By Basana Dey
The song 'Jagannath Hall October Tragedy '85' was released with the lyrics of Professor Nirmal Sarker and the tune, composition and arrangement of Tanim Hayat Khan Rajit. The lyric is based on ‘Jagannath Hall October Tragedy’85’. On the day the old roof of the TV room collapsed while students were watching the then popular TV drama 'Shuktara' serial. In the incident, 39 students were killed and hundreds more were injured. The lyrics beautifully reflect the tragic incident and the pain by keeping it at the centre, making the audience remember the tragedy. After listening to the first stanza, 'Aar jeno na ase/ Octoberer ei din/Khali hoy mayer kole/Emon kono din, I myself immediately became emotional.
The last stanza of the song has the addition of the name of the Milestone School, which has recently happened differently, with the stanza-'Aar jeno na ase/Milestone School moton /Emon bochor emon son/emon khon, emon din'. It is to be noted that the lyricist is currently living in Toronto, Canada. But at the time of the Jagannath Hall October Tragedy in 1985 he was a resident student of this hall who closely monitored the tragic incident.
Basana Dey is Librarian, Toronto Public Library, Canada
