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For more than two decades Papree Rahman has reigned the world of Bangla literature with her expertise in writing, editing and critiquing but she seems to be at her best in storytelling. She tells her stories with an insight that is derived from extensive research. She has done so in all three of her novels Poranodir Shopnopuran, Boyon, the latest one being Palatia. She often says: “I only write when I get something very interesting to write on.” The reader sees the truth in the statement while reading Palatia. Even though the most interesting thing about the book may seem to be the subject of the novel; it is the craftsmanship Papree Rahman uses depicting the language of the actors of Palatia that mesmerizes the readers. The novel is written in the dialect of Dinajpur. The writer expresses the feelings of her characters with the language. Palatia is a kind of act which is specific to its birthplace, Dinajpur. The producers, directors and the actors all come from poverty stricken famili...

A Visit to Kolkata Book Fair Jackie Kabir About 1.6 milion people visited this year’s Kolkata Book Fair. A group of Bangladeshi writers and readers were in Kolkata to attend the Book Fair from January 26 to 29 this year. The fair is held every year for 12 days starting on the last Wednesday of January as a tradition. The visit was organised by The Reading Circle known more commonly as TRC and Gantha, a platform where people writing in Bangla and people writing in English meet every month to exchange their views and ideas. Sometimes they read from their work, at other times they invite famous writers to conduct workshops on creative writing. The Reading Circle, on the other hand, meets once every month to read a chosen book or some books by a certain author depending on the availability of the book. The group gave a talk at the AC hall in Kolkata about the book club. Speakers mentioned that they regularly met for the past five years and that they successfully read 60 books within these ...

Razia Sultana has been teaching Bangla literature since the early 1970s. She has carried out research on many different aspects of Bangla folklore. Shahitya Bikkhon is one such book where the author has brought in nine essays which range from women depicted in the Old and Middle Ages in Bangla literature, baromashi songs describing the anguish of separation in the lives of rural women and the famous poem Bidrohi by Kazi Nazrul Islam. There are essays on the works of giants like Nawazish Khan and Mozammel Haque in Bangla literature. The hard work of the author is visible in the writing. It gives one an insight into the subjects that she deals with. Women in the Middle Ages were very simple, as the book notes. They hardly used any make up. The only things that were available locally, herbal products, were used for beautification. A special kind of smoke was used to perfume them. The weather also had effects on the mood of Bengali women as it was neither too hot nor too cold and the women...

The 13th show of Mohajoner Nau has been staged at the Experimental Hall of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The stage performance left the audience mesmerised through out the 85-minute duration of the show. The 20 or so performers did a fantastic job of captivating the audience by singing and dancing to the live folk songs. It is a musical play based on the life of the legendary Shah Abdul Karim Boyati who has composed over 1600 Bangla baul songs. Mohajoner Nau was staged in the round or arena theatre more commonly known as the central stage with no curtains. As a result the audience feel very close to the performers in this kind of theatre. The performers walk in and out of the stage from among the audience. The play was written by Shakoor Majid, the famed writer of Londoni Konya, a television drama based on a Sylheti girl living in London, whom everybody wanted to marry in order to get a British passport created a lot of controversy. Although he had written a few dramas and telefilms t...

Ceasefire Taherun asked her husband, "What are you doing, Bir Pratik Nuruddin? Are you ready to have your lunch now?" "What have you prepared?" "Lafa greens and shidol bhorta, mashed dried fish." "Yes, I'll eat now. Serve the rice." Nuruddin's face brightened at the thought of food. He smiled with a childlike enthusiasm. It was hard to imagine this man as a fierce freedom fighter. From all around, the villagers came to see him when he returned home a victorious hero. People were overwhelmed by his achievements. He was awarded the title of "Bir Pratik." Everyone started addressing him as "Bir Pratik Nuruddin." Gradually everyone except Taherun gave up calling him by that name. Now and then she called him "Bir Pratik Nuruddin" to remind him of his glorious past. He felt both joy and pride at this. He was a poor man. He didn't have much to pride in, no money, no wealth. His honour was his only asset. The mem...

Anwara Syed Haq is a prominent writer in the realm of Bangla literature. She began writing short stories in her teens. This year she won the Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar for her outstanding contributions in the literary world. She was born in 1940 in Jessore, where she spent her adolescent years. She obtained her MBBS degree in 1965 and in 1973 went to the United Kingdom for higher education. She returned home in 1982. She has since then worked at a number of institutions, among which are Bangladesh Biman, Dhaka Medical College and BIRDEM. Even though she works professionally as a psychiatrist, her presence in the literary arena has always been very pronounced. So far she has written more than fifty books. She has been awarded the Annanya Shahitya Puroshkar, Agrani Bank Puroshkar, Michael Madhushudhon Puroshkar and Shishu Academy Puroshkar, besides a host of others. Recently the writers' group Gantha, initiated by Prof Niaz Zaman, accorded a reception to the eminent writer. On...

Adibashider Megh O Shishir is a collection of four short stories, four essays, a novella for children and a travelogue, all of which are written on the backdrop of adivashi lives. There are numerous characters, real and imaginary that the author depicts with utmost sincerity. The first story, Bonobhumi, is about an indigenous girl who was kidnapped by the army living in the hill tracts of the southern area of Bangladesh. The same people in the area abused her mother when she was only ten years old. Chandana would vent out against their wrongdoings in her diary everyday, and revolt by supporting the anti-government candidate in the election. She knew that her mother was raped brutally in the jungle, even despite her father's protests. He burnt the boot of the rapist, which he had left behind in a hurry. As such, the bootlace becomes a symbolic rope for the eventual hanging of the hill-tract girl. The lieutenant of the camp nearby was interested in Chandana. However she despised him ...