Kabir Suman
| Kabir Suman কবীর সুমন |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Suman Chattopadhyay |
| Born |
16 March 1950 Cuttack, Odisha, India |
| Origin | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Genres | Bengali Modern, Rabindra Sangeet |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, journalist, writer, actor, politician |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, synthesizer, piano |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | HMV |
| Associated acts | Anjan Dutt, Nachiketa Chakraborty |
| Website |
Official Website Kabir Suman's channel on YouTube |
| Kabir Suman | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament | |
|
In office May 2009– May 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Sujan Chakraborty |
| Succeeded by | Sugata Bose |
| Constituency | Jadavpur |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | AITC |
| Spouse(s) | Sabina Yasmin |
| Alma mater | Jadavpur University |
| Profession | Musician, journalist, writer |
| Religion | Islam |
Kabir Suman (born Suman Chattopadhyay; 16 March 1950) is an Indian singer, songwriter, musician, music director, poet, journalist, political activist, TV presenter, and occasional actor. From May 2009 to 2014, he was a member of parliament of India in the 15th Lok Sabha, having been elected from the Jadavpur constituency in Kolkata from All India Trinamool Congress.
He changed his name from Suman Chattopadhay to Kabir Suman (Bangla: কবীর সুমন) when he became a Muslim and married the noted Bangladeshi singer Sabina Yasmin. He shot to fame in the 1990s with albums such as Tomake Chai (I Want You) and Boshe Anko (Sit-and-Draw).
Suman was born in a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family on 16 March 1950 to Sudhindranath and Uma Chattopadhyay at Cuttack, Odisha. He was trained in classical music in his childhood, under the tutelage of his father. He graduated with an honours in English Literature from Jadavpur University and did a diploma in French language and German language. He then worked briefly in All India Radio and the United Bank of India. He left for Guatemala and worked there in radio latter for Europe in the mid seventies, and worked as a radio journalist in the Voice of Germany (Bengali Department) during 1975 to 1979. It is during this period that he heard the music of Bob Dylan in France, which became one of his most defining musical experiences.
Suman then went on to stay at the United States during 1980-86, working for the Bengali language Department of Voice of America in Washington D.C. He came into contact with a number of musical and literary personalities including Pete Seeger and Maya Angelou. Suman also became highly interested in the Sandinista revolution at Nicaragua during the mid eighties. Pete Seeger introduced him to Ernesto Cardenal, the priest, poet, freedom fighter and Nicaragua's Minister of Culture. At Cardenal's invitation, Suman visited Nicaragua in 1985. He writes that he was largely impressed by what he saw in Nicaragua. It is here, that he also came into contact with the New Song Movement in Latin America. After much deliberation, Suman zeroed in on the name, Kabir Suman. According to him, "I wanted to keep the name my parents gave me, so I kept Suman. I took the name Kabir after Sheikh Kabir, a Bengali Muslim poet who wrote Baishnab Padabali."
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Wikipedia