Renowned author, scholar, researcher, and journalist Monzurul Huq is a courageous remembrance of the tumultuous period preceding Bangladesh's Liberation War in 1971, which he witnessed firsthand and took part in himself; and his second semi-fictional memoir, ‘A Time to Dream and a Time of Despair’—which detailed his experiences of the war—was launched on Monday at the Garden Gallery Cosmos, Baridhara, in the capital.
Published by Cosmos Books from the Cosmos Foundation, featuring exclusive illustrations by artist Sourav Chowdhury, Executive Director of Gallery Cosmos, the book narrates untold stories from the viewpoint of Huq and his family during the stormy days of 1971, as their fate was intertwined with that of Bangladesh.
The launching ceremony of the memoir, which is a sequel to Huq’s 2022 book ‘A Story of My Time,’ was joined on Monday by eminent personalities from all walks of life, including eminent journalist and the daily Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, as the chief guest.
Noted personalities joined the book launch event, including eminent researcher-journalist Afsan Chowdhury, art maestro and Dhaka University drawing and painting department emeritus professor Rafiqun Nabi, and Liberation War Museum trustee, cultural activist, and Monzurul Huq’s elder brother Mofidul Haque as the special guest, and the event was presided over by Enayetullah Khan, publisher of the book and founder-chairman of the Cosmos Foundation.
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Greeting the esteemed guests, including the author's wife, Yumiko Kikuchi; diplomats from different embassies; cultural connoisseurs; and dignitaries from different sectors at the Garden Gallery Cosmos, which is located inside the first-ever house built in the capital’s Baridhara, Enayetullah Khan said: “Cosmos Books is delighted to present the second volume of the memoir written by Monzurul Huq, focusing on the pre-independent days of our country. Huq has been my friend for 60 years and a frequent collaborator on our weekly magazine, the Dhaka Courier, which is celebrating its 41st anniversary of publication, and he has been collaborating with us with his view from Tokyo from the very early beginning of the publication. This is the second book of his series; the first was launched two years ago at the Liberation War Museum.”
He added, “Being his contemporary, going to the same school in the 1960s, I share with him the joys and agonies of those days when the simplicity of life kept the crude reality of our time hidden behind the façade of a normal life. Despite all the uncertainties and dangerous, deadly traps, there was no shortage of urban youths willing to take such risks for our motherland—and among those brave souls of our younger days, many returned victorious after the mass surrender of enemy troops, and many were not lucky enough to see and feel the joy of enjoying the lights of freedom.”
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“The author of this book belongs to the first group,” Khan mentioned, “And it is my immense pleasure to present this second volume of his memoir focusing on those days at a time when representatives of our generation have been slowly departing. This reality makes the memoir an important document of our recent past, which would also serve as a stark reminder of the importance of preserving our collective memory against all the attempts that are being made in recent times to rewrite history from a fictitious perspective,” Enayetullah Khan said while delivering the welcome speech.
Prothom Alo Editor and chief guest of the launching ceremony, Matiur Rahman, said, “Enayetullah Khan did not publish this wonderful book to earn money; rather, it stands as a symbol of his friendship with Monzurul Huq, whom I have also known for more than fifty years now. The family of Huq, including his brother, sister, and their mother, and their house at Hatirpul’s College Street, are all significantly relevant to our liberation war. Huq has worked for Prothom Alo for many years, and despite his illness and deteriorating health, he is still actively working as a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, and academician—and I am honoured to be here today for the launching of his book.”
Sharing the context behind the semi-fictional memoirs, author Monzurul Huq said, “Most of our Liberation War books usually start in March 1971 and end with victory in December. However, my first book of this series (A Story of My Time) started in the sixties of the last century and ended on March 24, 1971, and I intentionally finished the book on 24th March 1971.”
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“So after the publication of the first book, many people were surprised that I did not write about our Liberation War's most important part (from 25th March midnight to 16th December), so I tried to focus on that as many people requested me—and the result is the second volume, which I named ‘A Time to Dream and A Time of Despair.’ Time to dream because we were dreaming—and our dream was suddenly shattered. I will not say it stopped over there, so that's the despair—and eventually, we came to fulfil that dream. So what I did within those nine months is the result of this book.”
“This is not a definitive history because I didn't want to write history,” Huq mentioned. “I just wanted to recreate the memories, my memoir. Many people these days are forgetting about what happened in 1971, so this collective forgetfulness pains me quite significantly, so I wanted to remind people that from the generation, from those who have gone through that dreamy and agony period.”
Eminent researcher-journalist Afsan Chowdhury, art maestro Rafiqun Nabi, and Mofidul Haque also spoke at the launching ceremony, sharing their valuable insights regarding the author and the book. Monzurul Huq conveyed his heartfelt gratitude to Enayetullah Khan and Cosmos Foundation Executive Director Nahar Khan for the publication and also thanked artist Sourav Chowdhury for the layout and illustrations, ARK Reepon for its art direction, and Arif Bachchu for the design.
After the book's launching, young recitation artist Shatabdi Saha recited Helal Hafiz's revolutionary poem "Nishiddho Shompadokiyo" and Shamsur Rahman's "Shwadhinota Tumi" at the event.
Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monzurul Huq obtained an MA from Moscow State University and also completed another master's at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London. He started his professional career at the United Nations Information Centre in Dhaka in the early 1980s and moved to London in 1990 to start working as a producer at the Bengali-language radio program of BBC World.
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A member of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan since 2001, Huq has served as an elected member of the Board of Directors of the club on several occasions and was subsequently elected president in June 2009. Currently, he is a life member of the club and performs the responsibility of an elected auditor.
Huq settled in Japan in 1994, where he works as a journalist for Prothom Alo and some other media outlets, including Dhaka Courier. He is also continuing his radio broadcasting career at NHK World Japan and has recently retired from teaching after being a visiting professor for more than 25 years at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and several other Japanese universities.