Shouvik’s reflections on life comes out after his death

Manna Dey's famous song 'Coffee House' features a character named Amal. As the lyrics tell his story— he has a poet-like appearance, with a bag slung over his shoulder.

Yet, he never received the recognition his talent deserved, and not a single poem of his was published. 

In the song, Amal fights a battle with aggressive cancer, grappling with death. Life has not forgiven him, and perhaps one day, his name will fade away.

Shouvik Karim's real-life story is quite similar to Amal's, if not even more tragic.

His nickname was Arjun. On 7 November 2023, he and his close friend Ariful Islam tragically lost their lives in a road accident. Shouvik was only 41 years old. That night, a truck hit their motorcycle and ran them over in the capital's New Eskaton area.

In both writing and life, he was extremely meticulous, passionate, and somewhat lazy, which meant he didn't produce a large volume of work. However, his songs and poems offer glimpses into early 21st-century Bangladesh and the inner world of its youth.

However, like Amal from the Coffee House song, Shouvik's poems were never published anywhere. This is his first poetry collection. While many of his songs have been released, his poems have remained with him. However, in his case, the reason was personal— being a reserved and introverted person, he carefully kept his writings hidden from the public eye.

Now, with the efforts of his family, friends, and loved ones, his writings have been published by University Press Limited (UPL). The book is titled "Jadukor o danar kobitaguccho". It was launched on 26 February at the Bishwo Sahitya Kendra Auditorium.

Shouvik left behind a daughter named Madhubanti. The book is dedicated to her.

The book contains 92 poems, three translated poems, and 28 songs. However, Shouvik Karim's close ones believe that distinguishing between his songs and poems is difficult. It seems as if he intentionally blended them, writing both in the same manner.

A sense of resentment and melancholy toward life can be found in Shouvik Karim's writings. Alongside love and defiance, Shouvik's writings also hint at a form of protest. Protest doesn't always have to be loud— it can be soft, like a whisper, or filled with quiet resentment. That's exactly how Shouvik's writing feels.

Being close friends, Shouvik and Arif certainly used to exchange their thoughts. Hence, UPL publisher Mahrukh Mohiuddin believes that Arif is deeply present in this book as well.

"The generation that Shouvik and his peers belonged to, those who grew up in the '80s and '90s, seems to have been lost for some unknown reason. They were a misfit generation, or perhaps we gave them a misfit society where they didn't belong. They were a sensitive generation, but we never really listened to them— their thoughts remained unseen. This, in a way, is our collective failure as a nation. Unfortunately, that's why Shouvik's writings had to be published this way," she said.

The book includes a song titled "Bhalobasha tomar ghore brishti hoye neme ashuk." It was part of the 2011 Bengali movie Phire Esho Behula, starring Joya Ahsan.

Shouvik completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Sociology at the University of Dhaka. During his student life, he was involved in student politics. He was a leader of the Bangladesh Chhatra Federation. 

Although he later distanced himself from student politics, his poems, stories, and essays reflected a deep sense of social awareness. He also had a profound passion for music—writing, composing, and even singing.

Both he and Arif dreamed that one day, fascism, which had taken hold of the nation, would be eradicated. That day has come, but sadly, they are not here to witness it.

'Jadukor o danar kobitaguccho' is available at various bookstores and can also be purchased online from UPL's official website and Rokomari. The printed price of the book is Tk540