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Kazi Nazrul Islam

Any discussion on Bengali poetry must revolve around the names of Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul. While the former attained international recognition through his 1913 Nobel Prize for literature, the influence of Nazrul in the Bengali psyche is in many senses no less than that of Tagore.

Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899-1976) came to the literary spotlight in 1921 with his poem of the unstoppable rebel hero, Vidrohi (Rebel), which is the uplifting voice of the iconoclast. Set in a heroic meter and invoking images from both Hindu and Muslim mythological canons, the rebel is destructive, unrepentant, hard, but also unspeakably soft and gentle ("sleep smothered like the flute of Orpheus"):

I am unstoppable, irresponsible, brutal
I am Nataraja, I destroy the universe 
       With my metered dance.
Like a cyclone, I blow fear into the hearts of men
I crush underfoot all rules and traditions
Fully laden boats I sink, a dark menace: 
       A torpedo, a floating mine.
My hair dishevelled, I am the untimely storm
Unpredictable. I am the first raindrop
Tenderly I kiss the parched soil.
Rebel Incarnate I have come 
       From the womb of Mother Universe.
Other poems in this angry rebellious vein, such as Pralayollas (Destructive Euphoria) and Kamal Pasha, found resonance in a land erupting under the oppression of British rule. His first book, the hugely popular Agniveena (Fiery lyre, 1922), led to the popular moniker "rebel poet" (Vidrohi Kabi). By the end of the year, however, Nazrul was arrested for writing a thinly veiled political allegory, and underwent imprisonment for one year.

Nazrul came of age under the shadow of Tagore, whom he admired, and who was fond of him as well. But Nazrul's is a forceful independent voice, sometimes the swaggering rebel, talking in military staccato, and sometimes the gentle creative poet, lilting cadences dancing through his song. In addition to his poetic corpus, Nazrul, who was a talented musician, also composed more than three thousand songs, which constitute a complete genre in Bengali music today, under the name of nazrul-geeti, and remains immensely popular, with a large number of artistes and an active recording industry, both in West Bengal and Bangladesh.

At the age of eighteen, Nazrul was a student of class ten in Raniganj (in today's West Bengal), when he came under the spell of the distant First World War. He joined the new Bengali regiment and was posted in Karachi. Although the regiment never faced battle, and was disbanded in 1920 after cessation of hostilities, the cadence of the soldier's parades and marches permeates much of his writing from this time.

After the success of his early poetry, and his increasing stature in literary and political circles, Nazrul started composing his songs to music. Some of this corpus, especially many love songs, are particularly notable, like this song which never fails to resonate with anyone who has experienced the monsoon breaking with its towering dark clouds:

In this dark cotton cloud rain
The forest has spread out green
Beyond its boundaries
O where are you
In this dark cotton cloud rain. . .
He became associated with the Kallol literary group and also continued his political activity, running for election in 1926. For a period, a large number of his writings were banned. Other notable books of poems and songs from this period include Dolonchampa(1923), Bisher Bansi (The poisonous flute, 1924), Bhangar Gan (Songs of break-up, 1924), Puber Haoya (The east wind 1925) and Bulbul(1928). In later years, his liberal views on religion came under attack from the Muslim right.

In 1942, Nazrul fell seriously ill, and despite many attempts at treatment, he gradually lost his voice and memory.

In 1972, he moved to the newly formed nation of Bangladesh where he was honoured as the national poet. Despite the best medical attention, he passed away in 1976.

Today, Nazrul's legacy continues to energize the Bengali people, and his poems are part of the rites of passage for every generation of Bengali youth. Talk of Nazrul to a blue-blooded Bengali, and you will be invariably rewarded with a few lines from some favourite poem. Unfortunately, not enough talented translators have gathered to his cause, and Nazrul's reputation lives on only within the bounds of his language. Yet there is a recklessness about him, both in life and in song, that never fails to attract the truant imagination that is the eternal hallmark of youth.

