Young Wordsmiths of Boi Mela, a TBS Graduates exclusive series, follows the journey of some of the young authors of Boi Mela. This week we explore
‘Laler Alorone,’ where young poet Mashrafi Hassan delves into the heart of teenage angst and joy, articulating the universal journey of love, hope, and despair through the lens of youthful poetry
A soiled teddy-bear hanging from a garbage van – such a photo made young Mashrafi Hassan contemplate deeply. He thought about all the experiences it shared with its previous owner. He wondered, what does it feel now? Is it in pain? Could it fight back?
Maybe, through poetry.
Mashrafi decided to let the teddy bear express its own story in his very first book, ‘Laler Alorone.’ The book can be found in Babui Prokashoni (Stall No, 262-263) of the Amor Ekushey Boi Mela. In this chapter of ‘Young Wordsmiths of Boi Mela’, TBS Graduates reached out to him for an exclusive interview.
TBS: What is the general theme of the book? How is it organised?
Mashrafi: The theme is ‘Teenage’. It is a poetry book and has 5 chapters based on teen life, love, sorrows, and study. I also drew some art related to the topics.
TBS: Who should read this book? What is your target audience niche?
Mashrafi: People of all ages are welcome to read this book. Teenage comes in everyone’s life. I just wrote it from my perspective- what I saw in this world, what other people my age think. Tried to make it relatable sometimes. And of course, never forgot to voice my opinion.
TBS: How did you make sure to put unique voices to your characters?
Mashrafi: I don’t think my characters are necessarily unique. They tell the story of you, but from a different angle. Sometimes you will get another type of view. After all that’s the importance of poetry- to see differently.
TBS: Who are some of the writers who inspire you?
Mashrafi: Satyajit Ray is the first writer who helped widen my eyes. I read the whole Shanku Shomogro. Then there’s a book called Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – these are some of the starters of my reader life.
TBS: As a published author, how did you decide on writing a book?
Mashrafi: I have been writing since childhood. But that was wholly childish. Yet, my teachers loved that and always inspired me to write. Then, in the last 2-3 years I got involved in serious reading and writing. Hence, when I started my intermediate education, I had many thoughts like other teenagers, thoughts about our life, our study, our teenage mind. So I thought that it would be great if I pen it down and people will get so many feelings to relate to.
TBS: What, if any, are the challenges that you faced in the entire publication process being a student? How did you overcome those?
Mashrafi: As a new writer, obviously I got so many barriers for publishing a book. The main problem was to reach the publisher. I went to Banglabazar first but unfortunately didn’t get publishers. Then I approached via Facebook Messenger. But they only gave template responses like, ‘Send the file in email; We will contact.’ It came to my mind that they are not taking it seriously. So I went to many other places and at last Adarshalipi Prokasan came to the rescue.
TBS: What would you say are some essential qualities in the process of taking on a project of such magnitude as a book?
Mashrafi: The foremost quality to write books is to read books. If you don’t have admiration for books you can’t just write a book to become famous. If you like poetry you have to learn the aspects of poetry, if you like other genres you have to research that. And have to have a great dedication.
TBS: What is one specific advice you would give to aspiring student writers who are just starting their journey?
Mashrafi: The one and only advice I would give to the student is to read all genres and all types of books. It will help you to think out of the box. You can also hear audiobooks.
TBS: What kind of opportunities do you think the young writers should get to get started and eventually reach their full potential?
Mashrafi: It is an important thing that people of our age should express themselves. I think they have many thoughts just like me. And they can win the hearts of the teenage people.
They should write constantly, send it to a magazine. If they get it printed then they will get a huge inspiration for their passion. Because if you get your work printed in a magazine or paper at first, you become very inspired.
TBS: What is your next step as a writer? Any future goals?
Mashrafi: As a new poetry writer, my first goal is to reach out to the poetry lovers. If I get positive feedback from them it will help me go forward. Some readers have sent me reviews and they are very hopeful that this first one will reach the peak. And I know I made some mistakes, was arrogant even. But I also think it is part of the process. I will not stop. As Mashrafi weaves his experience into rhyme, we go back in time – to relive the thrilling story of a Sultanate, as recontextualised by Hasan Enam, in our next chapter of ‘Young Wordsmiths of Boi Mela’.