I love Indian authors: Tahmima

Set in the aftermath of Bangladesh’s war of independence, author Tahmima Anam’s second novel The Good Muslim reflects her compassion for her country and the vicarious suffering she shares with her countrymen.

Second in the trilogy, The Good Muslim is a tale of a Bangladeshi family post independence; while the first book in the series A Golden Age, which was published in 2007, depicts the era of the war of independence against Pakistan in 1971.

“I was not born at the time of the war but I used to hear all these stories in our family. I did a lot of research, heard stories from my father, how he was trained in a camp in India... One of my uncles was a guerilla. I have tried to weave in bits of that into the character of Sohail in my book,” explains Tahmima.

Talking about what she likes to read, she says, “I love Indian authors. Amitav Ghosh and Anita Desai are my favourites… even some Pakistani writers. Also, there are some fabulous Bengali writers like Selina Hossain.”

Full report here DNA

Nation marking Nazrul's death anniversary

Bangladesh is observing national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam's 35th death anniversary in line with the Bengali calendar.

The revolutionary poet and renowned Bengali lyricist died on Vadra 12, 1383 (August 29, 1976) at the age of 77.

Various socio-cultural and political organisations have undertaken elaborate programmes to mark the occasion on Saturday.

Bangla Academy, Shilpakala Academy and Nazrul Institute have chalked out separate programmes. Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar and private TV channels are broadcasting programmes portraying the rebel poet's life and works.

The day began with Nazrul's family placing wreaths at his grave at the Dhaka University in the morning.

The cultural affairs ministry, Jatiya Kobi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, Dhaka University, Nazrul Academy, Nazrul Institute and many other organisation also placed wreaths at the poet's grave.

Dhaka University arranged a discussion to mark the day at the Nazrul Complex where Nazrul researcher Prof Rafiqul Islam lectured on the poet's life and literary work.

Full report here BDNews

Abdul Mannan Syed: His literary mystique

Abdul Mannan Syed's sudden and premature demise on September 5, 2010, at 67 appears to have occurred with the wattage and force that had stunningly accompanied his emergence on the Bangladesh literary scene about forty-six years ago.He was below-twenty at that time -- an age when average Bengalee writers just pussy-foot around the mainstream literature. But Mannan Syed was free of all kinds of awkwardness during his literary debut.

Self-confidence distinguished the poet from the very beginning.

The 'early bloomer' with his first creative piece, an experimental short story, set his foot on Dhaka literature with a flash, the dazzle that also lit his final exit.

Syed strode across the length and breadth of our literature with aplomb, mastering a unique style that eludes many. He had achieved all this for his being gifted with an enviable creative genius.A born writer as he was, he kept immersing himself in the fathomless joy of literature, producing a massive corpus that included poetry, short stories, essays (Probondho),fictions, verse plays, assorted prose and myriad of other creative works. Until his death, he has published over 160 books. He also loved to call himself a literary activist as he edited a few little magazines.

Full report here Daily Star 

Memorial programme for Abdul Mannan Syed today

Bangla Academy is arranging a memorial programme in honour of the recently deceased poet, essayist and literary critic Abdul Mannan Syed. The programme will be held at the Bangla Academy premises today at 4 pm, according to a press release. National Professor Kabir Chowdhury will preside over the programme, which will feature noted personalities discussing the life and works of Syed.

Abdul Mannan Syed passed away on September 5 at his residence on Green Road, Dhaka. He was 67. He died of heart ailments.

Syed started writing poems in 1960. His first book of poetry was published in 1967. Throughout a career spanning over five decades, he had written numerous poems and published over 60 books.

Full report here Daily Star

Tribute to poet Abdul Mannan Syed

Veteran poet, essayist and literary critic Abdul Mannan Syed passed away on September 5 at his residence on Green Road, Dhaka. He was 67. He died of heart ailments.

