The poet and translator Farida Majid remembers

Poet Moom Rahman speaks during a program held to commemorate the life and work of the late Farida Majid at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro at Banglamotor in the capital on Saturday. — Sourav Lasker

Family members and admirers remembered the late poet, essayist, translator and scholar Farida Majid during a memorial program on Saturday.

The program was held at Bishwo Shahitto Kendro in Banglamotor in the capital marking his first death anniversary.

Farida Majid’s sister and writer, Fahmida Manju Majid, Supreme Court lawyer Sadia Arman, poets Mahid Jitu, Mohammad Mahmuduzzaman, Moom Rahman, Sabera Tabassum and others were present at the event.

The program began with guests observing a minute of silence in memory of Farida Majid.

“I have many memories of my sister Farida Majid. She was an erudite and versatile personality. She will remain alive through her works,” said Fahmida Manju Majid.

“Farida Majid was not only a great poet but also a great translator. She was also involved in the publishing industry and played an important role in founding a London-based literary journal called Salamander,” said Mohammad Mahmuduzzaman.

Farida Majid was born in Kolkata on July 27, 1942. She was the granddaughter of famous writer and poet Golam Mostofa.

She started writing at an early age.

She has taught at different institutions around the world, including the City University of New York, Columbia University and the College of New Rochelle. She is considered a member of the first generation of English-speaking Bangladeshi writers.

Although she regularly writes poems and essays for various periodicals, she has only one poetry book titled Ganda Phuler Proyan o Jara Benche Thakbe to her credit.

She has translated the works of poets and writers from Bangladesh and served as editor of the London-based literary journal Salamander. She was the editor-translator of Take Me Home, Rickshaw: Poems by Contemporary Poets of Bangladesh.

She has also translated many verses of the Quran from Arabic into the Bangla language.

Farida Majid died at the age of 79 while undergoing cancer treatment at Labaid Specialty Hospital in Dhaka on September 28, 2021.