In Bengali music, Lalon’s songs carry a profound resonance and no one is more closely associated with that resonance than Farida Parveen.
For over half a century, she carried Lalon’s words into people’s hearts through melody and devotion. Yet her journey into Lalon’s world began with reluctance.
Around 1972, shortly after independence, during the Dol Purnima festival in Cheuria, Kushtia, Guru Mokshed Sai urged her, “Ma, you must sing at Lalon’s great festival.” At the time, Farida was immersed in Nazrul, patriotic, classical and modern songs. When asked to sing Lalon’s works, she refused outright, even dismissing them, thinking, “Does anyone even sing these songs?”
But her Guru was insistent. At last, she learned ‘Shotto Bol Shupothe Chol’ and performed it on stage, her very first Lalon song. When the audience asked for another, she had nothing more prepared.
That restless night left her deeply stirred. In her own words, “That’s when I understood: Lalon is my path.”
Raised in Kushtia as the only child of her parents, Farida found refuge in music from an early age. Her father, Delwar Hossain, a government doctor, and her mother both supported her musical aspirations wholeheartedly.
Whenever others criticized, her father would simply say, “I have a daughter. Let her sing.” Strong-willed and spirited, young Farida was never afraid to silence detractors.
Though later celebrated as the Queen of Lalon Giti and ‘Lalonkonna’, she disliked such titles. “There’s no reason for these names,” she insisted. “I came here by uniting my heart and soul with Lalon’s songs, not for titles.”
Lalon’s philosophy also shaped her personal life. Though she faced hardships, she treated them lightly, focusing only on matching melody to melody. Each of her songs, she would say, was like a child, impossible to choose a favorite.
She was firm in opposing the so-called modernization of Lalon’s works. “Lalon’s songs are not meant for jumping around,” she said. “They must be sung in silence and conveyed with deep understanding.”
Farida also worked tirelessly to preserve Lalon’s legacy. She dreamed of compiling 100 songs into a collection and had already recorded 75 of them.
