# Kalim Sharafi > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kalim_Sharafi > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kalim_Sharafi.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalim_Sharafi > Source revision: 1328041616 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Bangladeshi singer (1924-2010)}} {{infobox person |name=Kalim Sharafi |image=Kalim Sharafi (1924 – 2010).jpg |native_name=কলিম শরাফী |native_name_lang=bn |birth_date={{birth date|1924|5|8|df=y}} |birth_place=[Birbhum](/source/Birbhum), [West Bengal](/source/West_Bengal), [British India](/source/British_India) |spouses={{ubl|{{marriage|Kamela Khatun|1949|1957|end=divorce}}|{{marriage|Noushaba Khatun|1967}}}} |death_date={{death date and age|2010|11|2|1924|5|8|df=y}} |death_place=Dhaka, Bangladesh |resting_place=Martyred Intellectuals’ Graveyard, Mirpur |awards={{ubl|[Ekushey Padak](/source/Ekushey_Padak) 1985|[Independence Award](/source/Independence_Award) 1999}} }} '''Kalim Sharafi''' (8 May 1924 – 2 November 2010{{cite news |date=2 November 2010 |title=Rabindra Sangeet exponent Kalim Sharafi dead |url=http://sify.com/news/rabindra-sangeet-exponent-kalim-sharafi-dead-news-international-klcoEnaiege.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121001070540/http://www.sify.com/news/rabindra-sangeet-exponent-kalim-sharafi-dead-news-international-klcoEnaiege.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 October 2012 |agency=IANS |access-date=13 April 2013}}) was a Bangladeshi [Rabindra Sangeet](/source/Rabindra_Sangeet) singer. He joined at [Indian independence movement](/source/Indian_independence_movement). He gave his ideas in several publications regarding politics, culture, and Tagore.{{Cite news |last=Karim |first=Elita |date=3 July 2007 |title=An Inspiring Force in Music |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2007/07/03/cover.htm |newspaper=Star Weekend Magazine |publisher=The Daily Star |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304085752/http://archive.thedailystar.net/magazine/2007/07/03/cover.htm |url-status=dead }} He is regarded as one of the best Rabindra Sangeet singers in the subcontinent.{{cite news |date=3 November 2010 |title=Kalim Sharafi passes away |url=http://www.newstoday.com.bd/?option=details&news_id=11625&date=2010-11-03 |newspaper=News Today |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-date=28 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228024804/http://www.newstoday.com.bd/?option=details&news_id=11625&date=2010-11-03 |url-status=dead }} ==Early life== Sharafi was born in [Birbhum](/source/Birbhum) district of [West Bengal](/source/West_Bengal) on 8 May 1924. He was the only son of three children. He had two younger sisters. He was from a [pir](/source/Pir_(Sufism)) family, a tradition against music, and they came from [Sonargaon](/source/Sonargaon).{{cite news |title=Kalim Sharafi passes away |date=3 November 2010 |access-date=25 April 2013 |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=161120 |work=The Daily Star |archive-date=22 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522132957/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=161120 |url-status=dead }} He was first influenced by his father who was a singer.{{cite news |first=Zahangir |last=Alom |date=16 October 2011 |title=Music in his Blood: In conversation with Rathindranath Roy (Part I) |newspaper=The Daily Star |url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=206653 |access-date=25 April 2013 |archive-date=22 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150522133333/http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=206653 |url-status=dead }} His passion for music blossomed at an early age as he came across with renowned artists of pre-independent [India](/source/India). He said, "As a child I used to find [Rabindranath](/source/Rabindranath_Tagore)'s compositions naturally melodic and heart touching and would grasp them easily". ==Politics== Sharafi was involved in politics at the age of 18 as he joined the [Quit India](/source/Quit_India) movement in 1942. Consequently, he was arrested by the police from his village and spent more than a year in prison with other activists. It was in prison that his passion for Rabindranath Tagore was rekindled. During this period of his life, he became a member of Popular Theatre Association, which in Bengali is referred to as Bharatiyo Gononatya Shangha. He was important in breaking down barriers that prevented women from becoming involved in theater.