The glow in a poet's soul
Jesmina Shanta spends time looking for meaning in verse
It is indeed a pleasure to write on the works of a poet whose heart cries out for the distressed. Saiful Bari's tribute to the poor is extremely pure and high, and in some of the poems I felt the tribute could be turned into deep love as well. One is here reminded of Rabindranath Tagore, whose songs of the puja parba are similar to the love songs of the prem parba in Geetabitan. Perhaps all love starts with respect, with very strong love ending in puja or devotion. Love for a physical being turns into love for God, for llah, for Christ or for the prabhu in Tagore music. 'Saiful Barir Nirbachita Kabita' is a collection of some selected pieces by the eminent poet. The 96-page book has been brought out by Mizan Publishers. Though prizes and awards are not the ultimate goal of a poet, Bari has obtained tremendous popularity and quite a few awards for his poetry. But his best award, to be sure is his poetry, which is loved by his readers. Indeed, some of his poems have given him a niche in the hearts of many Bangla poetry lovers. The collection consists of many new and old poems from Bari. While love and romanticism are the oldest material of the poet, contemporary events, including natural disasters, the uncertainty of the present age, the touch of romance in our day-to-day mechanical life and, finally, good old history, the flavour of 1950s Dhaka city are reflected in the poetry. Going through some of the poems is truly a journey back to the past. The poet has dedicated this book to the hapless people of his country. And they are the poorest, those afflicted by Sidr. Saiful Bari's mastery lies in bringing to his sentiments that necessary touch of life and hope for the hereafter even in the portrait of the wreckage or the aftermath of the tropical disaster at Sharankhola. In the poem Shudhu tomar jonno, the poet has turned his tears into a poem; it's a tribute to a single woman who has lost her home, her spouse, sons, daughters, village and her belongings . . . everything as a consequence of Sidr. The courageous woman still stands against the odds, with zest for a new life. For life is beautiful and life goes on. The natural calamity has taken the life of her husband, and his body might be lying somewhere under the uprooted trees. She is searching for the corpses of her near and dear ones. The woman's cry for her beloved has made her forget to stand in the queue of the destitutes for a slice of relief. The poet wonders how in a magical move he can appear before her to calm her ? How will help her get back to a consciousness of the real world around her? In Sharankhola the last drop of water has been turned poisonous as it has mingled with the dead bodies. The water looks like the black poison of the snake. The poet dedicates the poem to her on Victory Day. The poem itself searches for her among the poor Sidr affected women. Many years will pass, the victims of the disaster will forget their pain and agony. But one day, this poem will be read once again, the picture of the disaster of Sharankhola will appear again. And thus Saiful Bari captures the essence of the tragedy in his poetry. Naimuddin etodin tomake is a poem on a poor man. Naimuddin symbolises the poor working class, whose sweat has been exploited by the affluent sections of society. Naimuddin is a freedom fighter too; his wife and children wait in a long queue to come by relief materials. Saiful Bari at the end of the poem seeks forgiveness from Mainuddin, from the million Mainuddins whose lives have not matched their expectations in this free country. It is a picture we watch every day: freedom fighters and their family members often beg in the villages, without getting any honour, benefit or remuneration. War heroes are not honoured, but other people celebrate national events with great enthusiasm. Saiful Bari has painted historic places, roads, highways, hills, seas and deserts in the poem Shwapner haat dhore. Nevertheless, he remains a lonely soul even after watching the natural beauty of many countries he has visited. He has been searching for an isolated island throughout his journey in life. Within the ambit of this poem he understands that time has been his companion. And he is aged now. In the poem Apurba golap, Saiful Bari dwells on romance. His lover springs a surprise by keeping a bunch of roses on the poet's table. She leaves his table before he arrives, giving him no chance to demonstrate his gratitude to her. She writes on a small card, accompanied by flowers, that she had come to a real person. The poet takes this praise as great and admits that he will remember her forever, but he will not disclose her name to anyone and this will be the sad part of the story. Saiful Bari searches for emotional attachment with pure souls in his poetry. He is more on the lookout for the beauty of the soul than for the physical. And that makes him remarkable as a thinker, as a poet.
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