Notes
Dream evening in Heidelberg
The launch of the Bengali-German poetry compilation of Bangladeshi poet Sheikh
Hafizur Rahman took place on a beautiful summer evening in Heidelberg recently. Draupodi Verlag's publisher Christian Weiss has great love for the Bangla language and Bengali culture. He learnt Bangla at Heidelberg University and has been making efforts toward publishing translations of Bengali and German works on Bengali literature. He recently launched Mein Tagore, a translation of well-known poet Alokranjan Dasgupta's work on Tagore.
Alokranjan Dasgupta was present at the launch, along with the Mayor of Schöneberg, Marcus Zeiler, and Bangladesh's Ambassador to Germany Mosud Mannan.
The evening lighted up when Sheikh Hafizur Rahman recited his poem Shopno in Bengali in a packed hall in Schoneberg, on the outskirts of Heidelberg, before a predominantly German audience. The audience appreciated the sounds of the Bengali language. Christian Weiss read out the German translation of the poem, Der Traum. Sustained applause filled the room.
Sheikh Hafizur Rahman comes from Tungipara, a small village in Bangladesh's Faridpur region. A cousin of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founder of Bangladesh, he began writing during his student life. He used to write under a pseudonym at the beginning and only later did he publish his books in his own name. His recent book, Droher Podaboli, has earned much praise. The other works which sealed his reputation as a renowned writer are Oporanher Mlan Aloy (2010), Modhumoti (2003) and Nongorer Tori (2001). His compilation of love poetry, Khola Chuler Megh, was published this year.
Rahman also wrote the weekly column Itihash Kotha Kau in the newspaper Khobor in Dhaka. Later those writings came together in a volume called book The Birth of Bangladesh. Sheikh Hafizur Rahman's Gonopachali was published in India in 2007. Recitations of some of his poems have also been brought out in audio-CDs. Some of his poems, set to music, have been sung by Hoimonti Shukla, Srikanta Bhattacharya and Sri Radha Bandopadhyaya. He has received two awards in Bangladesh ---. Sufi Motaher Hossain Prize in 2000 and Bangabandhu Memorial Prize in 2002. The Michael Madhushudhan Prize, from India, came in 2003.
The presentation of a book in two languages by Christian Weiss could be a beginning to a big step, as Mosud Mannan noted in his remarks. The ambassador pointed out that Bangla is the fifth most prominent language in the world. A hundred and eighty million people speak this language.
Poet Alokranjan Dasgupta, in his remarks, said, 'We are here celebrating the Bengali mind and culture. Today we do not belong to any place but, in the words of Schiller, we are citizens of time'. Poet Sheikh Hafizur Rahman made a request to Christian Weiss that the latter's translation of Bengali literature include the history of Bangladesh. About his poetry, he noted, 'Time will show whether my work is valuable. Critics will write about my poems. But it will be a gift to me if I can touch the heart of even one reader.'
The audience listened to Rahman's reading. With rapt attention Thomas Klaffke, principal of a local school, has studied German literature and history. He told me that hearing the poem Der Traum (The Dream) in Bengali was for him an imbibing of the sound, music and drama in it. Ashraf uz Zaman, associate professor of German language at Dhaka University, was also present and translated Sheikh Hafizur Rahman's Bengali address into German.
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