Creativity is a talent, writing is a skill
Saturday, 27 November 2010
THE workshop was grounded on the assumption that dissemination and sharing of research findings with a wider audience is possible through transforming these into fictional form depending on the writing skill and talent of young writers, inclusive of both the gender.
The month-long workshop in October 2010, was rewarded by two eloquent speakers, prominent writer Imdadul Haq Milon, and upcoming fiction writer and teacher Jharna Rahman. Both the writers felt proud of their common ancestral root, Bikrampur, home to some great literati gems, most prominent being Manik Bondhpadhya.
Writer Milon started on a poetic note … kali-kolom-o-mon -- lekhae- teen-jon. He declared that creative writing cannot be taught. But again, in this modern age there is a method and a technique to all that man does. So, the techniques of creative writing are now transferred to rising writers via workshops and seminar sessions. However, the essence of creative writing lies buried within a person and can only be brought forth by own self of the person. Creativity is a talent while writing is a skill.
What is the meaning of happening or occurrence? The answer is that which has happened or taken place, an incident. But then what is a story? Usually a story is based on an occurrence. The occurrence of any incident, when it is recollected, is generally lacking in many, many logical sequences of details. It is then the creative writer's imagination that fills in the gaps and gives the incident the consistency and the logical framework to make it a story. By doing so the writer makes obvious what is not apparent. The writer also questions the social implication, if any, of a particular occurrence, or may focus upon the idealistic thought behind the incident.
Milon then gave reference to Kobi Guru Rabindranath's short story Chhuti. The story is about a village lad - Fotik - and his life in the rural surrounding, his travel to Kolkata and his journey by boat. He hears the boatman loudly calling out the measurement of water in the river …ek baum melae na… This boatman's lingo made a deep impression on Fatik. He did not return to his village. What is the meaning or what thoughts come to the reader's mind after reading this short story? Apparently nothing significant is mentioned in the story. However, why Fatik heard the boatman's call? One possible answer to that was that while Fatik was dying, he felt he was drowning in the river and he could hear the boatman's call.
According to Milon short stories necessarily must have structure and a message for the readers. During 1961-62 he was in class I and lived in Gandaria in the older part of Dhaka city. About his other siblings he said they were 11 of them and this may be considered a large family today but not so when he was growing up. He was brought up by his grandmother who read Bangla, Arabic and Farsi and told him many folk tales.
He gave detailed description of his childhood days, living in the older part of Dhaka city, and his grandmother was a great story teller and told him many folk tales. About his own family he said there was no scholar or writer in his family. His father had a minor position in the government service. His mother was so over-burdened with child rearing that now he recollects that he always saw his mother's swollen belly.
Reading Tara Shankar's Kobi was a turning point in his writing career. At the very beginning the reason for which he wanted to write was to see his own name in the print media. He wanted to see his name in black and white. This was a strong urge in him a Narcissus element, in love with one's own image - the reflection in the mirror and looking and admiring one's own self. The earning from writing is not the reason. And this is perhaps the reason why many, many writers write - the love of own self. And this is what happened with Milon. He took to writing so that he is in print. He wrote that which would sell and that was Bhalobashar sukh dukkho which sold some 75,000 copies.
Milon was successful in reaching his goal. But then, there was a change, he thought that writers also have a responsibility - a sort of social commitment. He changed his writing style and subject matter. When Baka Jol was published only 600 copies were sold.
Next Milon discussed his own short story set in a village of Bikrampur. The timeline of the story reflects on the rice cultivation of types Aus and Aman. The young paddy fields were also swamped with a variety of fish breeding. This scenario no longer exists for the substitute variety of Irri and Boro rice cultivation with an abundance of fertiliser nearly wiping away fish lings.
His story is set in an abandoned house - and there were many such houses after the exodus of the Hindu zamindars. A brother and a sister together are walking along the paddy field and the brother asks the sister about the smell of ripe paddy. She says that the smell is similar to marigold flower. But then why is it that we never get to see the rice out of the fresh ripe paddy. The sister replies that because it all goes to the various landlords' houses. While saying this, the sister wanting to fulfill her little brother's wish visits the farmer living in that abandoned house to ask for newly thrashed paddy rice. The brother waits for the sister's return from the farmer's house. When she does return the brother notices blood stains on her saree. She explains that to eat a full meal out of freshly gotten rice one needs to pay the price in blood. The implication of the short story was left for the listeners to fathom.
