Al Mahmud Translated by Rifat Munim Sonali Kabin The minaret of straw Who knows why he’s returned? The farmers are surprised to see him there. Hurriedly removing piles of stalks with a hoe The crop…
Month: June 2017
Shamsur Rahman Translated by Kaiser Haq Mask Shower me with petals, heap bouquets around me, I won’t complain. Unable to move, I won’t ask you to stop nor, if butterflies or swarms of flies settle…
Qayes Ahmed Translated from Bengali by Parveen K Elias Sons of the soil A story on Bangladesh’s Liberation War. The Bangla title of the story was “Nochiketagon”. With sixteen persons huddled together in a narrow bathroom, there…
Mohammad Rafiq is not mentioned as frequently as some of his peers in literary discussions or addas. But critics and poets alike regard him as one of our best poets who, in a career spanning more than five decades, has kept carving for himself newer paths. Sanatkumar Saha, a renowned critic, has said Rafiq continues to grow as a poet even in his 70s, and stunningly so, as he is rarely found to have repeated himself.
This is a tribute to the poet without whose contribution the modern foundation of our poetry would not be where it is today. Shaheed Quaderi left us forever on August 28. He is not as prolific a poet as his peers. But the 126 poems he has written have given us a picture of Dhaka that will live on for as long as the city lives. Here are two of his poems in Shawkat Hussain’s translation.