Of Pains and Panics
This compilation mostly includes issues that affect our lives almost on a Sisyphean basis, though a few of those belong to the depth of our being—like capsuled oysters swashing on the sea floor four thousand meters deep. Articles are like sketches of the time we have lived through. They are the details of a landscape—painted in colours of fears and angers and sometimes in colours of rare delight.
The Author doesn’t nurse malice against anyone. But he holds a clear view and tries to speak in a clear voice. Many opinions, strong and not-so-strong, have been expressed on a great number of topics ranging from music to mother, philosophy to politics, sculpture to sports, globalism to governance. His observations were not intended either to elicit agreement nor choreographed to offend.
But if a poem fails to be more than a poem, it does not qualify for poetry. If a song is not more than a song, it does not nest in our hearts. So we are sure, Asafuddowlah\\\'s Of Pains and Panics will transcend beyond the printed pages to compel us travel over a wide field of thoughts to collect glimpses of the darkness of our times.
Asafuddowlah was born in 1936 in Faridpur, Bangladesh. A student of English Literature, he was actively involved in student politics, an elected Vice President of FHM Hall, Dhaka University, and awarded the University Blue in 1957. He is currently the Chairman of the Bangladesh Society for the Enforcement of Human Rights (BSEHR). He served in the Civil Service for 34 years, including 14 years as permanent Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, and elected as President of the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association. He was a Fellow of the World Bank Economic Development Institute (EDI), and a member of the Planning Commission of Bangladesh. He served as the Chairman of the National Radio and TV Commission, and as the Chairman of Sonali Bank—the largest commercial bank in Bangladesh. He was Editor of The Bangladesh Today, a national English daily. He is a musician, and an East Pakistan Olympic Gold Medalist in Swimming. He was the founding President of the Asian Swimming Federation. He takes particular interest in human rights, public policy, comparative philosophy and religion, and has translated selected Suras of the Holy Qur\\\'an.