Last days of Nazrul’s creative life

Unfortunately, not too much has been written about the times when he became ill, much to the misfortune of Bengali literature as a whole

Kazi Nazul Islam’s meteric entrance in Bengali literature changed its face forever. It is really difficult to imagine how the great man could achieve so much in such a short period of time. Of course he lived for 76 years but his life as a creative virtuoso was quite limited as the Despite the ferocious pace at which he worked, the quality of his works is unmistakable and these have stood the test of time. During his lifetime he was a celebrated figure and after his death he has achieved the cult status. At present he is the National Poet in Bangladesh and in West Bengal too he is a hugely respected figure. He has a place in Bengali literature that is uniquely his own.

However, unfortunately, not too much has been written about the times when he became ill, much to the misfortune of Bengali literature as a whole. I mean definitely there have been some works here and there but these are full of conflicting views. By nature Bengalis are an emotional people and hard facts are not our forte. Nazrul’s life has also suffered from this malaise. While he has been hero worshipped not much effort has been gone on to find out about the last days of the poet’s life.

But there is one book which has filled this gap to a good extent. Sufi Zulfikar Haider’s Nazruler Jiboner Shesh Oddhai (The last chapter of Nazrul’s life) is a great work not just because Haider was an eye witness to the events but being a poet himself he could ideally empathise with the tragedy that became the poet’s existence. However this book too has biased opinions but being a close personal friend of the poet it was difficult for him to be totally objective. In any case this was a biographical book not a research work. But it has its own value.

The book was first published way back in 1964 and its third and so far the latest edition was published in 1983. Though Haider’s title literally talks about the last chapter of Nazrul’s life he is speaking actually about the last chapter of his creative life. And perhaps that is just as well. From his illness until 1975 Nazrul was physically alive but his brilliant mind became inactive and it was as good as death for him. During those days when Nazrul slowly became victim of the dreaded ailment his initial efforts at getting better has been documented in this book.

Sufi during these days stayed constantly with the poet and his family. However while he speaks with great respect about Nazrul’s wife and mother- in-law he makes one observation that is open to debate. Quite early into the book he categorically states that Nazrul’s marriage to a Hindu woman was a curse for the great man. Now, the author nowhere tries to hide his own Islamic credentials and actually is quite proud of his Islamic lifestyle. One may think that his Islamic outlook towards life was behind the comments. He tries to justify the statement by saying that Nazrul’s childhood and early youth were steeped in the Islamic way of life. But after he got married it was the Hindu influence which reigned supreme. Though Nazrul himself, says Haider, was distant from any religion his family lifestyle was steeped with the Hindu ways.

Zulfikar, with some bitterness, notes that Nazrul never offered the Islamic prayer at his home and did not try to bring up his sons in the Islamic tradition. He also quotes the great singer Abbasuddin to suggest that Nazrul’s Islamic songs were ridiculed by his mother-in-law. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and I would like to stress here that Haider has spoken glowingly about the way Nazrul’s wife and mother-in-law loved and took care of him and other friends of Nazrul. Haider also speaks about the free spending habit of the mother-in-law. It is well-known that Nazrul, at one stage of his career earned a great deal of money. He even had a car and his house had an armed Nepalese guard at the gate. Haider said that Nazrul was extremely unwise about worldly matters and it is the mother-in-law who dealt with the financial aspect. However, instead of saving for rainy days she spent the money in entertaining guests and in travelling, Though one may think Haider is being a little unfair on the elderly woman, this aspect of the lady’s character has been spoken of by many others. Some even complained to Nazrul about this during his lifetime but Nazrul was not prepared to listen to any bad things about the women who were no less than a mother to him.

