Bengali novels
Encyclopedia
Bengali novels occupy a major part of Bengali literature
. Though the first Bengali
novel was "Karuna O Phulmonir Bibaran(1852)", the Bengali novel actually started its journey with Durgeshnondini written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
in 1865. According to Ananda Sanker and Lila Ray, 'when the novel was introduced in Bangla in the middle of the 19th century, the form itself was new, the prose in which it was written was new, the secular tone was new in a country hitherto wholly dominated by religion, and the society in which and for which it was written was new’ (Page 168). But some great novelists like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
, Rabindranath Tagore
, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay developed the newly introduced genre in such a way that ‘new’ changed into ‘matured’ through their works. Almost all these literary activities went on in full swing in Kolkata
. Dhaka
, on the other hand, could not participate in the early stage but literature
created by and of the people of Bangladesh
area later on flourished with notable success.
The content and form of the novels saw various changes in the last fifty years. Starting from ordinary narration, now it has reached to magic realistic
presentation through stream of consciousness, realism
, surrealism
etc.
's Lalsalu (published in 1948). The history of Bangladeshi novels can be categorized in 3 major parts.
in 1905, Foundation of Muslim League in 1906 and Unification of Bangla
in 1911 inspired the Muslim community of Dhaka to establish a new identity in the horizon of literature. Mohammad Najibar Rahman, Kazi Imdadul Huq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Sheikh Idrish Ali, Akbaruddin, Abul Fazal, Humayun Kabir etc. were among the novelists who tried to enrich the novels of the then East Pakistan
, present Bangladesh.
Mohammad Najibar Rahman's Anowara was the first notable novel and it moved the whole Bangla Muslim community after publication. According to Rafiqullah Khan(ref) ‘The novel could not create any novelty from artistic point of view, but it carried great importance for its picturization of socio-economic and political culture and ideals of the uprising populace’ (Page 25, Translation). Main theme of most of the novels in this era was Muslim society and belief and orthodoxy. Examples of novels incorporating these theme is Najibar Rahman's Premer Somadhi (published in 1919) and Goriber Meye (1923), Sheikh Idris Ali’s Premer Pothe (1926). In this time, for the first time the life of the Bengali farmers took an artistic delineation through Kazi Abdul Wadud's Nodibakshe (1919).
Then Kazi Imdadul Huq sprinkled a new wave. His famous novel Abdullah
was published in periodicals in 1920 and it came into book form in 1933. According to Biswajit Ghosh(ref) this novel was ‘bourgeois and humanitarian revolt against devotion to Peers, religious dogmas, purdah-system and disparity between Ashraf and Atraf (Page: 134, Translation). Later, 'Kazi Abdul Wadud and Humayun Kabir extended this attitude' (ref:Syed Akram Hussain:page 97). Another novelist Abul Fazal exposed human psychological analyses in his novel Chouchir (1927). He afterwards continued with his own style and wrote Prodip O Patongo (1940) and Shahoshika (1946). It is well accepted that this type of psychological approach was a first attempt in novels of Bangladesh, though not for the first time in Bangla novels.
A progressive novelist Humayun Kabir wrote an English novel Rivers and Women which was published in 1945. Later the Bengali form was published in 1952 by the name of Nodi O Nari.
. Since then the Bangla speaking community were divided into two parts – the East and the West Bengal. It turns into the smashing of the millennium-old culture and unity of Bengali nation. Moreover the existence of language became a great question just after the creation of Pakistan. The West-Pakistan ruling government tried to impose Urdu
as the principal language on the Bengali people. But the whole society reacted strongly. This leaves a permanent impression on Bengali literature
. In this tumultuous era, Syed Waliullah
's Lalsalu (1948) was published. It was the foremost successful novel, both from art and reality points of view. Later Syed Waliullah translated it in English by the name Tree Without Roots. Mahbub-ul Alam wrote Mofijon, also published in 1948.
In the first years of Pakistan regime the authors mostly took village life as their theme
, but they gradually diversified their interests. Newly-born urban society began to establish itself as worthy to be literary contents. Along with them political developments also took place in fiction. (ref: external link1). Among the first novelists of Pakistan period, Abul Fazal, Akbar Hossain, Shaukat Osman, Abu Rushd
, Kazi Afsaruddin, Daulatunnessa Khatun, Syed Waliullah
, Sarder Jayenuddin
, Abu Ishaque, Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
etc. were most prominent ones.
Then came a whole generation of extraordinary novelists. Chowdhury Shamsur Rahman, Satyen Sen
, Abujafar Shamsuddin
, Ahsan Habib
, Nilima Ibrahim
, Abdur Razzak, Khondkar Md. Eliash, Rashid Karim
, Shahidulla Kaisar, Anwar Pasha
, Abdar Rashid, Alauddin Al-Azad
, Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
, Zahir Raihan
, Syed Shamsul Haq, Humayun Kadir, Shahid Akhand, Razia Khan, Shawkat Ali, Dilara Hashim, Indu Saha, Ahmed Sofa
were notable names.
In this time diversity of contents of the novel was noticeable. Village life was the core theme of a huge number of novels. Sometimes it centered the superstitious village mind or the oppression by the influential groups on the common people, some other times depressed womanhood took this place. Love between men and women in pastoral
context were also a subject of many novels. Lalshalu by Syed Waliullah, Kashboner Konna by Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
, Surjo Dighol Bari by Abu Ishaque, Meghabaran Kesh by Ishaq Chakhari, Adiganta by Sardar Jayenunddin, Mohuar Desh by Tasadduk Hossain, Janani by Shaukat Osman, Jhar by Syed Sahadat Hossain, Karnafully by Alauddin Al-Azad
, Sareng Bou and Sangsaptak by Shahidulla Kaisar, Aranya Mithun by Badruddin Ahmad, Modhumoti by Rabeya Khatun, Hazar Bachhar Dhore by Zahir Raihan
, Bobakahini by Jasimuddin
, Pannamoti by Sardar Jayenuddin etc. incorporated these themes.
Middle class society began to evolve in this time. Urban life, its problems and complexities, uprising middle class people, their social context and love in their life started to be portrayed in a good number of novels. Jibon Pother Jatri by Abul Fazal, Pother Porosh (1957) by Daulatunnessa Khatun, Bhorer Bihongi (1958) by Satyen Sen, Surjer Niche (1958) by Atahar Ahmad, Pathasranta (1959) by Nilima Ibrahim, Shesh Bikeler Meye (1960) by Zahir Raihan
, Kanyakumari (1960) by Abdur Razzak, Uttam Purush (1961) by Rashid Karim
, Ek Path Dui Bank (1962) by Nilima Ibrahim, Akash Jodi Nil Hoi (1962) and Ihai To Prem (1963) by Syed Sahadat Hossain, Prasanno Pashan (1963) by Rashid Karim, Pingal Aakash (1963) by Shawkat Ali
, Akasher Rong (1964) by Zobeda Khanam, Panna Holo Sobuz (1964) by Shahid Akhand, Nirjan Megh (1965) by Humayun Kadir, Ghar Mon Janala (1965) by Dilara Hashim, Aronyo Nilima (1965) by Ahsan Habib, Antahshila (1967) by Kazi Md. Idris, Digonter Swapno (1967) by Razia Majid, Mon Ek Shet Kopoti (1967), Shaheb Bazar (1967) and Ananto Aneysha (1967) by Rabeya Khatun, Bipani Mon (1968) by Mir Abul Hossain, Sourav (1968) by Anis Chowdhury, Anishchita Ragini (1969) by Abu Rushd
, Borof Gola Nodi (1969) by Zahir Raihan
, Rajabagh Shahimar Bagh (1969) by Rabeya Khatun etc. are significant novels of this stream.
