All over his days as a student at Dhaka College, a casual stroll across campus modified into a defining 2nd for Helal Hafiz, one which might well maybe later inspire a poem of profound affect.
It was 1969, a time of mass uprisings when Hafiz discovered himself witnessing a chaotic conflict between protestors and law enforcement. Amid the turmoil, a rickshaw puller’s impassioned yowl minimize by the noise: “Wrestle! Wrestle! Wrestle! Even murder is justified for love.”
These words, raw and placing, stayed with Hafiz, resonating in his tips till they transformed into the muse of his iconic poem, Nishiddho Shompadokio (The Forbidden Editorial). Its opening lines — “For the younger, now is the time to march, for the younger, now is the time to fight” — modified into rallying cries in some unspecified time in the future of Bangladesh’s Liberation Warfare of 1971 and an infinite series of actions that adopted. The simplicity and universality of those words grew to turn into them into slogans scrawled on university partitions, recited in protests, and remembered across generations.
Passe poet Mohammad Nurul Huda’s words ring true, “Even supposing he did no longer write powerful, what he did write might well maybe additionally merely no longer ever be forgotten. Helal Hafiz will live on by his works.”
On a Friday afternoon, 13 December 2024, Bangladesh mourned the lack of its cherished poet. Helal Hafiz, whose words fueled revolutions and inspired resilience, handed away at 76.
He took his final breath at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Clinical College, as confirmed by Brigadier Frequent Rezaur Rahman. Even in death, Hafiz’s legacy endures, his verses immortalized within the hearts of members who continue to march, fight, and dream.
Hafiz’s creep to literary immortality started in 1986 with the publication of his first poetry series, ‘Je Jole Agun Jole’. Even other folks who had been no longer avid readers of poetry discovered themselves moved by the depth and emotion in his words.
His lines in general mirrored the struggles, loves, and revolutions of his lifestyles. Via his verses, he modified into a issue of resistance, a chronicler of love and pain, and an unrelenting critic of oppression.
Born in 1948, Helal Hafiz misplaced his mom on the smooth age of three, and the subsequent passing of his father in 1973 left him fully by myself. No matter these tragedies, he transformed his agonize into great poetry that resonated with the hundreds.
The tumultuous period of the gradual 1960s and early Seventies served as the backdrop for deal of his work. ‘Nishiddho Shompadokio’, was born in some unspecified time in the future of the mass uprising of 1969.
The creep to publishing ‘Nishiddho Shompadokio’ was no longer with out its challenges. When Hafiz first supplied the poem to Ahsan Habib, editor of the authorities-backed ‘Day-to-day Pakistan’, it was rejected due to its overtly modern tone.
Alternatively, two of Hafiz’s pals took matters into their fill fingers, scrawling the poem’s first lines across the partitions of Dhaka College. Within days, these words had spread like wildfire, shooting the spirit of a complete technology.
No matter writing handiest about a poems, Hafiz’s status skyrocketed. His work spoke no longer handiest of political insurrection nonetheless also of love, longing, and heartbreak. Poems like ‘Ogni Uthshob’ captured the raw emotion of a country torn apart by battle, while ‘Prosthan’ delved into the universal pain of love misplaced.
Hafiz was no longer a prolific poet, yet his few works left an indelible save. His 2nd series, ‘Kobita Ekattor’, was revealed in 2012, decades after his debut. His final work, ‘Bedonake Bolechi Kedo Na’ , got right here in 2019.
For deal of, his poetry was no longer true artwork — it was a approach to lifestyles. His words modified into the issue of the unvoiced, anxious injustice and oppression at each and each turn. Whether or no longer by the flames of revolution or the gentle agony of heartbreak, Hafiz’s poetry echoed the complexities of lifestyles.
As he grew older, Hafiz in general mirrored on the three pivotal occasions that fashioned his lifestyles. The first was the massacre at Dhaka College on 25 March, 1971, in some unspecified time in the future of Operation Searchlight. Narrowly escaping death, he described his survival as a “bonus lifestyles,” which deepened his sense of reason.
The 2nd tournament was the death of his father in 1973, which left him feeling adrift within the area. And at final, the lack of his first love, Helen, profoundly impacted his perspective on love and lifestyles. These interior most tragedies intertwined with nationwide crises to mold Hafiz into the poet we got right here to delight in.
In his later years, Hafiz expressed both feel sorry about and gratitude. He lamented the poems left unwritten and the time misplaced to lifestyles’s distractions. But, he remained grateful for the love and recognition he acquired, even crediting his critics for pushing him to greatness.
Helal Hafiz’s poetry continues to inspire contemporary generations. His lines were translated true into a couple of languages, together with English, Hindi, German, and French. While about a of his works were tailored into songs, he believed that their true energy lay of their customary compose — as slogans, as cries for justice, and as reflections of the human spirit.
As Bangladesh mourns the lack of 1 in all its literary figures, Helal Hafiz’s words remain etched within the hearts of many. His poetry, very equivalent to the man himself, will continue to inspire, provoke, and consolation for future years serve. Helal Hafiz might well maybe additionally merely occupy departed, nonetheless his legacy will suffer, burning brightly within the hearts of members who march, fight, and love.
