I took a break from music to take care of my wife: Balam
In 2010, Balam was at the height of his music career, but the singer could not foresee the times of hardship that were to follow – his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour two days after the birth of their son
Kazi Mohammad Ali Jahangir, who goes by Balam, is one of the most famous vocalists of the '90s. Singing since he was just a child, Balam has slowly proved himself successful over the years.
Balam got addicted to the guitar when he was in the seventh grade. As his parents were also into music, it was easy for him to pursue music. He joined a band called Renegades in 1995 as a vocalist and guitarist due to his unquenchable interest in band music.
In 1998, he joined the band 'Warfaze' where he performed successfully till 2007. He then left the band and started making music solo and became successful.
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In 2010, Balam was at the height of his music career, singing solos, composing music, regular concert appearances – it was his time to shine. But the singer could not foresee the times of hardship that were to follow. Two days after the birth of his only son Fabian Jahangir, his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour and suffered from paralysis.
Leaving everything aside, he devoted his time to taking care of his wife. He went to Bangkok with his wife for treatment. After staying there for two months, the doctors finally came to a conclusion that his wife actually had tuberculosis. Balam had to cancel the production of most of his prescheduled songs.
To give time to his wife, Balam almost stopped working during that period. However, he kept practising from home. This is how Balam advanced in a new battle of life.
Meanwhile, slowly his wife started to recover and he started to pay more attention to music. Occasionally, Balam released a few songs, but they did not come to limelight much.
"I gradually became indifferent to music due to my wife's illness," Balam told The Business Standard recently.
"I think music, melody comes from nature and a person needs a stable mind to practise these. Back then, I tried to be there for my wife and gave her much of my time which was important. I'm lucky that my wife is healthy now and one of the biggest cheerleaders in my singing career,'' he added.
And now, after a three-year hiatus, since his last single "Chupchap Charidik", released on Valentine's Day 2020 Balam is back with another track.
For his last song "Chupchap Charidik", Balam had himself composed the melody and written the lyrics. The song was released on Balam's own YouTube channel.
"The song has been ready to go for quite a while now. But as it is a romantic number, I decided to release it on Valentine's Day. There is a special appeal to the lyrics of this song. And I think that is why the song has created a special place in the hearts of the audience. The fans were also asking me to release new songs and that's why I returned with this one."
Balam also released a music video of 'Chupchap Charidik' in which his wife Shagufta Faruq Sadia made an appearance.
"Sadia has done some modelling in the past. But I kept her in the dark regarding the video shoot beforehand. She was actually delighted when I made the proposal about the video the evening prior to the shoot day. We have received a lot of compliments for this as well."
Now Balam has decided to take a break from everything else and return to the music industry with all of his energy. He has already finished writing more than 50 tracks.
Balam's next single is slated for release today in the light of Independence Day. The song titled "Jago Bangladesh Jago" will be uploaded on his own channel. Balam composed the tune and wrote the lyrics for this song as well. He expects to release a song in the upcoming Eid as well.
Balaam has released six solo albums so far. These are 'Balam', 'Balam 2', 'Balam 3', 'Bhavan Balam 4', 'Story City', 'Digital Bangladesh'. He has also released four band albums. He also played back in seven movies. These are Ananya Mamun's 'Love Story', Mustafa Kamal Raj's 'Prajapati', Noman Rabin's 'Common Gender', Gazi Mazharul Anwar's 'Hridyo Banga Dhew', Morshedul Islam's 'Priyatmesu', FI Manik's 'Our Chhota Saheb' and Arif Khan's 'Chand Phul Amavasya'.
"Now I am singing regularly on the stage and trying to make some fast songs suitable for the stage. In this way, I am dreaming to move forward with new plans," he concluded.
