75TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Poet Rafiq Azad to be recalled today

On the occasion of the 75th birth anniversary of late noted poet, writer and editor Rafiq Azad, commonly well-known for his much-talked about poem ‘Bhaat De Haramjada’ (Give me food, bastard), Kobi Rafiq Azad Smrity Parshad has organised an elaborated programme today at 4pm at the Poet Shamsur Rahman Auditorium of Bangla Academy in the capital. The programme will feature Rabindra Sangeet, poetry recitation, reciting poems of poet Rafiq Azad and discussion. Besides, a poetry book titled ‘Rafiq Azader Kobita 75’ (Rafiq Azad’s Poem 75) consisting of 75 poems of the poet will be launched at the today’s event. Born on February 14 in 1942, in the remote village of Guni in Tangail district, poet Rafiq Azad participated in the war against the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971 Liberation War and was awarded ‘Notable Freedom Fighter Award’ in 1997. He received the Bangla Academy Award in 1984 and national award Ekushey Padak in 2013, for his contribution to Bangla language and literature.
He is credited with 45 collections of poetry, including ‘Prakriti O Premer Kabita’, ‘Asambhaber Paye’, ‘Sahasra Sundar’, ‘Haturir Nichae Jiban’, ‘Khub Beshi Durea Noy’, ‘Khamakaro Bahaman Hey Udar Amiyo Batas’ and others. He is most well known for his poem ‘Bhaat De Haramjada, Noile Manchitro Khabo’, which was written during the famine of 1974.
Throughout his professional life, spanning 50 years, Azad had many roles. He began his career as a lecturer at Kagmari College (now Govt. Maulna Mohammad Ali College) in Tangail in the late 1960s. He joined Bangla Academy in 1972 and worked there until 1984, as the executive editor of Uttaradhikar, a monthly magazine. He was also the editor of Robbaar, another popular weekly in 1980s. Azad was the director of National Book Center (Jatiyo Grontho Kendro) of Bangladesh for many years. He briefly served as the deputy general manager of BJMC (Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation). Azad returned to the Bangla Academy in 1995, for a brief period, to help assist the ‘Young Writers Project’, taking up the role of poetics instructor. He took a keen interest in the culture and traditions of tribal ethnicity of Bangladesh and was appointed as the director of the Upajati Shangishkriti Kandra (Tribal Culture Academy) in 1996. Later he went back to teaching and became a visiting professor of literature at Jahangirnagar University in Savar. In the recent years, he had been working in a daily called Amader Shomoy.
The renowned poet breathed his last on March 12, 2016 in Dhaka, and his body was entombed in Martyred Intellectuals’ Cemetery in Mirpur, Dhaka.

75TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY

Poet Rafiq Azad to be recalled today

On the occasion of the 75th birth anniversary of late noted poet, writer and editor Rafiq Azad, commonly well-known for his much-talked about poem Bhaat De Haramjada (Give me food, bastard), Kobi Rafiq Azad Smrity Parshad has organised an elaborated programme today at 4pm at the Poet Shamsur Rahman Auditorium of Bangla Academy in the capital. The programme will feature Rabindra Sangeet, poetry recitation, reciting poems of poet Rafiq Azad and discussion. Besides, a poetry book titled Rafiq Azader Kobita 75 (Rafiq Azads Poem 75) consisting of 75 poems of the poet will be launched at the todays event. Born on February 14 in 1942, in the remote village of Guni in Tangail district, poet Rafiq Azad participated in the war against the Pakistani occupation forces in 1971 Liberation War and was awarded Notable Freedom Fighter Award in 1997. He received the Bangla Academy Award in 1984 and national award Ekushey Padak in 2013, for his contribution to Bangla language and literature. He is credited with 45 collections of poetry, including Prakriti O Premer Kabita, Asambhaber Paye, Sahasra Sundar, Haturir Nichae Jiban, Khub Beshi Durea Noy, Khamakaro Bahaman Hey Udar Amiyo Batas and others. He is most well known for his poem Bhaat De Haramjada, Noile Manchitro Khabo, which was written during the famine of 1974. Throughout his professional life, spanning 50 years, Azad had many roles. He began his career as a lecturer at Kagmari College (now Govt. Maulna Mohammad Ali College) in Tangail in the late 1960s. He joined Bangla Academy in 1972 and worked there until 1984, as the executive editor of Uttaradhikar, a monthly magazine. He was also the editor of Robbaar, another popular weekly in 1980s. Azad was the director of National Book Center (Jatiyo Grontho Kendro) of Bangladesh for many years. He briefly served as the deputy general manager of BJMC (Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation). Azad returned to the Bangla Academy in 1995, for a brief period, to help assist the Young Writers Project, taking up the role of poetics instructor. He took a keen interest in the culture and traditions of tribal ethnicity of Bangladesh and was appointed as the director of the Upajati Shangishkriti Kandra (Tribal Culture Academy) in 1996. Later he went back to teaching and became a visiting professor of literature at Jahangirnagar University in Savar. In the recent years, he had been working in a daily called Amader Shomoy. The renowned poet breathed his last on March 12, 2016 in Dhaka, and his body was entombed in Martyred Intellectuals Cemetery in Mirpur, Dhaka.