Milon made sad reference to the lost literary heritage of Bikrampur. Now this alcove is populated by young nouveau riche that care for making money and not literary pursuit. Short story titled Rajar Chithi was next discussed for the participants.
The writer was living for a considerable stretch of time in a divided country Germany for purposes of livelihood. He began his non-fiction writing, partly autobiographical, without a clue on the subject matter of his writing. He continued writing at a stretch. The result was a lengthy piece of writing, concluding on the note that the writer does not belong to any particular political ideology.
The workshop participants enthusiastically discussed the topics Writers' Bloc and Writing to meet Deadline. The writer suggested that it was possible to work with a deadline, as one should just think or examine an incident and start writing, building up on one's perception of the surrounding and continuing with one's imagination. He maintained that he has been working on a major novel for the last fourteen years. However, in between this period he has submitted many a writing meeting deadlines! The positive side is that starting to write at the spur of the moment may be tough but once done then writing flows and one's thoughts take the person forward.
Empowerment of women
It was in the midst of classroom lecture on empowerment of women. The resource person was hammering on the theoretical base of empowerment as propounded by Western thinkers. Much emphasis was being laid on structural change for initiation of the process of empowerment.
Jharna Rahman is an established script writer. She is connected with BTV and UNICEF project on Mother and Child. The focus is upon the maternal problems and women's role and status. The issue of empowerment is covered under the project. Jharna developed two dramas to enhance understanding on the subject.
Her talk on empowerment gave loud reference to the pioneering role of Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hussain (1880-1932) for the cause of emancipation of women from social enslavement. Among social reformers of India during her time may be mentioned women's rights activist Annie Besant (1847-1933). She advocated advancement of women grounded in Islam and its teachings, seeking equality of women and men in accordance with the Quran as its central text. She is most famous for gender equality, stemming from the belief of injustice in various social forms.
Rokeya, whose sisters were writers, was taught English and Bangla by their older brother. She was married at the age of sixteen to Urdu speaking deputy magistrate of Bhagalpur where Rokeya, after the death of her husband, established the first Muslim Girls' School in 1909. The school was later shifted to Calcutta in 1911 on account of property dispute within the family.
On the subject of empowerment Jharna discussed the story line of two TV/Radio dramas. Ekti Shiddhanto - Single Decision - is about a young woman who has qualified in the BCS examination with no encouragement from her husband. When the appointment letter arrives her husband hides this and plans to give this to her after the joining date is over. However the young woman is smart and discovers the letter. She starts taking steps to join the post. In the meantime she also faces opposition from her husband who draws her attention to their child and the invalid father-in-law whom she, after marriage, must attend to. But then, the young woman becomes conscious of self evaluation in terms of latent talents and capability of earning a livelihood. She began to feel a strong urge towards self actualisation. This self awareness was her strength from within. It is this strength from within a woman that initiates the process of empowerment. It is a myth to suppose that privileges and powers will be given to women from external sources. The young woman visits her working friends. She further realises that she too could have her own domain of freedom and working area. She talks to her friend who encourages her to join her work taking her child with her, even though this is outside of Dhaka where she is living at present. She announced her decision to her husband who gave no support. He was sarcastic in his remarks. She responded to this in a calm manner and said she would travel with her child, stay with a relative and afterwards return to Dhaka. Her husband would join her if he made arrangement for care of his invalid father. Thus the young woman by her single decision was able to step into the path of empowerment.
According to writer Jharna gender equality is an important step towards empowerment of women. The sense of gender equality must come out of the woman's inner self. It comes when a woman is awakened to her possibilities. The sense of gender equality happens more with literacy, mental and emotional awakening, with schooling and education. To illustrate gender equality Jharna discussed her story adapted for TV play, Mita- er- Prithibi. Mita, a student has a boy friend. Over a period of time both fall in love with each other. After completing their studies, they decide to marry. Together they go to live in the boy's village in his parental house. The boy is in the process of getting a job for himself. Soon he does get a job away from the village. He leaves, telling his wife to take care of her in-laws and make special effort to win the heart of her mother-in-law. So the young girl is set on her mission together with other household chores.
Shortly afterwards she succeeds in finding a job for herself, as a teacher in the village school. When she broke the news to her mother-in-law expecting to be congratulated, she was stunned by the discouraging behaviour of her mother-in-law. The value of the girl's education and employment was less than the boy's. There was a clear demarcation in evaluating employment and education between genders.
The drama constructed on gender equality was within the framework of PLAGE - Policy Leadership and Advocacy for Gender Equality - with the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs.
