Hayat Saif
Encyclopedia
Hayat Saif is a twentieth century modern Bengali
poet and literary critic from Bangladesh
. A career bureaucrat, he retired in 2000 and since then is engaged in the corporate private sector and divides his time in World Scouting
and literary and artistic pursuits. He has been translated in English
and Spanish
and, in Bangladesh, is generally acclaimed as an intellectual interpreter of contemporary life and culture. Born in 1942 as Saiful Islam Khan he assumed this pen name in 1961 when contributing to literary journals.
and obtained his M. A degree in 1965. After graduation, he taught in colleges for about three years and then joined the Pakistan
Superior Service in the Finance cadre in 1968. He was involved in the revenue administration and tax policy making for more than three decades. He acted as Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and retired in 1999. In early 1960s, still a student, he worked as a casual announcer and newscaster in the Dhaka
centre of the then Radio Pakistan and later in Pakistan Television at Lahore Center. He still continues his interests in broadcasting and telecasting and anchors literary programmers and talk shows.
, Asad Chowdhury
, Mohammad Rafiq
, Abdul Mannan Syed
, Rabiul Hossain, Imrul Chowdhury and others. His publications in Bengali include eight collections of poems apart from two collections of essays and a huge number of poems and articles published in various periodicals. One of his important books is titled Pradhānata Māṭi o Mānusha. His collection of literary essays Ukti o Upalabdhi was published by Shilpataru in 1992. In 2004, he jointly with Mahbub Talukdar compiled and published A Selection of Contemporary Verse from Bangladesh. His latest collection of poems Prodhanoto Smriti ebong Manusher Pathchola (Mainly memories and man's path-walking) published in 2009 contains fifty seven poems "woven in a fine thread of thought:
One of these is Voice of Hayat Saif edited by Faizul Latif Chowdhury
, published by Dibya Prakash in 1998. It contains forty-five poems translated by different hands. The volume titled Hayat Saif: Selected Poems was published by Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka, in 2001. The poems included in this volume have been translated by different hands.
poems. He is prone to use Bengali language
words of Sanskrit
origin.
for a long time and has been awarded Bronze Wolf
, the most prestigious decoration of World Scouting for outstanding contribution to the international movement.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
poet and literary critic from Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. A career bureaucrat, he retired in 2000 and since then is engaged in the corporate private sector and divides his time in World Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
and literary and artistic pursuits. He has been translated in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and, in Bangladesh, is generally acclaimed as an intellectual interpreter of contemporary life and culture. Born in 1942 as Saiful Islam Khan he assumed this pen name in 1961 when contributing to literary journals.
Early life and Career
He was born to Moslem Uddin Khan and Begum Sufia Khan in 1942. After high school, he studied English literatureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and obtained his M. A degree in 1965. After graduation, he taught in colleges for about three years and then joined the Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
Superior Service in the Finance cadre in 1968. He was involved in the revenue administration and tax policy making for more than three decades. He acted as Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and retired in 1999. In early 1960s, still a student, he worked as a casual announcer and newscaster in the Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
centre of the then Radio Pakistan and later in Pakistan Television at Lahore Center. He still continues his interests in broadcasting and telecasting and anchors literary programmers and talk shows.
Works
He is one of the major poets of Bangladesh belonging to the generation of 1960s who set a clear trend of modern poetry in Bangladesh along with such poets as Rafiq AzadRafiq Azad
Rafiq Azad is a prominent poet of Bengali literature and is the author of 25 collections of poetry including his Collected Poems. He was a freedom fighter in 1971. His poetry reflected his experience of the war. Mr. Azad is currently the Director of National Book Center of Bangladesh...
, Asad Chowdhury
Asad Chowdhury
Asad Chowdhury is a poet, writer, translator, radio, TV personality and journalist, as well as a cultural activist in Bangladesh.He received a Masters in Bengali in 1964 from Dhaka University and is the father of two sons and one daughter. Chowdhury is a former director at the Bangla Academy, Dhaka...