Syed started writing poems in 1960. His first book of poetry was published in 1967. Throughout a career spanning over five decades, he had written numerous poems and published over 60 books.

His poems are conceptual and some deal with death, romance and at times the absurd. As an experimental poet, he frequently changed his style and content. He often used the imageries of the moon, sun, sky, clouds and water in his poetry.

He was recognised for his noteworthy research works on Jibanananda Das and Kazi Nazrul Islam. Syed had also done researches on Rabin-dranath Tagore, Manik Bandopadhyay, Syed Waliullah, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Ishwar Gupta and other iconic litterateurs.

Full report here Daily Star

Writing becomes my only passion

Anwara Syed Haq is a prominent writer in the realm of Bangla literature. She began writing short stories in her teens. This year she won the Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar for her outstanding contributions in the literary world. She was born in 1940 in Jessore, where she spent her adolescent years. She obtained her MBBS degree in 1965 and in 1973 went to the United Kingdom for higher education. She returned home in 1982. She has since then worked at a number of institutions, among which are Bangladesh Biman, Dhaka Medical College and BIRDEM. Even though she works professionally as a psychiatrist, her presence in the literary arena has always been very pronounced. So far she has written more than fifty books. She has been awarded the Annanya Shahitya Puroshkar, Agrani Bank Puroshkar, Michael Madhushudhon Puroshkar and Shishu Academy Puroshkar, besides a host of others.

Recently the writers' group Gantha, initiated by Prof Niaz Zaman, accorded a reception to the eminent writer. On the occasion, Jackie Kabir talked to her about her writing career.

Jackie Kabir: We know you have two very prominent identities - one a writer, the other a psychiatrist. Is there any conflict between the two?
Anwara Syed Haq: There is of course a delineation. They are totally two different terrains. But I deal with it very consciously. When I do my work as a person of science I am totally devoted to science; while I write I totally devote myself to my writing. A person has many different roles in life. We all perform these different roles by transforming ourselves at every necessary interval. We are in fact compartmentalized and we act according to those compartments and portray ourselves as such while dealing with different situations. I play the role of a writer, a mother, a wife and a physician. There are different domains for all of the roles. The patients I deal with are mentally unwell and the people living around me are mentally sound. But I always find a connection, a channel between the two. A mentally sound person may become unwell in no time and vice versa. So there is no conflict as far as I am concerned.

Full interview here Daily Star

Exhibition on Bangabandhu and National Poet at National Museum

On the occasion of the 35th death anniversary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, National Museum and Nazrul Institute have jointly organised an art and photography exhibition at its Nalini Kanta Bhattashali Gallery.

Images and portraits of Bangbandhu and Kazi Nazrul Islam are on display at the exhibition. The exhibition ends on August 16.

Promod Mankin, State Minister for Cultural Affairs, inaugurated the exhibition on August 14. Hedayatullah Al Masum, secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, was present as special guest. Nazrul exponent Professor Rafiqul Islam presided over the programme. Prokash Chandra Das, managing director of National Museum, delivered the welcome speech. Executive director of Nazrul Institute, Rashid Haider, also spoke on the occasion.

Promod Mankin said, “We've gathered here to pay homage to two great sons of the soil -- Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam. Mujib wanted to have a free, prosperous and non-communal state through politics. Nazrul's writings are powerful and expressive, and speak of the common peoples' struggle and dreams.”

Hedayatullah Al Masum said, “Bangabandhu and Nazrul were both uncompromising. They were secular and brilliant in their respective fields.”

Full report here Daily Star

Old book markets in grip of bad days

The capital Dhaka's second-hand book markets are losing their decades-old attraction and 'prestige' as the usual rush of book lovers has fallen drastically over the years thanks to rapid technological advancement that emerged as an alternative source of the knowledge seekers, traders said.

Traders, especially at Nilkhet and Banglabazar old book markets, are counting sharp decline in sales due to what they said lack of reading habit and growing reluctance to buy second-hand original books, the place of which have largely been taken by pirated and cheap photo-copied books.

