LIVING IN A FARAWAY LAND

Junaidul Haque
LIVING IN A FARAWAY LAND

‘Porodeshe Prorbashi’ or Days in England a is an utterly readable novel by Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, a writer quite capable but not that famous, quite witty and interesting but not a household home. He was born in 1929 and died at 67 in 1996. He has dedicated his novel to two non-resident Bangladeshi writers of the past, Syed Waliullah and Shamsuddin Abul Kalam. Both authors were slightly Older then him. The novel was written in 1994 about his days in London in the 60s and the 70s. Pathak Shamabesh has brought out its first edition in October 2003. Abdul Mannan Syed, the noted all-rounder of our literature, has written an impressive foreword to the novel and has edited it. Selim Ahmed, the promising artist and writer, has designed am marvellous cover of the 287 page book. It has been priced t Taka 350.00.

In ‘Porodeshe Porobashi’ Abdur Rouf Chowdhury has not only discovered London, where he stayed with fellow Sylhetis, but also discovered his own homeland. When you are for away, when you are detached from your object of love, your inner eye gets working and you discovery the truth. This discovery is ugly from a close look but is beautiful and lovable when seen from a distance. Most of us who stay in our homeland fail to take a close look at it. But the novelist succeeds in discovering his own land while staying overseas and thinking of it and loving it. Reality and nostalgia get mixed with each other to form a perfect image of the writers homeland in his mind.

‘Porodeshe Porobashi’ is a quality work of art by any standard. The writer is a powerful narrator and uses wit and humour quite deftly. He is a skilful user of words. The writer depends on autobiographical elements and has a philosophical outlook. He clearly understood the psyche of Bangladeshis staying abroad. He dips deep into the human mind, as he has written elsewhere about the book, the writer mixes reality with the light and shade of truth. Thus it is a true picture of common life. It is lively and hat at all dull, neither a travelogue nor a memoir, it is a novel with lively characters, a touching story of human suffering and a story of the eternal lonely man.

‘Porodeshe Porobashi’ is not a common love story. It is a story with conflict. The writer tries to throw light on the mysteries of human existence. Rup Miah is the main character, a young man from Sylhet coming to London to earn his livelihood. Though him the writer describes the anxiety of human existence and the suffering the society inflicts upon him. It is a story of the 60s and the 70s with Rup Miah, Farnin, Choto Mama, Lenghit, Main, Javed, Nur Miah, Dldar, Mina and Nasrin as import and Characters. Farnin, the married lady, is unhappy. She and Rup Miah Sadly suffer a lat. The writer gives a lat of importance to the physical side of human existence. Society should get rid of its chains, he feels. The body and the soul are deeply linked. Both are very important for human beings.

The writer portrays the changes of village life brought about by time. He is very hand of his motherland. He loves the rivers and paddy fields of Bangladesh. He portrays the London life of people from Sylhet quite faithfully and in great detail. Researchers will find his book useful in the future.

Abdur Rouf Chowdhury handles a lot of characters and a wide range of time. The novel is a perfect picture of our society. It has a lovely appearance also.