From ‘Aj Je Shishu’ to ‘Awakened City’: Jungi’s Seventy-Year Journey

On a Friday evening in Dhanmondi, the space in front of Russian House slowly transformed into a living archive of Bangladesh’s modern music history. As dusk settled, familiar faces from different generations of the country’s music scene began to arrive—Nakib Khan, Samina Chowdhury, Rafiqul Alam, Kabir Bakul, Mehreen, alongside younger artists who have grown up singing the very songs that shaped their musical consciousness. What followed was not merely a book launch, but a deeply evocative cultural gathering marking the 70th birth anniversary of lyricist Shahid Mahmud Jungi.

The occasion celebrated the unveiling of the commemorative volume “Apon Aloy Shahid Mahmud Jungi: Gaan-e Gaan-e Sottor”, published by Ajab Karkhana. By six in the evening, the open space was filled with invited guests, fans, and fellow artists. Conversations flowed easily—stories of first meetings, late-night songwriting sessions, Dhaka–Chattogram music adda culture, and the rise and fall of bands. It felt as though the unseen man behind the songs had finally stepped into the light.

The programme opened symbolically. Children from Learn Guitar with Asad performed “Aj Je Shishu”, their tentative voices carrying a song rooted in social awareness and urban reality. The audience listened in silence, many visibly moved. The opening segment concluded with Souls’ “Ekdin Ghum Bhanga Shohore”, creating a musical bridge between two defining strands of Bangladeshi band music—social conscience and urban melancholy.

The book unveiling that followed was less formal ceremony and more shared remembrance. Editor Joy Shahriar invited a host of musicians to the stage, including Rafiqul Alam, Khursheed Alam, Nakib Khan, Pilu Khan, Faisal Siddiqi Bogi, Nasim Ali Khan, and Samina Chowdhury. Each offered personal reflections, turning the stage into a courtyard of memory rather than a platform of speeches.

Rafiqul Alam recalled how, despite Jungi’s reputation in the 1980s, their collaboration came late in his career. “When I finally sang his song, it felt as though my musical journey was complete,” he said—an emotion echoed quietly by many in attendance. Samina Chowdhury spoke of the often-unseen contributors to music, praising the organisers for honouring a lyricist whose work shaped generations without seeking the spotlight.

The evening’s second half belonged to the songs themselves. Performances by Rafiqul Alam, Samina Chowdhury, Nasim Ali Khan, Pantha Kanai, Suman Kallyan, Joy Shahriar, Kishore Das, and Renaissance brought Jungi’s lyrics alive once more. Songs such as “Aj Je Shishu”, “Tritiyo Bishwa Emoni Bismoy”, “Harano Bikel-er Golpo Boli”, “He Bangladesh Tomar Boyosh” and “Shomoy Jeno Kate Na” unfolded alongside anecdotes of their creation, turning the concert into a living biography.

The book itself reflects this multiplicity. Contributions from musicians, family members, researchers, and journalists portray Shahid Mahmud Jungi not merely as a lyricist, but as a cultural catalyst—someone who created spaces for artists to grow as humans as much as musicians. Born in Chattogram on 1 August 1956, Jungi’s life spans teaching, activism, advertising, cultural organisation, and enduring involvement in music movements. His lyrics speak of love and loss, but also of class, cities, resistance, and time.

The evening concluded not as a birthday celebration alone, but as a collective salute to seven decades of a life entwined with Bangladesh’s modern musical soul.

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