The participants of the creative writing workshops gained a clear understanding from the talks of the two talented writers of Bangladesh.
E-mail : farida_s9@optimaxbd.net
The month-long workshop in October 2010, was rewarded by two eloquent speakers, prominent writer Imdadul Haq Milon, and upcoming fiction writer and teacher Jharna Rahman. Both the writers felt proud of their common ancestral root, Bikrampur, home to some great literati gems, most prominent being Manik Bondhpadhya.
Writer Milon started on a poetic note … kali-kolom-o-mon -- lekhae- teen-jon. He declared that creative writing cannot be taught. But again, in this modern age there is a method and a technique to all that man does. So, the techniques of creative writing are now transferred to rising writers via workshops and seminar sessions. However, the essence of creative writing lies buried within a person and can only be brought forth by own self of the person. Creativity is a talent while writing is a skill.
What is the meaning of happening or occurrence? The answer is that which has happened or taken place, an incident. But then what is a story? Usually a story is based on an occurrence. The occurrence of any incident, when it is recollected, is generally lacking in many, many logical sequences of details. It is then the creative writer's imagination that fills in the gaps and gives the incident the consistency and the logical framework to make it a story. By doing so the writer makes obvious what is not apparent. The writer also questions the social implication, if any, of a particular occurrence, or may focus upon the idealistic thought behind the incident.
Milon then gave reference to Kobi Guru Rabindranath's short story Chhuti. The story is about a village lad - Fotik - and his life in the rural surrounding, his travel to Kolkata and his journey by boat. He hears the boatman loudly calling out the measurement of water in the river …ek baum melae na… This boatman's lingo made a deep impression on Fatik. He did not return to his village. What is the meaning or what thoughts come to the reader's mind after reading this short story? Apparently nothing significant is mentioned in the story. However, why Fatik heard the boatman's call? One possible answer to that was that while Fatik was dying, he felt he was drowning in the river and he could hear the boatman's call.
According to Milon short stories necessarily must have structure and a message for the readers. During 1961-62 he was in class I and lived in Gandaria in the older part of Dhaka city. About his other siblings he said they were 11 of them and this may be considered a large family today but not so when he was growing up. He was brought up by his grandmother who read Bangla, Arabic and Farsi and told him many folk tales.
He gave detailed description of his childhood days, living in the older part of Dhaka city, and his grandmother was a great story teller and told him many folk tales. About his own family he said there was no scholar or writer in his family. His father had a minor position in the government service. His mother was so over-burdened with child rearing that now he recollects that he always saw his mother's swollen belly.
Reading Tara Shankar's Kobi was a turning point in his writing career. At the very beginning the reason for which he wanted to write was to see his own name in the print media. He wanted to see his name in black and white. This was a strong urge in him a Narcissus element, in love with one's own image - the reflection in the mirror and looking and admiring one's own self. The earning from writing is not the reason. And this is perhaps the reason why many, many writers write - the love of own self. And this is what happened with Milon. He took to writing so that he is in print. He wrote that which would sell and that was Bhalobashar sukh dukkho which sold some 75,000 copies.
Milon was successful in reaching his goal. But then, there was a change, he thought that writers also have a responsibility - a sort of social commitment. He changed his writing style and subject matter. When Baka Jol was published only 600 copies were sold.
Next Milon discussed his own short story set in a village of Bikrampur. The timeline of the story reflects on the rice cultivation of types Aus and Aman. The young paddy fields were also swamped with a variety of fish breeding. This scenario no longer exists for the substitute variety of Irri and Boro rice cultivation with an abundance of fertiliser nearly wiping away fish lings.
His story is set in an abandoned house - and there were many such houses after the exodus of the Hindu zamindars. A brother and a sister together are walking along the paddy field and the brother asks the sister about the smell of ripe paddy. She says that the smell is similar to marigold flower. But then why is it that we never get to see the rice out of the fresh ripe paddy. The sister replies that because it all goes to the various landlords' houses. While saying this, the sister wanting to fulfill her little brother's wish visits the farmer living in that abandoned house to ask for newly thrashed paddy rice. The brother waits for the sister's return from the farmer's house. When she does return the brother notices blood stains on her saree. She explains that to eat a full meal out of freshly gotten rice one needs to pay the price in blood. The implication of the short story was left for the listeners to fathom.
Milon made sad reference to the lost literary heritage of Bikrampur. Now this alcove is populated by young nouveau riche that care for making money and not literary pursuit. Short story titled Rajar Chithi was next discussed for the participants.
