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OBITUARY: SHAMSUR RAHMAN
The poet is dead, long live the poet
by Mubin S Khan
portrait by Nasir Ali Mamun
Shamsur Rahman was born on October 24, 1929, at 10:00am on a Wednesday at 46 Mahuttuli, Dhaka — his maternal grandparents’ house. His father was the late Mukhlesur Rahman Chowdhury and mother the late Amena Begum. His mother was his father’s second wife after his first wife passed away. He was the fourth amongst his parents’ thirteen children. Nicknamed Bachchu, he never used his family name — Chowdhury — in his professional life.
Originally from village Pahartali, thana Raipura, Narsingdi, Rahman spent his childhood in Mahuttuli. This semi-urban place left a deep impression and later had much influence on Rahman’s poetry. In those days, despite being a part of Dhaka, Mahuttuli had very little concrete structures and motor vehicles and was instead a neighbourhood of mud houses, horse-drawn carriages, tea stalls and kerosene lamps. Rahman in his poetry later on, especially ‘Smritir Shohor’ and ‘Rouddro Korotite’, reminisces about the sheulitala behind Armanitola school, about Janmashthami celebrations, Muharram processions, the glass sculptures of gods and goddesses in the shops in Babubazar, pictures of kananbala, Tagore, and the famous brothels of Babubazar from his childhood.
Rahman started school at the Pogose School at class II in 1936 and finished his matriculation examinations from the same school in 1945, securing second division. In 1947 he finished his intermediate from Dhaka College once again securing second division. The same year, he moved out of Mahuttuli and started living in 30, Syed Aulad Hossain Lane, Dhaka 1-A.
Incidentally, his first work of literature was not poetry but prose. It was a piece written on the untimely death of his younger sister, who died of small pox, and influenced by ‘Chinnamukul’ by Shotendranath Dutta. It was apparently read out to his family members who were left in tears. His first poem ‘Tarpar De Chhut’ was written in 1949, published in weekly Sonar Bangla, edited and published by Nalinikishore Guha.
Though he enrolled in the department of English at the University of Dhaka in 1947, he refrained from sitting for any examinations for many years, preferring a bohemian life. He finally graduated from the university in 1953 with a BA pass course degree. He enrolled for Masters at the same department later on, and though he finished second class second in the first part, he failed to pass the second part.
Shamsur Rahman married Zohura Begum, a distant relative and old acquaintance, in 1955. Together they had five children, two sons and three daughters. Sumaira Rahman was born in 1956, Faizur Rahman was born in 1958, Fouzia Rahman was born in 1959, Wahidur Rahman Matin was born in 1960 and Seba Rahman was born in 1961.
Matin, his younger son, was mentally disabled and died after drowning in their village pond in 1979. Rahman, who was deeply shocked by this loss, would later write many poems including ‘Pitaputra’, ‘Phire ay uttaradhikari’, ‘Thor kach theke dure’ and ‘noishoprohore parashpar’ in memory of his deceased son.
By profession Rahman was a journalist for more than three decades. From 1957 to 1958 he worked as a sub-editor at the Morning News. From 1958 to 1960 he was programme producer with the Dhaka centre of Pakistan Radio. From 1960 to 1964 he once again worked with the Morning News, this time as senior sub-editor. In November 1964, he joined the then Dainik Pakistan (later Dainik Bangla) as an assistant editor and remained in that position till 1977, till he was named editor of the now-defunct Dainik Bangla as well as the weekly Bichitra. He left the newspaper in 1987.
He also edited a little magazine called Kabikantha and headed the editorial board of the publication in 1956. He edited the short-lived Adhuna in 1987. He joined Shaptahik Muldhara as chief editor in 1989 and worked till 1991. He was made chairman of the Bangla Academy in 1996 and remained there till 1999.
Shamsur Rahman, alongside Al Mahmud and Shaheed Quadri, was one of the most influential poets in this part of Bengal in the latter half of the last century. The poet and his work were deeply rooted in his own tradition. He successfully reflected the colloquial language of Dhaka in his poetry. Rahman also used Old Dhaka’s dialect, which is a mix-up of Urdu, Persian and Bangla words. Urban themes, symbols, signs and resemblance also widely figure in his poems. As he was born and brought up in Old Dhaka, his use of those foreign words, including Urdu and Persian, added a new flavour to Bangla poetry.
The poet was also deeply intertwined with the political development of the then East Pakistan leading ultimately to the emergence of Bangladesh. Although he was never active in politics, he composed a number of political poems, which were particularly devoted to the country’s struggle for freedom and independence.
One of his most popular poems is ‘Asader Shirt’ where the poet gives an emotional description of the death of a young demonstrator, who was brutally killed in police firing at a protest rally against the despotic army rule. Rahman was always vocal against the tyrannical rule and suppression of the people by the West Pakistani rulers.
He was a familiar figure for his picket lines and efforts in anti-fundamentalism movements. He became a signatory to a statement that advocated the airing of Tagore songs on radio which was banned by then information minister Khwaja Sahabuddin on June 22, 1967.
After the independence of Bangladesh, Rahman emerged as the most powerful poet of the country, reflecting, in his work, the spirit of independence and the Liberation War. Rahman composed a number of poems which got immense popularity among the masses and were highly acclaimed by the critics — ‘Swadhinata Tumi’ being the most well-known.
Rahman was also active during the struggle against the autocratic rule of HM Ershad. He took the risk of losing the editorship of the government-owned Dainik Banlga and joined protest rallies against the Ershad regime. He wrote the famous poem ‘Odbhut Uter Pithhe Cholechhe Swadesh’ (the country riding a peculiar camel) about the misrule during the Ershad regime.
Shamsur Rahman wrote for about 55 years, has more than 60 publications, mainly volumes of poems, and composed about 2,000 poems. His first collection of poems, Pratham Gan, Dvitiya Mrityur Age was published in 1960.
Among the honours he won was the Adamjee Award in 1963, Bangla Academy Award for Literature in 1969, Jibanananda Das Award in 1973, Ekushey Padak in 1977, Abul Mansur Ahmed Memorial Award in 1981, Nasiruddin Gold Medal and Padavali Award in 1981, Maulana Bhasani Award in 1982, Swadhinata Padak in 1991, and Ananda Award of India in 1994. Three Indian universities also conferred DLit degrees on him.
Shamsur Rahman, a doyen of the Bangla poetry of the latter half of the twentieth century, died at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka on August 17. He was 77.
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