Our literature

Mofazzal Haidar Chowdhury :
Literature gives human beings culture. In our surroundings, where we live, there should be an ambience of enough light and air. Literature is that ambience in our mental world of that light and air.
The word literature derives from the word ‘sohit’ meaning together. Here the idea of harmony/union is evident. Literature, hence, brings up union, makes connection. Its job is like a messenger; to unite one mind with many minds.
We want that literature in our country connects mind with minds; that brings up freedom of all minds through tying the hearts together.
Our literature is in a transitional period; hence our literature is to take a turn. At this time, we should talk among ourselves. Here is the success of conference and assembly. From these, we get inspiration and guidance. Such ceremonies forward literary practice by creating cultural ambience. Otherwise, only by arranging conferences and assemblies literature is not created-everyone knows this.
However, the thoughts that have come into my brain about the principle and ideals of our literature at this transitional moment of new renaissance of the literature of East Bengal, I want to express some of these here. But if anyone does have different opinion, she/he should not call me directly ‘enemy’ rather what I expect, she/he will present her/his opinion with logic and evidence.
Somewhere else, in one essay I stated, “Culture originates its birth from the soil of the country.” The foundation of our culture will be the soil of our country.
Literature is the expression of emotion and feelings of human beings. The water, air of which country has given me life, the food of which soil has provided me with nutrition, my emotions and feelings are born of that essence of life, sapped with the sap of that country. Hence, the emotions and thought patterns of different countries, different regions are distinct. Physic structures, colour of bodies, nature-character, thoughts etc. of the people of revering country and those of deserted country are not same. Nature itself, with its mysterious care makes these people as different. Distinct regional features that are expressed through the rituals, behaviours, life-styles and speech are called culture of that distinct human race. Hence, the thing culture is local and regional.
Despite all these, there is an original unity among all nations and people of different countries e.g. among the whole human race. This unity is in the fields of their love and affection, kindness and religion i.e. concerning their deposition and feelings of heart. All human beings there are same. The more we can realise the original unity among all human beings, the more we advance to the way of complete humanity.
But the external difference of human beings gives them different bodies, and has created variety of beauty in the human world. We cannot discard this external difference. As culture has a universal shape, so it has also a spatial and timal foundation based on space and time. In short, the root of culture is in the soil of the country; its branches are spread across the light, air of the open and generous sky of the whole world. It has no impediments to enlarge extracting the newer lustre from there. Thus, through such mutual give-and-take, the world’s culture will evolve.
Our literature and culture will evolve from our soil. Our literature will establish centering the people of Bangladesh, her life and ambience. Any thing borrowed from outer sources are bound to wither due to lack of essence-as the graft from foreign land put into the tub of local roof withers out. If it can adapt to the soil of its own country, only then it lives-otherwise, its death is inevitable.
In our literature, hence we want to notice the beauty of our country. In the literature where there is no place of our country farmers, day labourers, boatmen, drivers, cobblers, sweepers, jaminders, money-lenders etc. that is not our literature. We have no objection to listen to the stories of kings and knights, Ameers and fairies; but we cannot value them more than listening to fairy tales. We will not get the real touch of national literature in it. We want to listen through our literature the feelings of our Bengalis; want to listen to the essence of East Bengal. The pleasure with which our farmers sow paddy seedlings, cut the golden crops; the sorrow with which the boatmen stare with the unbearable pain at their devoured houses and agriculture by floods-in one word the pleasure-sorrow which rustle and murmur in the atmosphere of the East Bengal-we want to listen to the reflection of those pleasures and sorrows in our literature. The uninterested earnestness in the fields here and the pathetic rippling sound of unfathomable water in the moorages here-let the tune of these play in our poetry. Why cannot we hear the sweet, easeful tune of the flute of our shepherd in our modern poetry? Once, the sprightly folklore became lively with the touch of Maya of the folk tune. That literature was not only pastoral literature, today by standard of goodness that has placed in the world of universal literature. Let such pure literature be produced by the hands of our novice litterateurs-we want only this.
As said earlier, world literature e.g. we will gather essence from other literatures of the world for nourishing our own literature. As in one hand, we can enrich our literature through translating from world literature, so we can depict the variety of potentials of literature before our litterateurs. This translation should be done with a mind devoid of any prejudice, and only judging from the points of view of goodness and qualities from all literatures. By avoiding some literature by judging from religious and provincial points of view, we will be confining our knowledge only. There should be no objection in accepting elements from Chinese, American, Christian, Buddhist or Hindustani literature. Suppose, if today we abandon the literature of Kalidas and Shakespeare out of jealousy, then will not we deceive ourselves?