Humayun Ahmed's Biodata

 

Native name  :    হুমায়ূন আহমেদ
Born   :              13 November 1948

Birth Place:        Kutubpur, Kendua, Netrokona, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan[1]
Died   :               19 July 2012 (aged 63)[2]
Death Place:       New York City, United States
Resting place :   Nuhash Polli, Pirujali, Gazipur, Bangladesh[3]
Occupation :      Writer, film director, professor of chemistry, dramatist

Nationality   :     Bangladeshi
Education  :       PhD (polymer chemistry)
Alma mater    :  University of Dhaka,North Dakota State University
Notable awards  :  Bangla Academy Literary Award,Ekushey Padak
Years active   :     1972–2012
Spouse   :            Gultekin Khan (m. 1976; div. 2003)
                           Meher Afroz Shaon (m. 2005)

Children   :         Nova, Shila, Bipasha, Nuhash ,Nishad ,Ninit

Relatives :        Muhammad Zafar Iqbal (brother)
                          Ahsan Habib (brother)

 Early life and background

Ahmed was born in Kutubpur village under Kendua Upazila in Netrokona District to Foyzur Rahman Ahmed (1921–1971) and Ayesha Foyez (née Khatun) (1930–2014).[1][9][10] Foyzur served as a sub-divisional police officer in Pirojpur District and was killed in 1971 during the Bangladesh Liberation War.[11] 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.[12][13] Humayun's brother, Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, is a writer and academician. Another brother, Ahsan Habib, is a cartoonist. He had three sisters – Sufia Haider, Momtaz Shahid and Rukhsana Ahmed.[14]

During his childhood, Ahmed lived in Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong, Bogra, Dinajpur and Panchagarh where his father was on official assignment.[10]

Novels

Ahmed wrote his debut novel Nondito Noroke
(In Blissful Hell) during the 1971 Bangladesh independence war while he was a university student.[16][17] The novel was published in 1972 by the initiative of writer Ahmed Sofa under Khan Brother’s Publishers.[18][19] From his very first novel, his themes included the aspirations of average middle-class urban families and portrayed quintessential moments of their lives.[20] 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, Paap, 1971, Srabon Megher Din, and Jyotsna O Jononir Golpo.[21] His romantic novels included: Badol Diner Prothom Kodom Phool, Noboni, Krishnopoksho, Aj Dupure Tomar Nimontran, and Tumi Amai Dekechhile Chhutir Nimontrane.[21]

Ahmed wrote 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 (1997).[27]

Ahmed directed films based on his own stories. His first film, Aguner Poroshmoni (1994), 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.[28][29] Another film Shyamal Chhaya (2005) was also based on the same war.[30] His last directed film, Ghetuputra Kamola (2012), the story of a teenage boy, was set in the colonial period.[31]

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.[32][33]

In 2009, Ahmed appeared as one of two judges for the reality television music competition show Khudey Gaanraaj.[34]
Music

Ahmed composed around 40 songs which he used in his films and television dramas.[35] The songs were based on the folk music of the north-eastern part of Bangladesh.[35] His notable singles include "Lilabali Lilabali Ghoro Joubothi Shoi Go ", "'Pubali Batashey ", "Ekta Chhilo Shonar Konya
", "O Amar Ural Ponkhi Rey", "Jodi Mon Kadey", "Ke Porailo Amar Chokh-e Kolonko Kajol", "Ami Aaj Bhejabo Chokh Somudrer Joley", "Cholona Brishtitey Bhiji", "Channi Poshor Raite Jeno Amar Moron Hoy", "Hablonger Bajarey Giya" and "Konya Nachilo Rey".[35] The songs were rendered by Subir Nandi, S I Tutul, Meher Afroz Shaon and others.[35]
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."[36] Similarly, according to poet Al Mahmud, “one golden age of Bengali literature ended with Tagore and Nazrul and another began" with Ahmed.[36] Writer Imdadul Haq Milon considered him to be "the almighty lord of Bengali literature, controlling all their actions and thoughts".[36] Dawn, Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper, referred to him as the cultural legend of Bangladesh.[37] Times of India credited Humayun as "the person who single-handedly shifted the capital of Bengali literature from Kolkata to Dhaka".[36] Sunil Gangopadhyay described him as the most popular writer in the Bengali language for a century[38] and according to him, Ahmed was even more popular than Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.[39] However, during his lifetime author Shahriar Kabir dismissed him for "always speaking for the establishment."[40] Literary critic Azfar Hussain said: "I am not surprised he talks like a pro-establishment writer. I find him ignorant."[40]


Death

Ahmed had open heart surgery at Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.[43] 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.[43] During his stay there, he wrote a novel, Deyal, based on the life of the first President of Bangladesh Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.[44] In January 2012, he was appointed as a senior special adviser of the Bangladesh Mission to the United Nations.[45]

On May 12, 2012, he returned to Bangladesh for two weeks.[46] He died on July 19, 2012 at 11.20 PM BST at Bellevue Hospital in New York City.[47] There was some tension in the family over the selection of his burial site, but eventually his estate, Nuhash Palli was selected.[3][48]




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Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humayun_Ahmed