Humayun Ahmed

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হুমায়ূন আহমেদ
Humayun Ahmed
Born 13 November 1948 (1948-11-13) (age 63)
Kutubpur, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Occupation Writer, Film-maker
Nationality Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladeshi
Ethnicity Bengali
Education Ph. D. in polymer chemistry
Alma mater University of Dhaka and North Dakota State University
Genres novel, short story, drama, screenplay, autobiography, column
Subjects magic realism, social life, nature's mystery, wish-fulfillment
Notable work(s) Jostnya O Jononeer Golpo (The Story of a Mother and a Moonlit Night)
Notable award(s) Bangla Academy Award, Ekushey Padak
Spouse(s) Gultekin (1973-2003; divorced)
Shaon Ahmed (2003–present)
Children Nova, Sheela, Bipasha, Nuhash, Nishad, Ninit
Relative(s) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, Ahsan Habib

Humayun Ahmed (Bengali: হুমায়ূন আহমেদ) (born 1948) is a Bangladeshi author, dramatist and director of film and television. He emerged in the Bengali,literary world in early 1970s and over the decade became the most popular fiction writer of the country. He broke through with the help of Ahmed Sofa[1] since the publication of his first novel, Nandita Naraké. He is a former associate professor of Department of Chemistry at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In 2012, Humayun Ahmed was appointed as special adviser to the Bangladesh Mission in United Nations.[2]

Following the publication of his debut novel, Ahmed continually wrote the best selling novels, specially in the annual book fair held in the month of February.[3]

He has also worked as a screenwriter for television dramas since the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he entered the film industry and produced several commercially successful films.[citation needed]

Humayun Ahmed often shows a fascination for creating stories around supernatural events; his style is characterized as magic realism.[4]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Humayun Ahmed was born in Kutubpur, in Netrokona,[5] East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh). His father, Foyzur Rahman Ahmed, a police officer and writer, was killed by Pakistani military force during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. His mother is Ayesha Foyez. Humayun's younger brother, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, a university professor, is also a writer of mostly science fiction genre and a newspaper columnist.[6] Another brother, Ahsan Habib, is a painter and the editor of Unmad, a cartoon magazine. Ahmed was married to Gultekin, granddaughter of Principal Ibrahim Khan, in 1973. The couple got divorced in 2003. Ahmed later married his long time affair, a TV actress, Meher Afroz Shaon.

[edit] Education, Profession

Humayun Ahmed went to many schools in Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong, Dinajpur and Bogra as his father lived in many place upon official assignment. He passed the School Certificate examination as a student of Bogra Zilla School. He stood second in the merit list in the Rajshahi Education Board. Later he was admitted to the Dhaka College from where he passed the Intermediate examination. He planned to study economics but suddenly changed his mind and got admitted into the Dhaka University to study Chemistry. He passed both BSc (Honours) and MSC with First Class. He joined the Dhaka University as a Lecturer in Chemistry. Later he went to the North Dakota State University in the United States to study for PhD. After having studied physical chemistry for two years he was impressed by the lecture of a professor of polymer chemistry; and eventually secured a PhD degree in polymer chemistry. He returned to Bangladesh and resumed teaching at the Dhaka University. He retired as a teacher around mid 1990s to devote all his time to writing and production of film.

[edit] Literature

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Ahmed wrote his first novel, Nondito Noroke, while he was still a student in University of Dhaka. His second novel, Shankhanil Karagar (The Conch-blue Prison), was later made into a film by Nasiruddin Yusuf. Ahmed went on to become one of the most prolific writers in Bengali literature. More than two hundred and twenty novels have been published to date.

His work focuses mostly on the middle class urban life.[citation needed]

Ahmed is often credited with creating or maturing many literary genres in Bangladesh.[by whom?] The rise of Bengali science fiction can largely be attributed to Humayun Ahmed and his younger brother, Iqbal.

Though set in the realities of middle class life, many of Ahmed's works display a particular penchant for the mysterious and unexplained. He himself and his literature are often referred[by whom?] to as "moon-struck," and references to the full moon in his prose are numerous. In almost every one of Ahmed's novels, there is at least one character who possesses an extraordinary milk of kindness—a characteristic of Ahmed’s writing. In this matter he is obviously influenced by Stenbeck. Also, he is prone to create funny characters through which he reveals social realities and passes on his message.

[edit] Translation work

Ahmed translated three books from English to Bengali. They were Omanush, Samrat and The Exorcist. Qazi Anwar Hussain, the publisher of Sheba Prokashoni, paid him 300 Taka for each of the work.[citation needed]

[edit] Liberation war related work

A recurring theme in Ahmed's literature is the Bangladesh Liberation War. It affected him personally since his father was killed by the Pakistan Army during that time. Inspired by it he wrote a play called 1971 and several novels such as Aguner Parashmoni (The Touchstone of Fire), Shyamal Chhaya (Green Shadows), and Jochhna O Jananir Galpo (The Tale of Moonlight and the Mother), Anil Bagchir Ek Din, Showrav. He also mentioned war related stories in his televised dramas (e.g. Bahubrihi).

