Dhaka: Some of the key works of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam have been translated to two European-origin languages — Portuguese and Spanish—to portray his great creations in other parts of the world, said a press release of the Cultural Affairs Ministry.

Translated by two female foreign writers in their respective languages, a total of 128 prose and poetries, songs and essays of Poet Nazrul Islam are incorporated in the two new books that would, for the first time, serve Portuguese and Spanish audiences. The two books are: ‘Nazrul Posa e Poesia Seleciondas (Potuguese)’ and ‘Nazrul Posa y Poemas Selectos (Spanish)’.

Before these works, Nazrul creations have been translated into 10 foreign languages including English, Urdu, Turkish, Russian, German, Italian, French, Japanese and Chinese, foreign ministry sources said.

Anna Rita Baptista Rodrigues Jacinto, a freelance translator of Lisbon, Portugal, has translated 78 poems, songs and essays of poet Nazrul in her book, while Ms Maria Helena Barrera Agarwal, a famous female poet and translator of Ecuador, has published translated 150 selected prose and songs in Spanish language.

The publication of two books were formally opened at the Nazrul Institute in the city, where Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor spoke as the chief guest and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam spoke as the special guest.

Noor said Kazi Nazrul was the national poet of Bangladesh and he held a spirit of secularism in his writing altogether. He was a ‘rebel’ writer and his works would inspire the entire nation for time immemorial, the minister said adding Nazrul embraced imprisonment but never compromised with oppressors. ‘Nazrul has showed us and taught us how to keep our heads high and stay firm against all injustices and oppressions.’

Shariar Alam said poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was one of the gifted poets of all time. He has received an esteemed position in peoples mind for his revolutionary poetry and music espoused Indo-Islamic renaissance and intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. Nazrul’s impassioned activism for political and social justice earned him the title of The Rebel Poet. ‘He is a poet of rare versatility, a musician, a lover, a warrior’.

The state minister said the greatness of Nazrul had been hidden to the world simply for the lack of quality translations. So it has been a great contribution of one Ecuadorian and one Portuguese poet to come up with their ideas and do the splendid job, he added.

Spanish is the second-most widely spoken language in the world after Chinese Mandarin, with 400 million native speakers, and official language status in a staggering 21 countries, spanning South, Central and North America, as well as Africa and Europe.

Portuguese is the official language in Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Portugal, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Cape Verde, and Sao Tom, and Pr-ncipe. Therefore, these publications are expected to bring Nazrul and his works in those areas. Also these initiatives would portray Bengali literature and culture beyond Asia and Europe, especially in the North and South America, Africa and in Pacific Region.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Ministry appreciated the endeavors from the two foreign writers as well as the Nazrul institute. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also assured of extending all possible support to the Nazrul Institute and others for future initiatives of translation of Nazrul works in other languages too.