Incidentally Nazrul’s relationship with his biological mother is shrouded in mystery. According to most observers it was not what ideally should have been between a mother and a son. This discord with mother was what drove Nazrul more into his wife’s mother. Nazrul, being a highly sensitive man was also extremely grateful to her because she defied the whole society when she agreed to give her daughter’s hand to Nazrul. It should be remembered that she came of a very conservative Hindu family and inter-religious marriages were almost unheard-of during the period. As indicated earlier, Haider in the book says, Nazrul did not follow either Hinduism or Islam. And while he did not pray in the Muslim way, neither did he offer the Puja. However, just before he became ill he was drawn to mysticism. He learned Yoga from a famous teacher and spoke about combining Hinduism and Islam. These aspects of Nazrul’s life has hardly been touched upon by historians and critics. One believes it can be the subject of a fascinating book. One also hears of Nazrul’s worshipping of the Goddes Kali.

To me the most interesting part of the book deals with Sufi Zulfikar Haider’s accusations against the high ranking people of both the Hindu and Muslim societies for their failure to come and help Nazrul during his illness. He is particularly scathing in his criticism about Muslim political leaders. When Nazrul became ill in 1942 AK Fazlul Huq was the Premier of the then Bengal. Incidentally Nazrul was at the time the editor of Nabajug which was bankrolled by Fazlul Huq. However Huq’s attitude when he heard about Nazrul’s ailment is hard to justify or even understand. Haider says Nazrul repeatedly told him that Fazlul Huq was not fair to him and refused to give him his well-earned money. Haider adds that he went several times to Huq for financial assistance for Nazrul’s treatment but was frustrated by the great leader’s attitude.

Now we are given to understand that Fazlul Huq was a large hearted man who was ever ready to support anyone. But the question is why should Haider criticise him unduly. And he cites a number people who were present during his conversations with the PM and nobody till date has disputed him. Haider also did not have political axes to grind, as he was also severely critical about other contemporary Bengali Muslim political leaders like Hussein Shahid Suhrawardi and Moulvi Tamizuddin Khan.

While he is highly critical of the Muslim leaders Sufi Zulfikar Haider is all praise for Shyama Prasad Mukherji, the Finance Minster under Huq. Haider says Mukherji went to visit Nazrul immediately after he heard about his travails. The Hindu Mahasabha leader even cancelled his appointment to be present at a discussion meeting arranged on his father’s memory. Mukherji after seeing Nazrul bedridden arranged money for his family. He supported Nazrul’s family regularly during these troubled times. Here again I would like to point out that Shyamaprasad Mukherji has been vilified by many as a demonic fundamentalist figure rabidly against Islam and Muslims. But according to the portrayal of Sufi Zulfika Haider Mukherji comes across as someone who has a deeply sensitive mind and is greatly respectful to poets and literature in general. The fact that Nazrul was a Muslim apparently meant little to him. On the other hand, Haider recalls that in Maulvi Tamizuddin’s house a young student leader lambasted Nazrul and said he belongs to the Hindu camp, indeed many Muslim social and political leaders dubbed the poet as Kafir or infidel. Suhrawardi, when reported of Nazul’s illness said, according to Haider, Nazrul is the editor of Fazlul Huq’s paper. Why don’t you go to him for support?’’ We have already spoken about Huq’s attitude.

Zulfikar Haider’s description of Nazrul’s early days of illness is heart rending. Many people are under the impression that Nazrul suddenly became paralysed and lost his speech and his reasoning faculty. But that is not the case. Initially he could speak and his mind was functioning only to deteriorate later. Haider says that the initial treatment of the poet by a homoeopath, who was a family friend, left a lot to be desired. Nazrul’s wife and mother-in-law were dead against the idea that the poet be sent to Ranchi for treatment and only grudgingly allowed him to be taken to Lumbini Park, near Calcutta. Haider also says that ayurvedic treatment under one Vidyalankar was proving quite successful and the poet was showing signs of improvement. However the rate of improvement was very slow and the family members of the poet got tired and stopped the ayurvedic procedures. Quite clearly it was the deadly disease of syphilis that ravaged the poet’s body and mind.

He also said that the poet was showing signs of deteriorating mental health for some time. He was enamoured of mystic philosophy and too much involvement with yoga was making his nerves irritated and sometimes he uttered weird things. Also the poet was eating less and less during the year before his illness. He was surviving on endless cups of tea, betel leaves and chewing tobacco. And this amidst a work rate that would have been fit for a Hercules.