The book sellers have also identified frequent changes of academic syllabuses and the education policy as hindrances to the growth of old books' sales - when it comes to academic books.

"We have seen crowds of buyers even five to six years ago which has now dropped alarmingly," Shimul, an old-book trader at Nilkhet's Islamia Market, told the FE.

Full report here Financial Express

Bangladeshis writing in English

English is no more the patrimony of the Anglo Saxons. It is now a universal public property. By the British colonial train, it travelled almost the entire world, came in touch with myriad people and their languages, and enriched itself as the world's number one language. Not only as a comfortable means of communication between the peoples of the opposite poles and hemispheres, but also as a medium of creative writing has English been deliberately taken up by writers of the formerly colonized countries. The number is multiplying with the rise of Postcolonial / Diaspora consciousness. The situation is as if the colonizer Prospero (The Tempest) is being written back by the colonized Caliban in the same language the latter was taught by the former. The process of colonization has proved a double edged weapon whose other edge has now been sharper than the one used earlier by the colonizers.

How can we identify this tidal wave of English writing? Can we call it English literature? Would traditional academia accept it? In the name of English literature they are teaching the work of the central (British/ American or a few First World English-speaking country) authors. Anthony Burgess, however, tries to resolve the situation. To quote him: "It (English literature) is not merely the literature of the British Isles, but a vast and growing body of writings made up of the work of authors who use the English language as a natural medium of communication.” But, of course, the peripheral authors do not bother their heads about whether they are being able to get into the same line with the central ones. They choose the language to reach a wider reading public, to let the world share their very own feelings. With this end in view, has come into existence African writing in English or Latin American writing in English or South-Asian writing in English. In South-Asian English writing, Indian or Pakistani writings in English have by now proved their own existence. But Bangladesh is lagging much behind. Nevertheless, Bangladesh is not giving a walk-over.

Full report here Daily Star

No anthem for mobile ringtone

Bangladesh's high court on August 5 banned the use of the national anthem as ringtones for mobile phone ring tones or for any other commercial purpose.

'National anthem can't be used as a business tool,' the court said in its ruling, following a petition filed by a lawyer. The high court also fined the three top mobile phone operators 500,000 taka (S$9550) each for using national anthem for business purposes.

The national anthem, Amar Shonar Bangla or My Golden Bengal, is based on the first 10 lines of a 1905 song written by Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian to win the literature Nobel Prize. The song was adopted as the anthem in 1972.

Full report here Straits Times

Anniversary of Tagore's death being celebrated

Bangladesh and Bengali communities all over the world are celebrating the 69th death anniversary of famed writer and poet Rabindranath Tagore on Friday, Srabon 22, in line with the Bengali calendar.

Born in 1861, the Bengali literary icon moved on from the land of Bengal to spread the eastern spiritual heritage around the world through his works and reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Various social and cultural organisations in the country, including the Bangla Academy, the Nazrul Academy and Chhayanot have undertaken different programmes to mark the day.

Highlights of the days will be the staging of the musical dance rendition of his famous play 'Tasher Desh' in the evening at Chhayanot premises, a solo speech series and a cultural program organised by the Bangla Academy and performances of various songs by Tagore organised by the Nazrul Institute.

Full report here BDNews24

Lack of preservation puts rare books, manuscripts at decay at DU library

Due to lack of proper preservation, century old 'puthis' and manuscripts, rare books, newspapers and periodicals printed in Bangladesh during the last century, have been decaying at the Dhaka University Central Library.

About 300 rare manuscripts and at least 600-microfilmed newspapers have already been damaged, although there is a supervisory committee to look into this.

Another 500 hundred 'puthis' and newspapers are going to face the same fate if preventive steps are not taken, said sources at the library.

