Shahidul Zahir, Jibon O Rajnoitik Bastobota [Life and Political Reality]

Nazia Manzoor (North South University, Bangladesh)

Ed. by Sarker Hasan Al Zayed, Independent University Bangladesh
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.3.2: Pakistani and Bangladeshi Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Claire Gallien (Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3), Sarker Hasan Al Zayed (Independent University Bangladesh), Pavan Kumar Malreddy (J W Goethe University of Frankfurt), Delphine Munos (Université de Liège), Muneeza Shamsie (Independent Scholar - Asia), Niaz Zaman (Independent University Bangladesh)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1985

Places

Bangladesh (Country of Origin; Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Published in 1988, Shahidul Zahir’s first novella

Jibon O Rajnoitik Bastobata

(

Life and Political Reality

) is a tale of two days, set fifteen years apart and written in one long, breathless paragraph, examining Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence and its aftermath. The story is centered around Abdul Mojid, a young man from Dhaka’s old parts and his affective ties with his traumatic past and grotesque present. The slim novella opens with the sound of Abdul Majid’s sandal’s straps going “phot”, a mundane sound that is magnified by its significance as he hears the voice of Moulana Bodu’s son Abul Khair address the inhabitants of his

moholla

or neighborhood as “brothers”. Bodu, an accessory to the Pakistani forces during the terrible nine months of 1971, was the man…

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1726 words

Citation: Manzoor, Nazia. "Jibon O Rajnoitik Bastobota". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 February 2024 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=41330, accessed 28 April 2024.]

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