Shahidul Zahir

Shahidul Zahir (Bengali: শহীদুল জহির; born as Mohammad Shaheedul Haque, 11 September 1953 – 23 March 2008) was a Bangladeshi novelist, short story writer, and government bureaucrat. He is known for his unique practice of magical realism in modern Bengali literature. His novels and short stories have been noted for their originality of language and narrative technique. He contributed to Bengali fiction a distinct style, known as the "Shahidul Zahiriya".

He published four novels and three story collections. Abu Ibrahimer Mirtu (Abu Ibrahim's Death, 2009) is one of his notable novels, which won the Prothom Alo Book of the Year 1415 award in 2010. Also, the novels Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota (Life and Political Reality, 1988), Se Ratey Purnima Chilo (That Night Was the Full Moon, 1995), and Mukher Dike Dekhi (Looking to the Face, 2006) are considered to be his major contributions to Bengali literature. He has added a new dimension to Bengali short stories. His notable collections of stories are Parapar (Crossing, 1985), Dumur-kheko Manush O Annanya Galpo (Fig-Eating People and Other Stories, 1999), and Dolu Nadir Hawa O Annanya Galpo (The Wind of the Dolu River and Other Stories, 2004). His most notable stories are "Valobasha" ("Love" 1974), "Parapar" ("Crossing", 1985), "Agargaon Colonyte Nayantara Phool Keno Nei" ("Why there are no Nayantara in Agargaon Colony" 1991), "Kathure O Dardakak" ("Woodpecker and Raven", 1992), "Kanta" ("Thorn", 1995), "Choturtha Matra" ("The Fourth Dimension", 1996), "Kothaye Pab Tare" (1999), and "Dolu Nadir Hawa" ("The Wind of the Dolu River", 2003).

Zahir received the Alaol Literary Award and the Kagoz Literary Award in 2004 for his contribution to literature during his lifetime. The subject of his literary pursuits has been widely discussed. Many films, television shows, and plays have been made from his stories and novels.

Biography

Mohammad Shaheedul Haque was born on 11 September 1953 at 36 Bhuter Goli (Bhojo Hari Shaha Street) of Narinda in the old part of Dhaka city. His father, AK Nural Haque, was a government officer, and his mother, Jahanara Begum, a housewife. His paternal home was in the village of Hashil in Raiganj Upazila of Sirajganj District. His grandfather Jahiruddin (it seems Shaheed took the name Jahir from his grandfather's name) was a teacher at the local Normal School (during the British period), and his grandmother was Jinnatun Nesa. They both had died long before, when his father was a child. His maternal grandparents were Azimuddin Ahmad and Hamida Begum of Amlapara, Sirajgonj Town, where he used to visit frequently on the occasion of summer holidays or Eids during his childhood along with his family members. These places, together with Fulbaria and Satkania, where he grew up, left a deep impression on his mind and in the later years featured in many of his short stories and novels.

Fictionist Zahir started his school at Silverdale KG School at the then 36 Rankin Street in Dhaka. Later he went to schools in Dhaka, Fulbaria, and Satkania, Chittagong. From Satkania Model High School he passed his SSC examination. Later he went to the Dhaka College for his pre-university course (HSC). He studied political science at Dhaka University for his bachelor's and master's degrees. He also went to the American University in Washington, D.C., and Birmingham University. He joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1981 as an assistant secretary. He was serving as secretary-in-charge of the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs until his death in 2008.

Literary works and style

Shaheedul Jahir distinguished himself with his surrealist approach to fiction. He wrote both short stories and novels. He started to write in the late 1970s. His first published story, "Bhalobasah" (tr. "Love"), clearly reflected the influence of the Bengali novelist Syed Waliullah. His first book of short stories, published in 1985, Parapar, bore his tendency to portray the human character in an intricate language in the perspective of a thin storyline. He has been said to be a magic-realist in line with Latin American writers, and Zahir has been termed the new Marquez of Bangladesh. However, he admitted the influence of two contemporary novelists, namely Syed Shamsul Haque and Akhtaruzzaman Elias, in addition to Syed Waliullah. Thematically, the storylines of a number of stories bear the influence of the Marxist paradigm. Also, in many novels and stories, he has chosen the perspective of 1971, the year of the liberation war of Bangladesh. He also translated a few stories from English.

Sometimes he wrote poetry but never published any. Also, he translated Bengali poems into English when he had leisure. Two lines from his flings at poetry are quoted below:

"... Yet we congregate once again

And a bud blooms into a flower through our time

A silvery Rupchanda floats in salty water..."

(Translated by Faizul Latif Chowdhury)

Famous places in Dhaka city like Bhuter Gali, Narinda, Dakshin Maishundi, and Agargaon are depicted in his writings as a strange new world inhabited by wonderful people. Also, villages like Suhasini and Baikunthpur, with all their dramas and mysteries, are depicted in his work.

Short stories

Parapar, a collection of short stories, was the first book by Zahir, and it was published in 1985. Although, the book went largely unnoticed. Lettre published two story collections titled Dumur-kheko Manush O Annanya Galpo (1999) and Dolu Nadir Hawa O Annanya Galpo (2004).

Novel

Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota, which is the first novella, of about sixty pages, and his second published book, was published in 1988. In 1995, his second novel, Se Ratey Purnima Chilo, was published. Realities and surrealities are reflected in this novel. In 2006 Mukher Dike Dekhi was published. The novel Abu Ibrahimer Mirtu was posthumously published in 2009.