Distinguished Nazrul Geeti exponent Shamshy Faruque Shimky kept the near-packed Dipanpur Book Cafe audience spell-bound with her Raga and melody for sometime in a wintry evening in the capital on her first comeback solo on Tuesday.
The popular crowner of ’80s and early ’90s returned to the Dhaka dais yesterday after a two-decade hiatus and enthralled the Nazrul song lovers in her first musical soiree after two decades.
Dr Mashfiqus Salehin welcomed the audience. Renowned singer Sadya Afreen Mallick and eminent Nazrul exponents Sujit Mostofa and Yasmin Mushtari were also present in the soiree, organised at the Dipanpur Book cafe.
A ‘Special Grade’ artist of Nazrul Geeti in both Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television (BTV) from early 1980 to mid ’90s, Shimky had left Dhaka to start a new life in the United Kingdom. She now lives in Manchester with her husband and two daughters and serving as a Human Resource Consultant at the National Health Service of the UK.
The top-graded artiste regularly performed in the state-owned BTV and Betar in those days when the country had only one TV channel and a lone radio. She also gave performances at various programmes in different venues, including Bangla Academy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Nazrul Institute and TSC.
Also adept in classical music Shimky also made active presence in many cultural events on many occasions across the country.
She started taking lessons at the Nazrul Academy in Dhaka in 1975. She completed a five-year training course there, both on Nazrul Geeti and classical music.
After completing the five-year course, she took additional lessons from two stalwarts – Shudhin Das and Akhter Sadmani.
