BLiterature-Apratim

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metaphors and depth of art, Kazi sometimes seems the most creative poet of the
age.
But Syed Alaol’s (1597?-1673) real reputation lies in the poem Padmabati,
which he wrote taking the story of Malik Muhammad Jaysee’s Hindi romance
Padumabat. Alaol will have a place in history for his liberal outlook and brilliant
combination of poetry, music and dance. He is in fact, the greatest poet of the age as
he perfectly assimilated poetical and musical artistry with theological and humanistic
ideas.
Shah Muhammad Shagir is an important poet of the age. He composed the
Sufi poem Yusuf-Julekha, which is based on a love story.
Syed Sultan composed the epic Nabi-Bangsha which is a great emblem of
non-communalism in medieval Bengal.
A poet named Dwiza Pashupati composed a romance poem titled
Chandrabali. Another poet – Khalil, probably from Sreehatta, wrote a poem titled
Chandramukhi in the Nagari alphabet.
The folk tales of Mymensingh Gitika and Purbabanga Gitika can be included
in this era. Malua and Mahua are two remarkably charming tales.
In the 17 th century, a huge number of Muslim poets emerged. Other wellknown
poets are Shah Birid Khan, Sheikh Faizullah, Abdul Hakim and Mohammad
Khan. Among them, Shah Birid composed Bidya-Sundar and Faizullah wrote
Goroksha-Bijay.
The Nawabi Age (18 th Century)
The Urdu word ‘Nawab’ literally denotes a noble man mainly in medieval
India. In fact a Nawab was lower than a Badshah, Samrat, Sultan or Raja.
Murshid Quli Khan, eventually the first ruling Nawab of Bengal – came to this
province probably in 1700 as the Diwan (i.e. Tax-collector) of Mogul empire. In 1717,
he was appointed as the ‘Nawab Nazim’ (i.e. Revenue & Civil Administrative Officer)
of Bengal by the emperor of Delhi. Gradually he captured the political power of the
state and became its sovereign ruler. Thus in Bengal, a Nawab became practically
equal to a Sultan or Shah.
In 1757, a victory in the battle of Plassey over Nawab Sirajuddaula’s army
gave the British East India Company a recognized authority over this province. They
removed the last independent nawab from power and made Bengal a British colony.
The company was sarcastically called ‘Nawub’ by the Bengali natives, because their
ruling system and attitudes were quite like the nawabs.
The Nawabi Age of Bangla literature actually includes the whole 18 th century –
comprising the independent Nawabs’ and the British East India Company’s (called
‘Nawub’) early rule.
Bengal’s capital Murshidabad was a center of foreign (Persian) culture and its
impact was increasing on our own decadent culture. Then even the elite Hindus
began to learn the Persian language widely. The Hindu and Islamic cultures were