Library to be built in honour of poet Golam Mostafa

In fulfilment of a long cherished dream, a library in honour of the renowned poet Golam Mostafa at his birthplace of Monoharpur village, in Shailkupa upazila, will be built. Cost of the structure will be around Tk 18 lakh. Recently, Nasir Uddin, chief nirbahi official of Jhenidah Zilla Parishad, inaugurated the foundation work of the library.
Among those present at the inaugural ceremony were Saiful Islam, assistant engineer of Zilla Parishad; Kamrul Hasan, sub-assistant engineer; Feroz Khan Noon, headmaster of Monoharpur Kabi Golam Mostafa Secondary High School; relatives of the poet and other distinguished locals.
Nurul Islam, president of the organising committee of Mostafa Academy, said that the library is being built at the initiative of the Zilla Parishad, Jhenidah. He added that hundreds of rare photos at the poet's residence need immediate attention.
Unfortunately, Mostafa's ancestral home is in a state of disrepair. To date, no measures have been taken to protect the home. Relatives of the poet, in particular Shawkat Munshi Mukul, take care of the house but the efforts are insufficient. The poet's tin roofed home as well as his favourite veranda is on the verge of collapse. No government authority or any NGO has undertaken an initiative to keep alive the memory of the poet. Even his birth and death anniversaries are barely celebrated.
However, it is heartening to know that the young ones of the village have recently formed the Kabi Golam Mostafa Academy. On the poet's birthday (December 27) last year, they organised a low-key discussion and cultural function.
Golam Mostafa left an indelible mark in every sphere of Bengali literature. He was known as a poet of “Bengali Muslim Renaissance.” Most of his works display a Muslim consciousness.
Of his writings, "Bishwa Nabi" (1942) is considered a masterpiece. Some of his other writings are "Raktoraag" (1924), "Hasnahena" (1927), "Khoshrose" (1929), "Sahara" (1935), and later an English work titled, “The Musalman and The Star of India.”
The proposed library at Mostofa's birthplace is definitely a step in the right direction.