Mahmood Nasir Jahangiri :Anchalik Bhasar Abhidhan a dictionary of regional dialects of Bangladesh. Edited by Dr Muhammad Shahidullah, the Anchalik Bhasar Abhidhan was first published in 1965. The Linguistic Survey of India (1903-1928) by George Abraham Grierson was the first serious work on the regional forms of the Bangla language. Similar to this survey, a project for surveying local dialects was undertaken by the Bangla Academy under the general supervision of Dr Muhammad Shahidullah in 1958. Different universities, colleges, high...
Publisher : Tauhidur Rahman, Bangla Shahitya Parishad, Dhaka. Fourth Publication : February 2015 (1st Publication : I.F.B., June 1982). Cover...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman :Madhusudan was followed by Dinabandhu Mitra whose Nildarpan (1860) has considerable historical value as it depicts the merciless exploitation of Bengali farmers by English indigo traders. The play played a significant role in ending indigo cultivation. Two other playwrights who made significant contributions were Dwijendra Lal Roy and Girish Chandra Ghosh (1844-1912).The first Muslim playwright was Golam Husain whose play Hadjvalani was printed in 1864. It was not a complete play, but rather a...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman : (From the previous issue) The efforts at writing Bangla plays in the first phase on the basis of contemporary period and society continued with vigour in the second phase. The plays in this phase were varied and tried to portray the social realities. Several of Munier Chowdhury’s powerful plays, including some translated works, were published at this time. Munier Chowdhury’s Dandakaranya (1966) was written on the subject of contemporary society. His play Chithi...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman : (From the previous issue) Shamsur Rahman’s Octopus (1983) and Montage (1985) depict the sufferings of an individual due to internal as well as external compulsions. A trilogy on this theme was created by Abu Zafar Shamsuddin through his Padma Meghna Jamuna (1974), Samkar Samkirtan (1980) and the pre-independence work Bhawal Garher Upakhyan. Shawkat Osman’s Artanad (1985) and Selina Husain’s Yapita Jiban (1981) were portrayals of the fundamental sentiments of the language movement as...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman :Bangla literature dates back to the 7th century at least and it may be divided into three main periods: ancient, medieval, and modern. The different periods may be dated as follows: ancient period from 650-1200, medieval period from 1200-1800, and the modern period from 1800 to the present. The medieval period may again be divided into three periods: early medieval-also known as the period of transition-from 1200-1350; high medieval from 1350-1700, including the pre-Chaitanya...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman : (From the previous issue) In the phase of essay literature of the thirties those who were noted for writing thematic essays included Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890-1977), Sushil Kumar De (1890-1968), Rajshekhar Basu, Niharranjan Roy (1903-1981) and Sukumar Sen; in literary criticism, prominent writers were Srikumar Bandyopadhyay (1892-1970), Shashibhusan Dasgupta (1911-1964) and Pramathanath Bishi; in other areas, the prominent writers were Atulchandra Gupta (1884-1961), Annadashankar Roy and Dhurjatiprasad Mukhopadhyay. Buddhadev Bose, Syed Muztaba Ali...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman :(From the previous issue)Unlike other branches of literature in this phase, plays did not flourish to any significant extent. Religious and social taboos about plays as well as various limitations in staging them thwarted the development of drama. Most plays of the time were based on historical stories, completely detached from the realities of contemporary life. Of these plays, Akbaruddin’s Nadir Shah (1953) is worth mentioning. Poet Jasimuddin used folklore to create Padmapar, Madhumala...
Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman : (From the previous issue) Although Fort William College helped develop Bangla prose through the preparation of Bangla textbooks, later textbooks were written at the initiative of Calcutta school-book society (established 1817). Some of its main writers were Ramkamal Sen (1783-1844), Radhakanta Dev (1783-1867), and Tarinicharan Mitra (1772-1837). Most of their books were didactic. Other textbooks were written by teachers of serampore college, including Felix Carey (1786-1822), John Clark Marshman, and John Mack. Some...
Syed Ali Ahsan : In the ocean when the tide trumps, Wind shifts And the waves sweep the shore While conches and mother pearls are Spread over the sand They forget to craw I back, If they could become creepers Or trees Or hills Which get lost in the clouds They could have remembered The days of vegetation and smell. Those men and women who have not Come to live on earth yet I want to leave behindA consolation for...
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain, (9 December 1880 – 9 December 1932), popularly known as Begum Rokeya was a leading feminist writer and social worker in undivided Bengal during the early 20th century. She is most famous for her efforts on behalf of gender equality and other social issues. She established the first school aimed primarily at Muslim girls, which still exists today. Begum Rokeya also wrote short stories and novels. Her important works are Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag.She was born...
Farida Hossain :It was the month of February, Spring in Bengal. The whole of Bangladesh, particularly its capital Dhaka was busy celebrating the Language Movement. “We want Bengali as our state language. We want to talk about our land, we are all brothers.”All these idealistic slogans seem to be important for only this particular day! People babble and speechify endlessly-patriotism, love, sacrifice. Rifat was sick of these words and these talkative people. Standing on the other side of the wall...