15 18 arts & letters

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DT

Arts & Letters

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Editor’s Note

W

hat began as a weeklong fair in the late 1970s has gradually evolved as a month-long festival of books since the 1980s, becoming one of the most anticipated literary events for readers and writers alike. The Ekushey Book Fair, which sees thousands of readers swarm to the fair ground, does not only speak of a thriving publishing industry but also of a glorious part of our history as a nation. Taking place in the month of February, fostering among the new generations the spirit of the language movement, it is now a part of our cultural identity.

Having said that, the question arises whether we have been able to protect its sanctity from the forces that had once attempted to ban Bangla from all academic and official activities, to eliminate our rich, secular cultural heritage? The answer is a no if we look

inside

at the continued attacks on freethinking writers and publishers.

Even 64 years after the language movement, we are haunted by the ideological legacy of Pakistan.

}

Taking place in the month of February ... it is now a part of our cultural identity

On Feb 26 last year, writer-blogger Avijit Ray was brutally killed by alleged religious extremists, minutes after he walked out of the fair. The first time the nation witnessed anything like this was in 2004 when Humayun Azad had come under a similar attack after he, too, came out of the fair. What they had in common was a ration-

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al way of seeing things and an unfluctuating stance against extremist forces that had committed crimes against humanity in 1971.

But why were they both attacked in a similar manner and around the same place near the fair? Evidently, the air of free spirit permeating the fair is something the attackers cannot bear with.

The killings that followed Avijit’s and the way the authorities handled a publisher high-handedly last week give us all valid reasons to be worried.

We nonetheless believe that the language movement is what binds us all together, irrespective of our differences in terms of race, gender and class and that the Ekushey Book Fair is our strongest expression of that spirit which embraces all languages and views.

It is in this belief that we dedicate this issue of the Arts & Letters to the Ekushey Boi Mela. l

Interview: Mohiuddin Ahmed

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The utterances are of mourning Abul Hasan

I do not see the meek wife anywhere nor do I see the baby struggling to walk.

The wind spread gold and silver like cotton fibres.

I see the swans these days, moving with their soft bodies, and I see those same, familiar faces.

I do not see my younger brother anywhere nor do I see my younger sister wearing her supple nose-ring; I do not see them anymore.

But that bride, that mumbling baby -I do not see them anymore.

Has the wife become a swan?

Has the baby then turned into the blazing sun in a green field, green sky?

A lot many wars are over after a sea of blood.

Books at Ekushey Boi Mela

I see only flags and festivals and independence.

Is my brother then that independent flag?

Is my sister, then, the festival on the dark scaffold​?

Translated by A&L desk.

Send your submissions to: anl@dhakatribune.com

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Arts & Letters

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Saturday, February 27, 2016

Interview

‘New writers are not comin n Rifat Munim

academic results.

I doubt young people these days bring up books in their addas, not at least as frequently as we did. Then there are the English medium students who have a commendable reading habit but they are not reading the local authors, they are buying mostly imported books.

T

he Gulshan office of University Press Limited has a corporate touch to it. The furniture is sleek, the decor elegant. But I was used to an old set of furniture and not-so-well-painted office which smelled only of papers and books. Mohiuddin Ahmed’s room in the old Motijheel office had book-filled shelves all over the place, some as high as the sidewall; the furniture in there could hardly be noticed. But here his room is bigger, has a sofa and a conference table on top of smart furnishings. The only shelf is on the wall with his reading desk.

I found him sitting in his wheelchair at the conference table, talking to Badiuddin Nazir, his adviser and most trusted editor. Mohiuddin bhai looked thinner than the last time I saw him, which was two years ago.

Back then he could walk short distances with some difficulty, but now he couldn’t move without the wheelchair. Yet, the smile was there on his face, that lively, generous smile. He held out his hand and took mine.

“How are you doing?” he said.

True age has left him decrepit and restricted his movements, but it could not break his spirit.

May be a revamp is necessary to cope with time, but his ever youthful spirit remains the same.

At 72, he is still carving out newer avenues for publishing.

Known as the publisher emeritus, the highest accolade awarded to any publisher so far, he has seen it all. He established University Press Limited (UPL) in 1975 and has taken ethical publishing practices to an outstanding height. He has given a solid foundation to publishing books of scholarly research and thought-provoking essays. Many of UPL’s books are in the shortlist of recommended books in many acclaimed Asian, European and American universities.