, Mohammad Rafiq
Mohammad Rafiq
Mohammad Rafiq is a prominent Bangladeshi poet.- Early life :Rafiq was born in 1943 in the village of Baitpur, Bagerhat, Bangladesh . In his youth, his country was going through a political instability. During his student life at Dhaka University he was a political activitist and was arrested and...
, Abdul Mannan Syed
Abdul Mannan Syed
Abdul Mannan Syed , was a renowned Bangladeshi poet, author and researcher. A versatile writer and poet, he was one of the most prolific Bengali literary personalities of post-Partition India. Until his death on 5 September 2010, he was regarded an authority on Bengali literature. Popularly...
, Rabiul Hossain, Imrul Chowdhury and others. His publications in Bengali include eight collections of poems apart from two collections of essays and a huge number of poems and articles published in various periodicals. One of his important books is titled Pradhānata Māṭi o Mānusha. His collection of literary essays Ukti o Upalabdhi was published by Shilpataru in 1992. In 2004, he jointly with Mahbub Talukdar compiled and published A Selection of Contemporary Verse from Bangladesh. His latest collection of poems Prodhanoto Smriti ebong Manusher Pathchola (Mainly memories and man's path-walking) published in 2009 contains fifty seven poems "woven in a fine thread of thought:
Works in translation
There are two collections of some of his prominent poems in English rendition.One of these is Voice of Hayat Saif edited by Faizul Latif Chowdhury
Faizul Latif Chowdhury
Faizul Latif Chowdhury is a career civil servant from Bangladesh currently working as a diplomat. A literary figure and an economist at the same time, he works on corruption in public administration, tax policy process, economics of tax evasion and tax avoidance, smuggling, international trade...
, published by Dibya Prakash in 1998. It contains forty-five poems translated by different hands. The volume titled Hayat Saif: Selected Poems was published by Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka, in 2001. The poems included in this volume have been translated by different hands.
Fiscal Frontiers
In 1993, he launched a periodic journal under the title Fiscal Frontiers. He edited it until 2000. Fiscal Frontiers was focused on revenue policy and administration, fiscal policy and international trade.ICE
He is working as the Managing Editor of a magazine titled Information Communication and Entertainment, ICE in short, since 2005. This monthly is published from Dhaka.Quotes
- In spite of all the innovations, verse is still verse as differentiated from prose pieces.
- Music is the basic attribute of the language of poetry that differentiates it from other forms.
- The idea of perfection itself suggests that the condition is not achievable, at best not in the physical sense.
- I don't know really, why I write poetry. I suppose I write poems because I have to; because I have nothing better to write.
Poetic style
His poetic fervour emerged when he was a student of grade-VIII. In 1962, his first poems published appeared in the literary periodical Shomokal edited by Sikander Abu Zafar. In writing poetry, his preferred metrical style in 'Okkherbritta' or 'Poyer', which is the most popular among modern BengaliBengali poetry
Bengali poetry is a form that originated in Pāli and other Prakrit socio-cultural traditions. It is antagonistic towards Vedic rituals and laws as opposed to the shramanic traditions such as Buddhism and Jainism...
poems. He is prone to use Bengali language
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
words of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
origin.
Scouting
He has been involved in national and international Scouts movement since early 1990s. He has been the National Commissioner of Bangladesh ScoutsBangladesh Scouts
The Bangladesh Scouts is the national Scouting organization of Bangladesh. Scouting was founded in Bangladesh as part of the British Indian branch of The Scout Association, and continued as part of the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association until the country's divided sections split in 1971 during the...
for a long time and has been awarded Bronze Wolf
Bronze Wolf
The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement"...
, the most prestigious decoration of World Scouting for outstanding contribution to the international movement.
Publications
There are two collections of some of his prominent poems in English rendition. His publications in Bengali include eight collections of poems apart from two collections of essays and a huge number of poems and articles published in various periodicals.- Santrashe Shobash
- Roshuon Bonar Eti Katha
- Voice of Hayat Saif
- Poetry and Other Issues
- Ukti o Uplolobdhi
- International Trade and Protectionsim
- . Maati o Manush
External links
- Recitation of a poem by Hayat Saif http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adeIXNk3DNE