Books by Nazrul

(all works are in Bengali)

POETRY

Agni Bina (The Fiery Lute), poems, 1992 Phanimanasa (The Cactus), poems, 1927 Sanchita (Collected poems), 1925 Satbhai Champa (The Seven Brothers of Champa), juvenile poems, 1933 Nirjhar (Fountain), poems, 1939 Natun Chand (The New Moon), poems, 1939 Marubhaskar (The Sun in the Desert), poems, 1951 Sanchayan (Collected Poems), 1955 Chakrabak (The Flamingo), poems, 1929 Nazrul Islam: Islami Kobita [A Collection of Islamic Poems; Dhaka, Bangladesh: Islamic Foundation, 1982)

SONGS

Bulbul (The Nightingle), songs, 1928 Sandya (Evening), songs, 1929 Chokher Chatak (Thirsty of Sight), songs, 1929 Nazrul Geetika, (Collected Nazrul Songs), 1930 Nazrul Swaralipi (The Notation of Nazrul Songs), 1931 Chandrabindu (Nasal Mark), songs, 1931 Sursaki (The Serving maid of Melodies), songs, 1932 Banageeti (Wilderness Songs), 1931 Zulfiquar (The Sword of Ali), songs, 1931 Gul Bagicha (Flower Garden), songs, 1933 Geeti Satadal (One Hundred Songs), 1934 Surmukur (Notations), 1934 Ganer Mala (Garland of Songs), 1934 Swaralipi (Notations), 1949 Bulbul Dwitiya Bhag (Bulbul, part Two), songs, 1952 Ranga Jaba (Red China Rose), songs on the goddess Kali, 1966

POEMS AND SONGS

Dolan Champa (name of a faintly fragrant monsoon flower), poems and songs, 1923 Bisher Banshi (The Poison Flute), poems and songs, 1924 Bhangar Gan (The Song of Destruction), songs and poems, 1924 proscribe in 1924 Chhayanat (The Raga of Chhayanat), poems and songs, 1925 Chittanama (On Chittaranjan), poems and songs, 1925 Samyabadi (The Proclaimer of Equality), poems and songs, 1926 Puber Hawa (The Eastern Wind), poems and songs, 1926 Sarbahara (The Proletariat), poems and songs, 1926 Sindhu Hindol (The Undulation of the Sea), poems and songs, 1927 Jinjir (Chain), poems and songs, 1928 Pralaya Shikha (Doomsday Flame), poems and songs, 1930 proscribed in 1930 Shesh Saogat (The Last Offerings), poems and songs, 1958

SHORT STORIES

Byathar Dan (Offering of Pain), short stories, 1992 Rikter Bedan (The Sorrows of Destitute), short stories, 1925 Shiulimala (Garland of Shiuli), stories, 1931

NOVELS

Bandhan Hara (Free from Bonds), novel, 1927 Mrityukshuda (Hunger for Death), novel, 1930 Kuhelika (Mystery), novel, 1931

PLAY AND DRAMA

Jhilimili (Window Shutters), plays, 1930 Aleya (Mirage), song drama, 1931 Putuler Biye (Doll's Marriage), children's play, 1933 Madhumala (Garland of Honeysuckle) a musical play, 1960 Jhar (Storm), juvenile poems and play, 1960 Pile Patka Putuler Biye (Doll's Marriage), juvenile poems and play, 1964

ESSAYS

Jooga Bani (The Message of the Age), essays, 1926 Jhinge Phul (The Cucurbitaccus Flower), essays, 1926 Durdiner Jatri (The Traveller through Rough Times), essays, 1926 Rudra Mangal (The Violent Good), essays, 1927 Dhumketu (The Comet), essays, 1961

MISCELLANEOUS

"Rajbondir Jabanbandi" (Deposition of a political prisoner), an address, 1923 Rubaiyat-e-Hafiz (Rubaiyat-e-Hafiz), translation, 1930 Kabye Ampara (Verse Translation of the Ampara), 1933 Maktab Shahitya (A Textbook for maktab), 1935 Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translation, 1958 Nazrul Rachanabali (Works of Nazrul), vols. 1-4, edited by Abdul Quadir, published by Bangla Academy, Bangladesh, 1993, (New Edition, edited by Board of Editors : Chairman, Anisuzzaman; Members, Muhammad Abdul Qayyum, Rafiqul Islam, Mohammad Mahfuzullah, Mohammad Moniruzzaman, Abdul Mannan Syed, Karunamay Goswami; Member-Secretary : Selina Hossain).

Courtesy: Nazrul Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh

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