Humayun Ahmed’s 72nd birth anniversary today

Today is the 72nd birth anniversary of legendary writer, author, lyricist, academician, screenwriter, playwright and filmmaker Humayun Ahmed.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, his birth anniversary is being celebrated by admirers and various organisations through limited events and virtual arrangements. His family members and admirers are set to observe his birth anniversary today.

Actress and Humayun Ahmed’s widow Meher Afroz Shaon, along with their sons, went to place floral wreaths on his grave at Nuhashpalli, Gazipur in the morning.

One of the most influential Bangla writers of the modern time, Humayun Ahmed is often credited with revitalising Bangla literature and is best known for his “magic-realism” based writing.

Born on November 13, 1948 in Kutubpur village in Mymensingh, Humayun Ahmed went on to became a staple of Bangladeshi literature. Making his breakthrough with the debut novel Nondito Noroke (1972), Humayun wrote over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, all of which were bestsellers in Bangladesh and are still popular among his readers. His books were the top sellers at the Ekushey Book Fair during the ‘90s and 2000s.

He received the Ekushey Padak, the Bangla Academy Award, Lekhak Shibir Award, Shishu Academy Award, Michael Madhusudan Padak, Bachsas Award and many more, for his outstanding contributions to Bangla culture and entertainment.

As a successful content-maker in television, Humayun debuted with his drama Prothom Prohor for Bangladesh Television (BTV).  His successful journey in television continued with popular drama serials Ei Shob Din Ratri, Bohubrihi, Ayomoy, Nokkhotrer Raat, Aaj Robibar, and Kothao Keu Nei.

Humayun Ahmed also explored success as a filmmaker in the early ‘90s and went on to make a total of eight films — each based on his own novels. Two of his films, Syamol Chhaya (2004) and Ghetuputra Komola (2012) were the official Bangladeshi submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in their respective years.

He received seven Bangladesh National Film Awards in different categories for the films.

Humayun Ahmed died of colorectal cancer at Bellevue Hospital in New York City in July 2012.