But the background of another major event was being prepared in this time. The country began to experience turmoil. The political situation of the country became more and more prominent in the novels also. In novels like Nongor by Abu Rushd
and Mon Na Moti by Anis Siddique, Jibon Khuda by Abul Monsoor Ahmed exposed the context of Pakistan
Movement. Communal picture out of this movement and the restoration of Hindu-Muslim harmony also became core content in a number of novels including Ranga Probhat by Abul Fazal, Khuda O Asha by Alauddin Al-Azad
, Neer Sandhani and Nishuti Rater Gatha by Anwar Pasha
etc.
Then came the historic event of the Bengali Language Movement. The keen eyes of the novelists were nowhere but on this tremendous incident. Jahir Raihan’s Aarek Falgoon was the most significant effort on language movement. Other political incidents like the class conflict
, socialism
, and movement in the cultivators was depicted in the novels like Dui Mohol (later on renamed as Alamnagorer Upokotha) by Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
, Surjo Tumi Sathi by Ahmad Sofa etc. Shaukat Osman wrote wonderful symbolic political novels Kritodasher Hashi and Raja Upakhyan. Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury’s Chandradwiper Upakhyan and Nam Na Jana Bhore portrayed the uprising farmer society and its conflicts.
There were some historical novels also. Abujafar Shamsuddin
’s Bhaowal Gorer Upakhayan about the Faraizi Movement
, Sardar Jayenuddin’s Nil Rong Rokto about the Indigo revolt
, Satyen Sen’s Kumarajiva about the spread of Buddhism
, and Oporajeyo about the Sepoy Revolt etc. are a few examples among them. Some novelists favoured psychological complexities. With his unique presentation and language of his own, Syed Waliullah
wrote Chander Amabashya and Kando Nodi Kando keeping psychological analysis in the centre.
Another trend of novels having emphasis on the sexual behaviours and deviations of the characters began to mark its own place during the sixties. Razia Khan's Bot-tolar Uponyas, and Anukolpo was among the first novels of this trend. Alauddin Al-Azad
's Teish Nambor Toilochitro, Shiter Sheshrat Boshonter Prothomdin and Syed Shamsul Haq's Ek Mohilar Chhobi, Anupama Din, Simana Chhariye etc. are mentionables in this regard.
Afterwards came the most memorable days of Bangali nation. After ten month long war
Bangalis became independent nation. After the massacre of three million people and huge violation and harassment of womenfolk and loss of property Bangladesh
emerged as a secular and democratic nation on 16 December 1971, and Bangladeshi novel enters into a new era.
wrote novels based on middle-class society and their societal and psychological analysis. Alauddin Al-Azad
, Shawkat Ali
, Razia Khan and Dilara Hashim, Mahmudul Haque, Ahmad Sofa, Syed Shamsul Haq is among other notable names. Syed Shamsul Haq, commonly known as Syed Huq, wrote a good number of novels along with a huge number of books of other genres. He is always very experimental in both technique and form. Khelaram Khele Ja placed him in great controversy for his open delineation of human sexual behaviour. In his novels like Duratto, Mahashunye Poran Master, Ek Juboker Chhayapoth etc. Liberation war
, its consequences, hopeless human existence and analysis of human mind and society take sharp pen-picture. Another powerful writer Shawkat Ali
wrote Prodoshe Praakritojon, which is a real representation of the twelfth century Bangla during King Lakhkhan Sen. His trilogy Dakshinayaner Din, Kulaya Kalasrot and Purbaratri Purbadin deserve much compliment. Mahmudul Haque wrote Anur Pathshala before liberation war
in 1967. He wrote Nirapod Tondra, Khelaghar (written 1978, published 1988), Kalo Borof (written in 1977, published in 1992), and Matir Jahaj (written in 1977, published in 1996). Ahmad Sofa, wrote novels with different tone. In Onkar (1975) he portrayed the suppressed Bangali mind of the pre-liberation period in a very artistic and symbolic way. In Gaavi Brityanto he presents the contemporary picture in a meticulous allegory. Ardhek Nari Ardhek Ishwari, a novel of romantic love
, is widely considered as his masterpiece. His Pushpa Brikhkha Ebong Bihongo Puran is a narration of true human affinity to nature.
After the liberation war, freedom fight became a unique subject. The first of this discipline is Anwar Pasha
’s Rifle Roti Awrat that he wrote during the war. Shaukat Osman's Jahannam Hoite Bidai, Nekre Aranyo, Dui Soinik, Rashid Haider's Khanchai, Andho Kothamala, Shawkat Ali's Jatraa, Selina Hossain
's Hangor Nodi Granade, Mahmudul Huq's Jiban Aamar Bone, Syed Shamsul Haq's Nil Dangshon, Nishiddho Loban, Harun Habib’s Priyo Joddha Priyotoma, Humayun Ahmed
's Jochona O Jononir Golpo etc. are examples of novels which directly deal freedom fight as their subject. Besides this, novels like Amar Jato Glani by Rashid Karim, Ferari Surjo by Rabeya Khatun
, Abelay Ashamoy by Amjad Hossain also portray the different facets of liberation war. Rashid Karim's Prem Ekti Lal Golap, Ekaler Rupkotha or Sadharon Loker Kahini are presentation of the hopeless picture of Bangladesh after the war. 'Critics say that though after the liberation huge number of novels was written about our war, none of them could depict the historic incident in necessary epic form'. (ref:external link 1)
New faces appeared in the literary world after the liberation. Among them Selina Hossain
, Humayun Ahmed
, Hasnat Abdul Hye, Rizia Rahman, Jubaida Gulshan Ara Hena, Bashir al-Helal were most prominent.
Selina Hossain started with Jalochchhwas and till now she has authored more than twenty-one novels. Her Hangor Nodi Granade is a success written on Bangladesh Liberation War
. She has written novels like Taanaporen on coastal life and natural disaster. Gayatree Sondhya (3 volumes: published in, 1994, 1995, 1996), Kalketu O Fullora, Chandbene are some of her historical novel
s.
Abdur Rouf Choudhury
's novel Natun Diganta (three volumes: published in 1991, 1992, 1993 and complete collection in 2005 by Pathak Shamabesh) is a quality work of art by any standard and most successful writing on pre- Bangladesh Liberation War. Choudhury most vividly depicted the unity of Bengal and the articulation of Bengali nationalism in his novel Natun Diganta (New Horizon) (vols. 1-3). Reason and humanity - these are its two eternal pillars. The essence of Choudhury’s thought is a complete faith in the efficiency of these two immeasurable forces. Its most striking characteristic is its insistent association of work, precept and practice. It appeals not to controversial tests, not to any appearance of sweet reasonableness but to trials in the rough and tumble of life, and it will accept no other judgment. Natun Diganta gives warning against: 1) dogma, mysticism, ceremonial, hypnotism, the binding of the mind and will by oaths, and other inventions of external authority in religion and politics, 2) participation in violence, individual or social, and organisation's dependence on violence, 3) exploitation, luxury and material property, 4) self-degradation and 5) devotion to self-sacrifice.
Humayun Ahmed, perhaps the most popular novelist in Bengali after Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, appeared with his novel Nondito Noroke and then Shonkhoneel Karagar. Later he gradually turned to less serious things. Almost all of his novels are best sellers. Some of his titles are 1971, Daruchinir Deep, Brihonnola, Joyjoyonti, Kobi etc. Humayun Ahmed's Tomader Jonno Valobasa is the first science fiction novel in Bangladesh.
