The 102nd anniversary of the birth of poet Sufia Kamal will be observed today.
She was also a social reformer who upheld women’s empowerment throughout her life, works and career.
On the eve of the occasion, New Age talked with some renowned poets, who were close to Sufia Kamal.
The poets evaluated Sufia Kamal as a source of their inspiration and courage. As a poet, she was not only a visionary but also inspired her fellows to overcome the odds, they observed.
Sufia Kamal emerged as a poet when her first poem Basanti was published in Saogat in 1926. Her first collection of poems Sanjher Maya [Evening Enchantment] was published in 1938 with a foreword by national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
Poems of her other collections such as Mrittikar Ghran, Ekatturer Diary, Benibinyas Samay To Ar Nei, Ekale Amader Kal demonstrate her skill as a romantic and socially conscious poet. Along with her literary career, she was involved in many social works.
Besides, in all the struggles that the country faced in 1947, 1952, 1961, 1969, 1971 she was on the forefront with her indomitable courage.
‘When I remember Sufia Kamal, spontaneously Bertolt Brecht’s popular mother character of Mother Courage flashes on my eyes’, eminent poet-playwright Syed Shamsul Haque told New Age.
‘She embodies courage, and she needs to be evaluated as a whole as her literary works and social work are inseparable’, Haque said.
Poet Asad Chowdhury also considers Sufia Kamal a mother figure. ‘She was a parent figure for us. She was such a personality who got love and affection from her predecessors
like Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam and also had affection and care for her fellows.’
‘Sufia Kamal is an icon of courage not only for the women but for all. Her contribution to culture and social cause is formidable’, Asad Chowdhury added.
Sufia Kamal also initiated many socio cultural organisations. ‘She was the first chairperson of Chhayanaut and headed it till her death. She was an idol of progressive thought, and was deeply engaged with Chhayanaut’, Khairul Anam shakil, general secretary of Chhayanaut, told New Age.
-With New Age input
