Published: 12:11 AM, 04 July 2026
Taslim Haider Taimur’s Cappadocia: A Lyrical Journey Through Love, Nation and Humanity
Cappadocia is a poetry collection rooted in travel writing by poet Taslim Haider Taimur. By transforming the experience of travel into lyrical expression, the poet demonstrates the remarkable strength and versatility of his artistic voice.
Taimur has been writing poetry since his school days. Alongside poetry, he nurtured a deep passion for painting. Yet, compelled by the inevitable demands of life, he gradually drifted away from the world of brushes and colors. That separation eventually found its way into words, and from the silence left by the abandoned canvas emerged a poet.
During his journey through Türkiye, Taimur encountered Cappadocia not merely as a traveler but through the eyes of a poet. He painted the landscape with language and named this collection Cappadocia after the enchanting region that inspired it. This is his third volume of poetry.
Cappadocia, situated in the Central Anatolia region of Türkiye, is one of the world’s most extraordinary historical and natural landscapes. It is celebrated globally for its surreal rock formations, famously known as the “Fairy Chimneys,” and its ancient cave dwellings, which continue to fascinate travelers from around the world.
The book has been published by Moordhanno Prokashoni. Its cover was designed by Tasnia Haider Ankon, while the cover photograph was taken by Lamisa Haider Nid.
The collection was first published during the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025 and is lovingly dedicated to the poet’s wife, Akteruz Jahaan Laizu.
The recurring themes of Taslim Haider Taimur’s poetry are love, separation, humanity, patriotism, and progressive ideals. These elements resonate beautifully throughout Cappadocia.
The collection contains ninety-eight poems. The opening poem, Chun Shurkir Deyal (The Lime-Plastered Wall), evokes the nation’s historical memory while expressing an enduring aspiration for complete emancipation. The poet writes:
“Do not paste posters on this wall; do not scar it with graffiti.
Here, a Shaheed Minar shall be drawn…
We have gained our language,
We have gained our independence,
Yet freedom remains veiled in mist.
This wall shall be whitewashed again,
And the mural of liberation shall be painted in the crimson hues of blood.”
The second poem, Ochena Lage Bijoy (Victory Feels Unfamiliar), reveals the poet’s profound patriotism. He voices the painful realization that the promises of independence remain unfulfilled:
“Whenever Victory Day arrives,
I feel like emptying an entire magazine into the sky—
Rat-a-tat-tat—
Then declaring: I have witnessed victory;
We are the victors.
Yet the barefoot boy carrying the flag through muddy fields
Has never truly found victory.
To him, war has become only a story,
And victory as distant as the moon.”
Another remarkable poem, Gontobbo Gonotontro (Destination Democracy), captures the tragic condition of democracy in Bangladesh:
“I found you, my beloved, in the procession;
In the procession, I found you lifeless.
I could never dye your hands with henna,
So the streets smile instead with crimson patterns of blood.”
The title poem, Cappadocia, contrasts the languages and cultures of Bangladesh and Türkiye while subtly invoking a sense of national consciousness. The poet writes:
“When night falls over Cappadocia
And the beautiful horses sleep while standing,
Our people in Bangladesh sink into the deep sleep of midnight…
Language Day had not yet been born,
And so I called their language incomprehensible.”
One of the collection’s most touching romantic poems, Tar (Her), explores the tender realities of human love:
“Her hair danced in the shameless wind.
I called it shameless only because I was jealous.
Why should the one who never loved her
Be allowed to touch her hair?…
They say jealousy is another name for love.
I wonder when I fell in love again…
Then I quietly convinced myself
That everything about her belonged only to me.”
The poem Shesher Joto kotha (The Last Words Left Unspoken) reflects on life’s incompleteness with quiet philosophical grace:
“A storyteller never tells us where a short story truly ends.
Life itself offers only a beginning;
Its ending never fully arrives.
So never unfold the entire letter of love.
Let something remain beyond the circle of readers.”
Imperial domination and occupation find powerful expression in the poem Kothopokothon (Conversation), where the poet voices his hope for a free Palestine:
“To rule and exploit,
They first fracture the land.
Thus Palestine survives only in name—
Gaza on one side,
The West Bank on the other,
And between them, the new masters.
Our latest identity: refugees…Return to us that fragment of green earth,
So I may raise the flag of a free Palestine.”
The poem Surjaste Tumi (You at Sunset) is a heartfelt tribute to the beauty of Bangladesh:
“When I lie down to sleep,
I cradle Bangladesh against my heart…
Through the windowpane I watch you,
Bathed in the saffron glow of the setting sun.”
Another emotionally resonant poem, Ekti Bangladesh Tumi (You Are Bangladesh), celebrates the country’s natural splendor and enduring spirit:
“Why should I become a wanderer?
Here stands my thatched home,
Built upon an unshakable foundation…
This delta of red and green is mine.
Why should I become a wanderer?
Here rivers swim toward the sea,
Here thirteen festivals bloom within twelve months.
Here we all belong
To one golden Bangladesh.”
In the poem Prem Prem Juddho Juddho (Love, Love; War, War), the poet offers a heartfelt plea for peace:
“If not love, then what remains?War?
I do not want war.
I want peace.
I shall release a flock of white doves,
Free every caged lovebird.
Conquering the world begins
With conquering your heart.
Give me love—
And I shall win you.”
The poignant poem Hey Bondhu Sokol (O My Friends) reflects on mortality and the fragile nature of human existence. As the poet penned:
“If, when the war is over,
You cannot find me,
Sign your name in the morgue register,
And bring home my body.”
Taslim Haider Taimur is, in every sense, a poet immersed in poetry. For him, poetry is not merely an artistic pursuit but an essential way of living. He studied at Feni PTI School, Feni Pilot High School, Feni Government College, and later graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Chittagong. He is the fourth among six siblings—three brothers and three sisters. His younger brother, Nasir Uddin Saimum, is a distinguished theatre personality.
His father, A. F. M. Zia Uddin Haider, was an agricultural scientist, educator, and sports organizer. In 1960, under the Colombo Plan, he conducted research in genetics and later served as the headmaster of Feni G.A. Academy. His mother, Mazeda Begum, was a devoted homemaker. In his personal life, Taslim Haider Taimur married Akteruz Jahan Laizu in 1994. She is a skilled craft artist. Together they have two daughters. Their elder daughter, Lamisa Haider Nid, completed both her BBA and MBA at North South University. Their younger daughter, Tasnia Haider Ankon, graduated in Architecture from the same university.
Emran Emon is an eminent journalist,
columnist and Editor of Saturday Post.
He can be reached at [email protected]
