Abbasuddin Ahmed (1901-1959) was a renowned Bengali musician, scholar and recording artist. He was among the earliest Indian artists to take to the gramophone, and gained widespread acclaim in Calcutta before moving to Dacca in 1947. The essay featured in this episode is part of his 1961 autobiography, translated into English by his granddaughter, the musician and scholar Nashid Kamal. It talks about the early days of life in a newly independent East Pakistan, and the various struggles that Ahmed had to endure to establish a foothold in Dacca. Ahmed recalls traveling across the country, singing songs of hope to his fellow citizens, his many trips representing Pakistan at folk festivals across the world, the unease of East Pakistani musicians in singing songs of an 'Islamic' character, and the future of classical and folk music in the region.

Featured music:

1. Abbasuddin Ahmed - Zameen Firdaus Pakistan ki Hogi(Courtesy of Absar Ahmed)

2. Abbasuddin, Hemlata - Naiyur Chariya Dau Mor

Adeeb Suhail (1927-2017) was a poet, editor and music scholar. Born in Munger, Bihar as Zuhurul Haq, Suhail migrated to East Pakistan and remained stationed in Dacca and Saidpur. He was editor of the East Pakistan Urdu daily "Pasban," and coined popular Urdu slogans against the Ayub Khan regime. Suhail migrated to Karachi in 1974 and worked as a contributing editor at various literary magazines. He also contributed to music programming on Pakistan Television. In the essay featured in this episode, Suhail speaks to the core differences of the khayal and dhrupad styles of Indian classical music. He frames the differences in the context of Muslim contribution to Indian music, a major theme in Urdu musicology, and identifies the various historical figures and lineages that contributed to the development of khayal's overarching dominance.

Featured music:
Roshan Ara Begum - Mishra Pahari

Atiya Fyzee-Rahamin was an educationist, musicologist and socialite. Born in 1877 in Ottoman Turkey, she was arguably the first woman to have authored a text on North Indian classical music. Atiya was also among the founders of the first All India Music Conference, which was held in Baroda in 1916. The essay featured in this episode, is part of her 1914 introduction to Indian music, which she authored under the pen name Shahinda. It covers the fundamentals of the laws of tones (sur addhya) in North Indian music, elaborating on the temperaments, deities, costumes and colours of each of the seven musical notes.

Music courtesy Eternal Tarang.