Alauddin Al Azad

As poet and writer Professor Alauddin Al Azad died in Dhaka on July 3 at the age of 78 , he left a legacy of literary genius and this program we recall his contribution to Bengali Literature and listen to his own voice speak loud and clear but with depth in literature.

Professor Alauddin Al Azad has written short stories, novels, poems, literary criticism. He has also taught Bangla and served as Educational Counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Moscow.

He first started writing shortly after the Great Famine in 1943 His first piece of literary writing was in 1946. When it was published in a Kolkata paper, everyone at school was very excited. His teachers congratulated him on his achievement.

 Azad authored more than 123 books, including short stories, novels, poems and literary criticism. He had also been the Principal of Dhaka College and ‘Nazrul Professor’ of Bangla department at Chittagong University during 1980’s.

Dr Azad received a good number of awards, including Bangla Academy Award, UNESCO Award, Ekushey Padak, National Film Award, Abul Kalam Shamsuddin Literary Award, Lekhika Sangha Award and Natyasava Award for his outstanding contribution to Bengali literature.

Dr Azad’s famous poem ‘Smritir Minar Bhengechhe Tomar, Bhoy ki Bandhu’ was an instantaneous reaction to the sight of the ruins of the temporary memorial erected by the students on February 26, 1952, which the police pulled down four days after Salam, Jabbar, Rafique and some others were killed in police firing at the spot on February 21. Azad, then a student of Dhaka University, recited the poem at the site of the ruins and it was published in the first souvenir of the Language Movement edited by poet Hassan Hafizur Rahman in 1953.