The writer is Assistant Editor of, The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]

Last days of Nazruls creative life

Unfortunately, not too much has been written about the times when he became ill, much to the misfortune of Bengali literature as a whole

Kazi Nazul Islams meteric entrance in Bengali literature changed its face forever. It is really difficult to imagine how the great man could achieve so much in such a short period of time. Of course he lived for 76 years but his life as a creative virtuoso was quite limited as the Despite the ferocious pace at which he worked, the quality of his works is unmistakable and these have stood the test of time. During his lifetime he was a celebrated figure and after his death he has achieved the cult status. At present he is the National Poet in Bangladesh and in West Bengal too he is a hugely respected figure. He has a place in Bengali literature that is uniquely his own. However, unfortunately, not too much has been written about the times when he became ill, much to the misfortune of Bengali literature as a whole. I mean definitely there have been some works here and there but these are full of conflicting views. By nature Bengalis are an emotional people and hard facts are not our forte. Nazruls life has also suffered from this malaise. While he has been hero worshipped not much effort has been gone on to find out about the last days of the poets life. But there is one book which has filled this gap to a good extent. Sufi Zulfikar Haiders Nazruler Jiboner Shesh Oddhai (The last chapter of Nazruls life) is a great work not just because Haider was an eye witness to the events but being a poet himself he could ideally empathise with the tragedy that became the poets existence. However this book too has biased opinions but being a close personal friend of the poet it was difficult for him to be totally objective. In any case this was a biographical book not a research work. But it has its own value. The book was first published way back in 1964 and its third and so far the latest edition was published in 1983. Though Haiders title literally talks about the last chapter of Nazruls life he is speaking actually about the last chapter of his creative life. And perhaps that is just as well. From his illness until 1975 Nazrul was physically alive but his brilliant mind became inactive and it was as good as death for him. During those days when Nazrul slowly became victim of the dreaded ailment his initial efforts at getting better has been documented in this book. Sufi during these days stayed constantly with the poet and his family. However while he speaks with great respect about Nazruls wife and mother- in-law he makes one observation that is open to debate. Quite early into the book he categorically states that Nazruls marriage to a Hindu woman was a curse for the great man. Now, the author nowhere tries to hide his own Islamic credentials and actually is quite proud of his Islamic lifestyle. One may think that his Islamic outlook towards life was behind the comments. He tries to justify the statement by saying that Nazruls childhood and early youth were steeped in the Islamic way of life. But after he got married it was the Hindu influence which reigned supreme. Though Nazrul himself, says Haider, was distant from any religion his family lifestyle was steeped with the Hindu ways. Zulfikar, with some bitterness, notes that Nazrul never offered the Islamic prayer at his home and did not try to bring up his sons in the Islamic tradition. He also quotes the great singer Abbasuddin to suggest that Nazruls Islamic songs were ridiculed by his mother-in-law. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion and I would like to stress here that Haider has spoken glowingly about the way Nazruls wife and mother-in-law loved and took care of him and other friends of Nazrul. Haider also speaks about the free spending habit of the mother-in-law. It is well-known that Nazrul, at one stage of his career earned a great deal of money. He even had a car and his house had an armed Nepalese guard at the gate. Haider said that Nazrul was extremely unwise about worldly matters and it is the mother-in-law who dealt with the financial aspect. However, instead of saving for rainy days she spent the money in entertaining guests and in travelling, Though one may think Haider is being a little unfair on the elderly woman, this aspect of the ladys character has been spoken of by many others. Some even complained to Nazrul about this during his lifetime but Nazrul was not prepared to listen to any bad things about the women who were no less than a mother to him. Incidentally Nazruls relationship with his biological mother is shrouded in mystery. According to most observers it was not what ideally should have been between a mother and a son. This discord with mother was what drove Nazrul more into his wifes mother. Nazrul, being a highly sensitive