The university library has a collection of more than 30,000 such books and manuscripts, dating back to the medieval period, written on palm and banana leaves, barks, stone slabs and handmade papers in Sanskrit, Bangla, Arabic, Pali, Urdu, Persian, Maithili, Uriya, Hindi and a few other dialects.

About 20,000 among the manuscripts have been identified and 6,500 almost decayed manuscripts have been microfilmed and laminated, the sources said. Work on identifying other manuscripts is on but they are in such decrepit condition that it is difficult to work with those, sources said.

"Sharada Tilok", a Sanskrit puthi more than 550-year old and rare Bangla works from the middle ages like "Padma Puran", "Yusuf Zulekha" and "Padmabati" by Alaol are some of the notables among the most decrepit volumes.

Full report here New Nation

Guru Nanok Library plays an important role in education

Guru Nanok Library situated in the "Guru Nanok Bhaban" at Uttar Bangla College Campus has been playing a great contributory role in education of rural people especially students and teachers of village Kakina in Lalmonirhat district.

This Library building was constructed at the financial assistance of the people of Shikh Community in 2001 at the campus of Uttar Bangla University College. In establishing this remarkable institution, the role of Dr. Mozammel Haque, an eminent economist and a professor of "Strathkide University," Glasgow, UK are highly mentionable. It is citable that this Professor Dr. Mozammel Haque is an illustrious son of the soil of Kakine.

Since the Library building came to a Shape at the financial assistance of the donors of Shikh Community, the institution was named after the name of their "Guru", Guru-Nanok-Library.

There is a plenty of books written both in English and Bengali, suitable for College and university students. Apart from those academic books there is a large stock of classical and valuable books on reglision, history, philosophy, basic science and technology and above all arts and literature. In this way the library is keeping world heritage in different disciplines.

It is also notable that the library building was artistically constructed, and it may be regarded as a good piece of architecture.

Full report here New Nation

Bangladesh removes Islamic author's books from libraries

The Bangladesh government has ordered tens of thousands of mosques and libraries to remove books written by the controversial founder of an Islamic party, an official said Saturday.

The state-run Islamic Foundation took the decision after Syed Abul Ala Maududi's books were deemed "anti-Islamic" and likely to foster militancy in the Indian subcontinent, its head Shamim Mohammad Afjal told AFP.
Maududi is the founder of Jamaat-e-Islami party, which has a large number of followers in South Asia -- home to around 450 million Muslims.

The Jamaat is the largest Islamic party in Bangladesh, with two elected lawmakers in the parliament. "We have taken the decision to withdraw books written by Maududi from all of the state-funded 24,000 libraries attached to mosques," Afjal said.

Full report here AFP

Bangladesh bans books by radical Islamic author

The Bangladeshi government has ordered mosques and libraries across the country to remove all books written by a controversial Islamic scholar.

The chief of the government-funded Islamic Foundation told the BBC that the books by Syed Abul Ala Maududi encouraged "militancy and terrorism".

Mr Maududi - who died in 1979 - is the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami party. His works are essential reading for supporters of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in the region. Born in India, the Pakistani scholar is considered the most prominent theorist of radical Islam in modern South Asian history.

But Bangladeshi officials say Mr Maududi's writings promote radicalism and his ideological goal was to capture power in the name of Islam.

Full report here BBC

Special train to Dhaka for Tagore anniversary celebrations

From renovating Tagore auditoria, establishing new ones in major cities, publishing a book on his paintings to running a special train to Dhaka, the government has drawn up several plans to perpetuate the legacy of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore to mark his 150th birth anniversary. The National Implementation Committee on the Commemoration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, which met under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has approved the proposal to run a special train, Sonar Tari Express, named after one of the poet's compositions, to Dhaka August 8 to mark his death anniversary.

The panel, which met Wednesday, July 15 evening, approved the proposal to refurbish the existing Tagore complexes, most of which are in a dilapidated condition, and restore works of art like paintings, sculptures and bronze casts in Visva-Bharati - the university Tagore set up in Santiniketan.