A serious poet, essayist and literary researcher Abdul Mannan Syed
published his first novel Pariprekshter Dasdashi in 1974. Later on he wrote Kolkata, Poramatir Kaaj, O Te Ojogor, Hei Songsar Hei Lota, Khudha, Prem, Aagun, Shyamoli Tomar Mukh etc. Hasnat Abdul Hye, arrived with his Suprobhat Bhalobasa. By now he has written at least twenty novels. Along with his other novels he has introduced a different form of novels called biographical. Sultan, Ekjon Aaroj Ali and Novera are example of this form. All of these novels are based on the biographical sketches of giant Bangali characters. Rizia Rahman’s Uttar Purush came in black and white in 1977. She wrote some fifteen novels in the eighties. Her voluminous Bongo Theke Bangla is an epic
composition about the past culture and heritage
of Bangali nation. Her other major novels are Rokter Okhkhor, Alikhito Upakhyan, Ekal Chirokal, Prem Aamar Prem, Ekti Phuler Jonyo, Harun Fereni etc. Bashir al-Helal’s Kalo Elish was published in 1979. His other novels include Ghritokumari, Shesh Panpatro, Nurjahander Modhumas etc.
In the eighties, Bangladeshi novel got some senior writers who wrote novels for the first time along with some promising young ones. Among the earlier writers Abubakar Siddique's Jalarakshas and Kharadaha appeared with much novelty. His important later novel is Ekatturer Hridoybhashma. Makbula Manjoor started in the late years of the sixties, but most of her novels came out in the eighties and nineties. Kaler Mondira is one of her most notable work. Rahat Khan
wrote novels about middle class city people, their joys and sorrows, love and separation. His significant works include Omol Dhabol Chakri, Ek Priyodorshini, Chhayadampoti, Hai Shunyota, Sangharsho, Shahar, Hai Anonter Pakhi, Modhyomather Khelowar etc.
Akhtaruzzaman Elias, one of the most artistic but least productive writers, wrote only two novels. He has started his journey with Chilekothar Sepai. His most prestigious work Khoabnama, which came out in 1996, is considered a milestone in the history of Bangla novels.
Another senior novelist Abu Ishaque's second novel Padmar Palidwip was published in 1986, after thirty-one years of his debut novel Surjo Dighal Bari. Appearance and disappearance of Chars (strip of sandy land), their effect on nearby humanity etc. have taken a keen narration in Padmar Palidwip.
Haripada Datta is also a worthy name. His two-volume novel Ojogor (Vol. I -1989, Vol. II-1991) chronicles the recent past history very remarkably. His previous novels are Eshane Ognidaho and Ondhokupe Janmothsob. In 2000 he wrote an epic volume titled Jonmo Jonmantor.
From the early years of the eighties, the arrival of some young novelists who, later on, obtained enough popularity, was heard. Monju Sarkar, Imdadul Haq Milon
and Moinul Ahsan Saber
are the few but most common names in this regard. Monju Sarkar’s Tamosh, Nagno Agontuk, Protima Upakhyan and Abashbhumi, Imdadul Haq Milon’s Jabojjibon (written in 1976, published in 1900), Nodi Upakhyan, Bhumiputro, Poradhinota, Rajakartontro, Moinul Ahsan Saber’s Adomer Jonye Opekhkha, Pathor Somoy, Char Torun Toruni, Manush Jekhane Jai Na, Dharabahik Kahin, Opeksha, Kobej Lethel, Tumi Amake Niye Jabe, Prem O Protishodh, Songsher Japon got much recognition from the literati. Shahidul Zahir
, wrote his first novel Jibon O Rajnoitic Bastobota, published in 1988 while his second, till now the last, Shei Rate Purnima Chhilo came out in 1995. Magic realism, which is a recent trend of the Latin American novels, takes place in Shahidul Zahir's narration.
The last decade of twentieth century is comparatively fruitful for Bangladeshi novels. Al Mahmud
's novelistic exposition, Bipradas Barua’s Buddhist life, Humayun Azad
's brave creations, Akimun Rahman's novels about womanhood, Nasreen Jahan
's novels of magic realism, Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
's historic work Kanchongram is few mark of this decade. Syed Shamsul Haq's masterpiece Bristi O Bidrohigon, published in 1998, is a milestone on the past heritage and liberation war
.
Senior poet Al Mahmud's debut novel Dahuki came out in 1992 which was followed by Kobi O Kolahol, Upamohadesh, Kabiler Bone, Purush Sundor, Nishinda Nari etc. Bipradas Barua's major novels are Somudrochar O Bidrohira, Muktijoddhara, Shromon Goutam etc.
Humayun Azad
commenced his novelist carrier with Chhappanno Hajar Borgomile in 1994, which was a courageous slap on martial law
and dictatorship
. In no time the novel brought its writer much name and popularity. His later novels include Sob Kichhu Bhenge Pore, Subhabrata, Tar Samparkita Susamachar, Rajnitibidgon etc. Mohammad Nurul Huda
, a renowned poet, had also two attempts in novel. Excepting Janmajati and Moinpahar he did not make any third attempt. Akimun Rahman is the first novelist ever in Bangla language in whose writing the untold and unknown secrets of womanhood are getting tongue. She has by now written four novels, Purusher Prithibite Ek Meye, Roktopunje Genthe Jawya Machhi, Pashe Shudhu Chhaya Chhilo, and Jeebaner Roudre Udechhilo Kayekti Dhulikana. Another notable novelist is Nasreen Jahan
. Her first novel Urukku arrived with much appreciation. In her novels like Chondrer Prothom Kola, Chondrolekhar Jaadubistar, Sonali Mukhosh, Ure Jai Nishipakhkhi etc., she manipulated the elements of magic realism. Anisul Hoque, a journalist by profession, has established himself as a renowned writer. His Andhokarer Ekshaw Bachhar presented him a very honourable place but Ma (The Mother) has given him international reputation. Imtiar Shamim is also a young but promising name for the novels of recent Bangladesh. In Dana Kata Himer Bhetor he presented an NGO-world. His Amra Hetechhi Jara encompassed a very touching story of the sorry saga of post-independence Bangladesh life.
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
. Though the first Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
novel was "Karuna O Phulmonir Bibaran(1852)", the Bengali novel actually started its journey with Durgeshnondini written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
in 1865. According to Ananda Sanker and Lila Ray, 'when the novel was introduced in Bangla in the middle of the 19th century, the form itself was new, the prose in which it was written was new, the secular tone was new in a country hitherto wholly dominated by religion, and the society in which and for which it was written was new’ (Page 168). But some great novelists like Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
, Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
Tarashankar Bandopadhyay
Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay was one of the leading Bengali novelists. He wrote 65 novels, 53 story-books, 12 plays, 4 essay-books, 4 autobiographies and 2 travel stories...
, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay developed the newly introduced genre in such a way that ‘new’ changed into ‘matured’ through their works. Almost all these literary activities went on in full swing in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
, on the other hand, could not participate in the early stage but literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
created by and of the people of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
area later on flourished with notable success.
Bangladeshi novels
Novels of Bangladesh fall almost fifty years behind the Bengali novels. (First Bengali novel Alaler Ghore Dulal was published in 1858 and Anowara was published in 1914.) In its history of about one hundred years, novels of Bangladesh got a good number of novels where creative emancipation of the writers has been established.Themes of Bangladeshi novels
In the early stage, glorification of the religious beliefs and lives was the theme of most of the novels. Later on, picturization of real Bengali life became a common topic. By the end of the fifties, the novelists gradually turned to human mind and its analysis. A great change of the theme came after 1971. Novels about the Liberation War of Bangladesh began to come forth. Even till now it has not ceased to be an interesting topic.The content and form of the novels saw various changes in the last fifty years. Starting from ordinary narration, now it has reached to magic realistic
Magic realism
Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of...
presentation through stream of consciousness, realism
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
, surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
etc.
