The funeral has taken place in Dhaka of the country’s most famous poet, Shamsur Rahman, who died on Thursday of kidney failure after several days in a coma. A large number of Bangladeshi government ministers, politicians of both major parties (BNP and Awami), and cultural figures attended the funeral, although there were also questions why Rahman was not given official state honors.
Described in today’s New York Times obituary as the “unofficial poet laureate” of Bangladesh, Shamsur Rahman was the author of sixty collections of poetry in Bangla, of which only a small fractions appears to have been translated in English. I barely speak any Bangla, let alone read it, and I imagine many Sepia readers have like me only heard of Rahman without ever reading him. It would be great to hear commentary and criticism from anyone versed in Bangla poetry or who has some of this work in translation that they might share with us.
Rahman was the victim of an extremist attack in 1999:
An outspoken opponent of religious fundamentalism, Mr. Rahman was attacked in January 1999 by a group of young men who talked their way into his house and tried to behead him with an ax. Mr. Rahman was unharmed, but his wife, who came to his aid, was seriously wounded.
Hearing screams, neighbors rushed in and caught the attackers, who were members of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, a militant Islamic group. The attack led to the arrest of 44 members of the group.
There is an homage by Syed Manzoorul Islam in the Bangladesh Daily Star:
I remember, some years ago, after an extremist outfit had made an attempt on his life, I went to see him in his Shyamoli residence. And sure enough, there was the poet, sitting in his study, poring over a book; his white, tousled hair dancing in the afternoon breeze. He welcomed me with a broad smile, whose sweetness still remains in my memory, and asked me to sit down. Over a cup of tea, we talked about great many things, except the attack. ‘Let’s forget it,’ he said, ‘let’s not talk about death. Let’s talk about life.’
Not many poets of his generation, here and elsewhere, have celebrated life the way he has. Not many poets knew the secret of turning a near-tragedy into a cause for celebration. In a poem written shortly after, he referred to the incident as ‘a hyena’s last ditch attempt to avenge a bitter defeat’. He felt that he always belonged to the victors: Bengalees could never lose a war.
A commenter at the Bangladeshi diaspora site Drishtipat says Shamsur Rahman was deeply connected to the city of Dhaka:
Our beloved Dhaka gave birth to Shamsur Rahman as a gift to our very own Bangla language and literature. Since the time when Tagore brought greatest glory to Bangla literature, poet Shamsur Rahman stands high above many that carried the beacon of our beloved language. Being one of the most successful poets, if not the only, of modern times of Bangla literature that was born and raised in Dhaka – he was the poet of Dhaka in essence. Being away from my beloved Dhaka city, I can feel an invisible bond with the poet whom I have seen in person but never met as he also loved Dhaka very much. The versatile poet even documented his fond memories of the city in his classic book “Smritir Shahar”.
Somewhat less elegantly, a tribute editorial in the Bangladesh New Nation says Shamsur Rahman symbolized the ascendancy of Dhaka over Calcutta in Bengali letters (let’s see what Saurav, Dipanjan et al have to say about that):
THE demise of poet Shamsur Rahman has come as a shock to the nation because he is among the frontline poets of Bangladesh who have taken the Bangla poetry to new heights and have established clear superiority of Dhaka over Kolkata in this sphere. The late National Professor Abdur Razzak had in the late seventies, in one of his famous lectures, pointed at this trend in DhakaÂ’s triumphant march towards great achievements in poetry, art and literature as the liberation of Bangladesh with Dhaka as its capital made the people to think big.
At any rate, the passing of Shamsur Rahman is clearly a major event in Bangladeshi cultural life, and the abundance of politicians at his funeral makes clear that no matter what feathers he may have ruffled in his lifetime, everyone wants to be associated with his legacy — something that often happens when prominent, politically active writers pass away.
I found very little of Rahman’s work in translation online, but this poem can help us imagine what he would have thought of the public tamasha surrounding his death:
Mask
Shower me with petals,
heap bouquets around me,
I won’t complain. Unable to move,
I won’t ask you to stop
nor, if butterflies or swarms of flies
settle on my nose, can I brush them away.
Indifferent to the scent of jasmine and benjamin,
to rose-water and loud lament,
I lie supine with sightless eyes
while the man who will wash me
scratches his ample behind.
The youthfulness of the lissome maiden,
her firm breasts untouched by grief,
no longer inspires me to chant
nonsense rhymes in praise of life.
You can cover me head to foot with flowers,
my finger won’t rise in admonishment.
I will shortly board a truck
for a visit to Banani.
A light breeze will touch my lifeless bones.
I am the broken nest of a weaver-bird,
dreamless and terribly lonely on the long verandah.
If you wish to deck me up like a bridegroom
go ahead, I won’t say no
Do as you please, only don’t
alter my face too much with collyrium
or any enbalming cosmetic. Just see that I am
just as I am; don’t let another face
emerge through the lineaments of mine.
Look! The old mask
under whose pressure
I passed my whole life,
a wearisome handmaiden of anxiety,
has peeled off at last.
For God’s sake don’t
fix on me another oppressive mask.
Thanks a lot for the post, Siddhartha. Sorry, not going to comment on the Dhaka-Calcutta comparisons and the units of measurments for superior poetry, not today. I have seen him reading his own poems twice in Calcutta – a Book Fair and a Kabita-Utsav (poetry festival) and still remember his smile, voice and the quiet strength. On the west of border, his contemporaries – the Krittibas generation of poets like Sunil Gangopadhyay, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Sarat Mukhopadhyay – and also the younger generation have enermous respect for him. In return Shamsur Rahman was influenced a lot by Buddhadeb Basu and the poetry movements around him – the Kallol group and the Kabita magazine. I am not the right person to comment on Rahman’s contributions to the spirit that liberated Bangladesh, his courageous struggle against fundamentalism and autocracy and his influence on the next generation of Bangladeshi poets, as I don’t know enough. But I know for a fact in West Bengal many a discussions along the lines of but-they-are-muslims-not-real-bengalis have been stopped dead in their tracks with the mention of his name.
