Kamal Dasgupta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kamal Dasgupta
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| কমল দাশগুপ্ত | |
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| Born | 28 July 1912 Kalia, Narail, Presidency Division, British India
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| Died | 20 July 1974 (aged 61) Dhaka, Bangladesh
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| Other names | Kamal Uddin Ahmed |
| Occupation | Composer, music director, folk singer |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | Tahsin Ahmed Hamin Ahmed Shafin Ahmed |
Kamal Dasgupta (born July 28, 1912 – died July 20, 1974) was a very talented musician from Bangladesh. He was a music director, a person who guides the music for films, and a composer, someone who writes music. He was also a folk artist, meaning he performed traditional music.
He worked mostly in the film industries of India and Bangladesh. This was especially true before India was divided into separate countries in 1947. His music often used elements from classical Indian music styles called Rāga and thumri.
Later in his life, Kamal Dasgupta married Firoza Begum, who was a famous singer of Nazrul Sangeet (songs written by the poet Kazi Nazrul Islam). He also changed his name to Kamal Uddin Ahmed. His sons, Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed, are now lead singers in the popular Bangladeshi band Miles.
Early Life and Music Career
Kamal Dasgupta was born on July 28, 1912, in a place called Narail, which was part of British India at the time. He finished high school in 1928 in Calcutta. Later, he earned a degree in business from Comilla Victoria Government College.
He loved music so much that he earned a special degree called a doctorate in music. He got this from Banaras Hindu University in 1943. His studies focused on Meerabai, a famous composer and singer of devotional songs called Bhajans.
Kamal Dasgupta's father, Tara Prasanna Dasgupta, was his first inspiration. He also learned music from his brother, Bimal Das Gupta. Later, he studied with other great music teachers like Dilip Kumar Roy and Jamiruddin Khan.
Kamal Dasgupta sang many modern songs. He sang in different languages like Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, and Tamil. He was also a very busy composer, creating music for about eight thousand songs!
His music was often based on classical styles, especially the Thumri style. However, he also found ideas from many other types of music.
Kamal Dasgupta composed music for about eighty Bengali films. Some of these films include Tufan Mail and Jhamelar Prem. His last film as a music director was Badhu Bharan in 1967. He even composed background music for an American film called War Propaganda.
He was actively composing music for about fourteen years. Kamal Dasgupta made a special contribution to music by inventing a quick way to write down musical notes, called swaralipi.
In 1935, Dasgupta started working as a music director for the Gramophone Company of India. While he was there, he worked very closely with the famous poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. He composed music for almost four hundred of Nazrul Islam's songs.
The gramophone records with Kamal Dasgupta's music were very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Some of his songs that are still well-known today include Sanjher Taraka Ami (which means "I am the star of twilight") and Prithivi Amare Chay ("The world needs me").
Kamal Dasgupta passed away on July 18, 1974, in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Discography