History of Bangladeshi novels
To many, Anowara was the most significant one among the earlier novels written in Bangladesh. This novel was written by Mohammad Najibar Rahman in 1914. But the milestone in the modern novels of Bangladesh is Syed WaliullahSyed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah was a Bangladeshi novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He is most well known in Bangla literature for his first novel, Lalsalu...
's Lalsalu (published in 1948). The history of Bangladeshi novels can be categorized in 3 major parts.
- Pre-partition (1947) era
- East-Pakistan era
- Bangladesh era
Pre-Partition era
Before 1947, events like Partition of BengalPartition of Bengal (1905)
The decision of the Partition of Bengal was announced on 19 July 1905 by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. The partition took effect on 16 October 1905...
in 1905, Foundation of Muslim League in 1906 and Unification of Bangla
Partition of Bengal (1905)
The decision of the Partition of Bengal was announced on 19 July 1905 by the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon. The partition took effect on 16 October 1905...
in 1911 inspired the Muslim community of Dhaka to establish a new identity in the horizon of literature. Mohammad Najibar Rahman, Kazi Imdadul Huq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Sheikh Idrish Ali, Akbaruddin, Abul Fazal, Humayun Kabir etc. were among the novelists who tried to enrich the novels of the then East Pakistan
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a provincial state of Pakistan established in 14 August 1947. The provincial state existed until its declaration of independence on 26 March 1971 as the independent nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan recognized the new nation on 16 December 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal...
, present Bangladesh.
Mohammad Najibar Rahman's Anowara was the first notable novel and it moved the whole Bangla Muslim community after publication. According to Rafiqullah Khan(ref) ‘The novel could not create any novelty from artistic point of view, but it carried great importance for its picturization of socio-economic and political culture and ideals of the uprising populace’ (Page 25, Translation). Main theme of most of the novels in this era was Muslim society and belief and orthodoxy. Examples of novels incorporating these theme is Najibar Rahman's Premer Somadhi (published in 1919) and Goriber Meye (1923), Sheikh Idris Ali’s Premer Pothe (1926). In this time, for the first time the life of the Bengali farmers took an artistic delineation through Kazi Abdul Wadud's Nodibakshe (1919).
Then Kazi Imdadul Huq sprinkled a new wave. His famous novel Abdullah
Abdullah
-Places:*Abdullah Gan, mountainous region of Afghanistan*Abdullah Hukum LRT station, elevated rapid transit station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia*Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum, was an urban village located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
was published in periodicals in 1920 and it came into book form in 1933. According to Biswajit Ghosh(ref) this novel was ‘bourgeois and humanitarian revolt against devotion to Peers, religious dogmas, purdah-system and disparity between Ashraf and Atraf (Page: 134, Translation). Later, 'Kazi Abdul Wadud and Humayun Kabir extended this attitude' (ref:Syed Akram Hussain:page 97). Another novelist Abul Fazal exposed human psychological analyses in his novel Chouchir (1927). He afterwards continued with his own style and wrote Prodip O Patongo (1940) and Shahoshika (1946). It is well accepted that this type of psychological approach was a first attempt in novels of Bangladesh, though not for the first time in Bangla novels.
A progressive novelist Humayun Kabir wrote an English novel Rivers and Women which was published in 1945. Later the Bengali form was published in 1952 by the name of Nodi O Nari.
East Pakistan era
The independence of India and Pakistan from British rule bore more importance for the people of then BengalBengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. Since then the Bangla speaking community were divided into two parts – the East and the West Bengal. It turns into the smashing of the millennium-old culture and unity of Bengali nation. Moreover the existence of language became a great question just after the creation of Pakistan. The West-Pakistan ruling government tried to impose Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
as the principal language on the Bengali people. But the whole society reacted strongly. This leaves a permanent impression on Bengali literature
Bengali literature
Bengali literature is literary works written in Bengali language particularly from Bangladesh and the Indian provinces of West Bengal and Tripura. The history of Bengali literature traces back hundreds of years while it is impossible to separate the literary trends of the two Bengals during the...
. In this tumultuous era, Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah was a Bangladeshi novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He is most well known in Bangla literature for his first novel, Lalsalu...
's Lalsalu (1948) was published. It was the foremost successful novel, both from art and reality points of view. Later Syed Waliullah translated it in English by the name Tree Without Roots. Mahbub-ul Alam wrote Mofijon, also published in 1948.
In the first years of Pakistan regime the authors mostly took village life as their theme
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
, but they gradually diversified their interests. Newly-born urban society began to establish itself as worthy to be literary contents. Along with them political developments also took place in fiction. (ref: external link1). Among the first novelists of Pakistan period, Abul Fazal, Akbar Hossain, Shaukat Osman, Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd Matinuddin, born December 25, 1919 in Kolkata, is a renowned modern Bangladeshi author, using the literary name of Abu Rushd.-Life:...
, Kazi Afsaruddin, Daulatunnessa Khatun, Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah was a Bangladeshi novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He is most well known in Bangla literature for his first novel, Lalsalu...
, Sarder Jayenuddin
Sarder Jayenuddin
Sarder Jayenuddin was a Bengladeshi novelist and author of Bengali literature.-Novels:*Adigonto *Pannamoti *Nil Rong Rokto *Onek Surjer Asha...
, Abu Ishaque, Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam , , an author of Bengali literature in Bangladesh, was a famous novelist. He was born in Barisal. He is maternal uncle of A.M. Harun-ar-Rashid-Life:...
etc. were most prominent ones.
Then came a whole generation of extraordinary novelists. Chowdhury Shamsur Rahman, Satyen Sen
Satyen Sen
Satyen Sen , , an author of Bengali literature, of Bangladesh, was a famous novelist.-Novels:*Bhorer Bihongi *Obhishopto Nogori *Paper Sontan...
, Abujafar Shamsuddin
Abujafar Shamsuddin
Abujafar Shamsuddin , was a renowned modern Bangladeshi author, famous novelist.-Novels:* Parityakto Swami * Mukti * Bhaowal Gorer Upakhyan...
, Ahsan Habib
Ahsan Habib
Ahsan Habib was a popular and well-acclaimed Bangladeshi poet and a major literary figure in Bengali culture.-Poems:His first book of poem was Ratri Shesh...
, Nilima Ibrahim
Nilima Ibrahim
Nilima Ibrahim was an Indian, East Pakistani, and later Bangladeshi educationist, littérateur and social worker. She is well known for her outstanding scholarship on Bangla literature but even more so for her depiction of raped and tortured women in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War in her book...
, Abdur Razzak, Khondkar Md. Eliash, Rashid Karim
Rashid Karim
-Novels:*Uttam Purush *Prasanno Pashan *Amar Jato Glani *Prem Ekti Lal Golap *Sadharan Loker Kahini...
, Shahidulla Kaisar, Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha was a Bangladeshi author and novelist. He was a martyred intellectual of 1971. Anwar Pasha was born in 15 April 1928 at Dabkai village in Murshidabad. His father was Haji Makrom Ali.-Life:...
, Abdar Rashid, Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad, was a modern Bangladeshi author, novelist, and poet. He Passed SSC.1947, HSC.1949. From Dhaka University he passed BA at 1953 and MA.1954 as the same university. He received his PhD. degree from London University in 1970 for his work 'Iswar Gupter Jeebon o...
, Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
Abdul Gaffar Choudhury
Abdul Gaffar Choudhury , is a Bangladeshi author and rpo-Awami league columnist, perhaps best known for his lyric Amar Bhaier Rokte Rangano -- which has become the main song commemorating the Language Movement, the touchy music having been composed by Shaheed Altaf Mahmud.-Life:He left Bangladesh...
, Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his documentary Stop Genocide made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He disappeared on December 30, 1972 trying to locate his brother, the famous writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who was captured and killed by...
, Syed Shamsul Haq, Humayun Kadir, Shahid Akhand, Razia Khan, Shawkat Ali, Dilara Hashim, Indu Saha, Ahmed Sofa
Ahmed Sofa
Ahmed Sofa was a well-known writer, critic and intellectual from Bangladesh. He wrote novels, poetry and non-fiction essays. He also translated the writings of others...
were notable names.
In this time diversity of contents of the novel was noticeable. Village life was the core theme of a huge number of novels. Sometimes it centered the superstitious village mind or the oppression by the influential groups on the common people, some other times depressed womanhood took this place. Love between men and women in pastoral
Pastoral
The adjective pastoral refers to the lifestyle of pastoralists, such as shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasturage. It also refers to a genre in literature, art or music that depicts such shepherd life in an...
context were also a subject of many novels. Lalshalu by Syed Waliullah, Kashboner Konna by Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam , , an author of Bengali literature in Bangladesh, was a famous novelist. He was born in Barisal. He is maternal uncle of A.M. Harun-ar-Rashid-Life:...
, Surjo Dighol Bari by Abu Ishaque, Meghabaran Kesh by Ishaq Chakhari, Adiganta by Sardar Jayenunddin, Mohuar Desh by Tasadduk Hossain, Janani by Shaukat Osman, Jhar by Syed Sahadat Hossain, Karnafully by Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad, was a modern Bangladeshi author, novelist, and poet. He Passed SSC.1947, HSC.1949. From Dhaka University he passed BA at 1953 and MA.1954 as the same university. He received his PhD. degree from London University in 1970 for his work 'Iswar Gupter Jeebon o...
, Sareng Bou and Sangsaptak by Shahidulla Kaisar, Aranya Mithun by Badruddin Ahmad, Modhumoti by Rabeya Khatun, Hazar Bachhar Dhore by Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his documentary Stop Genocide made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He disappeared on December 30, 1972 trying to locate his brother, the famous writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who was captured and killed by...
, Bobakahini by Jasimuddin
Jasimuddin
Jasimuddin was a renowned Bengali poet, songwriter, prose writer, folklore collector and radio personality. He is commonly known in Bangladesh as Polli Kobi, the Rural Poet for his faithful rendition of Bangla folklore in his works...
, Pannamoti by Sardar Jayenuddin etc. incorporated these themes.
Middle class society began to evolve in this time. Urban life, its problems and complexities, uprising middle class people, their social context and love in their life started to be portrayed in a good number of novels. Jibon Pother Jatri by Abul Fazal, Pother Porosh (1957) by Daulatunnessa Khatun, Bhorer Bihongi (1958) by Satyen Sen, Surjer Niche (1958) by Atahar Ahmad, Pathasranta (1959) by Nilima Ibrahim, Shesh Bikeler Meye (1960) by Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his documentary Stop Genocide made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He disappeared on December 30, 1972 trying to locate his brother, the famous writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who was captured and killed by...
, Kanyakumari (1960) by Abdur Razzak, Uttam Purush (1961) by Rashid Karim
Rashid Karim
-Novels:*Uttam Purush *Prasanno Pashan *Amar Jato Glani *Prem Ekti Lal Golap *Sadharan Loker Kahini...
, Ek Path Dui Bank (1962) by Nilima Ibrahim, Akash Jodi Nil Hoi (1962) and Ihai To Prem (1963) by Syed Sahadat Hossain, Prasanno Pashan (1963) by Rashid Karim, Pingal Aakash (1963) by Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali , , politician and a leader of the Bengali Language Movement. He was one of the founders of Awami Muslim League - which later became Awami League and is now the Bangladesh Awami League. He was a member of all three Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad. He was also the Chief Organizer of Dhaka...
, Akasher Rong (1964) by Zobeda Khanam, Panna Holo Sobuz (1964) by Shahid Akhand, Nirjan Megh (1965) by Humayun Kadir, Ghar Mon Janala (1965) by Dilara Hashim, Aronyo Nilima (1965) by Ahsan Habib, Antahshila (1967) by Kazi Md. Idris, Digonter Swapno (1967) by Razia Majid, Mon Ek Shet Kopoti (1967), Shaheb Bazar (1967) and Ananto Aneysha (1967) by Rabeya Khatun, Bipani Mon (1968) by Mir Abul Hossain, Sourav (1968) by Anis Chowdhury, Anishchita Ragini (1969) by Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd Matinuddin, born December 25, 1919 in Kolkata, is a renowned modern Bangladeshi author, using the literary name of Abu Rushd.-Life:...
, Borof Gola Nodi (1969) by Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan
Zahir Raihan was a Bangladeshi novelist, writer and filmmaker. He is perhaps best known for his documentary Stop Genocide made during the Bangladesh Liberation War. He disappeared on December 30, 1972 trying to locate his brother, the famous writer Shahidullah Kaiser, who was captured and killed by...
, Rajabagh Shahimar Bagh (1969) by Rabeya Khatun etc. are significant novels of this stream.
But the background of another major event was being prepared in this time. The country began to experience turmoil. The political situation of the country became more and more prominent in the novels also. In novels like Nongor by Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd
Abu Rushd Matinuddin, born December 25, 1919 in Kolkata, is a renowned modern Bangladeshi author, using the literary name of Abu Rushd.-Life:...
and Mon Na Moti by Anis Siddique, Jibon Khuda by Abul Monsoor Ahmed exposed the context of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Movement. Communal picture out of this movement and the restoration of Hindu-Muslim harmony also became core content in a number of novels including Ranga Probhat by Abul Fazal, Khuda O Asha by Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad, was a modern Bangladeshi author, novelist, and poet. He Passed SSC.1947, HSC.1949. From Dhaka University he passed BA at 1953 and MA.1954 as the same university. He received his PhD. degree from London University in 1970 for his work 'Iswar Gupter Jeebon o...
, Neer Sandhani and Nishuti Rater Gatha by Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha was a Bangladeshi author and novelist. He was a martyred intellectual of 1971. Anwar Pasha was born in 15 April 1928 at Dabkai village in Murshidabad. His father was Haji Makrom Ali.-Life:...
etc.
Then came the historic event of the Bengali Language Movement. The keen eyes of the novelists were nowhere but on this tremendous incident. Jahir Raihan’s Aarek Falgoon was the most significant effort on language movement. Other political incidents like the class conflict
Class conflict
Class conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
, socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, and movement in the cultivators was depicted in the novels like Dui Mohol (later on renamed as Alamnagorer Upokotha) by Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam , , an author of Bengali literature in Bangladesh, was a famous novelist. He was born in Barisal. He is maternal uncle of A.M. Harun-ar-Rashid-Life:...
, Surjo Tumi Sathi by Ahmad Sofa etc. Shaukat Osman wrote wonderful symbolic political novels Kritodasher Hashi and Raja Upakhyan. Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury’s Chandradwiper Upakhyan and Nam Na Jana Bhore portrayed the uprising farmer society and its conflicts.
There were some historical novels also. Abujafar Shamsuddin
Abujafar Shamsuddin
Abujafar Shamsuddin , was a renowned modern Bangladeshi author, famous novelist.-Novels:* Parityakto Swami * Mukti * Bhaowal Gorer Upakhyan...
’s Bhaowal Gorer Upakhayan about the Faraizi Movement
Faraizi movement
The Faraizi movement was founded by Haji Shariatullah by Bengali Muslims. After returning from Mecca after a 20 year hiatus Shariatullah, seeing the degraded Muslims of Bengal, called on them to give up un-Islamic practices and act upon their duties as Muslims...
