Raconteur, Bon Viveur and a Renaissance Man: one evening with Hasnat Abdul Hye!

On an unusually nippy March evening, right after Iftar, the heart was craving some intellectual fodder and knowledge of Dhaka and the world of the sixties and fifties.

Well, for those who seek to learn about the finer things of life from music to books to poetry to the lost social creed of Bangladesh, the man to go to is definitely the writer par excellence: Hasnat Abdul Hye.

At 89, he is still on fire, the mind lucid like a 30-year-old, layered with inimitable wit and charm.

An adda with him is like a dive into a world of invaluable information about a wide variety of things, both legit and those a bit louche.

Trust me, as a writer of society and its countless intricate sub-layers, he is anything but a puritan.

Without thinking twice, called Hasnat Sir on messenger to see if he was free.

After prolonged ringing, the voice on the other side said in a hurried tone: “Dear Towheed, I am giving a TV interview now, come over after an hour!”

Well, just let me tell you this, very few, and, I mean very few people can manage to take up time from my evenings, which are usually spent at the Dhaka University campus.

But for Hasnat Abdul Hye, rules can be broken!

A LIVING TIME CAPSULE

A common belief: nostalgia is woven into the human mind!

Whether we are mid aged or seniors or even just stepping into life’s vast arena of challenges, the past, or, the magnetism of the past become essential companions at times.

In a group or in solitude, the moments left behind hold a special allure.

This is where Hasnat Abdul Hye steps in.

As a writer, he is a percipient observer of the evolving trends of society, its intricate details, the neglected, the ignored and the forgotten.

As Sir keenly showed me his new possession, a latest Audio Zio briefcase turn table and enthusiastically put Italian coffee into the machine, I knew the evening would turn out to be special.

“I bought this album from London in 1962,” said Sir, as he showed the now faded blue cover of Frank Sinatra’s album “Point of No Return”.

But first, listen to my favourite, Moon River, sung by Connie Francis, he enthused.

As the mesmerising voice filled the air, Moon River brought back memories of the film: Breakfast at Tiffany’s where Audrey Hepburn sang it.

Ahh, they do not make films and songs like that anymore, said the virtuoso writer wistfully.

Talking about movies and songs, Hasnat Abdul Hye alluded to Harry Belafonte, the famous singer, who also acted in the 1957 contentious but box office smasher film, Island in the Sun.

Just to refresh the memory of the readers, this film, starring James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Harry Belafonte, was banned in several southern states in the USA because of interracial romance, which flouted anti-miscegenation laws.

The actress Joan Fontaine even got hate filled letters from members of the white supremacist group KKK.

Anyway, I asked Sir if he bought his long play albums from overseas, to which he said: “Some from the USA and Britain but a lot of them were bought from Shahbagh and Elephant Road, where shops like Gaaner Dali, Geetali sold records.”

GOING TO THE MOVIES! BETTER DRESS SHARP

A movie buff, Hasnat Abdul Hye, has seen most classics, vividly remembering the thrill of watching James Dean in Giant.

“Unfortunate that he died in a car crash in 1955; otherwise, he could have matured to become a Hollywood stalwart,” observed Sir, adding: “Death so young has compounded his enigma, which is also a legacy.”

In the sixties, we went to the movies looking dapper and usually, the film used to be followed by dinner at Chou Ching Chou, the first Chinese restaurant near Gulistan, said the seasoned writer.

When I asked if he had seen the Third Man, his eyes lit up.

“Orson Welles was a true superstar and the character of Harry Lime in the film blurs the line between morality and immorality in post-WW2 Germany, where scruples are laid to rest for a swift profit and subterfuge becomes second nature.”

When I told him that in Satyajit Ray’s 1966 masterpiece Nayak, Uttam Kumar wearing glasses cut the image of an espionage agent, he nodded with a smile.

The discussion veered to Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift who were friends but more than friends.

Clift was later found to be gay and hence the two never married.

WHAT ARE THE ARABS DOING?

As the evening slipped into night, the discussion moved to the plight of the people of Gaza and Hasnat Abdul Hye said vociferously: “Why do we always expect Western nations to find peace?

“It’s the responsibility of the Arabian nations to unite and create a robust voice to find a swift and acceptable solution,” he said.

“Sometimes, I feel, without Arab unity, the sovereignty of several other smaller nations like Lebanon, Syria and Jordan may be in peril,” he added.

Hasnat Abdul Hye went to West Bengal’s Ranaghat in 2022 to trace his childhood days when his father was a police inspector at the local police station.

“It was an unforgettable experience as the current officer in charge hosted me and listened to my stories spent in Ranaghat with interest.”

ENDING WITH A SMILE AND DROP OF TEAR

This Eid, there will be four stories by Hasnat Abdul Hye coming out from different Bangla newspapers.

Recently, he also completed a work, chronicling the tumultuous days of the July-August movement.

As I gave him the European Union in Bangladesh-financed pictorial album, “Bangladesh 36 July, 2024” commemorating the movement immortalised through street art on the walls of Dhaka, he was elated.

The watch showed ten thirty as Frank Sinatra’s haunting voice filled the room: “It's a blue world without you; It's a blue world alone; My days and nights that once were filled with heaven; With you away, how empty they have grown.”

Both of us went quiet, lost in our thoughts, allowing Sinatra to delve into our own little pains.

As Hasnat Abdul Hye was staring at the ceiling with a soft smile, a drop of tear crystallised at the corner of his eye.

Did not ask him anything because there are moments when silence becomes all too eloquent…

[Towheed Feroze is a former journalist]