Bangla lit in Chinese soon
Litterateurs and academics of Bangladesh and China yesterday agreed to enhance literary and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
“We will translate Chinese poetry and short stories into Bangla while the Chinese authorities will translate ours into Chinese,” said Shamsuzzaman Khan, director general of Bangla Academy.
Bangla Academy will soon sign an agreement with the Chinese authorities in this regard, he told The Daily Star on the sideline of Bangladesh-China Literary Meet, organised by the Academy in its auditorium.
Speakers at the meet observed that two countries have a long tradition of economic ties, but there has been little literary or cultural cooperation.
“China is helping us in various infrastructure projects, including the Padma Bridge, but we are lacking literary connectivity,” said Mofidul Hoque, trustee of Liberation War Museum.
Literary works of contemporary Chinese and Bangladeshi writers and folklore can be translated for the readers of both countries, he said. There can also be an exchange of young writers, he said.
Litterateur Hasan Azizul Haque said Bangladeshis were familiar with English, European, Latin American and even African literature, but not with Chinese literature despite China being a close neighbour of Bangladesh.
“We knew China is a closed country,” he said, adding that it was good that China was extending its cooperation in literary matters.
Theatre activist Ramendu Mazumder said he knew Chinese theatre was quite rich, and that if Chinese dramas were translated into Bangla, they could perform Chinese forms of theatre in Bangladesh.
He Jian Ming, vice president of China Writers Association, said Chinese publishers and Bangla Academy could collaborate in publishing translated books.
There are some eminent Chinese writers who have begun writing mostly since the cultural revolution of China around 1970s, he said.
“We have a strong desire to learn more of other literature. Bangla literature is one we are eager about,” said Lin Xiu me, a member of the five-member delegation of Chinese Writers Association.
Litterateur professor Rafiqul Islam, poet Asad Chowdhury, poet Nurul Huda, poet Kamal Chowdhury, and Dhaka University English professors Fakrul Alam and Niaz Zaman also spoke.
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