Showkat, Elias remembered

Entertainment Desk: Dhaka, Feb-18,

Renowned novelists Showkat Ali and Akhtaruzzaman Elias were remembered at an online programme on Wednesday.  

The programme titled Showkat Elias Janma-Jayanti was streamed on the Facebook page named E-SouthAsia.   The event was organised by E-SouthAsia to observe the birth anniversary of Showkat Ali and Akhtaruzzaman Elias.  

Showkat Ali was born on February 12, 1936 and Akhtaruzzaman Elias was born on February 12, 1943.  Litterateurs Khaliquzzaman Elias, Zakir Talukder, V Ramaswamy and Faruk Wasif were present as discussants at the programme.  

Khaliquzzaman Elias said, ‘Both Showkat Ali and Akhtaruzzaman Elias, two prominent fiction writers in Bangla literature, shared so much in common in their lifestyle and writings that sometimes I feel like calling them soul-mates. When I was a student at Dhaka University, I used to visit my brother and sometimes stayed in that house for days together. 

That’s how I had an opportunity to see him from close proximity.’  ‘Both of them were such writers who were against self-propagation. They were absolutely honest to teaching as well as to writing. They served Bangladesh Lekhok Shibir, a left literary organisation. Showkat Ali served as its chairman and Elias served as vice-chairman for many years; and as organisers, both proved highly successful and found this organisation congenial to their literary activities,’ added Khaliquzzaman Elias.  

‘Their writing styles are different, however, they have the same bent of mind as in their writings both time and space, that is history and place play an important part. They can be discussed in terms of Bakhtin’s chronotope and heteroglossia as they represent the world views of their variegated fictional characters through diversity of dialect in their dialogues and dialects. 

In their novels, in fact, history and place are given so much importance that they appear almost as characters. Both cherished socialist ideas and portrayed the struggles of the injured and the insulted, the subalterns of the society and used their dialects extensively to bring them alive in their appropriate social contexts,’ mentioned Khaliquzzaman Elias, adding,’ Showkat Ali used dialects of the marginalised minority community rather extensively while Elias used common dialects of the people of the lower strata of the mainstream communities. 

Thus I see both Showkat Ali and Akhtaruzzaman Elias as having more things in common in their life and work than differences; hence I will not hesitate to call them soul-mates.’  Zakir Talukder said, ‘Bangladesh Lekhak Shibir used to organise programmes observing the anniversary of the birth of Akhtaruzzaman Elias on 12 February every year. I attended the programmes as a discussant on several occasions. Besides presiding over the events, Showkat Ali used to deliver lectures on Akhtaruzzaman Elias.’  

‘Showkat Ali also felt proud of his soul-mate Akhtaruzzaman Elias for his political and historical consciousness. He used to say everything openly. But no one present at those ceremonies ever got the slightest hint from his words and behaviour that his birth anniversary is also on February 12. I would like to pay my best tribute to the two maestros of Bangla literature,’ added Zakir Talukder.  V Ramaswamy said, ‘During my 16-year career in translation, I have been fortunate to receive valuable advice from my friends. 

Srishti Dutta Chowdhury, a student of comparative literature and translator, was assisting me when I was translating works of Subimal Misra and Shahidul Zahir. She mentioned the name of Showkat Ali to me, and requested me to join her in translating two of his novels, namely, Narai and Prodoshe Prakritajan. 

She also told me briefly  about the novels. I wholeheartedly agreed to her proposal at once. I then tried to establish contact with the late author’s estate to obtain consent, and fortunately that was obtained very soon.’  ‘Once I accept and take on a translation task, I am like a devoted servant of the author’s texts. 

I do not judge or evaluate, or form an opinion. But of course, the text has an impact on me, which creates a sense of attachment to the work,’ added Ramaswamy.  

End/Dnm/Ed/Sma/