Memories of Begum

Nurjahan Begum, the first female journalist in Bengal/ Bangladesh and the Editor of not just a magazine but a platform for female literature, particularly Bengali Muslim writing, has passed away. She had edited "Begum", the first magazine for women in the subcontinent, for the last 65 years. She was doing her job before she fell ill and died at the age of 91.

She was not just a legend but part of a history that has not been told frequently enough. Given her achievement through the editing of Begum, she was a greater figure of history than many politicians and activists. Just as the political spirit was growing in East Pakistan for its inevitable transition to Bangladesh, her magazine led the charge for many. It influenced the middle class women's mind at a level almost none have done since. One wishes she was decorated with more state honours, something she so richly deserved.

Memories of "Begum" are within me as well. We grew up in a "para" called Tikatuli, which housed many middle class households that were later part of the cultural movements that helped birth Bangladesh. Bengali was the common cause and two very significant persons lived in Tikatuly. One was Begum Sufia Kamal, the first Editor of Begum and later a poet grand dame in her own right. The other was Sikander Abu Zafar, who was the founding Editor of the premier literary magazine of our history, called "Shomokal", which practically led the literary caravan of cultural resistance against Pakistan. As was the neighborhood culture of the era, everyone knew everyone and children had entry into all the households.  It was a kind of bonhomie that may not be possible now with our apartment culture but as I look back, it created a sense of commonality of values and deeds that created the middle class which led the journey to 1971.  Perhaps the loss of the neighbourhood has something to do with our quality of politics.

Mohammed Nasiruddin, Nurjahan's father, was the Editor of Shawgat, a top notch magazine for Bengali Muslims which came out from Kolkata. He brought his family to the city in 1929 from Chandpur, four years after his daughter Nurjahan /Noori was born.  Many people looked upon Kolkata with some suspicion, as rural folk often, do but the city gave Nurjahan Begum the opportunities that made her life worthwhile. She learnt languages, read magazines and ultimately was so impressed by the National Geographic magazine that she was hooked to words and pictures for ever. This passion made her world substantial and subsequently as the Editor of Begum helped her play a historic role in media and empowerment.

Nurjahan Begum was greatly influenced by the National Geographic so when Begum the magazine began, it had pictures. As an less than five year old in Tikatuli, I couldn't read yet but my mother did. The logo of the magazine was familiar and the thick fat Eid Special had many pictures. It was enchanting and because I hadn't yet learnt to read, the printed faces of all the writers made a great impression.   They all looked like my mother and that must have helped me like them. It's here that Begum succeeded, which was to sell the brand of the mostly liberal Bengali Muslim woman who read and often wrote. It's interesting that years later, my mother too wrote a serial travelogue for a women's magazine.

Nurjahan Begum didn't just learn from books but also from the august company that gathered in her father's office in Kolkata. Kazi Nazrul Islam, Abul Mansur Ahmad, Kazi Motahar Hossain, Ibrahim Khan and many others came to chat and their words and thoughts were constructing the emerging nation in the 40s. By the time she graduated in 1946, from Lady Brabourne College, she was ready for her work. The first issue of Begum was published on July 20, 1947 and she was the acting Editor before Begum Sufia Kamal took over. Later, when Sufia Kamal moved to Dhaka she stepped in. She too later shifted to Dhaka and continued as the Editor till she passed away.

Some of the names from Tikatuli went on to become well known cultural icons. Sikander Abu Zafar, painter Syed Jahangir, theatre icon Aly Zaker, actor Bulbul Ahmed, journalist Shahadat Chowdhury's family, Begum Sufia Kamal and many others lived there. It was in the company of such people that we grew up, and years later I find so much of my ethos traceable to those years. It was in this space where I learnt to read and write and it's here that I held my first magazine and book. In so many ways, the love for books that I still have was instilled in me at that age. Begum Magazine played a major role in doing that.

In some ways, Tikatuli and the Begum magazine both did what neighborhoods and culture do, which is to create a siblinghood of minds and souls. History belongs to such encounters.

So thank you Begum for illuminating so many lives, particularly mine.