Londoni

Family in the spotlight

হুমায়ূন আহমেদ was born to Ayesha Foyez and Foyzur Rahman, a high-ranked police officer and writer who was killed in 1971's liberation war of Bangladesh.

His younger brother Muhammed Zafar Iqbal is also a famous writer and professor of Shahjalal University, Sylhet. Another brother, Ahsan Habib (cartoonist), is the editor of the only cartoon magazine of Bangladesh, Unmad.

Humayun Ahmed was married to Gultekin, granddaughter of Principal Ibrahim Khan, in 1973. They had five children, but were divorced in 2003. His seconnd marriage to model actress Meher Afroz Shaon, 30 years his younger, proved highly controversial as she was his daughter's best friend. They have a young son called Nishad.

After graduating from the University of Dhaka, Ahmed joined the Department of Chemistry in the same university as a professor. He obtained his PhD in polymer chemistry from North Dakota State University, USA. But now he is a full-time author and movie-maker.

Imaginative author

Humayun Ahmed has written over 150 books.

His writing often shows a fascination for creating stories around supernatural events; his style is characterized as magic realism, with many references to the moon, and humour accompanying his astute social observation.

Humour is a common characteristic in all my siblings. As a nation, we also love humour a lot. But, there are many authors who consciously avoid humour as they think humour will make his work taken lightly. I do not agree with them. So the readers find the humour in my writing.

Now-a-days, I feel a little frustrated in the full-moon nights, as time is going by I wonder how many full moons are left for me.

Humayun Ahmed

His first novel "Nondito Noroke" became an instant hit and catapulted him to stardom. He, along with younger brother Zafar Iqbal are largely responsible for the rise of science fiction in Bangladesh.

Fictional characters such as Himu, Shubro, and Misir Ali have become famous in Bangladesh popular culture.

There are even Himu-sections in Mukti psychotherapy clinic for the patients who think they are Himu. Once, I was asked to pay a visit to Mukti to speak with the self proclaiming Himus. The authorities of the clinic introduced the patients to me. But, they did not pay any attention towards me, they are more concerned with Himu and want to be like him. Then, I realised that Himu is perhaps just a cause. Even if they didn’t know Himu they would have still ended up there, being someone else.

Humayun Ahmed

Scar of Bangladesh liberation war

Aged 23 and as the eldest boy in his family Humayun Ahmed had to protect his family and go into hiding with everyone after his dad was cold bloodily killed by Pakistani Army during Bangladesh's liberation war.

I remember that my only shirt got stolen and I would wait for my brother Humayun to come back home, so that I could wear his only shirt to go out. When Humayun got married, we didn’t have any furniture, so we went out and bought some wood and a saw and made some shelves.

Younger brother Muhammed Zafar Iqbal

Naturally this affected him deeply and is a common recurring theme in many of his work.

Plays such as "1971" and novels such as "Aguner Parashmoni" (The Touchstone of Fire), "Shyamal Chhaya" (Green Shadows), and "Jochhna O Jananir Galpo" (The Tale of Moonlight and the Mother) openly portrays his inner turmoils and scars.

His televised drama "Bohubrihi" was one of the most successful productions of Bangladesh Television, and Humayun Ahmed later developed this into a novel with the same name. Even here there are references to the 1971 war: it ends with a character training parrots to say "tui rajakar, "you are a traitor," with the goal of sending these parrots to Bangladeshi collaborators during the war.

National award & Oscar nomination

His first film, "Aguner Parashmoni", based on the Bangladesh Liberation War, received critical acclaim and won the National Film Award in eight categories, including Best Picture and Best Director. The theme of the Liberation War often comes across in his stories, often drawing upon Ahmed's in-depth memories of that war.

Ahmed's film "Shyamal Chhaya" was submitted by Bangladesh for Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. It was an entertaining movie with a storyline around the war of liberation war of 1971 and portrayed a realistic picture of the liberation war without malice and prejudice.

Videos of

Don't miss...

• Download books by Humayun Ahmed
• Facebook group for Humayun Ahmed
• Interview by Imdadul Haque Milon

Photos of Humayun Ahmed

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