Syed Alaol (; 1607–1680) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet of the 17th-century. He is referred to as a "bard of Middle Bengali literature, and is regarded as one the greatest poets of medieval Bengal. His most famous work, '' Padmavati,'' recounts the story of Padmavati, a princess from

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(present-day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

). Because his poetry often blended emotion with intellectualism, he earned the title ''Pandit Kabi'' (Scholar of Poets). In his honor, a major

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( ) are the citizens and nationals of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centred on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the Bay of Bengal, eponymous bay. Bangladeshi nationality law, Bangladeshi citizenship was fo ...

literary award—the

Alaol Sahitya Puroshkar Syed Alaol (; 1607–1680) was a Bengali poet of the 17th-century. He is referred to as a "bard of Middle Bengali literature, and is regarded as one the greatest poets of medieval Bengal. His most famous work, '' Padmavati,'' recounts the story of ...

is named after him.

Life

He was probably born in 1607 in the village of Jalalpur in Fatwabad Pargana, Fatehabad, to a minister in the court of Majlis Qutb, the ruler of Fatehabad.Sen, Sukumar (1993). ''Islami Bangla Sahitya'' (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, , pp.34-6 He learned

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

, and

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

s. Alaol was kidnapped by

Portuguese pirates Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

while travelling on a boat with his father and was subsequently taken to

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

. Alaol worked as a bodyguard for a while, but his reputation as a poet slowly spread. His talent was first recognised by Magan Thakur, prime minister of King

Sanda Thudhamma Sanda Thudhamma Raza ( Arakanese: စန္ဒသုဓမ္မရာဇာ, February 1637 - 20 December 1684) was 24th king of the Mrauk U Kingdom. He reigned from 1652 to 1674. He lost the control of Chittagong during his reign and the Dutch V ...

of the

Mrauk-U Mrauk U ( ) is a town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a subregion of the Mrauk-U District. Mrauk U is culturally significant for the local Rakhine (Arakanese) people and is the location of many impo ...

dynasty of Arakan. He was also patronised by other elders of the court such as chief minister Sulayman, royal minister Syed Musa, army commander Muhammad Khan, and tax minister Majlis Nabaraj. In 1659, he completed ''Sati Mayna O Lorchandrani'', the first part of which was completed earlier by another Bengali court poet of Arakan,

Daulat Qazi Daulat Qazi (; ) was a Bengali poet. He was born into the Qazi family of the village of Sultanpur in Raozan Upazila, Chittagong. Not getting any recognition at home, he left for Arakan, where he seems to have been received warmly. Life and work ...

. He translated ''Tohfa'' at the request of Shrichandra Sudharma or Sanda Thudhamma. Later, Prince Magan Thakur, the foster son of the sister of King Shrichandra Sudharma and co-regent and the prime minister of Arakan, secured him a place in the court of Arakan. His major work, '' Padmavati'', based on

Malik Muhammad Jayasi Malik Muhammad Jayasi (1477– 1542) was an Indian Sufi poet and pir. He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. His best known work is the epic poem ''Padmavat'' (1540). Biography Much of the information about ...

's ''

Padmavat ''Padmavat'' (or ''Padmawat'') is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Awadhi language, and originally in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works i ...

,'' was written under the patronage of Magan Thakur. He also began writing the ''Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal'', an adaptation of a

work of the same name during this period. There is a famous poem

Prince Saiful Malook and Badri Jamala Saiful Muluk () is a mountainous lake in northern Pakistan, located at the northern end of the Kaghan Valley, near the town of Naran in the Saiful Muluk National Park. At an elevation of 3,224 m (10,578 feet) above sea level, the lake is located ...

of the mystic poet of Punjabi literature

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (, ; – 22 January 1907) was a Punjabi Muslim poet from Khari Sharif, in present-day Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He wrote 18 books during his lifetime of 77 years, especially remembered for his romantic epic poem, "'' S ...

. After the death of Magan Thakur, he received patronage from Saiyad Muhammad Musa, the army chief of King Shrichandra Sudharma. He translated the ''

Haft Peykar ''Haft Peykar'' (), also known as ''Bahramnameh'' (, ''The Book of Bahram'', referring to the Sasanian emperor Bahram V), is a romantic epic poem by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi, written in 1197. This poem is one of his five works known collecti ...

'' from Persian as ''Saptapaykar'' in Bengali at his request. In the eulogy of Saptapaykar, Alaol mentioned the arrival of Mughal prince Shah Shuja in Arakan. In 1659, Shah Shuja took refuge in the court at Arakan. In 1660, after the killing of Shah Shuja, Alaol was also thrown out of the Arakan court because of his closeness with him. According to autobiographical passages in his ''Sikandarnama'', he was initially imprisoned. At this juncture, Sayed Masud Shah, a minister or Qazi of the Arakan king sheltered him. Masud Shah also gave Alaol Khilafat under

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

Tariqa. Alaol completed his ''Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal'' at his request. He spent his last days in the court of Majlis Navaraj, another minister of Arakan, where he wrote his last work ''Sikandarnama'' (according to

Ahmed Sharif Ahmed Sharif (13 February 1921 – 24 February 1999) was an educationist, philosopher, critic, writer and scholar of medieval Bengali literature. He is recognized as one of the most outspoken atheists and radical thinkers of Bangladesh. Bac ...

) or ''Dara-Sikandar'' (according to Sukumar Sen), a translation of ''Eskander-nama'' by the Persian poet

Nizami Ganjavi Nizami Ganjavi (; c. 1141 – 1209), Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi, whose formal name was Jamal ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī,Mo'in, Muhammad(2006), "Tahlil-i Haft Paykar-i Nezami", Tehran.: p. 2: Some commentators h ...

. His works, apart from ''Ragtalnama'', are adaptations of works in other languages which include: * '' Padmavati'' (1648) * ''Satimayna Lorchandrani'' (completion of Daulat Qazi's work) (1659) * ''Saptapaykar'' (1665) * ''Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal'' (1669) * ''Sikandarnama'' (1671–72) * ''Tohfa'' (1660) * ''Ragtalnama'' His poems draw upon his deep engagement with

Sufism Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

.''Retrieved: 2014-01-21''

Legacy

An important Bangladeshi literary prize, the Alaol Literary Puroshkar, is named after him. Alaol Hall, a principal male student dormitory at the

University of Chittagong The University of Chittagong () also known as Chittagong University (CU), is a public research university located in Chittagong, Bangladesh. It was established on 18 November 1966. It is the fifth oldest university of Bangladesh. Having an area ...

in Bangladesh, is named after him. ''Retrieved: 2014-01-21''

References

External links

*
Ālāola
at the

Consortium of European Research Libraries The Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is a consortium of research libraries, primarily in Europe, that facilitates access to historians with an interest in the history of the book by providing online resources. The organisation also ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaol, Syed 1600s births 1680s deaths Bengali male poets Bengali-language poets Bengali-language literature Bangladeshi writers 17th-century Bengali poets People from Madaripur District

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links