Of a poet from Tangail
Faruq H. Mallick traverses a landscape of drama
Dr. Mustafizur Rahman's book, titled above, is an extensive research on the poetry of Raibinod, one of the most influential poets of the 16th century. Raibinod hailed from Tangail and his poetry Padmapuran or Monoshamangal as it is known in West Bengal was widely popular across Mymensingh and Dhaka. The Bengali poetry of that time had the elements of drama. The poetry turns into a story and the story turns into a play, Padmapuran. Dr. Mustafiz was awarded a PhD for his thesis on Raibinod's poetry and subsequently had his work published as a book. He also wrote a number of dramas based on his thesis work such as Bahurupini and Sankarkumari. These were staged and also aired on TV. The book consists of five chapters. The first chapter opens up the theoretical discussion on the elements of drama or theatre found in Padmapuran or Monshamangal. The writer follows it up with further analysis in chapters three to five. There is also an extensive analysis of western drama in the light of Bengali literature, more specifically poetry of the East. The poet Raibinod cast his poems on elements similar to those in classical Greek drama and Dr. Mustafiz's research establishes this link very skillfully. He asserts, that although the features are similar, they are not identical. Dr. Mustafiz refers to factors of drama based on Aristotle's line of thought from "Art of Poetry" - that analyzed drama according to (1) plot (2) character (3) diction (4) thought (5) melody and (6) spectacle. Further to that analysis, the writer finds the elements of dramatic symbols which turned into dramatic elements. Gradually, Dr. Mustafiz develops his arguments, giving further reference to German writer Gusthauv Frethaig, and throwing light on the technique of drama written. Following that analysis he establishes the link to present day drama form, citing Martin Benham's edited "The Cambridge guide to theatre in 1992". The analysis and discovery of the elements were vividly explained through graphical representation. Thus the writer explains different forms of drama in the present day context. The six basic thoughts from Aristotle's explanation as mentioned above are studied thoroughly in chapter four. In the process of analysis, the writer has also mentioned different songs based on ragas and found in the poetry --- drama such as Dhanshi-ro-dhanishree, Pata-manjori, Bhatiali, Gandhar, Karanat and many others. Many of the ragas are still very popular. So the "ray" of drama elements from the 16th or 17th century ends up in present ragas. Thus from the medieval to the modern day, the ideology and vision appear to be similar but not identical. The changes are remarkable and well explained in the book. The book is a rich source of material and thereby offers researchers the opportunity for further study. He surely deserves credit and congratulations from present day academics and readers alike.
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