My Love for Reading

The ethos of life always to me was ‘love’… love for the life, love for mankind, love for reading, specially poems. I am an avid reader of Bengali classic & contemporary literature and English classic poems.

I can say, my addiction of reading is a symbiotic expression of my creative imagination and the strength of language. It is indeed a boon to my nature that I love to read unless I can’t be an artist myself. My love for recitation was started from vivid nurturing with poems. It was undoubtedly started with Kabiguru Rabindranath Tegore’s poems. The lyrical rhythm and spiritual aspiration between the lines engrossed me into the divinity of almighty; I had surrendered with all my confusions and emotions to him. “Akash Jodi sunil thaake/modhur theke bhorer aalo/ moron ele hothat dekhi morar cheye bNachai bhalo…” -That is the most inspiring ‘Mantra’ for me. It was the gift from his poem.

When I was young I had gone through Sunil Ganguli’s poem.  “Vru pollobe dak dil-e/ dekha hobe chondoner bon-e”. This is just magical two lines of the series of ‘nira’ by Sunil Ganguli. My emotion got expression by the purity of romance through ‘Nira’ series. When I had gone through Shakti Chottopadhaya’s poem was an adventure to me. As Shakti evolved with ease new Bengali words to give the expression of his poem I had enriched by the beauty of Bengali language. “vasoman nodi vasao nouka vasao nouka/ jouban jay chole jabo ami chasa ba duburi, khet-e songsar-e okkhoy bacho,  drirho jolouka”. The word ‘Jolouka’ still haunts me and I cherish every bit of his poem in this manner from my first experience of reading Shakti’s poems to till date.

.In novels and short stories now I am a bit partial to the contemporary writers like Sangeeta Bandyopadhaya. She has the sword on the tip of her pen. In nutshell I can say, very smart, very crispy, well written with great substance. Right now I can remember ‘Shankhini’, a series in a vernacular magazine. That was Sangeeta’s almost first major work. From that novel I am a great reader of her novel or short stories. 

And of course I am a big fan of Buddhadev Guha’s novel and short stories. It is like journey to go through Byddhadev Guha’s literature. The passion of romance with nature, the literary projection of Rabindranath’s songs, affluent Bengali societies of in seventies or the rustic beauty of Galudi, Madhupur, Maclaxigunje are just amazing. I had enjoyed Buddhadev’s famous Rijuda series - the teenage hero as well as love stories like ‘Koyeler Kachhe’ or ‘Madhukori’.

While talking about novels how can I forget Sunil Ganguli’s “purba poschim” or “sei somoy” series? I can say those were the most authentic historical fiction I have ever read. 

But as I am a recitation artist my first love is always poems. In English I am little bit influenced by the classic poet William Wordsworth and Lord Byron. Mid seventies to early eighties, is the period melancholy. And that’s fascinates me. A sudden kind of surrender to pain reflects from the words of Lord Byron.  “The agony they do not show, /The suffocating sense of woe,/ Which speaks but in its loneliness,/ And then is jealous lest the sky/ Should have a listener, nor will sigh/ Until its voice is echoless.”

 At the end I just want to say today when I look into poetry it is just the spontaneous recollection of my memory…nothing else. And that is why poetry is so close to my heart.