{"id":48,"date":"2020-03-01T10:17:34","date_gmt":"2020-03-01T10:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/?p=48"},"modified":"2020-03-01T10:17:34","modified_gmt":"2020-03-01T10:17:34","slug":"or-perhaps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/or-perhaps\/","title":{"rendered":"What Fire Burns the House, the Courtyard Never Knows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"Finishing Ba, Othoba Kingba<\/em> [Or, Else, Or Perhaps], the words burst out of me spontaneously: \u201cGood grief! Can someone truly write with such relentless, breathless power?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this year\u2019s book fair, I ran into Hasan Bhai for the second time on the 15th. Amidst our rambling conversations, I said to him, \u201cBhai, pick out a book you love and buy it for me.\u201d Rishad was standing nearby, and overhearing us, he chimed in: \u201cGet Ashan Bhai\u2019s book, you\u2019ll love it.\u201d That was how Ashan Uz Zaman\u2019s Ba, Othoba Kingba<\/em><\/strong> ended up in my hands. Of course, thanks to my own characteristic indolence, the book sat untouched on my shelf for quite a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I finally brushed aside my lethargy and sat down with it, the opening pages left me completely spellbound! A curious sense of wonder gripped me\u2014how can someone maintain such sustained, unyielding intensity across the page? Reading the prelude of the very first story, one might mistake it momentarily for free-form prose poetry. But that illusion quickly dissipates; the reader is instantly submerged into an idiosyncratic linguistic idiom and hypnotic trance uniquely the author\u2019s own. The sentences are brief, taut, and honed like razor blades. Wherever the weave of the narrative threatens to fray, the author deftly bridges the gap with sharp, authentic regional dialogue. This deliberate, impeccably orchestrated manner of storytelling is nothing short of extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashan Uz Zaman\u2019s keen observational prowess is equally evident in his choice of subject matter. The harsh, abrasive realities of contemporary society and politics come fiercely alive beneath his pen. In \u201cShishu . Sworgo . Norok\u201d<\/strong> [Child . Heaven . Hell], he fearlessly takes on the harrowing real-world tragedy of the Nusrat murder case. On the other hand, \u201cKi Aagune Pure Jaay Ghor, Jaane Na Uthon\u201d<\/strong> [What Fire Burns the House, the Courtyard Never Knows] paints a merciless portrait of communal bigotry and sectarian divide. Set against the freezing, sterile atmosphere of a morgue, a conversation between a Hindu woman and a man spins an intricate web of suspense that elevates the reader into an unsettling realm of introspection. Was the man truly Muslim? I leave that answer for readers to uncover on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside contemporary events, the author brings forward the surreal friction between the foundational spirit of our Liberation War and the state apparatus. While genuine freedom fighters live out their twilight years neglected and indifferent to official certificates, an erstwhile collaborator\u2014a Razakar\u2014is installed in authority to bestow new certificates of valor upon them. Ashan Uz Zaman lays bare this bitter farce and administrative rot with remarkable courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collection\u2019s concluding story, \u201cAakash Bhenge Mukhe Dilei Bidghute Swad\u201d<\/strong> [A Bizarre Taste When the Sky Crumbles onto the Tongue], revolves around an inventive and compelling premise. Centering on \u2018Rahamali\u2019, a man trapped in the no-man\u2019s-land between the borders of two nations, tension coils tighter with every passing line. To say more would spoil the thrill of discovery; that pleasure belongs rightfully to the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another striking dimension of the collection is the omnipresence of death. Surrounded daily by a relentless parade of corpses and tragedies, we train ourselves to look away, pretending not to notice. The author delivers a fierce, jarring jolt to our averted eyes, as if demanding: open your eyes, look at just how many human lives are reduced to corpses every single day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s publishing market, flooded by trivial pulp and the frantic pursuit of cheap popularity, a book so incisive and deeply grounded in reality is a rare gem. It baffles me how readers can mob stalls for shallow, disposable books while a writer of such razor-sharp vitality goes overlooked! No matter how deafening the hype around mediocre writing becomes, it is our duty to step forward and champion authentic literature and gifted writers. We must deliberately seek out and return to reading literature of genuine depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comprising twelve stories woven with an unflinching gaze upon contemporary rural Bengal\u2019s socio-political realities, this collection is without question a formidable addition to Bengali literature. I have no doubt that with time, Ashan Uz Zaman\u2019s stories will achieve the stature of a cult classic among discerning readers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading *Or, Else, Or Perhaps*, my spontaneous reaction was pure awe: ‘Good grief! Can someone truly write with such relentless, searing power?’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raisulsohan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}