Anwar Doha dedicated to the spread of Bengali books in Canada

Anwar Doha is a philanthropic personality who has long been dedicated to the promotion and commercialization of mainstream Bengali books in Canada.

He thought in an independent way from the hectic life of living and held the spirit of patriotism and great liberation war in his heart. The lack of mainstream Bengali books in Canada haunted him. From that indomitable desire, he built 'ATN Mega Store' by capitalizing his last wealth at 2972 Danforth Avenue, which is inhabited by various Bangladeshi organizations in Canada.

Speaking about his institution, which is full of resources for Bengali language, literature and art, he said, I came to Canada from New York in 2001. Cherishing the patriotism of Bangladesh in my heart, I started my journey in 2002 initially with classical and modern Bengali songs, audio and video cassettes of films, CDs etc. Later, with the special encouragement of some local Bengali book lovers living in Canada, my indomitable desire to develop Bengali language literature in Canada was successfully realized from the year 2006. I started my journey with all kinds of Bengali language and literature books, dictionaries, various festival periodicals of Bangladesh and West Bengal, such as Eid and Puja and other festival issues, etc.

What ideology inspired him in this initiative - he said in this context, I mainly have a few higher diploma degrees in America and Canada in accountancy. I worked as a trainer in accounting and management in Canada for a long time. However, the urge to continue the spread of the Bengali language in the mainstream and immigrant Bengali arena in Canada and the lack of availability of Bengali books gave me the strength to decide to create a Bengali book store rich in its own identity and cherished in its own identity.

It is possible to build a nation with a beautiful sense of life through literature. Therefore, this initiative is aimed at promoting Bengali language, literature and history among Canadian expatriates and future generations.

Regarding the exemplary life philosophy and belief in ideals, he said, as a Bengali, responsibility towards Bangladesh and Bengali ethnicity is from childhood. My deep involvement with books and the emotional satisfaction of teaching others good books and Sukumar Vikas in the process – this is the philosophy that got me interested in marketing and expanding Bengali books in Canada. Reverend Prof. Abu Sayeed's sense of life is my role model.

When asked about the collection of Bengali books of his institution, he said, "We have in our collection memorable and popular novels, poems, translated stories, books suitable for readers of all ages of two Bengali writers." The collection contains various religious books written in Bengali language including learning Bengali alphabet, math and counting, rhymes, poetry and story books for children and fiction, non-fiction, all kinds of novels, stories and poems for teenagers. Orders are taken according to the needs of the readers. Cherish the Bengali culture and history-heritage such as pottery, terracotta, bamboo, rattan and wooden hearth furniture, paintings and gift items, Bangladeshi flag and flag embroidered t-shirts, souvenirs, lungi, towels etc. I don't stock products that don't hold or cherish the heritage-history of Bangladesh.

Talking about his birth, family, education and memorable moments, he said, I was born in August 1954 in Chandpur district of Greater Comilla. I completed my post graduate degree with honors from Dhaka University's Department of Accountancy. Although I had little contact with the language and culture of my subject of study, my indomitable passion for the Bengali language and tradition kept me attracted. My educational life spans about 35 years with several professional diplomas in accounting and management at home and abroad to expand efficiency.

I am the proud father of three daughters in a marriage of 43 years. The daughters are all married and live in Toronto with their husbands and children. My wife is not only my life partner but also my business partner all the time. My memorable moment was entering married life and 'saying Qabul in front of Kazi.' Another memorable event was 'mourning the death of parents.'

My retirement is too short to match. According to me retirement is basically brainwashing for tomorrow. He said about favorite writers, almost all writers of two Bengals are my favorite. But not everyone's writing is as good as mine. Beautiful writing attracts more. On the list of interest are Shishendu Mukhopadhyay, Syed Mujtaba Ali, Jasimuddin, Abdullah Abu Saeed and others. You can say my hobbies are traveling, shopping and collecting good books and teaching others. The future plan is to establish a Bengali library in Toronto in collaboration with Bengali literature enthusiasts and culture lovers in Canada.

His opinion about publications and researches based on liberation war in Bangladesh is 'Research based on liberation war is definitely happening. But the reality is that more people are showing up or being politically influenced than real research. Which in my opinion is a venture without proper direction. We have to work from the position of neutral and unabashed patriotism based on the Great Liberation War.

Referring to obstacles in the organization's progress, he says, "My experience of achievement was both hard-hitting and encouraging." I have had to burn a lot of wood to get Bengali books to their current acceptable place as a mainstream commercial product in Canada. Canada has had and continues to pay thousands of dollars in subsidies. But due to my hobby or patriotism, no obstacle can hold me back and I did not give up.

A good book teaches us to form a pure mind and to think pure. It is with this sense in mind that Anwar Doha has advanced to Toronto. On a short visit to Toronto and every time we visited Anwar Doha's shop, he filled us with warm sincerity and family hospitality. I write important reading and buying instructions and book gifts.

In our conversation, Anargal, a gifted personality, a kind-hearted and patriotic person, spoke about the valuable aspects of the unheard history of Bangladesh. May the initiative of this person, bright and self-confident, with the history and tradition of the Bengali language in his heart, achieve long-term success. Anwar Dohar's long journey of Bengali books in Canada's mainstream has become a meeting place for many classic Bengali literary, cultural and intellectuals living in Canada and visiting Canada at ATN Megastore Granthnird. And Canada's Bengali literature, history lovers, expatriate readers-writers and immigrant readers find the country's own self-identity rich thoughts. Anwar Doha did not know that the number of buyers of Bengali books in Canada has decreased slightly during the Covid pandemic.

It is our hope that Bengali expatriates in Canada and North America will buy books from his institution, and Bengali speakers and Bangladeshis will support Anwar Doha's unique initiative to change their ethnic self-identity and caste thinking.

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