Faruque Ahmed :
Poet Rafiq Azad has passed away few days back. We remember him with deep love and affection. He was meritorious, talented and gifted poet. He has contributed and enriched our literature with some extraordinary poetry which will be read by Bengali readership so long Bengali literature will be in our hearts. In my consideration few of his poetry will remain in our literature as classics undoubtedly. Rafiq Azad was a legend in his life time and will remain so for long as we will be reading his literary works in Bengali. As his poetry, he himself was a different type of human being, not usually we see in our day to day life. Extremely honest and sincere to his efforts he had deep rooted relationship with the people of different walks of life. Rafiq Azad was a courageous poet as we find in his poetry, wherein he depicts without fear and favour what he sees around him. Some of his poetry of classical nature as Bhat De Haramjada, Jodi Balabasha Pai, Chonia Ammar Arkedia, Amake Khojona Britha, Madhobi Eshei Bole Jai etc. and lot more we can cite.
I feel privileged and proud to cite a very small story about this great man, Rafiq Azad. In the seventies I was deeply associated with classical literature such as novels, poetry and writings of different writers of repute around the world. I was highly enthusiastic about the writers and their write-up as well. In this process I came across with a small novel written by a young doctor Shukanto Battacherjee then serving in the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). I was extremely charmed and touched reading the Novel Desh Geramer Munisshee a detail narratives of the area wherefrom I come from. The novel was classical in nature and attracted me for its small narratives of characters of village people. I could not control my temptation to express in few sentences about this novel. I wrote a letter to Dr Shukanto appreciating the novel and my feeling about the novel and sent it to the writer to his address at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and he received the letter. It was in the mid seventies and I was then working as officer in TCB, a government corporation, at its head office at Purana Paltan. To my utter surprise, few days later of sending the letter one of my colleagues, Matiur Rahman (Anupam Hayat) informed me that poet Rafiq Azad has personally come to our office to convey thanks to me for sending the letter to the writer of the novel Desh Geramer Munsshi. I was really stunned and was extremely happy knowing this news. Rafiq Azad came to my chamber and had tea with me and conveyed thanks to me on behalf of Dr Shukanta who could not come for his preoccupation.
By then, in the seventies, Rafiq Azad has become hugely popular amongst his readership in Bangladesh and outside as well. A poet of his stature has personally come to say thanks to a small and insignificant government official was beyond my imagination. He came to my office from Bangla Academy to meet me with huge enthusiasm and hugged me for the letter of appreciation I have sent to a young writer. To him, as he spoke, it was a rare event for a reader to write letter to a new writer in this part of the world. We had tea together and Rafiq Azad stayed few minutes with me in my office. It was a grand and memorable event for me and will be remembered by me for the whole of my life.
Apart from being a popular and renowned poet, he was an extraordinary human being as well. At his sad departure from this world, I very respectfully remember him and pay my homage for the generous visit he paid to my office to convey thanks to me. May God bless him and grant him eternal peace.n
[The writer is former senior executive at Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB)]
Poet Rafiq Azad has passed away few days back. We remember him with deep love and affection. He was meritorious, talented and gifted poet. He has contributed and enriched our literature with some extraordinary poetry which will be read by Bengali readership so long Bengali literature will be in our hearts. In my consideration few of his poetry will remain in our literature as classics undoubtedly. Rafiq Azad was a legend in his life time and will remain so for long as we will be reading his literary works in Bengali. As his poetry, he himself was a different type of human being, not usually we see in our day to day life. Extremely honest and sincere to his efforts he had deep rooted relationship with the people of different walks of life. Rafiq Azad was a courageous poet as we find in his poetry, wherein he depicts without fear and favour what he sees around him. Some of his poetry of classical nature as Bhat De Haramjada, Jodi Balabasha Pai, Chonia Ammar Arkedia, Amake Khojona Britha, Madhobi Eshei Bole Jai etc. and lot more we can cite.
I feel privileged and proud to cite a very small story about this great man, Rafiq Azad. In the seventies I was deeply associated with classical literature such as novels, poetry and writings of different writers of repute around the world. I was highly enthusiastic about the writers and their write-up as well. In this process I came across with a small novel written by a young doctor Shukanto Battacherjee then serving in the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). I was extremely charmed and touched reading the Novel Desh Geramer Munisshee a detail narratives of the area wherefrom I come from. The novel was classical in nature and attracted me for its small narratives of characters of village people. I could not control my temptation to express in few sentences about this novel. I wrote a letter to Dr Shukanto appreciating the novel and my feeling about the novel and sent it to the writer to his address at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital and he received the letter. It was in the mid seventies and I was then working as officer in TCB, a government corporation, at its head office at Purana Paltan. To my utter surprise, few days later of sending the letter one of my colleagues, Matiur Rahman (Anupam Hayat) informed me that poet Rafiq Azad has personally come to our office to convey thanks to me for sending the letter to the writer of the novel Desh Geramer Munsshi. I was really stunned and was extremely happy knowing this news. Rafiq Azad came to my chamber and had tea with me and conveyed thanks to me on behalf of Dr Shukanta who could not come for his preoccupation.
By then, in the seventies, Rafiq Azad has become hugely popular amongst his readership in Bangladesh and outside as well. A poet of his stature has personally come to say thanks to a small and insignificant government official was beyond my imagination. He came to my office from Bangla Academy to meet me with huge enthusiasm and hugged me for the letter of appreciation I have sent to a young writer. To him, as he spoke, it was a rare event for a reader to write letter to a new writer in this part of the world. We had tea together and Rafiq Azad stayed few minutes with me in my office. It was a grand and memorable event for me and will be remembered by me for the whole of my life.
Apart from being a popular and renowned poet, he was an extraordinary human being as well. At his sad departure from this world, I very respectfully remember him and pay my homage for the generous visit he paid to my office to convey thanks to me. May God bless him and grant him eternal peace.n
[The writer is former senior executive at Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB)]
