to assess his level of literacy, however It would probably be more reasonable to assume that he was at least marginally literate. It was a tradition in Hasan Raja's family for everyone to began their studies with both Arabic and Bengali. He most likely learned the basics of both languages but did not pursue his education for very long. In any case, because of his limited writing skills, Hasan Raja composed his songs orally and then had one of his employees write them down.
In his later years he regretted his lack of schooling and donated quite a bit of his wealth for the education of those who could not afford It. He also supported the education of women
which for that time and place was unusual.
When he was in his early teens two events changed Hasan Raja's outlook on life radically. The first was she sudden death of his older half-brother Ubayedur Raja.
This sent him into a deep depression. Before he could recover from the loss of his brother, his father passed away Just forty days later. As he was the only male heir left in the family, he was expected to take over his father's duty as a zamindar. Literally overnight and at the young age of fifteen, he became responsible for his family's vast amount of property. At first members of his family were unsure of his ability to take on such a great amount of responsibility, but he proved to be a very effective zamindar. His duties included managing over 200.000 bighas (approximately 100.000 acres) of land plus property in Sylhet town, collecting rent from his tenants, and assisting them with cultural events such as marriages, celebrations and religious ceremonies. He worked like a madman and managed not only to put the existing family properties in order but also was able to almost double his land holdings in a relatively short time. Perhaps he immersed himself In his work to forget the sorrow of losing both his brother and father so suddenly. From all eye witness accounts and as shown by his existing photographs. Hasan Raja looked and acted the part of a king. His appearance gave evidence of his ancestors from northern India: many writers have used the word 'Aryan' to describe his physical features. He was about six feet tall, had a prominent
nose, light skin and piercing yellowish-green eyes. Photographs show him with thick shoulder-length hair and a large mustache. Hasan Raja had a taste for fine clothes an could often be seen dressed in fine embroidered garments and a turban.
His ankle-length black velvet garment (chapkan) embroidered with gold thread along with a sword and walking stick are on display at the family home in Sunamganj. There are many conflicting accounts of his early years as a zamindar. To some of his subjects he had a reputation as a cruel, greedy landlord and a decadent womanizer who was more interested in his hobbies of horse racing and the breeding of birds then the welfare of the people living on his land. To others he was a generous and beneficent landlord who was compassionate to humans and animals alike. There is a story about the compassionate side of Hasan Raja that was told to Prabhat Kumar Sharma by one of Hasan Raja's employees:
One night I was returning from the market. It was the monsoon season then and raining very hard. When I arrived at the house. 1 noticed a light on in the stable. I was surprised to se a light on there at such a late hour and called out to see who it was. I then heard "it's me (Hasan Raja) come here quick.” I quickly went over to where he was standing and saw that he bad a plate of food and a glass of water in his hand. In front of him were an old lady, a boy and two infants lying in the hay. They all looked as if they would die at any moment from lack of food. The Saheb said, hold the lantern.' I held the light while he carefully fed them all by hand. He then personally fixed them a place to sleep. A few days later the boy and old woman died, but the babies survived. He named one Much-lim and the other Momln. He arranged for their education. Momln has since died, but Muchlim is still alive somewhere working as a constable.