Humayun Ahmed, uncrowned Emperor in Bengali literature!

He got the love of the people when he wrote the stories. People run the streets because of love when he made Television dramas. People filled the cinema halls with love when he had made movies. When he hold the pen, he touched millions of hearts. He is a pen magician Humayun Ahmed, the man who even today resides in the hearts of Bengali speaking people.

Humayun Ahmed is considered as the best writer of the post-independence period of Bangladesh. He kept the readers of Bengal fascinated with the magic of his pen for almost 40 years. Just as the magician takes the spectator to another world by turning the black stick in his hand, so Humayun Ahmed also takes readers to another world by brushing the black pen in his hand on the white paper.

He has written novels, short stories, plays and songs simultaneously. It is very difficult in the whole world to find a writer who has made a bet in the first novel. Humayun Ahmed was one of them. When his first novel, Nandito Noroke, was published in 1972, that serves as the turning point in his life. He authored more than 200 books during his lifetime. Interestingly, all his books are recognized as best sellers in Bangladesh.

Author Humayun Ahmed was born on 13th of November of 1948 in Kutubpur upazila of Kendua village in Netrokona district. His family nickname was Kajal. Humayun Ahmed was not a very good student in his childhood. However, the situation changed since he was in the sixth grade when his love for studies began to grow. As a result, after the result of SSC examination, he secured 2nd place in the combined merit list of Rajshahi Board of Education. He also easily got a place in the merit list in HSC.

Later he took admission to the Department of Chemistry of Dhaka University. After graduating from the Department of Chemistry in 1972, he first joined the Bangladesh Agricultural University as a lecturer. Later he was appointed as a lecturer in his own chemistry department at Dhaka University. The noted author even holds a PhD in polymer science from North Dakota State University in the United States. Even though he was very popular with his students as a teacher, the pen magician retired from the teaching profession focus on his writing.

Humayun Ahmed penned the first novel called 'Nandito Naroke'. Though the novel was supposed to be published in 1971, it was published in 1972 due to the liberation war of Bangladesh. His second book is 'Shankhaneel Karagar'. He appeared in Bengali novels with a completely new techniques. He showed a new direction to Bengali novels. Bengali novels have long been associated with writers from West Bengal. Humayun Ahmed seems repaid the debt of the century from this Bengal. He alone brought the kingdom of Bengali literature from Kolkata to Bangladesh.

The fascination to Humayun Ahmed's writings lies on the interaction of the bride and groom. Humayun Ahmed used to write stories focusing on their witty conversations. This writer was born with a different ability to express very ordinary words in an extraordinary way. He showed that it is possible to create successful and quality novels without having to follow European model. He had an extraordinary ability to present the most realistic events in a very convincing way. This type of writing falls into the category of magical realism. In Humayun Ahmed's writings, the negative character also gains a lot of compassionate appearance.

He was the author of the best-selling book at the Ekushey Book Fair from 1990 until his death. This thing alone can be cited as an example of his passionate readership. Several of his books have been translated into various foreign languages. Several of his stories are also included in the school-college curriculum.

Humayun Ahmed had a magical effect on the youth of Bengal. His character Himu is often considered more popular than the writer Humayun Ahmed. Many young people imagine themselves as Himu at some point in their youth. Himu's yellow Punjabi, barefoot, vagrant life overwhelmed the youth. Also one of the best characters of Humayun Ahmed, a mysterious character like Missir Ali, a very holy character like Shuvro and a Mayaboti lover like Rupa. He is also one of the pioneers of modern Bengali science fiction. Tomader Jonno Bhalobasha is his first science fiction.

He also wrote several plays and telefilms for television. Humayun Ahmed's first TV drama 'Prothom Prohor' made him popular all over the country overnight. He is also the author of several very popular serial dramas such as Ei Shob Din Raatri, Bahubrihi, Kothao Keu Nei, Nokkhotrer Raat, Aaj Robibar,Tara Tinjon, Ure Jay Bokpokkhi, etc.

His dramas are so influential that when the execution of the main character Baker Bhai was ordered in his play 'Kothao Keu Nei', people from all over the country marched in procession to stop the execution. Posters were put up in alleys of Dhaka. It is easy to imagine the extent to which such a thing could have happened if the creation of man had been so influential. After his death the hindi dubbed 'Aaj Robibar' was aired on Star Plus in India.

He is both a filmmaker and a director in Bengali films. His first film was based on the liberation war. The name of the film was 'Aguner Parashamani '. His film 'Shravan Megher Din' is one of the best films in Bengali language. His film 'Shyamal Chhaya' competed for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film from Bangladesh in 2006. The last movie he directed was 'Ghetuputra Kamala'. His films have won several awards in various categories at the National Film Awards. He composed songs only for his movies and plays. He composed almost all the songs in his movies himself. The songs got popularity at that time.

Humayun Ahmed was married twice in his life. Her first marriage was in 1973. His first wife's name was Gulketin Ahmed. Later, in 2005, he divorced his first wife and married Meher Afroz Shaon. In private life he was a somewhat introverted man. He has a garden house built on 90 bighas of land. The name of the garden house is Nuhashpalli. He loved spending time there.

He has been awarded many prestigious awards in his life. Notable among them are- Bangla Academy Award, Ekushey Padak, National Film Award, Shishu Academy Award. On July 19, 2012, this happy writer left the world with cancer. Humayun Ahmed is not alive among us today. But his words, his thoughts, his stories, his magic are still with us. He is still an uncrowned emperor of Bengali literature.