When one hears these verses, one voice comes to mind. Feroza Begum had established herself as the "uncrowned queen" of Nazrul songs over half a century ago and the appeal of her vocals remains undiminished.

Citibank, NA Bangladesh honoured the living legend for her contribution to our music on April 21 at Radisson Water Garden Hotel. Noted personalities, including Nazrul exponent Professor Rafiqul Islam, artistes Ferdausi Rahman, Shaheen Samad, Sadya Afreen Mallick, Shakila Zafar, governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr Salehuddin Ahmed, former finance minister AMA Muhit and former governor of Bangladesh Bank, Dr Farashuddin Ahmed to name a few, attended the event.

Dr Salehuddin Ahmed handed a crest to Feroza Begum on behalf of Citibank NA. Chief executive officer of the bank, Mamun Rashid presented a portrait of the artiste.

Reminiscing on her past, the veteran artiste said, "I was an ordinary student at school but I was determined to do something extraordinary in my lifetime." That "je ne sais quoi" soon became evident. During the '40s, in her early teens, she started singing for All India Radio and soon attained the adulation of music lovers. Adhunik songs composed by Kamol Das Gupta and rendered by her were immensely popular.

However, at the peak of popularity, Feroza Begum decided to take a chance on a genre of songs that was not particularly all the rage in that period. Her first record of Nazrul songs was a phenomenal success. With her unique style of rendition, not only did her career as singer soar; she added a new dimension to the genre and popularised it.

According to the artiste, "The first time I heard Ami chaand nohi, abhishap (a Nazrul song), I was taken aback by the passion of the poet. As I delved more into Nazrul's poetry and songs I became infatuated with his work and I knew I had to develop an audience for the songs."

A live performance by Feroza Begum was the highlight of the evening. The artiste started with a rendition of Mon-e porey aaj shey kon jonomey, followed by Ami chaand nohi abhishap. Each and every word came alive; the intense emotions exuded in the songs seemed to take over the senses of the audience.

The artiste also rendered a ghazal, Chhalo chhalo nayan-e more paney cheyo na and the songs from her first record of Nazrul songs that became instant hits: Duur dwipobashini and Mom-ero putul momir desher meye. The evening ended with Feroza Begum singing Gobheer nishithey ghum bhengey jai, ke jano amarey dakey.

Hours after her renditions, memories of the tunes linger on. Here's hoping music aficionados will be fortunate to hear the legendary artiste sing more.