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A unique literary rendezvous

The launching of Justice Habibur Rahman's new book Rabindra-Rachanay Aini Bhabana or Tagore's Musings on Law occasioned a riveting literary evening

ZIAUL KARIM
THE evening was crisp and the green velvety lawn of the author Habibur Rahman's
Maghbazar residence in the city was glistening after a languid morning rain. The happy chirping of birds lent the evening a Tagorian ambience, perfect for the launching of a book
on Tagore.
"The idea was first to visit Habibur Rahman and hand him the author's copy," said the publisher of the book Mohiuddin Ahmed of University Publishers Ltd. " Then we thought since Tagore's 141st birth anniversary falls on the very next day, Wednesday May 8, why not invite literary personalities of the country and meet informally for an interactive evening."
Forming a full circle with chairs and sofas on the sprawling lawn, the literary giants and big names of the country's cultural circuit indulged in an intimate interaction that was new to the country's literary landscape. The talk was veering through and meandering across topics as varied, as Thai food habit to Tagore's potential as a barrister to preparation of a local essence called Amber.
Bangladesh's premier English language poet Kaiser Haq was sitting next to the leading literary and art critic of the country Syed Manzoorul Islam. Kaiser Haq has just published his fifth book of poems The Logopathic Reviewer's Song. Soon Fakrul Alam, critically acclaimed translator of Jibanananda Das, joined them. Together they -- Kaiser Haq, Manzoorul Islam and Fakrul Alam -are better known as the holy trinity in
our literary firmament. These three sit on the editorial of The Six Seasons Review, the bi-annual literary journal published from Bangladesh.
Prolific poet, novelist and dramatist Syed Shamsul Haq was engrossed with firebrand cultural activist Waheedul Haq, who turned 79 this year. In one section of the circle, scientist-turned-photographer Noazesh Ahmed, who has recently published his photocommentary on Rabindranath Tagore's Chinnapatra, a collection of letters Tagore wrote to his niece Indira between 1889 and 1895, was sharing his thoughts on the book with illustrious professor of English and translator of Shakespeare's sonnets into Bengali Professor Zillur Rahman Siddique. A walking encyclopedia on plants and flowers, Noazesh has always been an impressive talker. He has his own unique style of narrating stories, which is compelling and magnetic to his listeners. The ritual of Thai
people's durian eating in Noazesh's commentary was fascinating to listen to.
Editor of the daily Pratham Alo Matiur Rahman arrived, when the tempo of the gathering reaching its crescendo with the arrival of mouthwatering snacks, with a bouquet and a sponge chocolate cake.
Publisher of the book Mohiuddin Ahmed put a little brake to the flow of the chitchat to present the author's copy of the Rabindra-Rachanay Aini Bhabana to Habibur Rahman. "Tagore's musings on law has brought out a new Tagore to the surface. The legal mind of Tagore has been brilliantly investigated by Habibur Rahman, himself an illustrious practitioner of law," commented the publisher of the title.
As darkness fell, the guests were exposed to mosquitoes and before discussing legal aspects of mosquito bites the memorable evening came to an end.