{{cite web |title=Kalim Sharafi remembered by cultural activists |publisher=South Asia Media Net |date=9 November 2010 |url=http://www.mediawitty.com/test/NewsDetail.aspx?group_id=0&id=7401&folder_id=41&Page_Title=Kalim%20Sharafi%20remembered%20by%20cultural%20activists |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629204346/http://www.mediawitty.com/test/NewsDetail.aspx?group_id=0&id=7401&folder_id=41&Page_Title=Kalim%20Sharafi%20remembered%20by%20cultural%20activists |archive-date=29 June 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013}} As a result of his beliefs in communism, he was banned from the state-run radio [Bangladesh Betar](/source/Bangladesh_Betar), which hurt his musical career. During the Bangladesh Language Movement, Tagore was also banned.{{cite news |first=ABM |last=Musa |date=22 February 1999 |title=Language movement and the press |newspaper=The Independent |location=Dhaka}} ==Career== Sharafi co-directed the 1962 film ''[Sonar Kajol](/source/Sonar_Kajol)'' along with [Zahir Raihan](/source/Zahir_Raihan).{{cite news |last=Ferdous |first=Fahmim |date=19 February 2013 |title=Zahir Raihan: Capturing national struggles on celluloid |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-269585 |work=The Daily Star}} Sharafi was a program director at [Pakistan Television Corporation](/source/Pakistan_Television_Corporation) between 1964 and 1967.{{cite news |date=2 November 2010 |title=Kalim Sarafi passes away |url=http://www.banglanews24.com/English/detailsnews.php?nssl=25702d4234f4c7dc542adde64426a7ca&nttl=201112067571 |newspaper=banglanews24.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130628172124/http://www.banglanews24.com/English/detailsnews.php?nssl=25702d4234f4c7dc542adde64426a7ca&nttl=201112067571 |archive-date=28 June 2013 |access-date=25 April 2013}} From 1969 and 1972, he was general manager of the Pakistan Gramophone Company Ltd. Sharafi also worked in Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation between 1974 and 1976. He was also the founder principal of the music school Sangeet Bhaban in 1983 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He served as the president of the "Bangladesh Rabindra Sangeet Shilpi Sangstha". ==Family== Sharafi first married stage actress Kamela Sharafi ({{nee|Khatun}}) in 1949 and got divorced in 1957.{{Cite web |date=2020-12-21 |title=আলাপে-আড্ডায় কলিম শরাফী |url=https://www.kaliokalam.com/আলাপে-আড্ডায়-কলিম-শরাফী/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=কালি ও কলম |language=bn-BD}} Later in 1963, he married Noushaba Khatun, a then faculty member at the department of psychology of the [University of Dhaka](/source/University_of_Dhaka). From the two marriages, he had one son and four daughters in total. ==Death== Sharafi died at his residence on 2 November 2010 at the age of 86. He was buried in the Martyred Intellectuals' Graveyard.{{cite news |author=Ariful Islam Mithu |date=3 November 2010 |title=Kalim Sharafi passes away |url=http://www.newagebd.com/2010/nov/03/front.html#7 |newspaper=[New Age](/source/New_Age_(Bangladesh)) |location=[Dhaka](/source/Dhaka) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101107201108/http://www.newagebd.com/2010/nov/03/front.html |archive-date=7 November 2010 |access-date=6 November 2010}} ==Honors== Sharafi was awarded [Ekushey Padak](/source/Ekushey_Padak) in 1985 and [Independence Day Award](/source/Independence_Day_Award) in 1999. He received the first Rabindra Award 2010 for his contribution in promoting and preserving Rabindra Sangeet. ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Meril Prothom Alo Lifetime Achievement Award}} {{Notable singers of Rabindra Sangeet}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharafi, Kalim}} Category:20th-century Bangladeshi male singers Category:Bengali musicians Category:2010 deaths Category:1924 births Category:Rabindra Sangeet exponents Category:Recipients of the Independence Award Category:Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Category:Burials at Mirpur Martyred Intellectual Graveyard Category:Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Category:Meril-Prothom Alo Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Singers from West Bengal --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kalim Sharafi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalim_Sharafi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalim_Sharafi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.