Hasnat Abdul Hye
Hasnat Abdul Hye | |
|---|---|
হাসনাত আব্দুল হাই | |
Hye in 2016 | |
| Born | c. 1939 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Alma mater | Cambridge University |
| Occupations | Writer, novelist |
| Awards | full list |
Hasnat Abdul Hye (born c. 1939)[Note 1] is a Bangladeshi writer and novelist. He was awarded Ekushey Padak by the government of Bangladesh in 1994.[1] As of 2017, he has 70 published works in both Bengali and English.[2]
Early life and education
Hye was born in Calcutta.[2] His ancestral home is Kasba, Brahmanbaria. His father is Abul Fateh, and his mother is Ayesha Siddik.[3] He had eight siblings.[4] He studied economics at the University of Dhaka, the University of Washington, and the London School of Economics, and development studies at Cambridge University.[2]
Career
Hye taught economics at the University of Dhaka for two years before joining the Civil Service of Pakistan in 1965. He retired as a full secretary of the Bangladesh government in 2000.[2][5]
Works
Hye wrote his first short story, "Carnival", in 1960.[4] His first travelogue is titled Manhattan and Ten Dollars.[4] In 1995, he wrote Novera, a novel based on the life story of the sculptor Novera Ahmed. In 2017, the book was adapted to a stage monodrama, acted by Samiun Jahan Dola.[6]
In 2008, he published Boyhood in British India and Pakistan, a collection of autobiographical columns that appeared in Daily News under the banner Aide Memoire. This covers a period from 1943 to 1954.[4]
"TV Camerar Samne Meyeti"
On 14 April 2013, Hye published a short story titled "TV Camerar Samne Meyeti" (The Girl In Front Of The TV Camera) in the daily newspaper Prothom Alo. The store centers around a politically active girl, Seema, leading the slogan shouting brigade who is sexually exploited by a senior politician, the man who recruits her. The story suggested her popularity stemmed from her sexual free-mixing with males.[5] The publication angered readers, and amid protests, Prothom Alo issued an apology and retracted the story.[7] Few days later, M Wahiduzzaman, a professor at the University of Dhaka, filed a petition with the High Court as a public interest litigation saying the story written by Hye "is provocative and insulting to the women of the society".[8] [9] The High Court later rejected the writ petition.[10]
Books
- Shuprobhat, Bhalobasha (Good morning, Love) (1977)
- My Assassin (1980)
- The Whale (1981)
- The Great Man (1982)
- Crown Prince (1985)
- The Master (1986)
- Sultan (1991)[11]
- Time (1991)
- News from Morelganj (1995)
- One Aroj Ali (1995)
- Novera (1995)
- One Waiting Outside (1995)
- Hasan, of Late (1995)
- Swallow (1996)
- Interview (1997)
- Xanadu: A Journey (1999)
- Shantaru O Jalkanya (The Swimmer and the Mermaid)
- Indur Dour (Rat Race)
- Baishakhe Virginia Woolf (Virginia Woolf in the Summer)
- Shaat Diner America (America in Seven Days)
- Palli Unnayan (Rural Development)[2]
- Portrait of a Writer (2008)[4]
- Boyhood in British India and Pakistan (2008)[12]
- From The Horse's Mouth 1965-2000: Memoir Of A Bureaucrat In Pakistan And Bangladesh (2015)[13]
Awards
- Bangla Academy Literary Award (1977)
- Alakta Literary Prize (1993)
- Ekushey Padak (1994)
- Jagadish Chandra Basu Prize (1995)
- Sher-e-Bangla Prize (1995)
- S.M. Sultan Prize (1995)
- Shilpacharya Zainul Prize (1996)
Personal life
Hye was married to Nasreen Hye (d. 2012).[14] Together they had a son and a daughter.[14]
Notes
- ^ Sources disagree regarding his date of birth. Samakal says 17 May 1937.[3] The Daily Star and The Financial Express say 19 May 1937.[2][15] According to the Bangla Academy Dictionary of Writers, however, he was born on 4 September 1939.[16] His publisher, The University Press Limited, also says 1939.[17]
References
- ^ একুশে পদকপ্রাপ্ত সুধীবৃন্দ [Ekushey Padak winners list] (in Bengali). Government of Bangladesh. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Marin, TS (20 May 2017). "Still Young at Heart and Eloquent". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ a b 'এক্সিম ব্যাংক-অন্যদিন হুমায়ূন আহমেদ সাহিত্য পুরস্কার' পেলেন দু'জন [Two people receive 'Exim Bank-Anyadin Humayun Ahmed Literary Award']. Samakal (in Bengali). 31 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Haq, Fayza (3 February 2008). "Hasnat Abdul Hye's book exhibition". The Daily Star. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Prothom Alo retracts story amid protests". bdnews24.com. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ "Learning about Novera gave me strength". The Daily Star. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Prothom Alo apologises". The Daily Star. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Petition filed for prosecuting Hasnat Abdul Hye". The Daily Star. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "HC moved to arrest Hasnat Abdul Hye". bdnews24.com. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "HC rejects petition against Hasnat for his story". The Daily Star. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Sultan's atemporal vision of awakened bodies". The Daily Star. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "Across a landscape of memory and timeless poetry". The Daily Star. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ "From the 'Horse's Mouth'". The Daily Star. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ a b "Obituary". The Daily Star. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ Rahman, Mustafizur (19 May 2017). "Conversation with Hasnat Abdul Hye". The Financial Express.
- ^ Hossain, Selina; Islam, Nurul; Hossain, Mobarak, eds. (2000). Bangla Academy Dictionary of Writers. Bangla Academy. p. 77. ISBN 984-07-4052-0.
- ^ সুলতান [Sultan]. The University Press Limited (in Bengali).