And then there is the tale of the tragedy-driven Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Emperor witnessed the brutal British takeover of his empire, the hanging of his sons, his sham of a trial and exile to Rangoon. In his halcyon days, Zafar's court brought together the best of literary minds in the empire. The Emperor was a poet of the first degree, a quality which led him into gathering around him other poets as reputed as he. In exile, Zafar composed some of the most heart-wrenching of poetry which has immortalised him in the world of Urdu literature.
It is rather interesting to go beyond the public persona of the world's important individuals in order to observe the lives they led beyond their public calling. That they are all too human is what comes through in the activities they have engaged in beyond the public eye.
MeenaKumari, known as the foremost tragedienne in Indian cinema, a reputation heightened by her performance in her final movie Pakeeza, was a first rate poet. Her poetry shines through in the compilations which have appeared since her death, at a young age, in 1972. Likewise, the poetry of ParveenShakir, the Pakistani civil servant whose life came to an end in a tragic road accident in 1994, remains a poignant expression of literature in the subcontinent.
There have been politicians in our times whose passion for activities away from politics has been quite well pronounced. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was an expert with the camera and made sure he carried it with him everywhere he went. On his visit to the United States as Pakistan's Prime Minister in the 1950s, he indulged in his passion, taking pictures with gusto. Abul Mansur Ahmed, who served as a minister in Suhrawardy's cabinet, went beyond politics to carve a niche for himself in journalism and literature. His literary works continue to draw readers to the power of the imagination unfolding in his telling of tales.
Had Atal Bihari Vajpayee not been in politics, he would have been known as a leading Hindi poet. As it was, his speeches as a politician were demonstrations of the remarkable hold he had on literature. His oratory was sheer poetry. And indeed he spent a lifetime composing poetry, which has endlessly drawn attention to the imagery and ideas he infused it with. Joseph Stalin, for all the cruelty with which he despatched his political rivals to the grave, was fond of quoting Shakespeare, Dante, Goethe and other literary figures at dinner with his ministers. His memory was stupendous.
Mao Zedong changed China inexorably through bringing communist revolution to it. Xi Jinping today governs a country which owes a huge debt of gratitude to the Great Helmsman. But we know too that Mao was a poet, a good one. His Little Red Book brims over with his aphorisms, but his poetry takes us to a different world. Beauty lies at the top of the mountains, he writes, which was the theme that shaped his attitude to life. And Ayatollah Khomeini? Besides his commitment to Islamic revolution in Iran, he wrote fine poetry that has a resonance of the spiritual about it. God is a powerful, immutable presence in his poetical works.
Public figures come close to ordinary mortals through dabbling in work nearer our hearts. Edward Heath played the piano exceedingly well, to a point where he even entertained audiences at formal sessions of music. He conducted orchestras like an expert. And he was indeed an expert. Richard Nixon too often sat down before a piano, playing music which was impressive. And, yes, he liked to walk in the rain without an umbrella. Cambodia's Prince Norodom Sihanouk was a singer, lyricist, actor and director all rolled into one. Irish President Michael D'Higgins writes poetry well-received by literature enthusiasts in his country.
DeshbandhuChittaranjan Das, a pre-eminent political leader in pre-partition India, was noted for his literary pursuits. His poetical works Malancha and Mala remain testimony to the power of his imagination as does his SagarSangeet. Das died too early in 1925. Britain's Benjamin Disraeli was a consequential politician, but an equally significant fact about him is that he was a pretty good novelist in what is known today as the Victorian era. Senegal's first President Leopold Sedar Senghor was a consequential poet in Africa, dealing with themes that relate to the universality of life.
The actor Dilip Kumar, a proper Pathan, spoke perfect Urdu which was evocative of the literary power of the language. Dilip recited Urdu poetry marvellously well and was an ardent reader beyond his movie assignments. In today's Indian filmdom, Aamir Khan does not fail to carry a load of books with him wherever he goes on professional work. His reading habits are a reminder of the late Welsh actor Richard Burton, who carried a bag full of books to keep him company between spells of shooting.
Bill Clinton plays the saxophone extremely well. In his youth, Tony Blair played the guitar in college. The actor Nadim, who rose to fame with the movie Chakori, is also a good singer. Indeed, as NazirBaig he was introduced to the playback industry in Dhaka by our very own Ferdousi Rahman. He then ventured out into acting, taking the name Nadim and becoming a top-ranking performer in the world of Pakistani films.
Che Guevara, the iconic Marxist revolutionary, was a physician in Argentina when he decided to throw in his lot with the socialist cause. Here in Bangladesh, S.A. Malek --- freedom fighter, politician and associated with the BangabandhuParishad --- was a reputed practitioner of homeopathy till his death.
There is much that remains concealed or undiscovered in the public persona of so many eminent men and women we have known. That they are only human, people like us, is a truth which shines through their lives. And therein do we celebrate them.
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