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Obayed Akash always loves to experiment on the forms of poetry; and the experiences he goes through are portrayed in his poetry in a different manner. When I come across his poems I wonder how a man thinks in such multifarious ways. Among a few poets in Bangladesh, it is Obayed Akash who has added a dimension to Bengali poetry through his new collection of poems, Priyo Kobider Randhanshalay. Akash has been stepping forward by following a road which is not taken by many, indicating that he has captured the essence of Robert Frost's famous poem, The Road Not Taken. From the very beginning of his journey as a poet, he has employed a language which is completely his own. It is an advantage for Akash. Since he can play with the words he can easily bring in a variety of subject matter and presentation in his poetry. If we go through his previous collections of poetry it is crystal clear that the poems in those collections are packed with a lot of images and symbols but he has presented Priyo Kobider Randhanshalay in a different way to readers. Akash has proved that poetry all the time does not stem out from subconscious thoughts but can also be composed through experimentation. In this collection Obayed Akash has experimented with the lives of his favorite poets and made poems based on their life sketches, which is rare in the history of Bengali poetry. An instance can be drawn in this regard: last year Humayun Ahmed, one of the popular story tellers in Bangladesh, wrote a novel entitled Badshah Namdar, which is a result of his deep experimentation. However, Akash is a successful poet in the sense that each of his new collections surpasses the previous one in terms of presentation and thoughts. This latest collection of Akash comprises thirty two poems, which take into account his favourite poets as well as political figures. The outstanding preface Akash has penned at the outset of his book informs us that he has termed Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Karl Marx as poets of politics. Furthermore, this book has poems regarding Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Shakti Chattapadhay, Shamsur Rahman, Shahid Quaderi, Syed Shamsul Haq and so on. In lieu of making the poems intensely symbolic like his previous versions, this time he has gone through the tapestries of his favourite poets to dish out to readers a wealth of information regarding their works, great utterances, quotations, dictions, etc. Since the titles of the poems are rather long, each and every title helps us to come by concrete information about a particular subject. When we come across the poems, numerous images are created in the mind about Akash's favourite poets. I would like to provide an overall glimpse of his poetic features through observing two poems from the collection. The first poem is written on the poet Abul Hasan, underscoring the fact that Abul Hasan was a poet who never compromised over any unethical action. As soon as readers go through the poem entitled Abul Hasan had no iota of regret for the rusty key of the United Nations, a clear picture emerges before them. For instance: 'I am well, very well? Abul Hasan. Lying in separate beds day and night, you seem to be so confident of being cured without treatment. King appears, king disappears and this time paddy fields filled with corns have been inundated because the fields have not been protected for a long period of time. Throwing the destroyer into a ditch filled with dirty water, you thought with a sigh of relief that this time you would be able to beautify your sister with a red sari without any disturbance.' Again at the end of this poem a very clear image of contemporary society has been given to readers through the following lines: 'As long as your father survived, I am sure, you did not see this sight --- that the marginalized people were burying a beautiful dead girl of your Bengal. So you possessed a deep and proper sense of disparity between police and common people.' (Abul Hasan had no iota of regret for the rusty key of the United Nations) In some cases we find that Akash is questioning and exchanging views with his favourite poets and consequently he becomes an inseparable part of his prose poems, which is a substantive feature of post-modernism. Since the tales of his poems are very conversational as well as comment based, it can be said that the style of relating the prose poems is post-modern. Again, when we choose the poem, Shakti Chattapadhaya urged a decrease in dependence on wives' salary at the end of his life for critical appreciation, we see Akash is traversing the happenings of Shakti Chattapadhaya's life and excavating the deep realizations of Chattapadhaya with much concentration. I think the following lines can provide the readers evidence in this regard: 'Before people realize the real situation, by killing a fly of gold he creates an opportunity for the police force to dominate the naïve people throughout the region. As a guardian Shakti Chattapadhaya was greater than a primary school teacher. Once while piercing his right hand with a sharp knife, he discovered that he could speak English fluently and could even sleep silently with the wounded hand. And when he sits for composing poetry before and after he goes to sleep, his parted hand fills with innumerable stars like a sky without clouds. When someone questions him about his bare, lake-like miserable eyes, he deserts his house due to self-conceit and asks, knocking at an unknown door --- is Abani at home?' Obayed Akash as a poet has attempted to unfold the mysteries of the lives of his favourite poets by wandering into their Randhanshalas (kitchens). This approach distinguishes him from his contemporary poets. He has tried to comprehend his favourite poets' lifestyles, passions and feelings. It is for readers of his poetry to decide how successful he has been in doing so. Going through the poems of Priyo Kobider Randhanshalay, it is certain, readers will find in him a poet who is a discoverer of human nature. Through this collection Obayed Akash promises to free poetry from the cocoon of a conventional composing style. And in reference to Akash's poetry, it is relevant to quote a couple of lines from Archibald MacLeish's Ars Poetica: "A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs."
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