Tribute to a scholar

On the first death anniversary of Professor Aali Areefur Rehman (1950-2013), 21 March 2014, the Department of English, University of Rajshahi published a monumental work, Literature, History and Culture: Writings in Honour of Professor Aali Areefur Rehman, to commemorate and honour one of the dearest and brightest souls in its history. The volume was edited by Abdullah Al Mamun and Maswood Akhter, both of them are presently Associate Professor in the English Department, Rajshahi University (EDRU). 

Nearly a thousand pages long volume containing writings from scholars, intellectuals from across the country and a handful from beyond the border bears testimony to the life and work of this highly esteemed academician. The volume is divided into three sections: Section I is titled 'Literature, History and Culture: Personal, Academic and Creative Writings by Professor Aali Areefur Rehman'; the title of the Section II is 'Life and Legacy of Professor Rehman: Commemorative Writings'; and the Section III is named 'Literature, History and Culture: Research Articles/Critical Essays by Others'. Each of these sections has its distinctive features teeming with ideas, thoughts and passions. 

Section I (1 - 534) showcases, though not exhaustively, the scholarship, creativity and sensitivity of Prof. Rehman. There is a wide range of writings in this section covering some highly academic pieces to short stories, poems, autobiography and meditations on diverse matters. The first one is an excerpt from the "Introduction" of his critical edition of Jeremy Tailor's Holy Living which he had submitted as a thesis for his doctoral degree in the University of British Columbia in 1984. There are some other papers of academic and literary interests on Fielding, Richardson, Scott, Shakespeare, Khushwant Singh and so on. Moreover, there are some of his personal writings like "Rajshahi in the Sixties: A Memoir", "Salad Days: Remembering Mid-Twentieth-Century Dhaka" and "Looking After the Old" which reflect the philosophic mind of this scholar immensely nourished by literature, history and culture. The literary and artistic merit of his writings, whether it is academic, personal or creative, is replete with imagery and other figurative uses of language. The following extract taken from "Rajshahi in the Sixties: A Memoir" can be a justification to this statement:  

The steamer that you boarded was a real steamer: a paddle-wheeled, steam-engined, double-decker vessel that blew huge clouds of smoke from its stacks and let out ear-splitting whistles that seemed designed to be heard within a radius of at least a hundred miles. One of the great delights of this steamer, in those uncrowded, unhurried days, was the English breakfast of eggs, toast and jam that was served on the forward deck, in British colonial railways fashion, by white-uniformed and turbaned waiters. (271) 

A special feature of this section is Prof. Rehman's Interview on English in Bangladesh. The interview was taken by Maswood Akhter and Muhammad Tariq-ul-Islam, two very active teachers of the English Department at Rajshahi University. In this interview, Prof. Rehman expressed his views on the present state of English studies in Bangladesh and its future reflecting his long experience of almost four-decades in this profession. 

The writings of Section II (537-685) are full of love and respect that poured passionately from the depth of hearts in the memory of Prof. Rehman. While reading the pieces of this section, readers who knew him closely would go through the feeling of grief at his untimely death. The first three articles come from the three nearest people in his personal life – his wife and two daughters. They remember him as a loving husband and as an inspiring father. Other articles are written by his relatives, colleagues, students and friends in great admiration. In their portrayal, Prof. Rehman is illustrated as an exceptionally gentle, compassionate, amiable and vastly knowledgeable person. 

Section III (689-946), the final section of this volume, offers a good number of wonderful research articles and critical essays revolving around the broad theme or scope of the volume: literature, history and culture. This volume would remain incomplete without this section because these writings acknowledge Prof. Rehman's lifelong quest for knowledge. The first article of this section, "Confronting the Canon Contrapuntally: the Example of Edward Said", is written by Professor Fakrul Alam. Here Prof. Alam presents a brilliant and time-befitting solution to overcoming the post-colonial predicament in English studies drawing analogies from the thoughts and theories of Edward Said. Simi Malhotra and M. Shahidullah have searched for a suitable pedagogy for English studies in their respective native contexts of India and Bangladesh. These two papers, along with the one by Richard Kiely, are significant from the perspective of English Language Teaching (ELT). Abdullah Al Mamun comes up with his ingenious way-outs to cope up with the challenges of declining market for English discipline in Bangladesh in his essay "English and the Market". Mashrur Shahid Hossain brings forth a deep insight into the politics of Nobel Prize in Literature in his article on four African Nobel Laureates. In another paper, Maswood Akhter offers a comprehensive and insightful discourse on postcolonialism. All the articles in this section, including those which are not mentioned here, are immensely thought-provoking and deeply researched. They advance the scholarship and existing knowledge in the fields of literature, history and culture which were the lifetime endeavour of Prof. Rehman.

The writings of this volume truly honour the memory of Prof. Rehman, and ultimately it becomes an excellent document of illuminating thoughts. It can be deduced how the two editors grappled with the painstaking task of editing such a huge volume. As a result, it comes to the readers with a few typos or other minor errors. They should also be given credit for the selection and arrangement of the writings which perfectly meet the demand of the occasion – commemorating Professor Aali Areefur Rehman.

The reviewer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Daffodil International University. 
Email: rhasan82@yahoo.com