man was also extremely grateful to her because she defied the whole society when she agreed to give her daughters hand to Nazrul. It should be remembered that she came of a very conservative Hindu family and inter-religious marriages were almost unheard-of during the period. As indicated earlier, Haider in the book says, Nazrul did not follow either Hinduism or Islam. And while he did not pray in the Muslim way, neither did he offer the Puja. However, just before he became ill he was drawn to mysticism. He learned Yoga from a famous teacher and spoke about combining Hinduism and Islam. These aspects of Nazruls life has hardly been touched upon by historians and critics. One believes it can be the subject of a fascinating book. One also hears of Nazruls worshipping of the Goddes Kali. To me the most interesting part of the book deals with Sufi Zulfikar Haiders accusations against the high ranking people of both the Hindu and Muslim societies for their failure to come and help Nazrul during his illness. He is particularly scathing in his criticism about Muslim political leaders. When Nazrul became ill in 1942 AK Fazlul Huq was the Premier of the then Bengal. Incidentally Nazrul was at the time the editor of Nabajug which was bankrolled by Fazlul Huq. However Huqs attitude when he heard about Nazruls ailment is hard to justify or even understand. Haider says Nazrul repeatedly told him that Fazlul Huq was not fair to him and refused to give him his well-earned money. Haider adds that he went several times to Huq for financial assistance for Nazruls treatment but was frustrated by the great leaders attitude. Now we are given to understand that Fazlul Huq was a large hearted man who was ever ready to support anyone. But the question is why should Haider criticise him unduly. And he cites a number people who were present during his conversations with the PM and nobody till date has disputed him. Haider also did not have political axes to grind, as he was also severely critical about other contemporary Bengali Muslim political leaders like Hussein Shahid Suhrawardi and Moulvi Tamizuddin Khan. While he is highly critical of the Muslim leaders Sufi Zulfikar Haider is all praise for Shyama Prasad Mukherji, the Finance Minster under Huq. Haider says Mukherji went to visit Nazrul immediately after he heard about his travails. The Hindu Mahasabha leader even cancelled his appointment to be present at a discussion meeting arranged on his fathers memory. Mukherji after seeing Nazrul bedridden arranged money for his family. He supported Nazruls family regularly during these troubled times. Here again I would like to point out that Shyamaprasad Mukherji has been vilified by many as a demonic fundamentalist figure rabidly against Islam and Muslims. But according to the portrayal of Sufi Zulfika Haider Mukherji comes across as someone who has a deeply sensitive mind and is greatly respectful to poets and literature in general. The fact that Nazrul was a Muslim apparently meant little to him. On the other hand, Haider recalls that in Maulvi Tamizuddins house a young student leader lambasted Nazrul and said he belongs to the Hindu camp, indeed many Muslim social and political leaders dubbed the poet as Kafir or infidel. Suhrawardi, when reported of Nazuls illness said, according to Haider, Nazrul is the editor of Fazlul Huqs paper. Why dont you go to him for support? We have already spoken about Huqs attitude. Zulfikar Haiders description of Nazruls early days of illness is heart rending. Many people are under the impression that Nazrul suddenly became paralysed and lost his speech and his reasoning faculty. But that is not the case. Initially he could speak and his mind was functioning only to deteriorate later. Haider says that the initial treatment of the poet by a homoeopath, who was a family friend, left a lot to be desired. Nazruls wife and mother-in-law were dead against the idea that the poet be sent to Ranchi for treatment and only grudgingly allowed him to be taken to Lumbini Park, near Calcutta. Haider also says that ayurvedic treatment under one Vidyalankar was proving quite successful and the poet was showing signs of improvement. However the rate of improvement was very slow and the family members of the poet got tired and stopped the ayurvedic procedures. Quite clearly it was the deadly disease of syphilis that ravaged the poets body and mind. He also said that the poet was showing signs of deteriorating mental health for some time. He was enamoured of mystic philosophy and too much involvement with yoga was making his nerves irritated and sometimes he uttered weird things. Also the poet was eating less and less during the year before his illness. He was surviving on endless cups of tea, betel leaves and chewing tobacco. And this amidst a work rate that would have been fit for a Hercules. The writer is Assistant Editor of, The Independent and can be contacted at: [email protected]