Ekushey Padok

Shah Abdul Karim

Shah Abdul Karim (শাহ আবদুল করিম) is a Bangladeshi musician. His specialized field of music is Bengali Baul music. He lives in the district of Sunamganj. He was rewarded the Ekushey Padok in the year 2001 for his songs, also received Drouhee Kotha-shahitayk Abdur Rouf Choudhury Award in 2000.

He was born in 1916 in Ujandhal, Dirai, in Sunamganj. This is one of the remote village of Bangladesh, where Abdul Karim born. Growing up with poverty, he started expressing his thoughts and emotions from very early age. Ektara, an instrument of music being his medium to express his thoughts, villager’s heart melted with his melodic and soothing voice. With so many time devoted in singing, hardly he could make time to make his way to think about livelihood or any other job than entertaining people. But he was forced to earn living hardship by harvesting. But Music never left him even with so much obstacles and poverty. As the time goes by, and as he was maturing with age, he went on taking training of spiritual and baul music from Kamal Uddin, Shadhak Rashid Uddin, Shah Ibrahim Mastan Baksh. His versatility ranged from Baul song, Spiritual song to Bhatiali. He went on learning all the exclusive modules of Baul song afterwards along with Shariatti, Marfatti, Nabuot, Belaya. The various devout form of music. He was motivated by philosophy of renowned Lalan Shah, Panju Shah and Duddu Shah

Musical works

Baul Shah Abdul Karim has written and composed as many as 1500 songs. These songs are organized in six books, like: Aftab Sangeet, Gano Sangeet, Kalnir Dheu, Dholmela, Bhatir Chithi and Kalnir Kooley. Bangla Academy has translated ten of his songs into English language.

Shah Abdul Karim is the living legend of Baul songs. He is versatile genius has lived a very simple life. But with the emergence of Baul songs in Bangladesh he has been honored the way he should have been a long time ago.