Nithua Patharé (Monpura)
Song & Lyrics:
[Chorus]
Nithua pathare nemechhi bondhure, dhoro bondhu amar keho nai
Dhoro bondhu amar keho nai, tolo bondhu amar keho nai
[Verse 1]
Chikon dhhuti khani porite na jani, na jani bandhite kesh
Na jani bandhite kesh, na jani bandhite kesh
[Verse 2]
Olpo boyoshe pirite koriya hoye gelo jibonero shesh...
Premero murali bajate nahi jani, na pari bandhite shur
Na pari bandhite shur, na pari bandhite shur
About the song…
"Nithua Pathare" is sung by Fazlur Rahman Babu, one of Bangladesh's most respected folk-rooted vocalists, who also acted in the film. The music arrangement is by Shayan Chowdhury Arnob, with the lyrics and tune credited as "collected" — meaning this draws on traditional/folk material rather than being an original composition written specifically for the film. That's a common and meaningful practice in Bengali folk cinema: taking an existing oral or regional folk song and reworking it with new instrumentation and arrangement for a modern soundtrack.
The title translates roughly to "having descended into the desolate/empty expanse (of water)." The recurring plea "dhoro bondhu, amar keho nai" ("hold on, friend, I have no one") frames the lover as someone utterly alone, cast into a vast and unmoored expanse, calling out to a "bondhu" (friend/companion/beloved — a very common Bengali folk-song address for a loved one) for support. The verses go on to describe someone young and unprepared — not knowing how to dress properly (tie the knot on his “dhuti” - a garb worn by bengali hindu men, not knowing how to play the flute of love, not knowing how to tie a tune — who nonetheless "falling in love at a young age" finds that it has become the end of their life. It's a lament of helplessness and premature loss, using the image of open, directionless water as a metaphor for being cast adrift by love or fate with no one to hold onto.
The solitary voice, sparse instrumentation, a metaphor of open water or being "adrift" — sits squarely in the Bhatiali tradition, the boatmen's/riverine folk song style of the Bengal delta region, historically sung by boatmen navigating the rivers alone. Given that Monpura itself is a real river-island/char region shaped entirely by water, land erosion, and isolation, the song's imagery of being set loose on an empty expanse mirrors the film's setting and its themes of characters cut off from their communities and pasts. Along with "Jao Pakhi Bolo Tare," it's part of what made this soundtrack widely credited with reviving mainstream interest in Bhatiali and Baul-rooted folk forms in Bangladesh.
