Nazrul is the symbol of the struggle of the avant-garde -- Poet Nurul Huda

Photo: Ridwan Adid Rupon

Mohammad Nurul Huda, a versatile writer, essayist, literary critic, translator and folklorist is best known as a prominent poet of the late 1960s, with over 50 poetry books to his credit. A former director of the Bangla Academy and Executive Director of Nazrul Institute, he is a prolific Nazrul researcher, who has translated a number of the Rebel Poet's works. On Nazrul's 115th birth anniversary, the scholar spoke on various aspects of Nazrul's works with The Daily Star. Excerpts:
“Nazrul was an ever romantic poet who was spontaneous and conscious in nature. After 'Bidrohi', Bengali poetry and the world poetry at large underwent a drastic change. We all know he wrote 'Bidrohi' in a single night. Initially he wrote 167/168 lines but we find 139/142 lines. Now the question arises where did the other lines go? Nazrul, like a surgeon, cut those lines; that means he consciously edited the poetry. Someone says that Kazi Nazrul Islam did not know when to stop. Those who are romantic poets will not stop. Nazrul first wrote the dramatic poetry 'Kamal Pasha' in Bengali literature. Not a single poem like it will be found in Bengali literature.
“The language that Nazrul brought to his poetry is unique. He composed his poetic realm mingling Bengali, Arabic, Persian and other words. He had immense expertise in those languages as the way Michael Madhushudan had supreme command over Sanskrit and Bengali and composed his timeless epic “Meghnadbodh”. For me, Nazrul is the symbol of the struggle of the avant-garde; he broke down modernity and ascended to post-modernity. What we call post-modernism today, is an open-ended text. Nazrul's works from 1922-23 have all the characteristics of post-modernistic literature. 'Bidrohi' exemplifies such open-endedness and gives a polyphonic voice to it. I believe Nazrul has influenced and inspired a lot of post-modern poetry as well.
“Nazrul was an artiste of inborn rebellion. He broke not only society and its structures, but also the words and language with which he created his literature. Nazrul Institute published one of my essays titled 'Nazrul-er Bhasha Bidroho' that deals with such of the Bard's literary traits.
“The poet received the sur (melody) and swar (voice) of varied people across the world and created his own masterpieces. That's why his literary creations especially poetry and music speak for the polyphonic voice. His poetry represents the language of all Bangladeshis irrespective of religious and indigenous groups. He listened to and received Egyptian and Turkish melodies and composed songs like 'Shukno Patar Nupur Paye'. Thus, he received the psychic language and melody of the people living around the world.  
“Nazrul seldom followed the conventional literary forms and styles in his poetry and music composition. He was spontaneous and at the same time a conscious artiste who created his literary imageries again, he consciously edited his text himself. He was spontaneous in creation and conscious of nourishing the art.
“Nazrul in his essay 'Amar Sundar' defined beauty with 16 different types of example. For him, shok (grief) is beautiful again; sanghar (killing) is also beautiful if it kills the ugly. Kazi Nazrul Islam is our National Poet. It is our responsibility to translate his works and reach Nazrul literature to the world. The British understood that Nazrul wanted to fight with them. For this reason, they employed a Professor to translate his works just months after he started writing. But, we have to translate his works for our own sake. At present, Nazrul literature is being practiced at several universities of USA and Japan while a number of foreigners and Bengalis are carrying out the valued task. We should involve everyone in the process.
“The bard's songs are full of literary imageries and allusions. The magical and melodic appeal of Nazrul Sangeet touches everyone's hearts. Nazrul created his diverse musical genre incorporating folk and classical melodies; he created 19 distinctive ragas and several taals.  If we can translate and diffuse Nazrul Sangeet, it will have an enormous effect on Nazrul's international audience.”

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source