In search of answers to life's meaning
Shahid Alam is impressed by a collection of poetry
Dreams and RealityMuhammad Zamir
Nymphea Publication Muhammad Zamir has worn, and continues to wear, many hats. He is a former career diplomat who has been the Ambassador of Bangladesh in various countries, and Permanent Representative to several international organizations, an active member of the civil society, an educationist, a columnist, a prolific writer of books on diverse subjects, and has served as Chief Information Commissioner of Bangladesh's Information Commission. He is also a poet, having composed poems in both English and Bengali. Dreams and Reality is a collection of 261 poems that he had written at different times. Through most of these, he goes on a soul-searching journey. "I have, in these poems," Zamir explains, "tried to find the meaning of life that helps us to move forward in our daily existence." And he has tried, in poem after poem, to find answers to the eternal question of what is the meaning of life. Was it a random beginning, or was life just a coincidence, a miracle, that no one foresaw? The poet thus ponders in the opening lines of "Requiem for a shadow", the first poem in the book. He frames the question relentlessly in various configurations and one of the answers he arrives at in this poem is so expressed: Life is a game we play --- we start in the morning and it is over at the end of the day. The poet's quest for finding answers is typified by the title of the poem "Past, present and future"; the expression of his struggle towards this objective might lead one to view his work as morbid, or simply existing in a cosmic sphere. Until the reader realizes that Zamir exists in a mystical plane, engaged in an unending pursuit to find the reason or significance of our existence. This quest has been a longstanding one by mystics down the years, irrespective of any religious affiliation or its absence. The theme of the inevitability of death is never far from many of the poems. The poet views the perplexing Great Unknown this way: …we enter the twilight zone of never-ending sleep. ("Underneath our skin") In between the beginning and the end of mortal existence, he offers a whole range of existential reflections, like: We are what we are--- by-products of our responses conditioned by our religious handicaps as we stroll down our own unique spiritual mall. ("We are what we are") And, We often forget that life is not a potent op-ed essay, but is really a multi-dimension filled with animations. ("Life") Furthermore, I understand there is life after death ...........……. but what does one do in the meantime…. ("Farewell to the last chapter") We will return to his almost thematic obsession with the meaning of life. But Zamir also writes on other topics, a number of which should easily stir the conscience of a conscientious person. This poem eloquently testifies to the aesthetically offensive city that Dhaka has become (not to speak of it as being ranked, for several successive years, among the top two or three most unlivable cities in the world): Today, there are so many soulless housing projects that have taken over our city landscape. ……………. Grace is sacrificed on the altar of conspicuous consumption. ("Disembodied architecture") On religion, he emphasizes on humanity more than on the rituals: Does religion live in a cross, a crescent, a prayer, ……………. It probably does, but more so, in--- smiling children, the fluttering wings of the bird, fragrant flowers, bars of music, compassion and understanding, decent shelters, proper meals, education, lack of prejudice, equal opportunities, freedom to choose, swaying waves and blue skies. ("Religion") Then there is this qualifier on a well-known adage: …it is not power that corrupts but ignorance in the application of that power. ("Realization") Zamir does not forget August 15, 1975: The voice of liberty was snuffed out by the very men trained to save, rather than maim. ("Fifteenth August") He longs for peace as the sane solution to varied problems: Prayers for peace, let us not miss, let us respond in our own way to every wrong with music, candles, flowers and a song. ("Not half-empty but half-full") Zamir picks up on the agony and the fury of the Palestinians in Gaza, who were born knowing nothing but terror, in the touching poem "The making of a martyr in Gaza". Staying on Gaza, in another piece he cries out: I pity war. I pity those more who pity war. …………….. I hate war. I pity more this inaction in action. ("The citizens of Gaza") It appears from this poem that Zamir is raging against himself, and all those who are unable to stop armed conflict. "Heart of Darkness" is a sad social commentary, a poem that the author has dedicated to a young girl who lost her innocence to a cruel religious ritual. His yearning for peace leads him to cry out, almost in despair: My Jerusalem has vanished, ……………. Confluence of peace and happiness, will it dawn again? ("Jerusalem") There are a couple of poems that demonstrate the author's awareness of acute poverty ("Penury", "The Orphans"): Empty eyes filled with despair, yet clinging to hope. ("The Orphans") The poet is, quite naturally given his involvement in the area, strongly aware of the political landscape: As we stand as a witness to history, we most often, fail to listen carefully to what is being said about the post, or what might happen in the future. ("Crossing the electoral wasteland") On women, he asks, combining religion and humanity: why do we think we can abuse her despite His wish that we mend? ("The veiled gift") A few poems are set in Italy and gives a fair idea of life in that country. Then there is this curious poem "Hashish", which ends thus: My head is throbbing There is a strange calm, time has suddenly stopped. It sounds suspiciously like the tale told by one who has partaken of the hallowed weed to go into transient Nirvanas! However, Zamir's recurring theme is his search for the meaning of life. I wonder if he has found it, or, if it is at all possible to do so beyond personal applications and inclinations. Here are more samplings of his quest: Tonight, I have the feeling of having created yesterday, pawned today, to pave the way for tomorrow. ("Pawning today for tomorrow") On a theme of self-actualization: Being average helps you exist an existence where one will have charm but little identity. ("Being average") He poses a dilemma: Within the bricks and moss of life do we sacrifice our present for the future, or do we sacrifice our future for the present? ("Swinging through the trees") Life, he variously calls "this onion", "jig-saw puzzle", "traveling circus", and one which is "not a mousetrap". The author also titles one of his poems "Life is an absurd tale", which he ends with: that has no ending because it had no beginning in the first place. He comes to some sort of a conclusion, one which is more pragmatic than spiritual: In the end we are but choices we have made on our own. ("The choices that we have made") Zamir, who ponders much on death, eventually decides to send words of contempt and defiance to the Great Unknown: I do know however that Death should not be proud, for Death, you shall die too, but none shall mourn you. ("Death") Dreams and Reality might well be Zamir's tour-de-force, and the poetry-lover should find much in it to his/her liking. Shahid Alam, Head of Media and Communication department, IUB, is an actor and former diplomat.
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