Books breathing life into us
Visiting the 'Ekushey Book Fair' always instigates a sense of belongingness as does the entire month of February. Almost 65 years ago, in 1952 the language movement materialised in protest of not giving official status to 'Bangla' as a state language.
Many decades later, we still commemorate the episode in many
ways, with a lot of respect and fervour nationwide. The month long book fair, officially known as the 'Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela' is one of the most well-known ways to pay homage to that struggle.
With so much said we must also appreciate the Bangladeshi literary scene; rich with exemplary writers and intellectual books allowing us to cherish the language that so many have fought for with their lives on stake.
Amongst so many writers, is it fair to have any favourites? To each his own, I say! But a list can surely be derived, given the wide variety of writers and depths of their work, as well as an abundance of uncontested classics, without perusing which a Bengali cannot claim a stake to its literary culture.
Poetry and works of fiction by Kazi Nazrul Islam
Why was he called a rebel poet? Is it because he was politically inclined towards the underprivileged or oppressed? Not exactly! The intellect that was Nazrul defied injustice in all forms, talked about equality in all aspects of his life, indulged in free and scathing discourse on issues like racism, religion, and even gender.
In a time when women were paid no respect at all; Nazrul came up with lines like, "I sing of equality. In my eyes there is no difference between a man and a woman. Everything of value in this world is half due to women, and half to men."
There is another reason why the rebel poet is unique; he depicted the true lives of the Muslim facet of the population existent in his time. Before his works, Muslims were very much unrepresented in the canon of Bengali literature. The rebel poet's essays, novels, and poems are a 'must have' for every Bengali library.
Compilations are available at all bookstores, you may particularly look out for Sanchita, Agnibina, Rikter Bedon, Bathyar Daan, Baunduler Atmakahi, Mrittukhuda, and others. It must also be mentioned that many of his songs and poems were used during the Bangladeshi Liberation War, motivating the nation against tyranny.
Books that nourish the intellectual quest
If you were on the lookout of an intellectually stimulating evening quenching your thirst for the rational; look no further. Bengali literary scene is proud to have owned such remarkable writers who are passionately provocative in logical spur. Akhteruzzaman Elias, one of the greatest exponents of Bengali fiction, as proclaimed by his esteemed peers, might not have gotten much time to gift us with innumerable write-ups, but his two novels, Chilekothar Shepai and Khwabnama hold the admiration of many. Politically motivated, the writer brought out the authentic state of affairs of the lower income population, and their struggles.
Another writer dealing with societal prejudices has been Ahmed Sofa. His very words in Onkar - "Whose blood is more red; my deaf wife's or martyr Assad's?" will definitely strike a chord in any individual's heart.
The writer also dealt with trifling issues of life in a sardonic tone. A line from his short story, Ordhek Nari Ordhek Isshori, reads – "We have spent crores of taka in conducting seminars and symposiums on women's empowerment issues. But till now have we not failed to produce at least two dedicated public toilets for the ladies in Dhaka?"
Talking more about pragmatism, another writer comes to mind who has dealt with most emerging topics under the sun; Shahaduzzaman. His solo anthology, Chirkut, is a must read for people trying to break the shackles of bigotry in all our lives.
Usually autobiographies are about one person, his life aspirations, his travel stories, etc. We do love reading those, to be able to know more about our favourite personality. Another completely different aspect to the autobiography has been dealt by Syed Shamsul Haque in his Teen Poishar Jochona. Here, he introduced us to all the influential characters in his life like Murtaja Baseer, Fazle Lohani, among others. It's definitely a thought provoking read and worth looking up at the book fair.
Exclusively playwrights How many of us have contemplated on pages from Shakespeare while we were growing up? His character Shylock almost seemed to burst out of the pages and into our lives. How many of us have been afflicted by his tragic characters? So much can be said about this genius, but what about our own writers?
We have had a set of geniuses in the field as well and it is important that we look for their valued work at the Book Fair every year. The names you ask? – Michael Madhusudan Dutta, Munier Chowdhury, Nurul Momen, Selim Al Deen, Syed Waliullah, Anisul Hoque and Imdadul Haq Milon.
