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http://www.bbc.co.uk/bengali/in_depth/2010/03/100325_mb_bigint_anisul.shtml

Bangladeshi writer Anisul Haque talks about his initial days and the publication scenario in his country.

Photo: Shyamhari Chakra

Anisul Haque.

Bangladeshi writer and journalist Anisul Haque is best known for his masterpiece Maa, a novel inspired by the war that witnessed the birth of his country. Ever since its publication five years ago, it has run into 25 editions — something rare in Bangladesh. With 70 books to his credit, Haque, in his mid 40s, is deputy editor of a leading daily in his country. He was in Bhubaneswar recently for the release of Maa in Oriya. He spoke to Friday Review. Excerpts: How did you begin your career as a writer?

During my childhood, I used to play football and write poetry. But I wanted to be a writer from the very beginning. I also scripted plays in school.

How did you move ahead?

I first published a collection of my poems when I was in college. Although I studied civil engineering, I joined a weekly as an assistant editor that helped me grow both as a journalist and a writer. My passion became my profession. I started my first novel. It came as a series in a weekly. Is it possible to survive as a professional writer in Bangladesh?

Yes, if he writes for films and television. It is difficult to survive if the writer chooses to write creative articles alone. Tell us about the contemporary trends in Bangladeshi literature?

In the short story segment there are few serious writers who are eager to experiment. We have internationally acclaimed writers such as Hasan Azizul Haque and Akhtaruzzaman Elias who won the Ananda Bazar literary awards for their works. Writers like Syed Shamsul Haque, Mahmudul Haque, Selina Hossain, and Al Mahmud are modern and secular. They are humanists. Every writer in my country is inspired by the 1971 war and the 1952 Bengali language movement. Our linguistic, cultural and religious identity has shaped our literature.

What is your impression of the Indian literature?

We mostly read Bengali literature. We also get to read works of Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, Vikram Sheth and Amitav Ghosh. But we have very little idea about what’s going on in the other parts of India other than East.

How do you rate Taslima Nasrin as a literary talent?

She is powerful at the same time an over-rated writer. I can feel her pain as a writer in exile. Every human being has the right to express his/her feelings. At the same time it should not hurt anybody’s belief and faith. How is the publishing scenario in Bangladesh?

Quite promising. We have millions of students who need books to read. So we need many more writers. Our best selling fiction writer is Humayun Ahmed whose works have sold like hot cakes. Our government and NGOs buy books for libraries. Publication is becoming a profitable business in Bangladesh.

You are a writer and a journalist. How do you rate both the genres of writing?

A journalist has to be honest to the reality. He has to be objective. But a writer has the liberty to imagine and write the way he likes. He can create his own world for him and for his readers as well.