, Sardar Jayenuddin’s Nil Rong Rokto about the Indigo revolt
Indigo revolt
The Indigo revolt was a peasant movement and subsequent uprising of indigo farmers against the indigo planters that arose in Bengal in 1859. The back stage of the revolt goes back half a century when the indigo plantation act was established...
, Satyen Sen’s Kumarajiva about the spread of Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, and Oporajeyo about the Sepoy Revolt etc. are a few examples among them. Some novelists favoured psychological complexities. With his unique presentation and language of his own, Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah
Syed Waliullah was a Bangladeshi novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He is most well known in Bangla literature for his first novel, Lalsalu...
wrote Chander Amabashya and Kando Nodi Kando keeping psychological analysis in the centre.
Another trend of novels having emphasis on the sexual behaviours and deviations of the characters began to mark its own place during the sixties. Razia Khan's Bot-tolar Uponyas, and Anukolpo was among the first novels of this trend. Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad, was a modern Bangladeshi author, novelist, and poet. He Passed SSC.1947, HSC.1949. From Dhaka University he passed BA at 1953 and MA.1954 as the same university. He received his PhD. degree from London University in 1970 for his work 'Iswar Gupter Jeebon o...
's Teish Nambor Toilochitro, Shiter Sheshrat Boshonter Prothomdin and Syed Shamsul Haq's Ek Mohilar Chhobi, Anupama Din, Simana Chhariye etc. are mentionables in this regard.
Afterwards came the most memorable days of Bangali nation. After ten month long war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
Bangalis became independent nation. After the massacre of three million people and huge violation and harassment of womenfolk and loss of property Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
emerged as a secular and democratic nation on 16 December 1971, and Bangladeshi novel enters into a new era.
Bangladesh era
Most of the writers who were contributing in the pre-liberation period were also very creative in this period. Rashid KarimRashid Karim
-Novels:*Uttam Purush *Prasanno Pashan *Amar Jato Glani *Prem Ekti Lal Golap *Sadharan Loker Kahini...
wrote novels based on middle-class society and their societal and psychological analysis. Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad
Alauddin Al-Azad, was a modern Bangladeshi author, novelist, and poet. He Passed SSC.1947, HSC.1949. From Dhaka University he passed BA at 1953 and MA.1954 as the same university. He received his PhD. degree from London University in 1970 for his work 'Iswar Gupter Jeebon o...
, Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali , , politician and a leader of the Bengali Language Movement. He was one of the founders of Awami Muslim League - which later became Awami League and is now the Bangladesh Awami League. He was a member of all three Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad. He was also the Chief Organizer of Dhaka...
, Razia Khan and Dilara Hashim, Mahmudul Haque, Ahmad Sofa, Syed Shamsul Haq is among other notable names. Syed Shamsul Haq, commonly known as Syed Huq, wrote a good number of novels along with a huge number of books of other genres. He is always very experimental in both technique and form. Khelaram Khele Ja placed him in great controversy for his open delineation of human sexual behaviour. In his novels like Duratto, Mahashunye Poran Master, Ek Juboker Chhayapoth etc. Liberation war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
, its consequences, hopeless human existence and analysis of human mind and society take sharp pen-picture. Another powerful writer Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali
Shawkat Ali , , politician and a leader of the Bengali Language Movement. He was one of the founders of Awami Muslim League - which later became Awami League and is now the Bangladesh Awami League. He was a member of all three Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad. He was also the Chief Organizer of Dhaka...
wrote Prodoshe Praakritojon, which is a real representation of the twelfth century Bangla during King Lakhkhan Sen. His trilogy Dakshinayaner Din, Kulaya Kalasrot and Purbaratri Purbadin deserve much compliment. Mahmudul Haque wrote Anur Pathshala before liberation war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
in 1967. He wrote Nirapod Tondra, Khelaghar (written 1978, published 1988), Kalo Borof (written in 1977, published in 1992), and Matir Jahaj (written in 1977, published in 1996). Ahmad Sofa, wrote novels with different tone. In Onkar (1975) he portrayed the suppressed Bangali mind of the pre-liberation period in a very artistic and symbolic way. In Gaavi Brityanto he presents the contemporary picture in a meticulous allegory. Ardhek Nari Ardhek Ishwari, a novel of romantic love
Romantic love
Romance is the pleasurable feeling of excitement and mystery associated with love.In the context of romantic love relationships, romance usually implies an expression of one's love, or one's deep emotional desires to connect with another person....
, is widely considered as his masterpiece. His Pushpa Brikhkha Ebong Bihongo Puran is a narration of true human affinity to nature.
After the liberation war, freedom fight became a unique subject. The first of this discipline is Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha
Anwar Pasha was a Bangladeshi author and novelist. He was a martyred intellectual of 1971. Anwar Pasha was born in 15 April 1928 at Dabkai village in Murshidabad. His father was Haji Makrom Ali.-Life:...
’s Rifle Roti Awrat that he wrote during the war. Shaukat Osman's Jahannam Hoite Bidai, Nekre Aranyo, Dui Soinik, Rashid Haider's Khanchai, Andho Kothamala, Shawkat Ali's Jatraa, Selina Hossain
Selina Hossain
Selina Hossain, , a female author of Bengali Literature, living in Bangladesh, is a famous novelist.-Life:She is also an editor.She Founded Faria-Lara Foundation-Novels:*Jalochchwas...
's Hangor Nodi Granade, Mahmudul Huq's Jiban Aamar Bone, Syed Shamsul Haq's Nil Dangshon, Nishiddho Loban, Harun Habib’s Priyo Joddha Priyotoma, Humayun Ahmed
Humayun Ahmed
Humayun Ahmed is a Bangladeshi author, dramatist and director of film and television. He broke through since the publication of his first novel, Nandita Naraké...
's Jochona O Jononir Golpo etc. are examples of novels which directly deal freedom fight as their subject. Besides this, novels like Amar Jato Glani by Rashid Karim, Ferari Surjo by Rabeya Khatun
Rabeya Khatun
-Novels:*Modhumati *Mon Ek Shwet Kapoti *Ononto Onwesha *Rajabagh *Saheb Bazar *Ferari Surjo *Onek Joner Ekjan...
, Abelay Ashamoy by Amjad Hossain also portray the different facets of liberation war. Rashid Karim's Prem Ekti Lal Golap, Ekaler Rupkotha or Sadharon Loker Kahini are presentation of the hopeless picture of Bangladesh after the war. 'Critics say that though after the liberation huge number of novels was written about our war, none of them could depict the historic incident in necessary epic form'. (ref:external link 1)
New faces appeared in the literary world after the liberation. Among them Selina Hossain
Selina Hossain
Selina Hossain, , a female author of Bengali Literature, living in Bangladesh, is a famous novelist.-Life:She is also an editor.She Founded Faria-Lara Foundation-Novels:*Jalochchwas...
, Humayun Ahmed
Humayun Ahmed
Humayun Ahmed is a Bangladeshi author, dramatist and director of film and television. He broke through since the publication of his first novel, Nandita Naraké...
, Hasnat Abdul Hye, Rizia Rahman, Jubaida Gulshan Ara Hena, Bashir al-Helal were most prominent.
Selina Hossain started with Jalochchhwas and till now she has authored more than twenty-one novels. Her Hangor Nodi Granade is a success written on Bangladesh Liberation War
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
. She has written novels like Taanaporen on coastal life and natural disaster. Gayatree Sondhya (3 volumes: published in, 1994, 1995, 1996), Kalketu O Fullora, Chandbene are some of her historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
s.
