Sheba Prokashoni
Encyclopedia
Sheba Prokashoni is a well-known publishing house in Dhaka
, Bangladesh
. It was founded by Qazi Anwar Hussain
. Sheba's books have enjoyed great popularity among young Bangladeshi readers, and it is particularly notable for its accessible translations of Western literary classics into the Bengali
language.
Sheba's focus, from its inception, has been to produce mass-market popular Bengali paperback
s that are both attractively-written and affordably priced. Its first successful product was Kuasha (Kuasha-1, first edition June 1964 ), a short-lived modern-Robin Hood style adventure series. This was closely followed by the Masud Rana
, a spy-thriller series, one of Sheba's most enduring and popular imprints.
, an international spy
of Bangladeshi origin, closely resembling James Bond
in his expertise with weapons and women. Although the author of the series is Qazi Anwar Hussain
, Hossain liberally borrows plot lines from popular Western spy thrillers. Nonetheless, the series was a boon for young people in post-war Bangladesh, who had few entertainment alternatives in an era pre-dating video games, cable TV and the internet. The books caused concern among some middle-class parents because of their occasional racy content, and reading Masud Rana
was an activity often frowned upon. The series eventually ran to well over a hundred individual titles.There was even a Bengali action thriller movie based on Masud Rana
's character.The title was also Masud Rana. It came out in 1975 with famous actor Sohel Rana (real name:Masud Parvez) in the lead role of Masud Rana
.It was the first film for Sohel Rana as actor.
During the 1980s, Sheba introduced several more imprints that were as popular as they were profitable. Among these, the most notable were:
, Charles Dickens
, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain
, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexandre Dumas, père
and many others. The translations were usually condensed forms of the original titles and ran to 200-300 pages. While Sheba played a vital role in encouraging reading among young people, making such translations available is arguably its most important contributions.
) series was written by Rakib Hasan, and described the adventures of Kishore Pasha, a Bangladeshi-American teen detective, and his two friends Musa Aman and Robin Milford. The cerebral Kishore lives with his aunt and uncle in California
, and is much given to pinching his lower lip while pondering some knotty problem from his latest case. Robin, his white American friend, is the bespectacled geek, and the irrepressible Musa, a black American Muslim boy, provides comic relief. From the start, the series was wildly popular among young readers. The series is a remake of Robert Arthur, Jr.'s Three Investigators
. Rakib Hasan also adopted plotlines from The Famous Five
as well as The Hardy Boys
and similar teen-detective titles, but his readers, unaware of such issues, consumed the Tin Goyenda books avidly. Hasan's detective books filled the gap for a hungry readership.
) and introduced the Wild West to the Bengali language. Aleyar pichche was the first Western book in Bangla, written by Qazi Mahbub Hossain. The Western series was also quite successful and ran to several dozen titles.
Other popular titles by Sheba included books on self-help (for example, the title Atto-shommohon or Self-hypnosis); sports trivia; horror (The Exorcist
and The Omen
, published in 3 volumes Oshuvo Shongket(The Omen), Abar Oshuvo Songket (Omen Again) and Shesh Oshuvo Songket(The Last Omen) ); and real-world mysteries like UFOs and the Bermuda Triangle
. For many years, it also published a monthly magazine called Rohoshsho Potrika or Mystery Magazine, featuring stories and articles of general interest. A juvenile magazine in the name of Kishore Potrika is also published from Sheba Prokashoni.
Sheba titles are characterized by their distinctive red-and-yellow butterfly logo
.
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...
, 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...
. It was founded by Qazi Anwar Hussain
Qazi Anwar Hussain
Qazi Anwar Husain is an author, publisher and translator from Bangladesh. He has used pen names like Bidyut Mitra...
. Sheba's books have enjoyed great popularity among young Bangladeshi readers, and it is particularly notable for its accessible translations of Western literary classics into the Bengali
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...
language.
History and contributions
Sheba Prokashoni was founded in May, 1963. Its name may have derived from the first syllables of Shegun Bagan, now renamed as Shegun Bagicha, the neighbourhood of Dhaka city where its offices are located. The literal meaning of "Sheba" is "service."Sheba's focus, from its inception, has been to produce mass-market popular Bengali paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
s that are both attractively-written and affordably priced. Its first successful product was Kuasha (Kuasha-1, first edition June 1964 ), a short-lived modern-Robin Hood style adventure series. This was closely followed by the Masud Rana
Masud Rana
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in over 400 novels. Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 413 books have been published in this series which has...
, a spy-thriller series, one of Sheba's most enduring and popular imprints.
Masud Rana
These books described the adventures of its eponymous hero Masud RanaMasud Rana
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in over 400 novels. Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 413 books have been published in this series which has...