Novellas by Humayun Ahmed
If you are looking for a magical evening with an easy read that is also thought provoking, you are probably asking for a lot of things. But when it comes to Bengali literature, we are proud to have a writer who has given us all the above for many long years and that is none other than Humayun Ahmed. He is renowned for being able to grip his readers from the beginning till the end. There is probably not a single person of the 90s generation who has not been mesmerised by his fictional characters like Himu, Misir Ali, and Shuvro.
Travelogues by Syed Mujtaba Ali
Ali is a trail-blazer of a unique category of Bengali writing – travelogues. Ramya Rachana in the Bengali language, an anecdotal story-telling, often based on real-life experiences, became immensely popular, mostly because of the attractive writing style of Ali. Deshe Bideshe, the story of his journey to Kabul is one of Ali's best works and must be included in the 'must read' section.
Science Fiction by Muhammad Zafar Iqbal
Bengali science fiction is considered to have reached a new levels of literary sophistication with the contributions of Muhammed Zafar Iqbal. Iqbal wrote a story named 'Copotronic Sukh Dukkho ' when he was a student of Dhaka University. This collection of science fiction stories gained immense popularity and the new trend of science fiction emerged among Bengali writers and readers. After his first compilation of short stories, Zafar Iqbal transformed his own science fiction cartoon strip Mohakashe Mohatrash into a novel. All told, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal has written the greatest number of science fiction works in the canon of Bengali fiction.
Compilations by Zahir Raihan
In addition to being a popular Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker, Zahir Raihan is possibly best known for his documentary 'Stop Genocide' made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He was an active participant of the Language Movement of 1952; in 1971 he joined in the Liberation War of Bangladesh and created documentary films on those days. Few of his works of fiction are Hajar Bochor Dhore, Borof Gola Nodi, Shesh Bikel er Meye, Ekushey February, etc.
The great Tagore
As Dr Rashid Askari once stated, "A complete and undivided Tagore is made up of the combination of Calcutta and East Bengal, now Bangladesh." Having noted the point, Rabindranath Tagore is as grand a writer for us Bangladeshis as he is for West Bengal. Tagore's work has fortunately been highlighted by both the East and the West and as such his legacy strongly reverberates much after his death.
Each of his productions is a work of art and one just needs to get a head start in order to get engrossed in a good read.
The Best of West Bengal
After Tagore there was a wide emptiness in the literary world which was ultimately filled by the shy and introvert poet and novelist Jibanananda Das.
While not particularly recognised initially, today Das is acknowledged as 'the premier poet of the post-Tagore era in India'.
It was only after his death that it was discovered that he also wrote novels. The findings are still going on and the publication still in progress.
Sarat Chandra Chatterjee was a prominent Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. Most of his work deals with the lifestyle, tragedy, struggle of the villagers and the contemporary social practices that prevailed in Bengal.
Sensitive and daring, his novels captivated the hearts and minds of innumerable readers both in Bengal and in the rest of India. His best known novels include Srikanta, Devdas, Srikanta, Parineeta, etc. Other noteworthy West Bengal writers are Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Buddhadeb Guha, Samaresh Majumdar, Buddhadeb Basu and Sunil Gangopadhyay.
Women Writers
So have the women fallen behind in the literary scene? Not exactly, as we are glad to know that there are many in the thought provoking field that have us inspired indefinitely. Few names in this category are Begum Rokeya, Anwara Syed Haq, Jahanara Imam, Selina Hossain, Nilima Ibrahim and others.
A remarkable writer like Shahaduz Zaman, once pointed out, "Not many countries in the world hold book fairs so diligently year after year. It only happens in our beautiful Bangladesh but ironically the other countries have been producing noteworthy writers every year. Compared to them, how many have we been able to?"
Pondering on questions like this, let us hope to read more, understand more and write more ourselves – thought provoking pieces that would create a whole new generation of deep-rooted and well-rounded individuals.
By Mehrin Mubdi Chowdhury
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