The invincible part of human being is probably the very inborn power he is provided with, by which he climbs more than the highest peak that human race can infer even when he is thrown in the oblivion of dust. It is only a human being who sparks out of the bottom of the dustbin to chase the height of stars above his head, twinkling far from several billion light-years. Widely regarded as the Rebel poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam (25 May 1899 – 29 August 1976) who is often seen as a spontaneous fountain of youth, represents a versatile, ever-flaming comet in the history of Bengali literary realm.

 

His steady pen reflected the eloquence and force of protest against the suppression on one hand and a triumph of humanity and morality on the other hand. There is a complete harmony of protest and defense, of extremity and calmness in his poetry that a careful reader will easily discover. Born in the village of Churulia near Asansol in the Burdwan District of today’s West Bengal, this born poet became one of the most powerful voices against the contemporary socio-political injustice and turmoil and pioneered poetic works spreading intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression as a whole.

 

Apart from being a notable figure as a poet, musician, songwriter and novelist Nazrul reflects a noticeable humanitarian tone which is clearly noticeable in his songs and poetry. Among over 4000 songs associated with a considerable number of gramophone records composed by Nazrul, there is a good number of works lifting humanity and equity. These songs known as Nazrul Geeti are the pioneering branch of music in Bengali music world that led to a greater variety just like the Songs of Tagore (Rabindra sangeet) did. Many believe these songs have an effect longer than even many of his poetry. However, the major part of Nazrul’s academic education was Maktab and Madrassa (Academy of Islamic education) oriented where he studied the Qur’an and other scriptures, Islamic philosophy and theology and therefore composed numerous poetry based on the theme of Glory and Islamic Renaissance which entitled him as “Islamic poet”. Nazrul composed enormous number of spiritual Ghazals where he took ideas from Persian poets Hafez, Rumi and Omar Khayyam. Nazrul has an impressive translation on The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám which proves his worth as well as a parallel mind set-up with the original. But it should be born in mind that the identity-‘Islamic poet’ can never overshadow his stature as a revolutionary poet of multi-cultural background and his gem of humanity:

 

“Ami tomader protinidhi shudhu! Mor odhikar nai

Aram sukher, -manush hoiya nite manusher seba!

Islam bole sokole soman, ke boro khudro keba!

Vrittyo chorilo uter prishthe Umar dhorilo roshi,

Manushe sworge tulia dhoria dhulay namilo shoshi…”

 

Bisher banshi

Kazi Nazrul Islam

(Translated byUmar Farooque)

 

While advocating a strong admiration for Islamic tradition and using Muslim historical figure such as Muhammad( sm), Qasim, Ali, Umar, Kamal pasa, Kalapahar and others in his poetry he explored the Hinduism as well. He worked with the Hindu devotional music and composed many successful and widely popular Shama Sangeet, bhajans and kirtans, often merging Islamic and Hindu values. He can, of course, be said a synthesizer of values to bring out humanity, regardless of religious scripture which does not mean his religious duality, indeed. His admiration for Islam is seen clearly through his works. Nazrul professed faith in the belief in the equality of women — a view his contemporaries considered revolutionary as the then society posed a skeptical opinion towards them. This poetry titled Nari is a great example of the poet’s humanistic approach, unparalleled in the society during the time he lived. Here is an example from his poem Nari (Woman):

 

“I don’t see any difference

Between a man and woman

Whatever great or benevolent achievements

That are in this world

Half of that was by woman,

The other half by man”

 

Nari, Sanchita

Kazi Nazrul Islam

(Translated by Sajed Kamal)

 

His poetry brings an immediate need of an all out effort where both men and women work for the affirmation of greater humanity, prosperity and equity. It opposes the bipolar position. It opposes what is bad, what is worse, what is worst. The unity, harmony is advocated: “Man has brought the burning, scorching heat of the sunny day/ Woman has brought peaceful night, soothing breeze and cloud/ Man comes with desert-thirst; woman provides the drink of honey/ Man ploughs the fertile land; woman sows crops in it turning it green/ Man ploughs, woman waters; that earth and water mixed together, brings about a harvest of golden paddy”

 

Nazrul’s humanity comes as something more heart-touching in his poem Kuli-mojur (Day-laborer) and Manush(Human); the former represents a hymn to the working class people with a very vivid symbolical and graphical description while in the later he gave a splendid notion of his opposition to all sort of bigotry, religious or social, lifting humanity to the peak of its acclaim. The poem exposes how God himself take the guise of a hunger-stricken, old, feeble beggar or stranger and knock the door of man to test his humanity. Every man is born to blossom- no one deserves to be looked down upon. All great, everlasting works came through the most ordinary people. He suggests us to take the example of great men whose lives were like a broad philosophy in the way of the transient track in the earth. Another poem Kandari hunshiar (Beware my captain) depicts a stagnant nation and their cry to bring about betterment. It shows their humble request to their leader so that he can turn himself an active and dynamic figure and thus help the nation to reach their long-cherished aim. His voice goes in unison with the suppressed, endangered:

 

‘Are they Hindus or Muslims?’

Who ask this question, I say.

Tell him, my captain,

The children of the motherland are drowning today.

 

Kandari Hunshiar

Kazi Nazrul Islam

(Translated by Kabir Chowdhury)

 

Hailing from a very ordinary arena brought Nazrul a strong vision of life as is reflected in his works. His writings are the instances of artistic devices together with a great effort of heart and head working together. Behind hyperbolical note there are invincible truths, behind satire there lies the appreciation, behind violence there twinkles love, behind the destruction there found the wandering cry for stability and peace. Life of the backward part of the society easily found a shelter in Nazrul’s literary endeavor and the connoisseur of his writings experience a tone of innermost voice for justice and equity in the fullest sense.

 

Another arresting feature of Nazrul’s poems is a strong emphatic importance on the importance of both sexes and their equal utility to life. Stunning and solid in proclamation, his poem “Baarangana”, in which he addresses a prostitute as “mother”, has an immediate intensity of arousing sense of conscience. Devouring the common notion of hatred to a prostitute, Nazrul accepts them as a human being, asserting:

 

“Who calls you a prostitute, mother?

Who spits at you?

Perhaps you were suckled by someone

as chaste as Seeta.

 

And if the son of an unchaste mother is ‘illegitimate’,

so is the son of an unchaste father”

 

Baarangana

Kazi Nazrul Islam

(Translated by Sajed Kamal)

 

The economy and concentration of Kazi Nazrul Islam was, to a large extant, the ordinary human being. Some of his poem suggests a set of values that directly led us to western aesthetic humanism that many of Tagore’s work revealed and as a mystic also, Tagore had a good deal of influence on Nazrul. The example can be given from Rabindranath Tagore’s 1400 Sal (Aaji hoite shotoborsho pore…) which was followed by Nazrul with a view to creating a remaking through giving the answers that Poet-guru left in the poem. Living with a constant threat of extreme poverty, Nazrul learnt humanity, the greatest philosophy of life, of living. His work shows his generosity in the poem ‘Daridro’ (O poverty, thou hast made me great.

 

Thou hast made me honoured like Christ/ With his crown of thorns…) creating a blurred world of imaginary happiness as well as satirizing poverty impliedly. Apart from casting a bewildering variety his poem Ishwar (God), Shamyabadi, Jibon-bondona (A hymn to life), Paap (Sin) –all provide a strong-enough-testimony of Nazrul’s excellence as an artist of humanity. Nazrul is the name of a restless flame, a valiant soldier of humanity.

 

The writer is a BA honours student at Department of English, University of Chittagong. E-mail: hemal_cu@yahoo.com