[edit] Academic work

Ahmed wrote a book on quantum chemistry named কোয়ান্টাম রসায়ন (Quantum Chemsitry) in Bengali. It was published by Kakoli Prakashoni.

[edit] Television and film

His first television drama was Ei Shob Din Ratri (Tale of our daily lives), and was followed by the comedy series Bohubrihi, the historical drama series Ayomoy, and the urban drama series Kothao Keu Nei (Nobody Anywhere). The last one featured an idealistic gang leader named Baker Bhai, who was wrongly convicted and executed. Baker Bhai became such a popular character that before the last episode was aired, people across the country brought out processions protesting his death sentence; public prayers and death anniversaries have been observed for this fictional character by Ahmed's fans. Nakshatrer Raat (The Night of the Stars) was a long serialized televised drama that explored many facets of modern human life and relationship.

Ahmed explored the film industry both as an author and director. He directs films based on his own stories. His first film, "Aguner Parashmoni", based on the liberation war, won the National Film Award in total eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. The theme of the Liberation War often comes across in his stories, often drawing upon Ahmed's in-depth memories of that war.

Ahmed's film Shyamal Chhaya was submitted by Bangladesh for Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. This film was also based on the liberation war of 1971. It portrayed a realistic picture of the liberation war without malice and prejudice.[7]

Ahmed also wrote songs for few of his own films and plays. Some of the notables are titled as Ami Aaj Bhejabo Chokh Somudrer Joley, Chadni Poshor Ratey and Amaaar Achey Jol.

[edit] Literary style

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Until recently Bengali fiction has largely been dominated by the works and style of Bengali writers from the West Bengal. Humayun Ahmed distinguished himself with a unique simple literary diction that quickly became popular. His prose style is lucid and he resorts to dialogues rather than narration by an all-knowing story-teller. As a result his writing is compact and can be easily understood by a large audience. However, he depends heavily on a few stereotypical characters which behave in a predictable way, but are, nevertheless, very popular, because of the romanticism they carry. He has dealt with rural as well as urban life with equal intensity of observation. Frequently, he captures contemporary issues in his writings from a different angle. He is an optimist who is prone to focus on the positive aspects of human beings. His portrayal of a hooligan or a prostitute is usually non-judgmental. His human touch to stories hugely appeals to emotional Bengali psychology. Also, his storylines often blend reality with supernatural episodes. This blend is in some ways similar to magic realism. In the contemporary literary world, perhaps none exists today who writes as spontaneously as Humayun Ahmed [8]

[edit] Awards

  • Lekhak Shibir Prize (1973)
  • Bangla Academy Award (1981)
  • Shishu Academy Award
  • Jainul Abedin Gold Medal
  • Michael Madhusudan Medal (1987)
  • Bacsas Prize (1988)
  • Humayun Qadir Memorial Prize (1990)
  • National Film Award (Best Story 1993, Best Film 1994, Best Dialogue 1994)
  • Ekushe Podok (1994)
  • ShellTec Award (2007) [9]

[edit] Filmography

Name of FIlm Director Story
Shonkhonil Karagar No Yes
Aguner proshmoni Yes Yes
Srabon megher din Yes Yes
Dui Duari Yes Yes
Chondrokotha Yes Yes
Noi no. Bipod shonket Yes Yes
Amar Ache Jol Yes Yes
Nirontor No Yes
Priotomeshu No Yes
Daruchini Dip No Yes
Shamol Chaya Yes Yes
Ghetuputra Kamola Yes Yes

[edit] Television drama

[edit] Books in English translation

  • 1971
  • Gouripur Junction (2008)
  • In Blissfull Hell (Somoy Prokashon, January, 2003)

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Ahmed Sofa: The death of an iconoclast } url = http://www.mukto-mona.com/personalities/ahmed_sofa/obituary.htm". 
  2. ^ The Daily Star. Retrieved 14 January, 2012.
  3. ^ Ahsan, Shamim (2004-02-21). "A Grand Convergence of Minds". The Daily Star. http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2004/02/02/event.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
  4. ^ Faizul Latif Chowdhury (2007), Review of Lilaboti, Prothom Alo, Dhaka.
  5. ^ Earlier Netrokona was a sub-division of Mymensingh district.
  6. ^ Shamim Ahsan : Igniting Children's Imagination, The Daily Star, Vol. 1, No. 112, 2003, Dhaka
  7. ^ Shukla Mirza, 'Kudos to Humayun Ahmed', The Daily Star, 10 december 2004, Dhaka.
  8. ^ Chowdhury, F. L. Humayun Ahmed : A Short Introduciton, Desh Prokshan, 2006, Dhaka.
  9. ^ [1][dead link]

[edit] External links

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