I recently engaged him in a talk about our reading habit, especially about how it changed over the past decades after independence. Soon it branched out in many directions from reading habit to different aspects of the current publishing scene to the unethical practice of depriving authors of their royalties to the possibility of a change for the better.

Do publishers have a role to play in creating and encouraging readership? Does a badly edited book drive us away from reading other books?

MA: I think publishers have an important role to play. Their most fundamental role is to bring out quality books in terms of content and editing. More books are being published now but their qualities have not improved. Some of them are full of spelling errors and typos. It’s because most publishers do not have an editorial panel to review the content and check errors.

Publishers think authors are the editors and after an author submits a work, no further editing is needed. Sadly enough, our authors also believe that their work should not be subject to editing. They think no one should edit their work. So, yes, a badly edited book may affect a reader in many ways; it may drive him or her from reading other books of the same author or publisher.

Mohiuddin Ahmed

}

But forms of literary interaction and types of institutional encouragement have changed, and I don’t think they have changed for the better. In our time there was a competition and those who read more used to do well, even in the job market. But there’s not enough competition now. Those who do well in their career nowadays are not necessarily the ones who read more or have better academic results.

Excerpts from the interview:

Do you think our reading habit has changed over the past decades?

Mohiuddin Ahmed: We have a rich tradition of reading and it has evolved over the years. Reading habit is formed early in our lives, may be in class six or seven or eight. Then it requires nurturing.

In our time, we got the incentives through informal addas with

friends and social gatherings.

May be one friend would mention one book and some other would praise it while another would criticise it. Then what the rest would do is buy or collect the book and read it.

We also got institutional encouragement through debate competitions and cultural programmes where one had to read to perform well.

But forms of literary interaction and types of institutional encouragement have changed, and I don’t think they have changed for the better. In our time there was a competition and those who read more used to do well, even in the job market. But there’s not enough competition now.

Those who do well in their career nowadays are not necessarily the ones who read more or have better

What do you think about fiction readers? Has their taste changed from serious work to popular work?

MA: I think new fiction writers are not coming into play. We’re not getting a Shawkat Ali or an Elias or a Kayes Ahmed from younger generations. That’s why number of fiction readers has not increased.

Would you share your experience of publishing fiction?

MA: My first lot of fiction came in the early 1980s. Nayeem Hasan, a very good editor, took it forward at that time. He brought out 12 books of Bangla fiction that included Shawkat Ali, Elias, Shawkat Osman and Syed Ali Ahsan. All of them sold well. But in the following decades, I found it increasingly difficult to sell fiction because the pipeline dried up. I don’t think younger generations of writers are showing as much promise as their predecessors. That’s one reason why I’ve stuck to essays

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DT

Arts & Letters

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Books

ng into play’ neatly edited, fine-looking book.

It grabbed readers’ attention as soon as it hit the market. It was possible as the writing was good and the publisher made sure the production was impeccable.

Such a story is rare these days.

No one puts in a good word for another writer. Everyone seems busy with himself.

So, you think the onus is on writers to attract readers and increase readership.

Badiuddin Nazir and research articles, though we’re planning to do some fiction again. We’re also concentrating on children’s literature.

There is another important factor I’d like to mention here. It is directly linked to encouraging young authors.

Our publishing industry is still reluctant about authors’ royalties. It is an author’s right to get his royalties. Transparency, at least, should be ensured while dealing with an author. He has a right to know the updates on sales, production costs, and profit, if there is any.

[At this point, Badiuddin Nazir came in and joined us. Mohiuddin bhai invited him to comment on the role publishers and authors can play in expanding readership] Badiuddin Nazir: I don’t think publishers can play a very big role. Writers write and publishers print. Readers are attracted when the writing is good. So if there’s a dearth of good writing, publishers cannot do much. How does a writer grow? He does not start as a famous one. He attracts readers’ attention and gains some renown. Then publishers get recommendations about him from writers or readers. So, it is only by means of his writing that one can become a writer and create readers.