, an international spy
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
of Bangladeshi origin, closely resembling James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
in his expertise with weapons and women. Although the author of the series is Qazi Anwar Hussain
Qazi Anwar Hussain
Qazi Anwar Husain is an author, publisher and translator from Bangladesh. He has used pen names like Bidyut Mitra...
, Hossain liberally borrows plot lines from popular Western spy thrillers. Nonetheless, the series was a boon for young people in post-war Bangladesh, who had few entertainment alternatives in an era pre-dating video games, cable TV and the internet. The books caused concern among some middle-class parents because of their occasional racy content, and reading Masud Rana
Masud Rana
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in over 400 novels. Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 413 books have been published in this series which has...
was an activity often frowned upon. The series eventually ran to well over a hundred individual titles.There was even a Bengali action thriller movie based on Masud Rana
Masud Rana
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in over 400 novels. Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 413 books have been published in this series which has...
's character.The title was also Masud Rana. It came out in 1975 with famous actor Sohel Rana (real name:Masud Parvez) in the lead role of Masud Rana
Masud Rana
Masud Rana is a fictional character created in 1966 by writer Qazi Anwar Hussain, who featured him in over 400 novels. Hussain created the adult spy-thriller series Masud Rana, at first modeled after James Bond, but expanded widely. So far 413 books have been published in this series which has...
.It was the first film for Sohel Rana as actor.
During the 1980s, Sheba introduced several more imprints that were as popular as they were profitable. Among these, the most notable were:
Kishore Classic series
This series introduced the finest works of world literature to a young Bangladeshi audience. The Hossain brothers and their staff were adept at producing translations that were brisk and taut, contemporary and well-written. Through their mediation, the kishore or teenagers of Bangladesh made their first (and in most cases, only) acquaintance with the works of Jules VerneJules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
and many others. The translations were usually condensed forms of the original titles and ran to 200-300 pages. While Sheba played a vital role in encouraging reading among young people, making such translations available is arguably its most important contributions.
Tin Goyenda
The Tin Goyenda (or Three InvestigatorsThree Investigators
The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" but also expanded in Germany. It was created by Robert Arthur, Jr., who believed using a famous figure such as movie director Hitchcock would attract attention....
) series was written by Rakib Hasan, and described the adventures of Kishore Pasha, a Bangladeshi-American teen detective, and his two friends Musa Aman and Robin Milford. The cerebral Kishore lives with his aunt and uncle in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and is much given to pinching his lower lip while pondering some knotty problem from his latest case. Robin, his white American friend, is the bespectacled geek, and the irrepressible Musa, a black American Muslim boy, provides comic relief. From the start, the series was wildly popular among young readers. The series is a remake of Robert Arthur, Jr.'s Three Investigators
Three Investigators
The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" but also expanded in Germany. It was created by Robert Arthur, Jr., who believed using a famous figure such as movie director Hitchcock would attract attention....
. Rakib Hasan also adopted plotlines from The Famous Five
The Famous Five (series)
The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942....
as well as The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional teenage brothers and amateur detectives who appear in various mystery series for children and teens....
and similar teen-detective titles, but his readers, unaware of such issues, consumed the Tin Goyenda books avidly. Hasan's detective books filled the gap for a hungry readership.
Western series
These were usually adaptations of pulp cowboy Westerns (by the likes of Louis L'AmourLouis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour was an American author. His books consisted primarily of Western fiction novels , however he also wrote historical fiction , science fiction , nonfiction , as well as poetry and short-story collections. Many of his stories were made into movies...
) and introduced the Wild West to the Bengali language. Aleyar pichche was the first Western book in Bangla, written by Qazi Mahbub Hossain. The Western series was also quite successful and ran to several dozen titles.
Other popular titles by Sheba included books on self-help (for example, the title Atto-shommohon or Self-hypnosis); sports trivia; horror (The Exorcist
The Exorcist
The Exorcist is a novel of supernatural suspense by William Peter Blatty, published by Harper & Row in 1971. It was inspired by a 1949 case of demonic possession and exorcism that Blatty heard about while he was a student in the class of 1950 at Georgetown University, a Jesuit school...
and The Omen
The Omen
An original score for the film, including the movie's theme song Ave Satani, was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, for which he received the only Oscar of his long career. The score features a strong choral segment, with a foreboding Latin chant...
, published in 3 volumes Oshuvo Shongket(The Omen), Abar Oshuvo Songket (Omen Again) and Shesh Oshuvo Songket(The Last Omen) ); and real-world mysteries like UFOs and the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
. For many years, it also published a monthly magazine called Rohoshsho Potrika or Mystery Magazine, featuring stories and articles of general interest. A juvenile magazine in the name of Kishore Potrika is also published from Sheba Prokashoni.
Sheba titles are characterized by their distinctive red-and-yellow butterfly logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
.