NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee shared some kind words for saint, poet and social reformer Lalan Shah Fakir on receiving the first copies of his book ‘Lalan Shah Fakir Ke Geet’ written by Prof. Muchkund Dubey and DVD of selected songs over the weekend. Mukherjee said there is hardly any Bengali who does not know the songs of saint, poet and social reformer Lalan Shah Fakir who is among the luminaries of saint poets – particularly of the Bengali speaking region.

The President said poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore was the first to publish a significant number of songs of Lalan Fakir and played a central role in bringing Lalan Fakir’s compositions to a wider audience. Today, while Lalan Fakir is an icon and Lalan geeti is in the mainstream of Bengali folk music in Bangladesh, at the same time, he is equally regarded and celebrated among Bangla knowing people of India.

The President further added that Lalan Fakir is considered one of the most profound thinkers as he picked up the best from Vaishnavism, Sahajya Buddhism and Sufism instead of depending on any one religion and ideology.

He also said Begum Farida Parveen had enthralled all at the gathering with her soulful presentation of songs of Lalan Fakir both in Hindi and Bengali. He expressed the hope that the translation and musical rendering of Lalan Fakir’s songs into Hindi would contribute in an unprecedented way to popularizing the incomparable compositions of Lalan Fakir in all parts of India.

He lauded Dubey who had served as High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh for his pioneering work and for giving an opportunity to recognize and pay tribute to Lalan Fakir. He also thanked the Sahitya Akademi for publishing the book and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for supporting the project of producing the DVD containing the Hindi rendering by Begum Farida Parveen.

The President expressed his happiness at the presence of eminent guests from Bangladesh - particularly Information Minister Hassanul Haq Inu and Bangla Academy Chairman Professor Anisuzzaman.