‘but-they-are-muslims-not-real-bengalis have been stopped dead in their tracks with the mention of his name’ :), you might have said the best accodate without even realizing it.
Thanks for the post, I will look up his poems online – but have to admit that I’ve never heard about him before.
My family is from Bangladesh so we were incredibly saddened to hear about his death. Lots of thanks to SM for this post. I shall send over some translated works if I get a chance.
dipanjan: very nicely put. shaon: thanks. we’d love to read more by him. peace…
Yes, I’ve heard my Dad say this poet’s name before! Will have to look up more about him… Too bad so few translation! I don’t know much Bangla either; forgot how to read MANY yrs ago.
thanx a ton, Dipanjan…ur post is really praiseworthy…it certainly played a catalyst in growing interest about Shamsur Rahman in me…anyways, i regret that i havent read the poet much though i have heard my mother chant his name(rahman is her fav poet)…the day after his death, kolkata doordarshan payed a homage to the poet…i liked it, simple yet giving insights into the poet’s life,his mind….
I am new to this forum and found it by chance. Actually since I’ve been away from home, I stumbled on it while scourging the net to find anything and everything concerning Shamsur Rahman’s death….which saddened me. I knew him personally and met him a couple of times and had many one on one sittings with him. I am yet to meet another humble, compassionate and non secular person like him. He had no reason to give a young admirer the amount of time he spent on me. I have read him extensively and have also read the other poets named here Sunil, Shakti, Sharot, Songkho and many others as well. All named here associated with the Kirtibash poetry movement are great poets on their own right. Although New Nation has commented that he was superior to other poets of west bengal is too early and an unfair judgment. Shamsur Rahman too would refuse such a comparison. ItÂ’s like comparing Beethoven to Mozart or Bach or vice versa. Individual works may be compared but as for the voice, each is beautiful and unique. However, I can relate to where this sentiment is coming from. PakistaniÂ’s thought we were inferior or “Atraf” muslims or that our version of Islam got convoluted with Hinduism. The literati in West Bengal thought that though we spoke the same language our works are inferior if not lacking in taste. As for the PakistaniÂ’s we have proven to be more tolerant and humbly refuse to claim superiority. For the West Bengali literati they understand that without national boundaries their language will not die out but will be weakened with the all encompassing dominance of Hindi. Something that happened to Urdu literature in India. Even in Bangladesh there were groups who have claimed that Al Mahmud another great Bangladeshi poet is a better or greater poet than him since Mamhmud’s poems take in the common man’s dialect. What separates Rahman from others is that, his poems were associated with all the major events Bangladesh as a nation went through from the pre independence days to the present and inspired a nation still reeling from poverty, corruption, insecurity, fundamentalism, political & ideological abyss. We have very few people to be truly proud about. Shamsur Rahman is one of them. As for the comparison, history will judge him and all other great Bengali poets. But as a Bengali I am proud that our language has produced so many prolific poets although we now have separate national boundaries. In the world of poetry we are way up there. Not many nations or language can boast that. Sad that we donÂ’t have translations of their works to the extent we need to have a world wide audience and acceptance. But one thing is for sure, poetry aside, Bangladesh has lost one of her most sane voices, if not the only!!
I am feeling really very sorry for our famous poet. it is a matter of great regret to our nation that our country has lost such a wonderful person and as well as poet. the gap which has been created for his die will never been fulfilled ever. May allah give him the door of heaven. May Allah give the strength to his family to recover this pain.
It is absolutely unbearable loose for the whole nation. With his depurture from this world, a gape has been created among us. His contribution in the contemporary Bangla literature is incredible. We have lost such a voice, who was always against of bigoty, unjustice, suppresion and oppresion of society. we all wish his voice and message to the society will remain strong as it was before.
Homage to Poet Shamsur Rahman -Mir Monaz Haque
I’m a lousy virtual site designer, I compose my tardy work for ist potential user, And published just before the world wakes up, Hanging in its unbound paper In its everyday layout, as I do, For Yesterdays, Todays and Tomorrows too.
I love the trinity of Shamsur Rahman , As he narrates with words of groan , ‘Shadhinata Tumi’ that of liberty , A poem of equality and fraternity. The whole nation is crying today As yesterday, he has passed away.
I’m a lousy virtual site designer, I compose my tardy work for its potential user, And will continue as i did yesterday, As i am doing today and will continue to do tomorrow Until this message breaks the world into Fragments and has scanned his words.
Not bad …not bad at all…in fact quite good.
Hero Md. Monowarul Kabir
If anyone try to break The traditions, He will be a hero. Poet Shamsur Rahman is my hero.
I do not celebrate this poets passing. He means nothing to me. As a Sylheti, I think Dhaka-centric media is going overboard in this and neglecting regional cultural developments outside Dhaka.
SAylheti is not a Sylheti. He is actually from Chadpur or a different area of Comilla. He is making comments to show a particular group of Bangladeshis in bad ways. We should not bring “Ancholic” mentality in discussing such a great literary figure. similarities in Web Trolling attacks by this user can be found everywhere in the internet. Look up web trolling or web troll on wikipedia.
he is great,just great