Humayun Ahmed

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Nationality Bangladesh
Birth 13 november 1948
Death 19 july 2012 (at 63 years) at New York City (USA)

Humayun Ahmed (Bengali: হুমায়ূন আহমেদ; 13 November 1948 – 19 July 2012) was a Bangladeshi author, dramatist, screenwriter, playwright and filmmaker. Dawn referred to him as the cultural legend of Bangladesh. Humayun reached peak of his fame with the publication of his novel Nondito Noroke (In Blissful Hell) in 1972, which remains one of his most famous works, winning admiration from literary critics, including Dr. Ahmed Sarif. He wrote over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, all of which were bestsellers in Bangladesh. In recognition to the works of Humayun, Times of India wrote Humayun was a custodian of the Bangladeshi literary culture whose contribution single-handedly shifted the capital of Bengali literature from Kolkata to Dhaka without any war or revolution. Ahmed's writing style was characterized as magic realism. Sunil Ganguly described him as the most popular writer in the Bengali language for a century and according to him, Ahmed was even more popular than Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Ahmed's books have been the top sellers at the Ekushey Book Fair during the 1990s and 2000s.

Biography

Early life
Humayun Ahmed was born on 13 November 1948 in Mohongonj, Netrokona, but his village home is Kutubpur, Mymensingh, Bangladesh (then East Pakistan). His father, Faizur Rahman Ahmed, a police officer and writer, was killed by Pakistani military during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971, and his mother is Ayesha Foyez. Humayun's younger brother, Muhammed Zafar Iqbal, a university professor, is also a writer of mostly science fiction genre and a newspaper columnist. Another brother, Ahsan Habib, is a painter and the editor of Unmad, a cartoon magazine.

Education and early career
Ahmed went to schools in Sylhet, Comilla, Chittagong, Dinajpur and Bogra as his father lived in different places upon official assignment. Memories of these places have often been depicted in his writings. Ahmed passed SSC exam from Bogra Zilla School in 1965. He stood second in the merit list in Rajshahi Education Board. He passed HSC exam from Dhaka College in 1967. He studied Chemistry in Dhaka University and earned BSc (Honors) and MSc with First Class distinction.

Upon graduation Ahmed joined Bangladesh Agricultural University as a lecturer. After six months he joined Dhaka University as a faculty of the Department of Chemistry. Later he attended North Dakota State University for his PhD studies. He grew his interest in Polymer Chemistry and earned his PhD in that subject. He returned to Bangladesh and resumed his teaching career in Dhaka University. In mid 1990s he left the faculty job to devote all his time to writing and film production.

Marriages and Personal Life
In 1973, Humayun Ahmed married Gultekin, granddaughter of Principal Ibrahim Khan.

They had three daughters — Nova, Sheela, Bipasha and one son — Nuhash. Humayun started to have an affair with Meher Afroz Shaon from middle of 1990s. Shaon is a TV actress and then friend of his second daughter. Later, in 2003, Humayun divorced Gultekin and married Shaon in 2005. From the second marriage he had two sons — Nishad and Ninit.

Death
In 2011 Ahmed had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He died on 19 July 2012 at 11.20 PM BST at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. He was buried in Nuhash Palli.