A few words about mariner’s travelogue Shagorer Golpo (Tale of the Sea)

Book Name : Shagorer Golpo (Tale of The Sea)
Author : Aflatun Haider Chowdhury
Publisher : Ananya Prakashani, Banglabazar Dhaka
Aflatun’s nickname is Shagor, Bangladeshi meaning, “The Sea”.
What a fate, Shagor went to Sea. I’ve known him since he was born. Many
years ago, when he was a boy I asked him to write and he wrote! He wrote a
letter to VOA (Voice of America Bengali Broadcasting Service). The quality of
his writing surprised me, so as his father. Since then he has been writing in too
many Bangladeshi prominent magazines e.g. weekly Bichitra, weekly Jaijaidin,
weekly 2000 etc. Till date, he has been showing his glorious presence on
several online portals.
All of a sudden his nickname coincides with the title of this travelogue. If you
want to translate the title into English you know that would be ‘Tale of the Sea’.
‘Shagorer Golpo’ is the first novel of Aflatun Haider Chowdhury where he
portrayed various experiences of his first sea life. The boy went to the sea
before he grew up, and got involved in a profession sacrificed his youth and
family life back home.
The beginning of the story is quite dramatic. A boy is coming back home after
traveling more than half of the world but getting no access to their own
country? He is getting deported from his homeland, is this some kind of joke?
Anger, anxiety, suspense and tension. A young merchant marine officer had to
burst out with his utmost fury to gain entry to his own country. Entire incident
is described so perfectly that it kept me hooked throughout the novel. Step-by-
step, Aflatun went forward with his tales in a skilful way. Introduction to sea
life, life within the sea on a vessel, cruising over the water, experiences and
excitements, safety of life at sea, and horrific weather. This wonderful book has
taken me deep into the ocean, from country to country, one continent to
another. In his writings, he highlighted landscapes, society and lifestyle of
different nations. From training to joining the job, and then training, and then
being promoted as a responsible Merchant Marine Officer, everything described
vividly.

The beautiful form of the deep sea and the raging face of the stormy ocean were
revealed in his writings. Sometimes the ship was detained and being searched
by the troops from warships. When approaching ports he had to work with
various authorities such as Navy, Police, Immigration, Quarantine, Customs,
etc. He learned different rules and regulations of different countries, had direct
experience of working shoulder to shoulder with them. It is not a story of
traveling around the country or taking pictures here and there, but it’s a
narrative of life on an ocean going vessel where he observed and learned about
societies, development of countries and nations.
The book is a tale of industry, success and progress of different countries and
nations. History, war, politics, economics, common people's struggle and
country’s development chronicles. Information such as various types of
environment and food experiences has added further flavor in the book.
The whole novel is divided into several chapters. Although arranged
chronologically, each episode has distinct characteristics so that you can begin
from wherever you want. It is really hard to stop once you start reading.
Mingling with people from different countries, making friends, everything has
been elaborated so skilfully that you will be lost within the story and found
yourself as if you are there, at the very location. A lot of researched information
has revealed in this novel and vast amount of information articulated in a way
that the book can be read at ease and fluently. The text are so well constructed
that while reading it you will never think that this is his first novel.
His writing technique is captivating. It’s a well-crafted, positive-minded writing
that feels good to read and filled my heart with cherish. Several unknown facts
came to known. So many things can be learned through his stories. This is
certainly an educational novel.

Akbar Haider Kiron
Journalist, Poet, Writer
New York City