Abdur Rouf Choudhury
Abdur Rouf Choudhury
Abdur Rouf Choudhury was a Bengali writerChoudhury was born on 1 March 1929, in Habiganj District, Bangladesh where his father Azhar Choudhury, a land owner, and his mother Nazmun Nesa Choudhury, a house wife resided....
's novel Natun Diganta (three volumes: published in 1991, 1992, 1993 and complete collection in 2005 by Pathak Shamabesh) is a quality work of art by any standard and most successful writing on pre- Bangladesh Liberation War. Choudhury most vividly depicted the unity of Bengal and the articulation of Bengali nationalism in his novel Natun Diganta (New Horizon) (vols. 1-3). Reason and humanity - these are its two eternal pillars. The essence of Choudhury’s thought is a complete faith in the efficiency of these two immeasurable forces. Its most striking characteristic is its insistent association of work, precept and practice. It appeals not to controversial tests, not to any appearance of sweet reasonableness but to trials in the rough and tumble of life, and it will accept no other judgment. Natun Diganta gives warning against: 1) dogma, mysticism, ceremonial, hypnotism, the binding of the mind and will by oaths, and other inventions of external authority in religion and politics, 2) participation in violence, individual or social, and organisation's dependence on violence, 3) exploitation, luxury and material property, 4) self-degradation and 5) devotion to self-sacrifice.
Humayun Ahmed, perhaps the most popular novelist in Bengali after Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, appeared with his novel Nondito Noroke and then Shonkhoneel Karagar. Later he gradually turned to less serious things. Almost all of his novels are best sellers. Some of his titles are 1971, Daruchinir Deep, Brihonnola, Joyjoyonti, Kobi etc. Humayun Ahmed's Tomader Jonno Valobasa is the first science fiction novel in Bangladesh.
A serious poet, essayist and literary researcher Abdul Mannan Syed
Abdul Mannan Syed
Abdul Mannan Syed , was a renowned Bangladeshi poet, author and researcher. A versatile writer and poet, he was one of the most prolific Bengali literary personalities of post-Partition India. Until his death on 5 September 2010, he was regarded an authority on Bengali literature. Popularly...
published his first novel Pariprekshter Dasdashi in 1974. Later on he wrote Kolkata, Poramatir Kaaj, O Te Ojogor, Hei Songsar Hei Lota, Khudha, Prem, Aagun, Shyamoli Tomar Mukh etc. Hasnat Abdul Hye, arrived with his Suprobhat Bhalobasa. By now he has written at least twenty novels. Along with his other novels he has introduced a different form of novels called biographical. Sultan, Ekjon Aaroj Ali and Novera are example of this form. All of these novels are based on the biographical sketches of giant Bangali characters. Rizia Rahman’s Uttar Purush came in black and white in 1977. She wrote some fifteen novels in the eighties. Her voluminous Bongo Theke Bangla is an epic
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...
composition about the past culture and heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
of Bangali nation. Her other major novels are Rokter Okhkhor, Alikhito Upakhyan, Ekal Chirokal, Prem Aamar Prem, Ekti Phuler Jonyo, Harun Fereni etc. Bashir al-Helal’s Kalo Elish was published in 1979. His other novels include Ghritokumari, Shesh Panpatro, Nurjahander Modhumas etc.
In the eighties, Bangladeshi novel got some senior writers who wrote novels for the first time along with some promising young ones. Among the earlier writers Abubakar Siddique's Jalarakshas and Kharadaha appeared with much novelty. His important later novel is Ekatturer Hridoybhashma. Makbula Manjoor started in the late years of the sixties, but most of her novels came out in the eighties and nineties. Kaler Mondira is one of her most notable work. Rahat Khan
Rahat Khan
-Life:Rahat Khan was the editor of Ittefaq.Rahat Khan, hailing from Kishoreganj, was born in the year 1940. Graduating from the Department of Bangla Language and Literature in 1961 under the University of Dhaka, he engaged himself in teaching in which he earned much fame and popularity...
wrote novels about middle class city people, their joys and sorrows, love and separation. His significant works include Omol Dhabol Chakri, Ek Priyodorshini, Chhayadampoti, Hai Shunyota, Sangharsho, Shahar, Hai Anonter Pakhi, Modhyomather Khelowar etc.
Akhtaruzzaman Elias, one of the most artistic but least productive writers, wrote only two novels. He has started his journey with Chilekothar Sepai. His most prestigious work Khoabnama, which came out in 1996, is considered a milestone in the history of Bangla novels.
Another senior novelist Abu Ishaque's second novel Padmar Palidwip was published in 1986, after thirty-one years of his debut novel Surjo Dighal Bari. Appearance and disappearance of Chars (strip of sandy land), their effect on nearby humanity etc. have taken a keen narration in Padmar Palidwip.
Haripada Datta is also a worthy name. His two-volume novel Ojogor (Vol. I -1989, Vol. II-1991) chronicles the recent past history very remarkably. His previous novels are Eshane Ognidaho and Ondhokupe Janmothsob. In 2000 he wrote an epic volume titled Jonmo Jonmantor.
From the early years of the eighties, the arrival of some young novelists who, later on, obtained enough popularity, was heard. Monju Sarkar, Imdadul Haq Milon
Imdadul Haq Milon
Imdadul Haq Milon , is a popular Bangladeshi novelist. He was born in Bikrampur, Munshiganj District.-Education:Milon graduated from Jagannath College. He went to Germany to rebuild life and after returning,wrote one of his premier works, 'Poradhinota'.-A Writer:As a writer, Imdadul Haq Milon is...
and Moinul Ahsan Saber
Moinul Ahsan Saber
Moinul Ahsan Saber is a fiction writer of Bangladesh. He is the executive editor of popular weekly magazine Saptahik 2000, published from Dhaka....
are the few but most common names in this regard. Monju Sarkar’s Tamosh, Nagno Agontuk, Protima Upakhyan and Abashbhumi, Imdadul Haq Milon’s Jabojjibon (written in 1976, published in 1900), Nodi Upakhyan, Bhumiputro, Poradhinota, Rajakartontro, Moinul Ahsan Saber’s Adomer Jonye Opekhkha, Pathor Somoy, Char Torun Toruni, Manush Jekhane Jai Na, Dharabahik Kahin, Opeksha, Kobej Lethel, Tumi Amake Niye Jabe, Prem O Protishodh, Songsher Japon got much recognition from the literati. Shahidul Zahir
Shahidul Zahir
Shaheedul Jahir, also spelt Shahidul Zahir, was an eminent post-modernist fictionist of Bangladesh. He wrote both short stories and novels, and was distinguished for his extraordinary prose-style.-Life and career:...
, wrote his first novel Jibon O Rajnoitic Bastobota, published in 1988 while his second, till now the last, Shei Rate Purnima Chhilo came out in 1995. Magic realism, which is a recent trend of the Latin American novels, takes place in Shahidul Zahir's narration.
The last decade of twentieth century is comparatively fruitful for Bangladeshi novels. Al Mahmud
Al Mahmud
Mir Abdus Shukur Al Mahmud , commonly known as Al Mahmud is a Bangladeshi Poet, novelist, short-story writer. He is considered as one of the greatest Bengali poets emerged from 1950s. His work in Bengali poetry is dominated by his copious use of regional dialects...
's novelistic exposition, Bipradas Barua’s Buddhist life, Humayun Azad
Humayun Azad
Humayun Azad was a prolific Bangladeshi author and scholar. He wrote more than seventy titles...
's brave creations, Akimun Rahman's novels about womanhood, Nasreen Jahan
Nasreen Jahan
Nasreen Jahan , is a modern Bangladeshi author and literary editor. She became famous with the publication of her award-winning novel Urukku in 1993.-Life:Nasreen Jahan was born and brought up in Mymensingh...
