Sikander Abu Zafar -The Asian Age

Sikander Abu Zafar   was a Bangladeshi litterateur and journalist. He was born on 19 Mar 1919 at Tentulia in Satkhira (greater Khulna) Bengal ,  Bangladesh where his grandfather Syed Alam Shah Hashemi had settled after coming from Peshwar in Pakistan. His full name is Syed Al Hashemi Abu Zafar Muhammad Bakht Sikander.

He came to Dhaka from Kolkata in 1950 and worked as a journalist for the Daily nabajug, the ittefaq, the sangbad and the Millat. He founded and edited (1959-1970) a monthly magazine called samakal. He also set up a printing press called Samakal Mudrayan and a publishing house named Samakal Prakashani in 1958.

Although he is chiefly remembered as a poet, he was also proficient in prose. His translated works include Yadur Kalas (Magical pitcher, 1959), Rubayyat: Omar Khayyam (Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, 1966), etc. He was awarded the Bangla Academy Award (1966) for his plays and the Ekushey Padak (1984, posthumous).