Shahidul Jahir
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Shahidul Jahir, also known as Shahidul Zahir (September 11, 1953—March 23, 2008) was a Bangladeshi novelist and short story writer. His official name was Shahidul Huq.
His birthplace (Bhuter Goli in Narinda, part of the Old Dhaka city) had been a recurring theme in many of his stories and novels. In his writing career over more than two decades, Jahir published three novels (1988, 1995, 2006), three books of short stories (1985,1999,2004), and two books on selected novels and short stories (2007).
Shahidul Jahir was one of the most important contemporary writers in Bangladesh. He died very recently on March 23, 2008 in early morning. He was known by some as the Márquez of Bangladesh, carrying on the legacy of magic-realism with strokes of his own unique surrealist style, deeply imbibing the politics, history and culture of Bangladesh, his own country home in Sirajganj and his place of birth.
Two of his short stories have been made into films, "Chaturtha Matra" by Nurul Alam Atik from the story with the same name and another, "Phul Kumar" from his short story,Ei Shamay. There has been other attempts to document and fictionalise Shahidul Jahir by Sarwar(?) based on Kothay Paabo Taare. Jahir's many memorable characters include Abdul Karim (the unemployed youth), Akalu (the village migrant) and Shefali (the mysterious girl whom nobody seems to find).
The name of his last published story was, "Miracle of Life". Here is an excerpt (translated from Bengali) from his swan song:
An adolescent girl, or a young girl, or who is just a gal...whatever, what do we do with her? She can have a name, since she is a human being, and human beings do have names, so her name could be Pari, Banu, or Ayesha... ...If she stands at the edge of the dirty drains, standing inside her home, as broke as the ragged nest of a magpie (babui), her mother runs around...her mother goes around cooking for others, she cooks rice, she cooks curries,she makes chapatis, there are people who swallow them, or maybe they rebuke her, What the hell have you cooked,woman!... ...Perhaps at that moment, Pari or Pari Banu, is standing at the rail ways of Dayaganj or Shamibag, holding the hands of her little sister or brother, and their father runs around, he too goes to places, maybe he does things, pulls someone else's rickshaw, pushes someone else's cart, or maybe he does nothing, he just lies down on his bed and suffers from piles. Then, what do we do with this Pari? The leader, or the official of this republic, the officers, or the civil society - none of them know...We have no idea what to do with her...
Shahidul Jahir was awarded the Kagaz Literary Award in 2005 for his collection of short stories, Dolu Nodir Hawa O Onnanno Galpo.
[edit] Works
Novels
- Jeeban O Rajnaitik Bastabata (Novel;1988;??)
- She Raate Poornima Chhilo (1995;??)
- Mukher Dike Dekhi (Novel; 2006; Mowla Brothers, Dhaka)
- Shahidul Jahir: Selected Novels (Novels;2007; Shamabesh, Dhaka)
Short story collections
- Parapaar (1985; Muktodhara, Dhaka)
- Dumurkheko Manush O Onnanno Galpo (1999; Shilpataru Prakashani, Dhaka)
- Dolu Nodir Hawa O Onnanno Galpo (2004; Mowla Brothers,Dhaka)
- Shahidul Jahir: Selected Short Stories (Short Stories;2007;Shamabesh, Dhaka)
[edit] References
- Shahidul Zahir's labyrinthine technique
- Nuh'er naukay Shahidul Jahir, by Nasima Selim Aulic
- Writer Shahidul Zahir passes away
- Shahidul receives kagaj literary award
- Theme gelo Dakkhin Maishundi aar Bhuter Golir Galpo, by Shahaduz Zaman,
- On "Phulkumar", based on Zahir's short story
[edit] External Links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jahir, Shahidul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Bangladeshi novelist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 11, 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dhaka, Bangladesh |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 23, 2008 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Bangladesh |
