বাংলা 
English 
A poor boy born in Kundupara village on the banks of the Gorai at Kumarkhali became, through his own pen and melody, the father of two currents of Bengal's history — mofussil or rural journalism, and a distinct school of Baul melody. He is Kangal Harinath Majumdar — founder-editor of 'Grambarta Prakashika', owner of East Bengal's first printing press outside Kolkata, a spiritual disciple of Lalon Shah, and the literary guru of Mir Mosharraf Hossain, Bengal's first Muslim novelist.
Poverty attached the word 'Kangal' to his name; yet that destitute man gave nineteenth-century Bengal fearless reports of the oppression of the indigo planters and zamindars, nearly a thousand Baul songs, and a printing press from which Lalon's songs — even 'Bishad Shindhu' — were first printed. Today's detailed feature presents the complete life story of this great son of Kumarkhali and the present state of his memorial museum.
Childhood amid Poverty
Kangal Harinath Majumdar was born in 1833 in Kundupara village of Kumarkhali, on the bank of the Gorai river (then Nadiya district). Two views prevail about his date of birth — most sources give 22 July, while Prothom Alo gives 20 July. His father was Horchandra Majumdar (Haladhar in some sources), his mother Kamlini Devi; he was his parents' only child. Losing his mother at six months to a year of age and his father at seven, he grew up in poverty under the shelter of close relatives; the days passed on pantabhat, jamir leaves and salt. At twelve he took a job at a cloth shop in the Kumarkhali bazar on a monthly wage of two paisa; later came an apprenticeship in accounts at the nilkuthi — an institution known as the head office of some fifty-one indigo factories. Seeing with his own eyes the oppression of peasants at the hands of the planters, he quit that very job — and this nilkuthi experience would later return as the lifeblood of both his writings and his newspaper.
Kumarkhali — Kangal Harinath's birthplace and field of work (Photo: KushtiaTown.com)
Education and Unpaid Teaching
In childhood he had the chance to study for a while at a local English school (Krishnanath Majumdar's school), but poverty put an end to his studies. As Banglapedia relates, from the Brahmo preacher Dayalchand Shiromoni he read Bangla grammar, the Tattwabodhini and the Betal Panchabimshati — self-education was his real schooling. On 13 January 1855, with the help of friends (Gopal Kundu, Jadab Kundu, Gopal Sannyal), he opened a vernacular school in his own village — teaching there without pay. Barely two years later, on 23 December 1856, a girls' school was opened with the cooperation of Krishnanath Majumdar — the present Kumarkhali Pilot Girls' High School; in the accounts of Bangla Tribune and Prothom Alo it was the first institution of women's education in East Bengal, and Harinath was its first teacher. Notably, sources differ somewhat on who founded this school.
At this very school began the education of the later-renowned historian Akshaykumar Maitreya — the English Banglapedia writes outright that Maitreya began his schooling at Kumarkhali under "the uniquely gifted Harinath Majumdar". From teacher to journalist, poet to Baul — the seed of this change of roles was sown right then.
Grambarta Prakashika: Father of Mofussil Journalism
His writing began in Ishwar Chandra Gupta's 'Sangbad Prabhakar'. Then, in April 1863, his own paper 'Grambarta Prakashika' came out from Kumarkhali — first as a monthly (five annas for four quarto pages), a fortnightly in 1864, and a one-paisa weekly in 1871. Printing began in Kolkata; later the printing itself moved down to Kumarkhali. It was for this effort — putting news of the state administration, the planters, the zamindars and mofussil society into village people's hands by his own pen — that Kangal Harinath went down in history as the 'father of mofussil or rural journalism'. One incident is evidence enough of the courage of his published reports: he had a report printed under the very headline 'The Cow-Thieving Magistrate' about Humphreys, the then magistrate of Pabna.
Amid the intimidation of the planters and zamindars and the government's harsh control of the press, the paper ran for eighteen years; the financial patronage of Swarnakumari Devi, the Rani of Rajshahi, also helped keep it afloat. In the end, beset by financial distress, Grambarta Prakashika closed in Ashwin of Bangla 1292 (1885).
Mathuranath Press: The First Printing Press outside Kolkata
The greatest institution of Kumarkhali's journalism dream was the printing press. In 1864 the Mathuranath Press was set up at Kumarkhali; in 1873 it took the name 'MN Press'. Two accounts circulate about its founding: Mathuranath Maitreya (father of Akshaykumar Maitreya) donated the press to Harinath, or with Maitreya's financial backing Harinath himself set it up in memory of his late friend Mathuranath Majumdar. As Prothom Alo describes, the machine was made by the Clymen (Columbia Dixon) company of London — a model 1706 built in 1867; it was bought at auction for 600 taka with the patronage of Rani Swarnakumari. At that time there was no printing press anywhere in Bengal outside Kolkata — this was the first printing press of East Bengal.
The most important connection of this press with Kushtia's cultural history can be told right here: some twenty-one songs of Fakir Lalon Shah — including 'Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi' — were first printed on paper from this very MN Press. And the first printing of Mir Mosharraf Hossain's 'Bishad Shindhu' also happened here — some accounts say Mir wrote parts of it sitting inside the press house. In 1971 the Kangal cottage and the press building at Kundupara were damaged by bombing from the Pakistani forces.
Literary Works: Eighteen Printed Books
Banglapedia lists eighteen printed books by Kangal Harinath. The notable ones: 'Bijoybasant' (1859), 'Charu Charitra' (1863), 'Kabitakaumudi' (1866), 'Bijoya' (1869), 'Kabikalpa' (1870), 'Akrur Sangbad' (1873), 'Sabitri Natika' (1874), 'Chittachapala' (1876), 'Kangaler Brahmandabed' (1887–95) and the work of his last years, 'Matrimahima' (1896); after his death 'Harinath Gronthaboli' came out in 1901. In Baul songs he used the bhanita 'Kangal' — his childhood poverty and this very bhanita attached the word 'Kangal' to his name.
The Kangal Fakir Sur Community and the Baul Melody
Kangal Harinath belonged to the disciple community of Fakir Lalon Shah. In 1880 (Bangla 1287), inspired by Akshaykumar Maitreya, he formed the 'Kangal-Fikirchand troupe' — known by its common name, the Kangal Fakir Sur community. Under the bhanita 'Fakirchand Baul' he composed nearly a thousand songs; according to Banglapedia, his song anthology was published in sixteen volumes (Bangla 1290/93–1300). Later his son Satishchandra Majumdar and Jolodhor Sen published separate collections.
His most famous song is still on every Bengali's lips — "The day, Hari, is gone and evening has come — carry me across" ('Hari Din To Gel Sandhya Holo, Par Kor Amare'); the same song was used in Satyajit Ray's film 'Pather Panchali'; and the song 'Dokani Bhai Dokan Sar Na' was recorded as early as 1940. According to a tale told by word of mouth, Lalon Shah, on hearing Harinath's song, remarked: "Your rendering is fine, but it is a little short of salt." Akshaykumar Maitreya wrote of his teacher: "I never imagined such a man would come — that in this way the heartstrings of a country's common people can be struck." And in Jolodhor Sen's words, Kangal Harinath "became known to the old and young, men and women of East Bengal... as a folk singer through his Baul songs alone."
Literary Guru of Mir Mosharraf Hossain
It was through Grambarta Prakashika that Bengal's first Muslim novelist Mir Mosharraf Hossain began his literary life — he was the paper's mofussil correspondent. Banglapedia states outright that the direct inspiration and patronage of Mir Mosharraf's literary life came chiefly from Grambarta Prakashika's editor, Kangal Harinath. Mir Mosharraf himself wrote in his autobiography: "Harinath Babu Mahashay loved me like a younger brother." The first printing of 'Bishad Shindhu' too came off Harinath's MN Press. This guru-disciple relationship at Kumarkhali is one of the finest chapters of the greater Kushtia's literary history — our detailed essay on Mir Mosharraf Hossain carries the other side of that story as well.