Let me share a story in this connection. Elias was not famous when he was publishing instalments of his novel, Chilekothar Sepai, in Saptahik Robbar. He was living as a tenant in Shawkat Ali’s house then. It was Ali who spoke highly of Elias to me. He asked me to publish his work. That’s how UPL was introduced to Elias. Then we teamed up with Elias and we put in a lot of effort to produce that

BN: Of course. Think of Humayun Ahmed. Where did he get so many readers? It’s because of his writing. Once you start reading his fiction, no matter what you feel afterwards, you can’t put it back until you finish it. So, this power of taking readers in the story gained him his huge pool of readers. Today’s authors lack this power of storytelling.

MA: I’d point to one more setback for our young writers. A system of literary agencies has not developed in Bangladesh. India has only recently started the use of the PR work of literary agents. In the western developed economies, scouting for good books is made easy for publishers by literary agents. A good literary agent can get a young author published by some famous publisher.

Do you think there has been any positive change lately in the publishing scene?

MA: Yes, there have been some positive changes, which make me optimistic. A few publishing houses, such as Prothoma, have started this practice of signing contracts with authors and they are paying royalties, which, I’m sure, will come as an incentive for young writers.

Readers often complain about which book to pick. Can media play a role in bridging the gap between readers and writers?

MA: Well, we seriously lack good reviews. What we usually have in the form of reviews is just back-slapping. But what we need is real, objective reviews written by strong voices who can productively critique a novel or poetry collection, if necessary, by criticising it severely but logically. So, media can run that kind of review regularly.

It is through good reviews that readers’ interests are piqued. l The writer is Editor, A&L, Dhaka Tribune.

UPL’s new arrivals at Ekushey Mela Bangladeshe Ganatantra

by Moudud Ahmed Price: Tk 750

History of Bangladesh

by Abul Maal A. Muhit Price: Tk 800

Dhaka: An Urban Reader

by Mahbubur Rahman Price: Tk 1280

Uncertain Tomorrows

Rabindranath

by Abul Momen Price: Tk 300

Gresham’s Law Syndrome and Beyond

by Akbar Ali Khan Price: Tk 700

Blame

by Dilruba Z. Ara Price: Tk 750

Mosaic of a Lost Era

by Syeda Rozana Rashid

by Syed Najmuddin Hashim

Price: Tk 650

Price: Tk 500

A Temporary Sojourn and Other Stories

Modhu Shikari

by Nasrin Jahan

Price Tk 875

Price: Tk 400

Kartika Nayar

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Arts & Letters

18

Saturday, February 27, 2016

E k ush e y b o i M e la Over 3 thousand new titles have hit the Ekushey Boi Mela this year, giving a boost to young poets and writers. Here we take a look at a few of the new arrivals that have already caught readers’ attention.

Hariye Jawa Jibika

By Prasanta Mridha Price: Tk 200 Published by Kothaprakash

Rabindranath Keno Joruri

By Serajul Islam Chowdhury Price: Tk 400 Published by Oboshor

Anya Ganger Gaan, Samudrasaman

Hasan Azizul Haquer Kathasahitya

By Abdullah Al Muktadir Price: Tk 135 Published by Platform

By Chandan Anwar Price: Tk 420 Published by Bangla Academy

Sab Phul Kothay Gechhe

Kayes Ahmed Samagra

By Asmar Osman Price: Tk 200 Jagriti Prakashani

Price: Tk 250 Published by Mawla Brothers

World English Poetry

Kosbi

Edited by Sudeep Sen Price: Tk 500 Published by Bengal Publications

Harishankar Jaladas Price: Tk 300 Published by Oboshor

Ranesh Dasgupta Rachanasamgra

Nagar Dhakay Jonoiko Jibanananda

Price: Tk 300 Published by Bangla Academy

A short story collection by Pias Majid

Yours, Etcetera

Calligraphy of Wet Leaves

Price: Tk 120 Published by Anyaprakash

bengal lights books

april

by Andrw Eagle and Tulip Chowdhury Price: Tk800

Hasan Azizul Haq (twelve stories)

Translated by Bhaskar Chattopadhyay

Price: Tk500

Syed Shamsul Haq (two novellas)

Translated by Saugata Ghosh Price: Tk500

by Ikhtisad Ahmed Price: Tk600

by Neeman Sobhan Price: Tk300