The writer was living for a considerable stretch of time in a divided country Germany for purposes of livelihood. He began his non-fiction writing, partly autobiographical, without a clue on the subject matter of his writing. He continued writing at a stretch. The result was a lengthy piece of writing, concluding on the note that the writer does not belong to any particular political ideology.
The workshop participants enthusiastically discussed the topics Writers' Bloc and Writing to meet Deadline. The writer suggested that it was possible to work with a deadline, as one should just think or examine an incident and start writing, building up on one's perception of the surrounding and continuing with one's imagination. He maintained that he has been working on a major novel for the last fourteen years. However, in between this period he has submitted many a writing meeting deadlines! The positive side is that starting to write at the spur of the moment may be tough but once done then writing flows and one's thoughts take the person forward.
Empowerment of women
It was in the midst of classroom lecture on empowerment of women. The resource person was hammering on the theoretical base of empowerment as propounded by Western thinkers. Much emphasis was being laid on structural change for initiation of the process of empowerment.
Jharna Rahman is an established script writer. She is connected with BTV and UNICEF project on Mother and Child. The focus is upon the maternal problems and women's role and status. The issue of empowerment is covered under the project. Jharna developed two dramas to enhance understanding on the subject.
Her talk on empowerment gave loud reference to the pioneering role of Begum Rokeya Shakhawat Hussain (1880-1932) for the cause of emancipation of women from social enslavement. Among social reformers of India during her time may be mentioned women's rights activist Annie Besant (1847-1933). She advocated advancement of women grounded in Islam and its teachings, seeking equality of women and men in accordance with the Quran as its central text. She is most famous for gender equality, stemming from the belief of injustice in various social forms.
Rokeya, whose sisters were writers, was taught English and Bangla by their older brother. She was married at the age of sixteen to Urdu speaking deputy magistrate of Bhagalpur where Rokeya, after the death of her husband, established the first Muslim Girls' School in 1909. The school was later shifted to Calcutta in 1911 on account of property dispute within the family.
On the subject of empowerment Jharna discussed the story line of two TV/Radio dramas. Ekti Shiddhanto - Single Decision - is about a young woman who has qualified in the BCS examination with no encouragement from her husband. When the appointment letter arrives her husband hides this and plans to give this to her after the joining date is over. However the young woman is smart and discovers the letter. She starts taking steps to join the post. In the meantime she also faces opposition from her husband who draws her attention to their child and the invalid father-in-law whom she, after marriage, must attend to. But then, the young woman becomes conscious of self evaluation in terms of latent talents and capability of earning a livelihood. She began to feel a strong urge towards self actualisation. This self awareness was her strength from within. It is this strength from within a woman that initiates the process of empowerment. It is a myth to suppose that privileges and powers will be given to women from external sources. The young woman visits her working friends. She further realises that she too could have her own domain of freedom and working area. She talks to her friend who encourages her to join her work taking her child with her, even though this is outside of Dhaka where she is living at present. She announced her decision to her husband who gave no support. He was sarcastic in his remarks. She responded to this in a calm manner and said she would travel with her child, stay with a relative and afterwards return to Dhaka. Her husband would join her if he made arrangement for care of his invalid father. Thus the young woman by her single decision was able to step into the path of empowerment.
According to writer Jharna gender equality is an important step towards empowerment of women. The sense of gender equality must come out of the woman's inner self. It comes when a woman is awakened to her possibilities. The sense of gender equality happens more with literacy, mental and emotional awakening, with schooling and education. To illustrate gender equality Jharna discussed her story adapted for TV play, Mita- er- Prithibi. Mita, a student has a boy friend. Over a period of time both fall in love with each other. After completing their studies, they decide to marry. Together they go to live in the boy's village in his parental house. The boy is in the process of getting a job for himself. Soon he does get a job away from the village. He leaves, telling his wife to take care of her in-laws and make special effort to win the heart of her mother-in-law. So the young girl is set on her mission together with other household chores.
Shortly afterwards she succeeds in finding a job for herself, as a teacher in the village school. When she broke the news to her mother-in-law expecting to be congratulated, she was stunned by the discouraging behaviour of her mother-in-law. The value of the girl's education and employment was less than the boy's. There was a clear demarcation in evaluating employment and education between genders.
The drama constructed on gender equality was within the framework of PLAGE - Policy Leadership and Advocacy for Gender Equality - with the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs.
The participants of the creative writing workshops gained a clear understanding from the talks of the two talented writers of Bangladesh.
E-mail : farida_s9@optimaxbd.net