Neruda and Nazrul

Today I was going through the Canto XII from the "Heights of Macchupicchu". I have seen many communists in our country to neglect Kazi Nazrul Islam while Neruda was idol for them. Even one of my mates called Nazrul once to be "meritless!!". Neruda visited India, but long I dont think Nazrul was in good health to meet the Chilean poet. Neruda had friends in Calucutta, specially from the Communist Party, viz: Bishnu Dey.

Lets move into the poems. Look at the lines from "কুলি- মজুর":

"হাতুড়ি শাবল গাঁইতি চালায়ে ভাঙিল যারা পাহাড়,/ পাহাড়-কাটা সে পথের দু’পাশে পড়িয়া যাদের হাড়, / তোমারে সেবিতে হইল যাহারা মজুর, মুটে ও কুলি, / তোমারে বহিতে যারা পবিত্র অঙ্গে লাগাল ধূলি;/"

and then a look at the Canto XII:

"Look at me from the depths of the earth, / tiller of fields, weaver, reticent shepherd, / groom of totemic guanacos, / mason high on your treacherous scaffolding, / iceman of Andean tears, / jeweler with crushed fingers, / farmer anxious among his seedlings, /potter wasted among his clays--"

or

"আজ হৃদয়ের জমা-ধরা যত কবাট ভাঙিয়া দাও, / রং-করা ঐ চামড়ার যত আবরণ খুলে নাও!,"

to that of

"Point out to me the rock on which you stumbled, / the wood they used to crucify your body."

I have to investigate, the true merit of Nazrul, not in a biased way, not likely that Bangladeshi Nationalists /Islamists/Romantics do, I also doubt the communists.