Humayun Ahmed

Humayun Ahmed
Ahmed in 2010
Native name	হুমায়ূন আহমেদ
Born	(1948-11-13)13 November 1948 Mohanganj, Netrokona, East Bengal (now Bangladesh)[1]
Died	19 July 2012(2012-07-19) (aged 63)[2] New York City, United States
Resting place	Nuhash Polli, Pirujali union, Gazipur District, Bangladesh[3]
Occupation	Writer, film director, professor of Chemistry, Dramatist
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Ethnicity	Bengali
Education	PhD in polymer chemistry
Alma mater	University of Dhaka North Dakota State University
Notable works	Jostnya O Jononeer Golpo (The Story of a Mother and a Moonlit Night)
Notable awards	Bangla Academy Award Ekushey Padak
Years active	1972–2012
Spouse	Gultekin Khan (m. 1976; div. 2003) Meher Afroz Shaon (m. 2005)
Children	Nova Ahmed Shila Ahmed Bipasha Ahmed Nuhash Ahmed Nishad Ahmed Ninit Ahmed
Relatives	Muhammad Zafar Iqbal (brother) Ahsan Habib (brother)
Signature

Humayun Ahmed (pronounced: [ɦumae̯un aɦmed̪]; 13 November 1948 – 19 July 2012) was a Bangladeshi writer, dramatist, screenwriter, and filmmaker.^[4] His breakthrough was his debut novel Nondito Noroke published in 1972.^[5] He wrote over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, all of which were bestsellers in Bangladesh.^[6][7] Ahmed's writing style is characterized as magical realism.^[8] His books were the top sellers at the Ekushey Book Fair during the 1990s and 2000s.^[9] He won the Bangla Academy Award and the Ekushey Padak award for his contribution to Bengali literature.

In the early 1990s, Ahmed emerged as a filmmaker. He went on to make a total of eight films - each based on his own novels. He received six Bangladesh National Film Awards in different categories for the films Daruchini Dwip, Aguner Poroshmoni and Ghetuputra Komola.

Early life and background

Ahmed was born in Kutubpur, Mymensingh to Foyzur Rahman Ahmed (1921–1971) and Ayesha Foyez (née Khatun) (1930–2014).^[10][11] Foyzur served as a sub-divisional police officer in Pirojpur District and was killed in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War.^[12] In 2011, politician Delwar Hossain Sayeedi was put on trial for the killing but was acquitted of the charge in 2013 due to a lack of evidence.^[13][14] Humayun's brother, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, is a writer and academician. Another brother, Ahsan Habib, became a cartoonist. He had three sisters – Sufia Haider, Momtaz Shahid and Rukhsana Ahmed.^[15]

During his childhood, Ahmed lived in Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong, Bogra,Dinajpur and Panchagarh where his father was on official assignment.^[11]

Education and early career

Ahmed studied in Chittagong Collegiate School.^[16] He eventually passed his Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination from Bogra Zilla School in 1967 and was listed as second in merit by the Rajshahi Education Board.^[17] He passed his Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) examination from Dhaka College in 1969.

Ahmed then attended the University of Dhaka and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and later with a Master of Science degree. He then worked as a lecturer at the Bangladesh Agricultural University for six months following which he joined Dhaka College to teach Chemistry. Soon after, he went to the United States to earn his Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from North Dakota State University.^[17]

Works

Novels

Ahmed’s debut novel Nondito Noroke (In Blissful Hell) was published in 1972 while he was still a university student.^[18][19][20] From his very first novel, his themes included the aspirations of average middle-class urban families and portrayed quintessential moments of their lives.^[19] His second novel was Shonkhonil Karagar.^[21]

Ahmed wrote fictional series featuring recurring characters such as Himu (15 novels), Misir Ali (10 novels) and less frequently, Shubhro.^[21] He wrote several novels based on the Bangladesh Liberation War – Aguner Poroshmoni, Srabon Megher Din, and Jyotsna O Jononir Golpo.^[21] His romantic novels included: Badol Diner Prothom Kodom Phool, Noboni, Aj Dupure Tomar Nimontran, and Tumi Amai Dekechhile Chhutir Nimontrane.^[21]

Ahmed wrote four autobiographies - Hotel Graver Inn, Amar Chelebela, Rong Pencil and Fountain Pen.^{[22][23][24][25]}

Television and film

Ahmed's first television drama was Prothom Prohor (1983), directed by Nawazesh Ali Khan.^[26] His first drama serial was Ei Shob Din Ratri (1985). This was followed by the comedy series Bohubrihi (1988), the historical drama series Ayomoy (1988), the urban drama series Kothao Keu Nei (1990), Nokkhotrer Raat (1996), and Aaj Robibar (1999). In addition, he made single episode dramas, most notably Nimful.

