Jacket of the book Poems of an October Evening

The book Poems of an October Evening was launched on October 25 at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture, amidst festivity and fanfare. Recitation of poems written by leading Russian poets, translated into English and Bangla, proceeded the launching. The book has been published by 'Meghdut', a forum for poetry recitation, and it contains 72 pages.
Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Gennady P Trotsenko was the chief guest at the launching programme. Yury Makarov, DG of the Russian Cultural Centre, was also present. The programme was jointly oragnised by the Russian Embassy and 'Meghdut'.
The Russian Ambassador, in his message said, “Russian poetry is a unique phenomenon in world literature. It contains the reflection of European history, and heritage of Russian people in particular. It reflects the destinies, experiences and feelings of the Russians.”
Mosud Mannan, the chief coordinator of Meghdut, said that in the book, “Poems of an October Evening”, there is an attempt to present a flavour of famous Russian poets, like Alexandre Pushkin, Evgeny Baratynsky, Boris Pasternak, and Yevgeni Yevtuchenko. As many of the poets were writing during the Soviet era, there is a touch of that time also. “The book is meant to make people aware of the rich Russian lifestyle. The collection is the reflection of life and culture of the last 300 years,” Mannan added.
Poets like Jahidul Huq from the daily Shangbad and Dr Nuzhat Amin, one of the editors of the book, spoke about the pleasures and pains of translation and editing, involved in the publication of the book.
The book was brought out with the help of Professor Nuzat Amin, Mutequlla, Shams Ud Doha with the support of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture. The reason for printing the book, and having the evening of Russian poetry, said Mannan, was that the Russians are a time-tested friend of the people of Bangladesh.
Meghdut, the publisher of the book, has had recitations in Bangla before. Since last July, it had a series of poetry recitals dedicated to different languages. Its endeavours began with Spanish poets. Within 23 years, the number of poetry lovers in the organisation has reached over a hundred. However, actively involved are 15 individuals. Last February it had “The Mother Language Poetry” evening. Recently there was Arabic poetry recitations with the backing of Omni Books; an evening of French love poetry, “L'amour” was held at Alliance Francaise.
Last year, with the support of Goethe-Institut there were three poetry recitals in Bangla and German, where poems, written originally in Bangla were also included. Last June there was a poetry session dedicated to Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet, which was held at El Toro.
Recitation in Bangla alone was also held at the Rayer Bazar mass killing ground. This was on December 14, last year; the poetry reading had been dedicated to the martyred intellectuals. Last July, at the American Centre, a presentation of American poetry was held. There was also an evening dedicated to Tagore's poetry at the British Council.