Sayeed Abubakar

Bangla poetry has the legacy of more than thousand years. Containing its thousand years’ tradition and heritage,

Bangla poetry is now at the peak of modernity. Though Michael Modhusudon Dutt was the precursor of it, his successors failed to follow his footsteps, rather they all, including Rabindranath Tagore, remained romantic like the medieval Bengali poets. Bangla poetry had to wait till Kazi Nazrul Islam to enter the world of modern age. Following the path of Nazrul, some great poets like Jibanananda Das, Ajid Datta, Amio Chakraborti, Farrukh Ahmad, Ahsan Habib and so on laid the foundation of Bangla poetry. In the fift decade of the twentieth century, Bangla poetry got some brilliant poets like Shamsur Rahman and Al Mahmud who helped it go to a new height. The poets of the sixth, seventh, eighth and nineth decades of the twentieth century contributed a lot to this process. Aminul Islam is one of those lucky poets who belong to these contributors. He emerged as a poet in the ninth decade and offered a good number of potery-collection which has, undoubtedly, a poetic value.

Poet Aminul Islam was born on December 29, 1963 in Chapainawabganj district of Bangladesh. His poetry poessesses the flavour and taste of mangoes, specially that of the Fazli mangoes. Undoubtedly, the soil and its environment contribute a lot to developing the base of a poet in any language. But its pre-condition is that the poet must be original, not hand-made or artificial. It is a matter of great joy that Aminul Islam is one of those modern Bengali poets whose name may be included in the list of real poets. As a poet, he seems to be very simple but his poetry tastes very sweet which leaves a different flavour of poetry.

His first collection of poems was published in 2002. In this sense, he may be classified as a poet of the zero decade. Though his first book saw the daylight in the 2002, he got flourished as a poet in the nineth decade of the previous century. Born in 1963 but got published first in the 21st century—it may create a wonder in the minds of the readers too. But though emerged late, he got flourished well and his poetry successfully drew the attention of the readers for their own merits.

The major characteristic of Aminul Islam’s poetry is that his language is very lucid and the themes of his poems are not vague at all but they bear a very profound meaning. `As the Sound Was Missing’ is such a poem. So simply the poet says:

When you first came, there was sound;
But for the next time, there was mere silence
When I realized, you had already gone;
Whether you really gone or not-,
Even they couldn’t say, who had seen you departed.

What a preparation and arrangement there was!
But just the lack of a sound,
So every thing of the session was postponed
Till now!
(Ekti Shabdo Nei Bole, Josnar Rat BedonarBehala)

Very simple as a poem but when the veil of its mystery is unfolded and its inner beauty is discovered, the readers feel delighted and its creator gets exposed as a real poet.

Poet Aminul Islam is popular among the readers for his love-poems which are very short in size but very rhythmic, symbolic and melodious. `Dressing Table’ is such a poem.

Turn your eyes from mirror
And focus on my eyes
Smear my glances into your eyes.
You will see
How much honey drops down
From the smiles of your lips.
Then you will realize
Why I come to put my lips onto yours.
(Dressing Table, Sharoter Train Shraboner Luggage)

Apparently Aminul Islam’s poems do not demand any explanation; automatically they get clear to the readers. But his poems have got second meanings in transparency-coated words. In most of the cases, he creates imageries filled with different connotations using the day to day used words. That is the unique style of his writings and expressions. This simplicity is not any fault, rather it is an art which a poet acquires through a hard labour. Rabindranath truly said:

You tell me to tell simply
But simple words cannot be told simply.

Aminul Islam is not unaware of his time and environment. True that Aminul Islam’s real identity is his romanticism but sometimes he becomes a true modern man when he observes with his keen eyes the real horrible picture of the world. Then he turns away his eyes from romantic love and without hesitation he declares his attachment with those who fight for humanity. His humanitarian note gets obvious when he says:

What is the output of love, my beloved?
Will Love extinguish the furnace of the White-Satan,
In which the dish of gun-powder hostile to civilization
Is cooked with gun-powder?
Listening to Krisna’s flute, will Tomahawk
Close its inter-continental fire-tongue
Which way the robbers threw down their looting minds
Hearing the words of Jilani?
(Valobese Ki Hobe, Amar ValobasaTomar Savings Account)

A conscious poet of time cannot stay closing two eyes neglecting his society, culture and environment.. The ugliness, selfishness and brutality of the fake civilization throw lights on his eyes and as the most sensitive man, he reacts, shouts and cries in pain within his soul. Seeing the miserable condition of the people living in the third world countries, poet Aminul Islam also becomes passionate like a tree fallen in the trap of storm. He says with a satirical note:

