Humayun Ahmed (November 13, 1947 - July 19, 2012) was one of the most popular Bengali novelists of the twentieth century. He is considered as the best writer after the independence of Bangladesh.
He is simultaneously a novelist, short story writer, playwright and lyricist. He is said to be the pioneer of modern Bengali science fiction literature. He is also acclaimed as a drama and film director. The number of his published books is more than two hundred. He is the father of a new style of dialogue in Bengali fiction. Some of his books have been translated into many languages of the world, some of them are included in the school-college university curriculum. From the late seventies until his death, he was an unrivaled craftsman of Bengali fiction. The popularity of his stories and novels during this period was incomparable. The characters Himu and Miss Ali created by him have deeply overwhelmed the youth of Bangladesh. His films have received immense audience popularity. But his television dramas were the most popular. Although not in large numbers, his songs also gained special popularity. One of his novels is Nandit Narke, Madhyahan, Jochna and Janani's story, Matal Hawa etc. Some of his films are Dui Duari, Shravan Megher Din, Ghentuputra Kamala etc. He was a long time professor in the Department of Chemistry, Dhaka University. He left teaching for the sake of writing and making films. He was detained by the Pakistani army during the Bangladesh War of Liberation in 1971 and shot dead after being tortured. He miraculously survived. Humayun Ahmed was born on 13 November 1948 in Kutubpur, Kendua, Netrokona sub-division of the then Mymensingh district of East Pakistan. His father Faizur Rahman Ahmed and mother Ayesha Fayez. His father was a police officer and he was martyred during the war of liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 while on duty as SDPO (Sub-Divisional Police Officer) of the then Pirojpur subdivision. His father used to write in newspapers. He also published a book during his stay in Bogra. The name of the book is Island Neva in whose house. Although his mother was not accustomed to writing, he wrote an autobiography entitled Life as It Is. His younger brother Muhammad Zafar Iqbal is a science teacher and novelist in the country; The youngest brother Ahsan Habib is a prolific writer and cartoonist. It is known from his novels that Humayun Ahmed was named Shamsur Rahman as a child; Nickname Kajal. His father (Faizur Rahman) named his son Shamsur Rahman after himself. Later he changed the name of his son to Humayun Ahmed. In the words of Humayun Ahmed, his father liked to change the names of his sons and daughters. His younger brother Muhammad Zafar Iqbal was earlier named Babul and younger sister Sufia was named Shefali. While in Chittagong in 1972-84, Humayun Ahmed's name was Bachchu. He was diagnosed with colon cancer in September 2011 while undergoing medical treatment in Singapore. He was treated at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. However, as the tumor did not spread outside, his treatment was easily possible at first, but it soon got out of control. He was given chemotherapy in 12 stages. Although he improved somewhat after the surgery, his condition deteriorated rapidly as he was attacked by an unknown virus at the last minute. Humayun Ahmed died on 19 July 2012 after being artificially placed on live support. The illustrious author died at 11:20 a.m. local time on July 19, 2012 at Bellevue Hospital in New York after nine months of treatment for colon cancer. He was buried in Nuhash Palli. His death caused an unprecedented outcry among all classes of people in Bangladesh. His death created a vacuum in Bengali literature and film.
