i. I haven’t despaired enough to reveal all truth.
About the Author Mozid Mahmud is a poet, novelist, and essayist based in Bangladesh. Some of his notable works include In Praise of Mahfuza (1989), Nazrul – Spokesman of the Third World (1996), and Rabindranath’s Travelogues (2010). He has been awarded the Rabindra-Nazrul Literary Prize and the country’s National Press Club Award, among others. His novel Memorial Club is forthcoming from Gaudy Boy in 2024 in the USA.
Polemic
ii. Those who do not want praise, wish to be praised for the very act of not wanting praise. Those who do not want prizes, would like a prize for not wanting a prize.
iii. I would like to go to heaven, for everyone does so too. But if everyone wanted to go to hell, I would not have a problem with that either.
iv. We are all fakirs. We must all beg for pity. Some hand it out; others receive it. There is a torment in not being able to ask for it and also not being able to provide it. At the end of the day, it is the amount we receive that decides how much we will be happy.
v. The critic has his reasons. So does the flatterer.
vi. Except for death, we accept all other torment as an experience which consequently brings joy to us. But the torment that pushes us toward death is not to be desired.
vii. Nazrul wanted to be Sarat Chandra’s dog in his next life, not a poet. If I had the good fortune, I would surely have wanted to be a bureaucrat. It is not enough to just bark, one must wag their tail and show fear. I do not wish to be in the company of poets in my next incarnation.
viii. We fall in love because there is no alternative. For in exchange of love we may receive disdain. We cannot stand only one.