O World Bank of my love,
How many loans will you load upon me
To satisfy your greed with our warm mine?
Behold, we have still grown labour-crops waking whole nights.
What is the benefit of wasting money in the fastfood market?
If I become bankrupt, you tell, who will bear the liability
Of my compound interest?
(Tritio Biswa, ShesHemanter Jyoshna)

Going through his anthology of poems, one thing gets obvious to us that Aminul Islam is an ever green poet. He never gets tired of loving—loving his beloved, loving his dear motherland and the whole mankind. His sense of love always remains fresh everywhere which is vividly noticed in many of his poems. He does not hesitate to declare his love for his beloved:

You know
I am a peasant—I cultivate field-coloured
crops of words.
Rain is born in clouds,
Rain decorates fields with green.
No geography I know more than it.
O my peasant-wife, if you accompany me
with the loose end of your sari,
Believe me,
I will fill up your yard with
the fresh poetic crops of Autumn.
(Valobasar Ghorgerosthali, Tantra Theke Dure)

Does Aminul Islam ever become thoughtful of death? Does he turn to be spiritual? Yes, we notice this tendency too in his poems. ‘Haspataler Bichhanai Shue” is such a poem. He gets obsessed with the inevitable arrival of death in human life. He says:

Jibananando came to know exactly
He would come back being an owl or crow
We are homeless and find ways
The call of metamorphosis is played in vacuum.
(Haspataler Bichhanai Shue, Tantra Theke Dure)

Aminul Islam has a philosophy of his own, which differs him from the others. Nazrul says in his famous poem ‘The Rebel’—‘I have recognized myself.’ Recognizing ownself is very important for a poet to expose his real identity. Aminul Islam knows it and discloses it in his poem titled `This Is Me”. In the poet’s words—

Where ever I cast my eyes, I see myself. And it’s me.
When I became mature?
Had anybody ever taught me to walk holding my hand?
I couldn’t remember.
I do not see any one around.
Before me there’s only one statue stands before me
And that is myself.
Oh, I stretch up towards the sky, like a palm tree;
Underneath lies no shadow – no mango
I burn up myself under the scorching sun,

My early days full of foliage gazes at me in meditation.
(This Is Me, Shoroter Train Shraboner Luggage)

Poet Aminul loves to create a kind of mistery in his poetry. He makes his readers meditate and come to the truth of life. A type of paradox is noticed at first, the readers get perplexed and in the long run find the solution. `Destination is an incorrect Address’ is such a poem. It is a very short poem but its aphoristic quality charms the readers.

Two legs are lame because
You you are in at the destination
Your stomach is full to the brim
And your mouth is bitter;
You’ve touched the naked moon
You can no more turn into sea under the full moon;
You’re unhappy
Because you have nothing to desire;

In fact, destination is the name of incorrect address.
( Shoroter Train Shraboner Luggage)

The eyes of poet Aminul are very keen. He sees what we do not generally notice at all and he knows how to transform an abstract thing into a concrete one. Presenting the abstract as the concrete is not the task of a normal poet. Poet Aminul uses the sensual imagery to make the impossible possible. His ‘Beauty Is Lying’ is undoubtedly a beautiful poem which show Aminul’s mastery as a poet. When the poet says—

Look, beauty is lying folded on blue and white cover
The red light kisses the black and white eyes
Morning breeze comes and plays with dark-cloud hairs
Nothing to be delayed
Thrilled feelings opens up the folds of two colored prettiness
The stale cloths will be discarded
Though there is guarding of courtyard
Yet the fragrant gratefulness exalts all the security.
( Amar ValobasaTomar Savings Account)

We start looking at the words’ magic he shows us. What does not prevail here? Many a figure of speech like personification, metaphor etc is noticed here. It reveals that Aminul Islam writes poems very consciously. He is not a ready-made poet, rather a learned poet who writes having learned the rhetoric and prosody of Bangla poetry properly.

True that Aminul Islam started his poetic life late but it is a matter of wonder that his production is huge. Within 20 years, he has offered 16 collections of poems which consist of many good poems. I believe, if this great poet does not stop walking on the zig-zag stony ways of poetry, poetry will not betray him, he will surely reach his cherished destination and Bangla poetry will be enriched more, no doubt.
—–000—–
*****
Sayeed Abubakar
Poet, Eassayist, Translator
Professor
Department of English
Teachers Training Collge, Rajshahi