A courteous (in the old-fashioned sense of the word), almost self-effacing man, Hasnat bhai seemed a little taken aback when I proposed that he answer a few questions about his life and work. When I persisted, he agreed. I am glad that he did, since in the words printed below is glimpsed a world which is usually not within the ambit of English language newspapers--a world whose literary tastes he helped re-shape to a large degree.

----The literary editor

Daily Star: Could you give us a brief history of yourself, birthplace, education, et cetera.

Abul Hasnat: I was born and bred in Dhaka. My birth date is 14 July 1943. My childhood and teenage years were spent in Old Dhaka. Till 1952, we lived in Aganbab Deori and Babubazar near Armanitola. Later on, we moved to Juginagar near Wari where I had grown up. I completed my honors in Bangla from the University of Dhaka in 1969.

DS: How did you become interested in literature, and eventually become a literary editor?

AH: I got involved with the leftist politics in my youth and got close to Abdul Halim. He was the one who started me on Sharatchandra, Rabindranath Tagore and Bankimchandra. He inspired us to read the noteworthy creative literature written on the leftist movement during the 40's and 50's. I can never forget his contribution in building my taste for good literature.

After passing my Intermediate examinations, I joined the news section of Sangbad as a sub-editor in 1965. I used to work there in the night shift. During the day I used to do politics, which was my sole love and passion. I occupied this post till 1974. At that time, a cultural movement led by the Sanskriti Sangshad of Dhaka University took place. It played an important role in propagating Bengali culture in the Pakistan of that time. I was its General Secretary, and later on the Secretary. I wrote scripts for various cultural functions, recited poems in public shows and was involved in similar other different kinds of cultural works. Through this movement my desire for reading literature deepened. Around the middle of 1974, I was offered the post of literary editor of Sangbad, which I gladly accepted.

DS: Sangbad's literary page, under your editorship, became known for its excellence, for the emergence of so many new authors and writing. How did you bring about that change, and what was it like working in Sangbad during those days?

AH: I tried heart and soul to present this page as the true mirror of literary practice in Bangladesh. Poet Ahsan Habib was my mentor in this matter. The literature page of Dainik Bangla edited by him was very attractive. I was careful to see to it that the young writers were not ignored. The writers of small towns were very interested in seeing their work in print. We used to get a lot of write-ups from these areas by post and at least two to four selected articles by them were published in every issue of the supplement. I tried to enrich the page with stories and poems of diverse themes. In a short time the literary page achieved a distinct standard of its own. Once in a while we got complaints that the page was becoming too serious. Some even said that only a few enjoyed the high intellectual writings published in the page. But I did not compromise in this matter. It was not an easy task as at that time since Sangbad was a staunch supporter of leftist politics, and I was trying to break out of this bent of mind in the field of literature.

Sangbad nurtured young writers. In the following years many of these people became famous and some of them are still seen walking the paths of literature successfully. May be this was the greatest achievement of the literature page. Editor Ahmedul Kabir supported me by giving me the freedom to arrange the page the way I wanted to.

The lovers of literature used to wait eagerly for this supplement on Thursday. They were very fond of reading from the diverse genres of the page such as essay, poetry, short story, reminiscence, art, architecture, travelogue, book review, and especially the different discussions on contemporary art of home and abroad. Two regular columns of the literature page--Hrit Kolomer Tane and Olosh Diner Haowa--became very popular. I think the page broadened the mental horizons of young readers and played a great role in developing their literary taste.

At the same time, artist late Kazi Hasan Habib responded to my request and joined as the designer of the literary supplement section. He understood very well what I wanted and how the page could be made more eye-catching. As a result, each of the issues used to emerge as a unique creation itself. Around 1974, the responsibility of planning the special issues was also given to me. Sangbad used to bring out special supplements on occasion of the New Year, the National Victory Day and the National Liberation Day. Along with these we published special annual issues on Tagore and Nazrul, which were also readers' favourites. I would begin preparations for these supplements at least a few months ahead. It pains me to see that nowadays the Tagore and Nazrul supplements do not seem to be published with due devotion and care.

The Sangbad page became a model of the best writings in the world of periodicals. I tried my best to maintain this standard as long as I was at Sangbad.

DS: We know you are a poet. However, do you feel that being a literary editor, taking care of the writing of other writers, has hampered the growth of your own creative writing? If so, any regrets?

AH: Yes, I sometimes write poems. I enjoy it a lot. Several of my books on poetry, four novels for teenagers and three others have been published. Editing the literary supplement made me read writings of both high and low standards. Some of the writings influence you so much that you lose focus on creating your own literary pieces. It is true that the regularity of my own creative writing was hindered by the pressures of my duties as editor. When one is very busy the creative compulsion reduces automatically. It's a difficult task to bring out a standard literary periodical every week. I used to feel the enthusiasm running through my body and mind while working on a new issue of the periodical. Though I would plan to write some of my own stuff, I could not do so. Still, quite a good number of creative writings have been produced by me, but I myself did not write much in Sangbad itself while being its editor.

Today I feel good knowing that a Dhaka University student has earned his higher degree by doing research on the writings published in Sangbad's literature page.

DS: Why did you shift to Kali O Kolom? Do you think you have achieved so far what you set out to do?

AH: When the publisher of a literary magazine named Kali O Kolom requested me to be its editor, I thought hard about it. Bangladesh has no literary magazine with a high standard. This emptiness is a threat to the literature of Bangladesh and so I became interested in being the editor of this new magazine. While keeping a good relationship with Sangbad, I resigned from the post of literary editor and became the editor of Kali O Kolom.

We members of the Kali O Kolom team work with the aim of fulfilling the need for a good literary magazine in Bangladesh. We have become successful to some extent in achieving our aim. Kali O Kolom has developed a readership both in Bangladesh and West Bengal. We hope that this magazine will fill the lack of a standard literary magazine of Bangladesh permanently.

DS: Recently Tahmima Anam's English novel about 1971, A Golden Age, was published. Why do you think that the definitive 1971 novel has not been written in Bangla till now? What do you think is the future of English writing in Bangladesh?

AH: I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Tahmima Anam whole-heartedly for her novel. She has brought to life the spirit, desire and dreams related to 1971 in her artistic English novel. Many novels have been written in Bangla on the events of 1971. It is true that no novel has been written on the extent of the war. But since we are very emotional about the liberation war, some problems remain. We shall be able to write a great novel about it when we are able to look at the war more objectively.

At present thousands of young children are studying in English. Their thoughts, consciences and mindsets are being influenced by English. A few talented writers from these young people will hold on to the roots of their Bangladeshi heritage and nurture it through their literary creations. This literary practice in English will be an important event in the development of our society. I think a few from our future generation will create beautiful literary pieces in English.

DS: Currently in the West, the hottest genre is nonfiction--the long journalistic essay, the intellectual reportage, the new kind of travel writing, et cetera. It is relatively rare in our Bangla writing. Why do you think this is so?

AH: A lot of research is being done on Western and Latin American literature. Latin American literature is getting closer to its roots, the daily lives of the people and their heritage more than ever before. Consequently, their literature is becoming enriched by these elements. Our literature has just crossed the teenage years of its life. Has any notable work been done on our prose? Perhaps not. Rather some people are consciously trying to distort the standard style of prose. Prose is the main vehicle of these writings. I don't think we can create something like this unless our prose serves as the steady model for literature.

Interview translation done by Sabreena Ahmed, student of English department at Dhaka University.