A few hours ago the most famous Bangladeshi writer and film maker during the past three decades died from colon cancer leaving millions of fans mourning. Humayun Ahmed (64) was a popular author, dramatist and film director who captivated millions of people with his famous characters like Himu, Misir Ali, Baker Bhai etc in both literature and film/drama fields.
Humayun Ahmed studied in the Dhaka University and joined as a Lecturer in Chemistry in his Alma Mater. Later he obtained a PhD degree in polymer chemistry from the North Dakota State University in the United States. In the mid 1990s he left his job at the university to devote all his time to writing and production of film.
When his first novel Nandita Noroke (In A Blissful Hell) was published in the early seventies, he came into limelight. His second fiction "Shankhanil Karagar" (Shankhanil prison) is dubbed as one of the greatest work of fiction in the world by his compatriots. He has published more than 200 fictions and dramas which are well read among the Bangladeshis. During the 1980s he started writing dramas for the Television. TV dramas such as "Eisob Dinratri" (These days and nights), "Bohubrihi", "Kothao keu nei" etc. were immensely popular in the country. He ventured into film making during the 1990s both as an author and director. His first film "Aguner Parashmoni" (Philosopher stone of fire) won the National Film Award in total eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Tributes are pouring in the social networking sites by his mourning fans. Here are some of the reactions in Twitter:
Many acknowledge how fictions of Humayun made new readers. Sajib writes in another post:
* 1971
* Gouripur Junction
Also published in Global Voices Online
Humayun Ahmed studied in the Dhaka University and joined as a Lecturer in Chemistry in his Alma Mater. Later he obtained a PhD degree in polymer chemistry from the North Dakota State University in the United States. In the mid 1990s he left his job at the university to devote all his time to writing and production of film.
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| Humayun Ahmed. Image courtesy Wikipedia. From public domain. |
Tributes are pouring in the social networking sites by his mourning fans. Here are some of the reactions in Twitter:
@Bhalomanush: Just heard Humayun Ahmed, a stalwart of #Bangla literature, is no more... Today we are all Himu. pic.twitter.com/gbty0UfL
@iv1ii (Iyad Chowdhury): Rest in peace Humayun Ahmed. You'll be missed. Bangladesh lost one of it's greatest sons. #HumayunAhmed #Bangladesh #Bangla #literature
@hsami (Hassan Sami Adnan): R.I.P. Dr. Humayun Ahmed. A true legend of modern Bengali literature. A huge loss for us all that'll never be replaced.
@shirinAkhter: People like Humayun Ahmed never dies.He will live as long as the Bangla literature will live. he has a space in every booklovers heart.RIPAminul Islam Sajib, an eager fan, expresses in one line his feelings "For Bangladesh, it’s like the moment when pop singer Michael Jackson died". He narrates in his blog:
He wrote many stories, short stories and novels that touched our minds. [..] He made characters. Characters that we — Bengalis — know like the world knows superheros. He wasn’t limited to any single genre. He wrote horror, he wrote thriller, he wrote mystery, he wrote romance, he combined many genres in one single story. He had that ability. He had the amazing gift to get into the readers’ mind and force them to keep reading until the story is finished. He was not only a writer, but also a film director. Yes, many writers can write so that readers can draw the image on their mind. But not everyone can grab that image from the readers’ mind and come up with an exact screen version of that. Apparently, Humayun Ahmed knew how to do it.
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| Image courtesy Radio Foorti. A collage from a picture of Faisal Masum. |
He turned many people into bookworms just by the magic of his words.Humayun Ahmed, as a person, was not far from controversy although he had a huge number of passionate devotees. Some claim that his work was populist but had lesser literary merit than his compatriots. However, Nazrul Islam writes in Facebook:
যে লেখকের মধ্যে কোটি মানুষ নিজের কণ্ঠ খুঁজে পান... তাঁর মৃত্যু বেদনা ছাড়া আর কিছু দেয় না! The writer, in whom millions of fans find their voice...only brings pain with his demise..Proloy Hasan acknowledges in Facebook:
একটা পুরো জাতিকে, বিপুল সংখ্যক মানুষকে, একটা তরুন প্রজন্মকে বইমুখী করা, পরিবারের লোকদের হলমুখী করা, এসব বিরল ও অসম্ভব কঠিন কাজগুলো তিনি করে গেছেন। সবাই এটা পারেন না।
He has done many rare and challenging feats like making a nation, a large number of people, especially the young readers of fictions, audience of theaters. Not everybody can do it.Here are some of his works translated into English:
* 1971
* Gouripur Junction
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