In Tagore's Sight
Kangal Harinath's work did not escape Rabindranath Tagore's notice — as Prothom Alo's eyewitness essay relates, Rabindranath read Harinath's two-thousand-page diary; and according to Sureshchandra Maitra's book 'Bangla Kabitar Nabajanmo', Kangal's Baul songs touched Rabindranath as well. Another legend in circulation holds that Rabindranath sent lathials to take Harinath to the Shilaidaha kuthibari — according to bdnews24 this tale is historically contested, so it must be taken as folklore.
Last Years and Passing
His last years were spent in even greater austerity and the company of song. He died on the afternoon of 16 April 1896 (5 Baishakh of Bangla 1303, Akshaya Tritiya) — in Prothom Alo's account the death came on a Thursday, in the hours after noon, at the Kangal cottage; though some data tables give 18 April, 16 April is Banglapedia's accepted date. His last wish was that, rather than a full cremation, he be buried in the ash-veneration chamber with the little finger, forefinger and thumb of his hand intact; that burial chamber still stands at his homestead in Kundupara. On his death the Indian Mirror carried a condolence message: "The people of Nadiya district have today lost one of their greatest and most selfless sons."
The Memorial Museum and Its Present State
Inside Kumarkhali pourashava stands the Kangal Harinath Memorial Museum — opened to visitors on 9 December 2017 as a branch of the Bangladesh National Museum (under the Ministry of Culture). The institution, set on about 288 shotangshas of land, keeps 170 artefacts in one of its galleries. The most valuable collection, however, is that historic printing press of the MN Press — on 16 July 2023 the National Museum bought the machine from the descendants (for 2 million taka and two jobs), and on his 190th birth anniversary — 20 July 2023 — it was put on public display at the museum.
Kangal Harinath Memorial Museum, Kumarkhali — his bust in front (Photo: KushtiaTown.com)
Yet the institution is passing its days short of care — over the past few years several reports have appeared under headlines like 'The Kangal Harinath Memorial Museum is struggling with a staff shortage' and 'Kangal Harinath's memory is fading' (Jugantor, Banik Barta and others, 2025–26). News has also been printed of the absence of state arrangements on his death anniversary. The Kangal cottage, the MN Press building and the burial chamber at Kundupara still bear witness to the same old neglect.
Conclusion
In one life Kangal Harinath Majumdar played four roles — an unpaid teacher, a pioneer of mofussil journalism, owner of East Bengal's first printing press, and creator of nearly a thousand Baul songs. 'Bishad Shindhu' was born from the pen of his paper's first mofussil correspondent, and Lalon's songs were first printed on paper from his press — once you know how many threads of Kushtia's cultural history were woven into the life of one poor man of Kumarkhali, the wonder only grows. Kumarkhali's museum needs care, Kundupara's memory house needs care — and bigger than that: for as long as his songs keep returning to people's lips, Kangal Harinath will not let any of us go.
Sources and Further Reading
- Banglapedia — "Harinath, Kangal" (Shipra Dastidar): bn.banglapedia.org
- Banglapedia (English) — "Harinath, Kangal": en.banglapedia.org
- Banglapedia (English) — "Grambarta Prakashika": en.banglapedia.org
- Bangla Wikipedia — Grambarta Prakashika: bn.wikipedia.org
- Bangla Wikipedia — Kangal Harinath Memorial Museum: bn.wikipedia.org
- Prothom Alo — "Kangal Harinath's Life and Struggle" (Writings, 2026): prothomalo.com
- Prothom Alo — "Kangal Harinath Awaits the Press's Preservation" (July 2023): prothomalo.com
- Prothom Alo — eyewitness essay (2022): prothomalo.com
- bdnews24 Bangla — more on Kangal Harinath: bangla.bdnews24.com
- Daily Star Bangla — "Guru Kangal Harinath": bangla.thedailystar.net
- Kali O Kalam — "Kangal Harinath: A Unique Devotee of Baul Song": kaliokalam.com
- The Report — "Kangal Harinath, Father of Mofussil Journalism": bn.thereport.live
