Through a landscape of ideas
Takir Hossain admires the thoughts in a new work
29 February 2008, 18:00 PM
The Absent Poet & Other Essays
Anisur Rahman
Biddya Prokash
Anisur Rahman, a passionate fervent poet, is basically more a poet than an essayist in his
temperament, expression and above all his style. Writing poetry from the mid nineties, he has graduated more to cerebral compositions writings that have been published in various newspapers, magazines and little magazines - with his own unique and remarkable style of weaving compositions of extraordinary skill.
The contents of his wordings and the analytical power he unleashes have enabled him to win readers' admiration. His distinct art of language is quite surely the first thing about him and, in fact, this is his specialty. At this year's Ekushey book fair, Anis gave us a sheaf of essays in various moods. Most of the essays are discussions on poetry and its various aspects in terms of modern and contemporary themes. Poetry has a power that is its own. It opens up the varying facets of civilisation and humanity. That is why poetry is very closely associated with time and situation. In earlier times, Anis gave us two worthy contributions - Ibsen's poetry and Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. He translated Ibsen's poetry and play, The Lady from the Sea, into Bengali. He adapted The Metamorphosis for the Centre for Asian Theatre.
In this book there are a total of 40 essays that can give readers a feeling of novelty as Anis appears with quite a new approach in many senses. First of all, as one goes through his writings, one must feel a world swinging between a variety of immense emotions and expressions.
Anis is a very conscious writer. His gaze is always on all the stages in our society. He
has written on some burning issues such as poverty, Monga, women's harassment, land rights, lack of proper education, political instability, religious zealotry and ethnic issues. These issues have come into his writing significantly and strongly. His open and unbiased expressions help us make out the perfect picture of our society. His observations are very clear and guide us into peering intently into our souls.
Anis has identified himself inextricably with the cultural heritage of the soil. His central philosophy is that he is a Bengali by birth; has grown up and developed in an environment shaped by the wind and water of Bengal. He is a true narrator of our social, cultural, political and economic
conditions. He is among those few dedicated writers of Bangladesh with a distinctly individual inventive style. He always tries to focus on the desires, pains and mental state of the underprivileged in our society. A number of his essays are very touching and expressive. He writes the essays from very close observations. Some of his heart-rending essays are Parlours, Factories and Harassed women, Sex Workers - The Issue we Look Away From, Monga: The Hunger Grip, Our Poor, Our Rich - And Points to Note, The Jongis, the Monga and the NGOs and some other articles.
In this book, Anis recollects two legendary figures in our country - eminent writer Humayun Azad and veteran journalist Enayetullah Khan (widely known as Mintu Bhai). Both were very unique, innovative and played important roles in their respective fields.
Khan gave a distinct and innovative look to our
journalism. Without him, our journalism seems barren and poor. Mintu Bhai is always remembered for his thought-provoking and cerebral creations.
Anis is a journalist by profession, a very risky and uncertain profession in our country. The possibility of one's losing one's job and irregular remuneration are the common features in this field. In Defence of Journalism as a Career and Plight of the Journalist are the two essays where Anis has tried to draw a picture of this profession for readers.
An essay is a success only when it leads readers towards enjoying the beauty and message of writing. Definitely a book worth reading.
Takir Hossain is a critic and journalist.
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