Afsar Amed (also written as Afsar Ahmed, 5 April 1959 – 4 August 2018) was an Indian Bengali writer. He wrote 27 novels and 24 other books.

Early life and education

Amed was born on 5 April 1959. He pursued his post graduate education from

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

in Bangla.

Career

During Amed's early life he wrote mainly poems but later he began to write prose. His writing ''Bangali Musalmaner Biyer Gan'' was published in ''Porichoy'' in 1978. His first novel ''Ghor Gerosti'' was published in 1980. His writings were published in ''Porichoy'', ''Kalantor'', ''Baromas'', ''Saroswato''. Besides writing he also worked in literary magazine ''Protikshon'' for some years. He worked in

Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi The Pashchimbanga Bangla Akademi (, , ) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in India. It was founded on 20 May 1986 in Kolkata to act as the official authority of the language and is entrusted with the responsibility of ref ...

too. Amed's book ''Bibir Mithya Talaq O Talaqer Bibi Ebong Holud Pakhir Kissa'' was in the school curriculum in

Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen ( ; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was a Bengali film director and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, and a few Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu language films. Regarded as on ...

directed '' Aamar Bhuban'' was based on his novel ''Dhan Jyotsna''. This film was his last direction. A film titled ''Raat Koto Holo (2011)'' directed by Sandeep Chattopadhyay (

Chatterjee Chatterjee (), also known as Chattopadhyay is a Bengali Hindu surname, used by the Kulin group of the Bengali Brahmin caste. Together with Banerjees, Mukherjees, Bhattacharjees, and Gangulys, Chatterjees form the Kulin Brahmins, the highest ...

), produced by Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), was based on his novel ''Hatyar Promad Jani''. Amed also translated books of other languages into

Bangla Bangla () may refer to: *Bengali language, an eastern Indo-Aryan language *The endonym of Bengal, a geographical and ethno-linguistic region in South Asia *''Bangla-'', a prefix indicating Bangladesh *West Bengal, a state in eastern India, also kn ...

. He and Kalim Hazique translated Abdus Samad's

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

novel ''Do Gaz Zamin'' into

titled ''Sare Tin Hat Bhumi''. He also translated a Sindhi book of Hari Motwani into

. The title of the translated book was ''Ashroy''.

Selected bibliography

Novels

* ''Ghor Gerosti'' * ''Sanu Alir Nijer Jomi'' * ''Atmoporichoy'' * ''Byatha Khuje Ana'' * ''Swapnosomvash'' * ''Khondo Bikhondo'' * ''Dhanjyotsna'' * ''Bibir Mithya Talaq O Talaqer Bibi Ebong Holud Pakhir Kissa'' * ''Sei Nikhoj Manushta'' * ''Dwitiyo Bibi'' * ''Ek Ashchorjo Boshikoron Kissa'' * ''Hotyar Promad Jani'' * ''Metiaburuze Kissa'' * ''Ek Ghorsowar Kissa'' * ''Hire Vikharini O Sundori Romoni Kissa''

Translations

* ''Sare Tin Hat Bhumi'' * ''Ashroy''

Screen adaptations

directed Aamar Bhuban (2002) was based on his novel Dhan Jyotsna. *Raat Koto Holo (2011) directed by Sandeep Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee), produced by Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), was based on his novel Hatyar Promad Jani.

Awards and recognition

* Amed received Somen Chanda Puraskar from

in 1998. He and Kalim Hazique translated Abdus Samad's Urdu novel ''Do Gaz Zamin'' into Bengali titled ''Sare Tin Hat Bhumi''. * He was awarded

Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize or Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation is a literary honour in India, presented by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, given to "outstanding translations of creative and critical works" in 24 ...

for this work in 2000. * He also received Bankim Puraskar in 2009. * He received

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

in 2017 for his novel ''Sei Nikhoj Manushta''.

Death

Amed died on 4 August 2018 at the age of 59.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amed, Afsar 1959 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Bengalis Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali University of Calcutta alumni People from Howrah district Bengali-language poets Bengali-language novelists Writers from Kolkata Indian novelists 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian translators