Nazrul in Spanish

National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam has been translated into Spanish for the first time.

Several poems and three essays by the rebel poet were put together in ‘Nazrul – prosa y poemas selectos’ by Maria Helena Barrera-Agarwal, essayist and translator.

The only other Bengali writer to be translated in Spanish is Rabindranath Tagore. His collection of poem – The Crescent Moon – was translated in 1915.

Nazrul’s works are already available in 10 foreign languages, said Dr Rafikul Islam, chairman of the Nazrul Institute.

“It is something we are proud of. He has been translated to English, Russian, German, Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese and more. His works, translated in Spanish, will introduce him to the immense Spanish-speaking population in Europe and Latin America.”

Assistant editor at bdnews24.com and researcher of Spanish literature Raju Alauddin also commended Agarwal’s work.

“The translations are lively and adhere to the original work. She attempted to enter Nazrul’s core and was very much successful.”