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Humayun Ahmed chatting at nuhash polli. Photo by Faizul Latif Chowdhury.

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Humayun Ahmed

Humayun Ahmed was born on 13th November 1948 – 19 July 2012. He was a Bangladeshi politician, novelist, dramatist, screenwriter, filmmaker, songwriter, scholar, and professor. His breakthrough novel, Nondito Noroke, was published in 1972. 

He authored over 200 fiction and nonfiction books, many of which became bestsellers in Bangladesh. During the 1990s and 2000s, his books were bestsellers at the Ekushey Book Fair.  For his contributions to Bengali literature, he received the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1981 and the Ekushey Padak in 1994.

1. Ahmed went to Chittagong Collegiate School for his education

In 1965, he passed the SSC examination at Bogra Zilla School. He then completed his HSC at Dhaka College. Humayun Ahmed graduated from the University of Dhaka with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. He joined the same university as a faculty member. 

He then went on to earn a PhD in polymer chemistry from North Dakota State University. Then he returned to Bangladesh and taught chemistry at the University of Dhaka for several years. 

2. Nondito Noroke was his first published novel

During the 1971 Bangladesh independence war, Ahmed was a university student when he wrote his debut novel Nondito Noroke (In Blissful Hell). The novel was published in 1972 by Khan Brothers Publishers on the initiative of writer Ahmed Sofa.

His themes included the aspirations of average middle-class urban families and portrayed pivotal moments in their lives from his very first novel. Shonkhonil Karagar was his second novel.

3. Ahmed was a movie director

8 mm film. Photo by Denise Jans.

Nawazish Ali Khan directed Ahmed’s first television drama, Prothom Prohor (1983).  Ei Shob Din Ratri was his first drama serial (1985).  Ahmed produced and directed films based on his own stories. His first film, Aguner Poroshmoni (1994), based on the Bangladesh Liberation War, won eight awards at the 19th Bangladesh National Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. 

Shyamal Chhaya (2005) is another film based on the same war. His most recent film, Ghetuputra Kamola (2012), a story about a teenage boy set during the British colonial period, was directed by him. 

Shyamol Chhaya and Ghetuputra Kamola were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2006 and 2012, respectively, but were not nominated.

4. Professor Humayun Ahmed was a musician at heart

Musical notes. Photo by lvcandy.

He reintroduced the legacy of folk music from the northeastern part of Bangladesh (popularly known as Bhatianchol songs) and Sylhet, using it appropriately in his films and TV plays. He also wrote many songs that are particularly appealing to his fans. Those who worked closely with Ahmed shared their insights into Humayun Ahmed’s musical creations with The Daily Star.

Ahmed wrote approximately 40 songs that he used in his films and television dramas. The songs were inspired by the folk music of Bangladesh’s northwestern region.

5. One of his novels was banned

Book thrown into the trash. Photo by komta.

Humayun Ahmed’s Bengali-language books are huge bestsellers in Bangladesh and have been translated into English, Japanese, Russian, and several other languages.

Two chapters of his novel, ‘Deyal,’ were published in the newspaper, which, sparked controversy of how Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and more than a dozen members of his family were assassinated in August 1975.

The court later issued a suo moto rule, requesting that the authorities provide Ahmed with copies of relevant documents and judgments in the murder case so that Ahmed could correct the writing.

6. He had a cancerous tumour in his colon

Ahmed underwent open-heart surgery at Singapore’s Mount Elizabeth Hospital. During a routine checkup a few years later, doctors discovered a cancerous tumour in his colon. He was flown to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City for treatment on September 14, 2011.

During his stay, he wrote the novel Deyal, which is based on the lives of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Ziaur Rahman following the Bangladesh Liberation War.

He died at Bellevue Hospital in New York City on July 19, 2012. There was some family disagreement about where he should be buried, but his estate, Nuhash Palli, was eventually chosen.

7. In 1987, Ahmed established Nuhash Palli

Nuhash Palli. Photo by Masum-al-hasan.

It was named after his son Nuhash, near Pirujali village in Gazipur District, 25 kilometres from Gazipur City, which grew to cover 40 bighas (approximately 14 acres). When he was in Bangladesh, he would spend a lot of time at the estate. There, he gathered a collection of statues by local artist Asaduzzaman Khan, as well as a collection of plants from around the world, particularly medicinal and fruit-bearing trees.

Every day, hundreds of people flock to the site, which is also used for filming, to get a glimpse of the ‘world of Humayun Ahmed.’ There are no tickets required.

8. Several film adaptations of his works have been made

Following Ahmed’s death, several film adaptations of his stories are produced. Morshedul Islam’s Anil Bagchir Ekdin (2015) won six Bangladesh National Film Awards.

Meher Afroz Shaon directed Krishnopokkho (2016). She announced the production of her next film, Nokkhotrer Raat, in October 2016. Debi (2018) was made possible by a grant from the Government of Bangladesh.

9. There is an award program for writers held annually on his birthday

Exim Bank, a commercial bank, and Anyadin, an entertainment magazine, collaborated to launch the Humayun Ahmed Sahitya Puruskar award program, which would be given to two writers (an upcoming writer and a writer with significant contribution to Bangla literature) each year on Ahmed’s birthday, November 12th.

10. Ahmed is described as the most popular writer in the Bengali language

Humayun Ahmed. Photo by Mahrumoon nayeem. Wikimedia

“Humayun’s works are the most profound and fruitful that literature has experienced since the time of Tagore and Nazrul,” Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus said of Ahmed’s overall impact.

Similarly, “one golden age of Bengali literature ended with Tagore and Nazrul, and another began” with Ahmed, according to poet Al Mahmud.  According to writer Imdadul Haq Milan, he was “the almighty lord of Bengali literature, controlling all their actions and thoughts.”  The cultural legend of Bangladesh, according to Dawn, Pakistan’s oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper.