Mustafa Monwar (born 1 September 1935) is a Bangladeshi artist. He is a painter, sculptor, radio performer and professor of fine arts. He is currently the chairman of Bangladesh Shishu Academy. He was awarded

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

in 2004 by the

Government of Bangladesh The Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজাতন্ত্রী বাংলাদেশ সরকার — ) is the central executive government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Co ...

Early life

Monwar is the son of poet Golam Mostofa. He passed his matriculation exam from Narayanganj Government High School. He was initially admitted to the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in ...

of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

where he studied science. Following the advice of the author Syed Mujtaba Ali, he transferred to the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata from where he graduated obtaining best result in his class.

Career

Monwar started his career as lecturer at the East Pakistan College of Arts and Crafts. Later, he joined

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন), commonly known by its acronym BTV ( bn, বিটিভি), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East ...

(BTV) as director general. Later he became the director general of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the National Media Institute. He also served as a managing director of the FDC.

Works

During the

liberation war of Bangladesh The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

in 1971, he organized puppet shows at the refugee camps in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

. His created puppet plays like ''Agachha'' (Weed), ''Rakkhash'' (Monster) and ''A Brave Farmer''. He was known as the "Puppet Man of Bangladesh". American documentary filmmaker Lear Levin visited Bangladesh to make a film on his puppets. These scenes were later added to Tareque Masud's film '' Muktir Gaan'' (1995). Monwar's television puppet show ''Moner Kotha'' ran on BTV for 12 years. It tells the story of a little girl called Parul and her seven brothers named Champa who were cursed and turned into flowers. It is based on the folklore '' Saat Bhai Champa''. He runs Dhaka-based organization Educational Puppet Development Centre (EPDC). Monwar's teleplays include ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and ''Raktokorobi'' by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. He showcased his own interpretations of

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

The Nightingale The common nightingale is a songbird found in Eurasia. Nightingale may also refer to: Birds * Thrush nightingale, a songbird found in Eurasia * Red-billed leiothrix, a songbird of the Indian Subcontinent Literature * "Nightingale" (short sto ...

, and

The Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...

. He is the Bangladesh representative of the Denmark-based International Puppet Development Centre.

Personal life

Monwar has been married to Merry Monwar since 1965. Together they had one daughter, Nandini Monwar and one son, Sadat Monwar.

Awards

* All India Fine Arts Competition Award (1957) * Zainul Abedin Gold Medal *

(2004) * Anando Bichitra Award (2004) * The Daily Star and Standard Chartered Bank Lifetime Achievement Award Winner (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monwar, Mustafa 1935 births Living people People from Jessore District Bangladeshi painters Bangladeshi sculptors Puppeteers Scottish Church College alumni Government College of Art & Craft alumni University of Calcutta alumni University of Dhaka faculty Recipients of the Ekushey Padak in arts Honorary Fellows of Bangla Academy Meril-Prothom Alo Lifetime Achievement Award winners