The department of fine arts at Visva-Bharati, Kala Bhavan, is home to nearly 2,000 art works, both small and big. Bulk of the works are housed in Nandan Museum, the official archive founded by Bengal master Nandalal Bose.

Full report here Hindustan Times

‘I Am An Assamese, A Bengali And A Sylheti. What Exactly Am I?’

I COME FROM a small town, Karimganj, tucked away like an inconvenient problem on the southernmost fringes of the Indo-Bangladesh border. The widely-spoken languages here are Bengali and Sylheti — I never spoke Assamese until I joined Cotton College in Guwahati. My mother, for instance, spoke Sylheti at home, to haggle with the vendors in her tongue. She taught Bengali at the neighbourhood school in town.

As a young child, I had asked my mother if we were Sylhetis or Bengalis. She had told me a story — my grandmother’s extended family’s roots originated in Sylhet, in what is now Bangladesh. As communal unrest grew in the pro vinces, they fled to the relative safety of Karimganj. Many Bengali Hindus who had fled their erstwhile homes sought refuge in this land. In course of time, they made it their own little paradise, picking up the pieces of their erstwhile memories. Nostalgia pervaded every aspect of their daily existence. I understood while growing up that Barak Valley was never going to be a part of Assam as was being demanded.

Full report here Tehelka 

India donates Tagore bust to Bangladesh

India has donated a bust of Rabindranath Tagore to Bangladesh, as both the countries are set to jointly celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of the Nobel laureate with a month-long programme next year, officials said in Dhaka on Sunday, May 16.

Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad unveiled the bust at the Tagore Lodge in Kushtia at a ceremony held on Saturday, which was also attended by Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Rajeet Mitter. “India has donated the bust, made by famous Indian sculptor Gautam Pal, to Kushtia Municipality,” Mitter said in a statement. The envoy has also gifted over 50 books on the life and works of Tagore for the library at Tagore Lodge along with a set of musical instruments for teaching Rabindra Sangeet at the Lodge, the statement added.

Full report here Indian Express

Celebration of bard’s birth anniversary lingers on

Jatiya Kobi Kazi Nazrul Islam University (JKKNIU) in Trishal observed the 149th birth anniversary of Tagore. A daylong programme, including a discussion and cultural function, was held marking the occasion.

Students of the Music Department of the university presented renditions of Tagore songs, poetry recitation, dance and a drama at the 'Churulia' stage on campus.

Tagore play “Raktokorobi” was staged by the students of Bengali Department. Assistant Professor of the Department and convener of the celebration committee Marzia Akhtar directed the drama.

Earlier, a discussion was held with the Vice-Chancellor of the university Professor Dr. Giasuddin Ahmed in the chair. Professor Anisuzzaman of the Bengali Department of Dhaka University was the chief guest at the discussion, while Professor Mustafa Nurul Islam and treasurer of the university Professor Aynul Islam were the special guests.

Full report here Daily Star

Tagore inspired all movements in B'desh: Hasina

Bangladesh celebrated the 149th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate and poet Rabindranath Tagore on Saturday, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina describing him as a source of inspiration for all movements in the country.

Hasina opening the main official programme at a city hall recalled his contribution towards reshaping the Bengali literature and the nation's cultural life and values.

Hasina in another statement called Tagore a "lighthouse" for the Bengalis as he wandered in their hearts and said "he was a source of inspiration in all movements, struggles, revolutions, thoughts and creativity of the Bengali nation."

Cultural groups including the apex Sammilita Sangskritik Jote organized colourful street marches and concerts in open air and inside auditoriums across Bangladesh as leading artistes rendered Rabindra Sangit, which the poet himself expected him to keep alive to the posterity, though he earned the credit of being Asia's first Nobel Laureate for his poetry in 1913.

Full report here Hindustan Times