's novels of magic realism, Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam
Shamsuddin Abul Kalam , , an author of Bengali literature in Bangladesh, was a famous novelist. He was born in Barisal. He is maternal uncle of A.M. Harun-ar-Rashid-Life:...
's historic work Kanchongram is few mark of this decade. Syed Shamsul Haq's masterpiece Bristi O Bidrohigon, published in 1998, is a milestone on the past heritage and liberation war
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War was an armed conflict pitting East Pakistan and India against West Pakistan. The war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh....
.
Senior poet Al Mahmud's debut novel Dahuki came out in 1992 which was followed by Kobi O Kolahol, Upamohadesh, Kabiler Bone, Purush Sundor, Nishinda Nari etc. Bipradas Barua's major novels are Somudrochar O Bidrohira, Muktijoddhara, Shromon Goutam etc.
Humayun Azad
Humayun Azad
Humayun Azad was a prolific Bangladeshi author and scholar. He wrote more than seventy titles...
commenced his novelist carrier with Chhappanno Hajar Borgomile in 1994, which was a courageous slap on martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
and dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
. In no time the novel brought its writer much name and popularity. His later novels include Sob Kichhu Bhenge Pore, Subhabrata, Tar Samparkita Susamachar, Rajnitibidgon etc. Mohammad Nurul Huda
Mohammad Nurul Huda
Mohammad Nurul Huda , is a Bangladeshi poet and novelist. He is recognized a major poet of 1960s, with more than fifty poetry books to his credit.-Life:...
, a renowned poet, had also two attempts in novel. Excepting Janmajati and Moinpahar he did not make any third attempt. Akimun Rahman is the first novelist ever in Bangla language in whose writing the untold and unknown secrets of womanhood are getting tongue. She has by now written four novels, Purusher Prithibite Ek Meye, Roktopunje Genthe Jawya Machhi, Pashe Shudhu Chhaya Chhilo, and Jeebaner Roudre Udechhilo Kayekti Dhulikana. Another notable novelist is Nasreen Jahan
Nasreen Jahan
Nasreen Jahan , is a modern Bangladeshi author and literary editor. She became famous with the publication of her award-winning novel Urukku in 1993.-Life:Nasreen Jahan was born and brought up in Mymensingh...
. Her first novel Urukku arrived with much appreciation. In her novels like Chondrer Prothom Kola, Chondrolekhar Jaadubistar, Sonali Mukhosh, Ure Jai Nishipakhkhi etc., she manipulated the elements of magic realism. Anisul Hoque, a journalist by profession, has established himself as a renowned writer. His Andhokarer Ekshaw Bachhar presented him a very honourable place but Ma (The Mother) has given him international reputation. Imtiar Shamim is also a young but promising name for the novels of recent Bangladesh. In Dana Kata Himer Bhetor he presented an NGO-world. His Amra Hetechhi Jara encompassed a very touching story of the sorry saga of post-independence Bangladesh life.
Novels of West Bengal, India
- Durgesh Nandini by Bankim Chandra ChattopadhyayBankim Chandra ChattopadhyayBankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist. He was the composer of India’s national song Vande Mataram, originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra personifying India as a mother goddess and inspiring the activists during the Indian Freedom Movement...
- Madhabi Kankan by Ramesh Chandra Dutta
- Gora by Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- Ghare Baire by Rabindranath Tagore
- Shesher Kabita by Rabindranath Tagore
- Pather Dabi by Sharat Chandra ChattopadhyaySharat Chandra ChattopadhyaySarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is one of the most popular Bengali novelists and short story writers of early 20th century.- Background and writing :Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, India...
- Shesh Prashna by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay
- Pather Panchali by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay
- Aranyak by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandyopadhyay
- Ganadevata by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay
- Nagini Kanyar Kahini by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay
- Hansuli Banker Upakatha by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay
- Putul Nacher Itikatha by Manik Bandyopadhyay
- Padmanadir Majhi by Manik Bandyopadhyay
- Jagari by Satinath BhaduriSatinath BhaduriSatinath Bhaduri was a Bengali Indian novelist and politician. He was known by his literary pseudonym, Chitra Gupta.-His works:Satinath's first novel was Jagari , for which he received the very first Rabindra Puraskar . This book earned him considerable fame. As a political novel, Jagari occupies...
- Antarjalijatra by Kamal Kumar MajumdarKamal Kumar MajumdarKamalKumar Majumdar was a major fiction-writer of the Bengali language. The novel Antarjali Jatra is considered his most notable work.-Early life:...
- Ekhon Amar Kono Asukh Nei by Sandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan Chattopadhyay was a Bengali writer. In 1961 he wrote the book "Kritadas Kritadasi" it changed the landscape of Bengali fiction and created a niche for himself...
- Rubi Kakhan Asbe by Sandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan Chattopadhyay was a Bengali writer. In 1961 he wrote the book "Kritadas Kritadasi" it changed the landscape of Bengali fiction and created a niche for himself...
- Jiban Je Rakam by Sunil GangopadhyaySunil GangopadhyaySunil Gangopadhyay , is a celebrated Indian poet and novelist.-Early life:...
- Prathom Alo by Sunil Gangopadhyay
- Uttar Jahnabi by Syed Mustafa SirajSyed Mustafa SirajSyed Mustafa Siraj সৈয়দ মুস্তাফা সিরাজ is an eminent Bengali writer. In 1994, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel Aleek Manush অলীক মানুষ...
- Aleek Manush by Syed Mustafa Siraj
- Trinabhumi by Syed Mustafa Siraj
- Ghunpoka by Shirsendu Mukhopadhyay
- Purna Apurna by Bimal Kar
- Kharkuto by Bimal Kar
- Banpalashir Padabali by Ramapada Choudhury
- Dwiper nam Tiarong by Ramapada Choudhury
- Mirar Dupur by Jyotirindra Nandi
- Baaro Ghar Ek Uthon by Jyotirindra Nandi
- Ei Taar Puroshkar by Jyotirindra Nandi
- Nilkantha Pakhir Khonje by Atin Bandyopadhyay
- Aloukik jalajan by Atin Bandyopadhyay
- Manusher Gharbari by Atin Bandyopadhyay
- Dubjaley Jetuku Prashwas by Malay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy Choudhury is a Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. His literary works have been reviewed by sixty critics in HAOWA 49, a quarterly magazine which devoted its January 2001 special issue to Roy Choudhury's life and works...
- Kheladhula by Basudeb DasguptaBasudeb DasguptaBasudeb Dasgupta , a Bengali novelist and short-story writer , is considered as one of the most significant avant-gardes and controversial figures in the history of Bengali literature.-Writings:Basudeb's major contribution to Bengali literature spanned from the early 1960s to mid 80's...
- Bramhavargab Puran by Kamal Chakraborty
- Brikhu by Kamal Chakraborty
- Herbert by Nabarun BhattacharyaNabarun BhattacharyaNabarun Bhattacharya is an Indian Bengali writer deeply committed to a revolutionary and radical aesthetics. He was born at Baharampur , West Bengal...
- Matam by Barin Ghosal
- Suryaheen by Arupratan Ghosh
- Kapalkundala by Bakim chandra Chatterjee
Further reading
- Bangla Academy Lekhak Obhidhan, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, 1998
- Bangla Uponyase Chitrita Jiban O Somaj, Sudhamoy Das, Dhaka, 1995
- Purba O Pashchim Banglar Uponyas, Shahida Akter, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, 1992
- Amader Uponyase Bisoy Chetona : Bivagottor Kal, Muhammad Idris Ali, Bangla Academy, Dhaka, 1988