Ahmed directed films based on his own stories. His first film, Aguner Poroshmoni, based on the Bangladesh Liberation War, won the National Film Award in a total of eight categories, including the award for Best Picture and Best Director.^[27][28] Another film Shyamal Chhaya was also based on the same war.^[29] His last directed film, Ghetuputra Kamola, the story of a teenage boy, was set in the colonial period.^[30]

Shyamol Chhaya and Ghetuputra Kamola were selected as the Bangladeshi entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 and 2012 respectively, but were not nominated.^[31][32]

Ahmed also wrote songs for some of his own films and plays including "Ami Aaj Bhejabo Chokh Somudrer Joley", "Chadni Poshor Ratey", and "Amar Achey Jol".^[33]

In 2009, Ahmed served as a judge on Channel i's reality talent show Khudey Gaanraaj.^[34]

Critical response

Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus assessed Ahmed's overall impact saying: "Humayun's works are the most profound and most fruitful that literature has experienced since the time of Tagore and Nazrul."^[35] Similarly, according to poet Al Mahmud, “one golden age of Bengali literature ended with Tagore and Nazrul and another began" with Ahmed.^[35] Writer Imdadul Haq Milon considered him to be "the almighty lord of Bengali literature, controlling all their actions and thoughts".^[35] Dawn, Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper, referred to him as the cultural legend of Bangladesh.^[36] Sunil Gangopadhyay described him as the most popular writer in the Bengali language for a century^[37] and according to him, Ahmed was even more popular than Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.^[38]

Personal life

Ahmed married Gultekin Khan in 1976.^[27][28][39] Together they had three daughters, Nova, Shila and Bipasha, and one son, Nuhash. Shila Ahmed went on to become a television and film actress. In 2003, Ahmed divorced Gultekin. He then married actress Meher Afroz Shaon in 2005. He had two sons from the second marriage, Nishad and Ninit.^[40]

Cancer and death

Ahmed had open heart surgery at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.^[41] A few years later, during a routine checkup, doctors found a cancerous tumor in his colon. On September 14, 2011, he was flown to Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for treatment.^[41] During his stay there, he wrote a novel, Deyal, based on the life of the first President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.^[42] In January 2012, he was appointed as a senior special adviser of the Bangladesh Mission to the United Nations.^[43]

On May 12, 2012, he returned to Bangladesh for two weeks.^[44] He died on July 19, 2012 at 11.20 PM BST at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.^[45] There was some tension in the family over the selection of his burial site, but eventually his estate, Nuhash Polli was selected.^[3][46]

Other interests

Ahmed at Nuhash Polli (2010)

In 1987, Ahmed founded an estate called Nuhash Polli near Pijulia village, in Gazipur Sadar Upazila of Gazipur District,^[47] which grew to cover 40 bigha^[47] (approximately 14 acres). He would spend much of his time at the estate when he was in Bangladesh. He formed a collection of statues there by local artist Asaduzzaman Khan and another of plants from around the world, particularly medicinal and fruit-bearing trees.^[47]

Legacy

Exim Bank (Bangladesh), a commercial bank and Anyadin, an entertainment magazine jointly introduced an award program, Humayun Ahmed Sahitya Puruskar, which awarded to two writers every year on November 12.^[48]

Filmography

Bibliography

In Bengali

In English

• 1971: A Novel. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Mowla Bros. 1993. ISBN 9789844100138. 
• In Blissfull Hell. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Somoi Prokashan. 1993. ISBN 9789844580459. 
• Gouripur Junction. Dhaka, Bangladesh: Anyaprokash. 2007. ISBN 9789848684382. 

Awards

Ahmed signing books (2010)

• 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)
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Story (1994)
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Film (1994)
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Dialogue (1994)
• Ekushey Padak (1994)
• Sheltech Award (2007)^[58]
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Screenplay (2007)
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Director (2012)
• Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Screenplay (2012)

References

Further reading

• "Humayun Ahmed, 1948–". The South Asian Literary Recordings Project. The Library of Congress. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2012. 
• Tamanna Khan (27 July 2012). "People's Writer". Star Weekend Magazine. 11 (30). The Daily Star. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Humayun Ahmed.

• Humayun Ahmed at the Internet Movie Database