The poet is no more

He was by all counts the most revered and popular poet of Bangladesh. He was also a poet who was equally respected in West Bengal. Shamsur Rahman was a poet of varied talent and enchanting versatility.

He was a poet who was highly conscious of the socio- political environment of the times, an expression of which we can find in his innumerable poems. Starting with the language movement through the vicious alien attempts at imposition on our cultural values to the freedom struggle he powerfully wielded his imaginative and visionary pen inspiring the people of the country to reach new heights of intensity in commitment and devotion to all that is Bengali, all that is our own. He was a conscientious objector to anything that went against our pristine ethos.

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The forces of reaction and obscurantism unleashed attack on him. He faced up to their machinations bravely with characteristic firmness and stoicism.

Shamsur Rahman's poems also reflect the traditions, trials, tribulations, joys and sentiments of Bangladesh's rural populace. As much as he was a poet of romance and urbanity, he was also a poet who was deeply committed to upholding human dignity. His poems were equally appealing to both the young and the old.

Shamsur Rahman was a man of quiet dignity and charm, a poet whom the more you knew the more you came to admire and adore. He was a down to earth man, humble and totally unpretentious. On a personal level, he was a courageous man. He braved a number of debilitating ailments towards the last several years of his life and yet continued with his mission undaunted.

Poets may come and poets may go but we might not see the likes of late Shamsur Rahman in this country again. Poet Shamsur Rahman left us at a time when the nation is passing through one of its critical phases of existence and needed him most to inspire us with his works.

We express our deepest sympathies with the bereaved family and hope they will have the fortitude to bear up with the loss. Let the nation pay a befitting homage to this great poet. May his soul rest in peace.