A Poet's Saga
He was considered one of the key figures of modern Bengali literature. His writings on humanism, human relations and romanticised rebellion of the youth have touched millions of hearts. Poems such as Asader Shirt and Shadhinota Tumi still provoke chills when perused, and will always be considered great contributions to Bangla Litrature. Though it has been around nine years since his soul left this world, Shamsur Rahman's legacy will forever be ingrained in the Bangla culture.
Even though he is more known as a poet, Shamsur Rahman spent a lot of his time in the world of journalism. After his life as a student, Rahman started his career as a programme producer in Radio Pakistan Dhaka Kendra, and later switched to the daily newspaper Morning News and then Jihad. Shamsur Rahman's major contribution in journalism was while he was in Dainik Pakistan (renamed Dainik Bangla after independence). He was first appointed as the assistant editor and was later promoted to the editor of Dainik Bangla and Bichitra.
Throughout his career in Dainik Bangla, Shamsur Rahman wrote columns which were very popular among readers. His famous columns went by the title Prashangata Ullekhjoggo, Janantik e and Moinr Dinlipi. Most of the columns were about art, culture, books and cinema. One of the reasons his narratives were so popular was because they were written in the format of diary entries, and included a lot of his inspiring personal thoughts in them. Most of them were written with a pseudonym as the by-line, and were later published as books. In 1987, after the government bestowed excessive control over Dainik Bangla and Bichitra. Shamsur Rahman, in protest, resigned from his post as the editor.
His writings were undoubtedly unparalleled and were praised by readers in the country and abroad. Famous journalist and former editor of Dainik Shongbad, Johur Hossain Chowdhury once said that if his columns were compared to a desert, Shamsur Rahman's column is the garden we search for in the wasteland. Former colleague and media analyst Muhammad Jahangir says, "At that time, we all used to wait for Shamsur Rahman's column. I think most of the country's people who were involved in the arts and culture anxiously waited for his writings." "The level of his writings are incomparable and such writings are not to be found in newspapers these days."
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