Rizia Rahman (28 December 1939 – 16 August 2019) was a Bangladeshi novelist. She had a number of novels and short stories to her credit. Her works cut across all genres. She was best known for the novel ''Bong Theke Bangla''. She was the recipient of

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award (; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar'') is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius in advancement and overall contribution in the field of Bengali language and literature. ...

(1978). As of 2018, she had published more than 50 novels and short story collections during her long career.

Early life

Rizia Rahman was born on 28 December 1939 in Bhabanipur,

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. Her family moved to

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, then known as

East Bengal East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...

, after the 1947

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. She began writing stories at the age of 8 and was published for the first time when she was 12. Her stories and poems appeared in newspapers such as ''Satyajug'' and ''Sangbad''. Rahman studied at the

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country. The University of Dhaka w ...

and graduated with a Master of Social Sciences in Economics.

Career

Rahman published her first collection of short stories, ''Agni Shakkora'', while studying at the University of Dhaka. Her novel ''Bong Theke Bangla'' was published in 1978 to critical acclaim, exploring the evolution of Bangladesh's nationality and language. Her fourth novel, ''Rokter Okkhor,'' was inspired by an article called "The Prostitutes of Dhaka" which was published in '' Bichitra''. She was unable to conduct research for the book by visiting brothels herself, relying instead on weekly reports from a male journalist to gain an understanding of a sex worker's living conditions. It created a huge stir in Bangladesh upon publication because of its frank depiction of prostitution in the country. In a 2016 translation of the book named ''Letters of Blood,'' Rahman said, "I received a lot of praise for the book, but also had to endure an equal amount of abuse."

Works

;Novels * ''Uttar Purush'' (Posterity, 1977) * ''Rokter Okkhor'' (Blood Words, 1978) * ''Bong Theke Bangla'' (Bengali to Bangla, 1978) * ''Alikhito Upakhyan'' (An Unwritten Story, 1980) *''Surja Sabuj Rakta'' (Sun Green Blood, 1980) *''Shhilay Shilay Agun'' (Stones in Fire, 1980) * ''Aranyer Kache'' (Near the Forest, 1980) *''Dhabal Jyotsna'' (White Moon-light, 1980) *''Ghar-Bhanga-Ghar'' (Broken-house, 1984) *''Ekal Chirokal'' (Now and Eternity, 1984) *''Prem Amar Prem'' (Love, My Love, 1985) * ''Jharer Mukhomukhi'' (Facing the Storm, 1986) * ''Ekti Phuler Janya'' (For a Flower, 1986) * ''Shudhu Tomader Janya'' (Only for You, 1988) *''He manab Manabi'' (Oh! Man and Woman, 1989) * ''Harun Phereni'' (Harun did not Return, 1994) * ''Nodi Nirobodhi'' (2011)

Translated novels (English)

* ''Letters of Blood'' (''Rokter Okkhor'', 2016) Short stories *''Dura Kothao'' (2004) *''Caged in Paradise and Other Stories'' (2010)

Awards

(1978) * Jessore Sahitya Parishad Puraskar (1984) * Bangladesh Lekhak Sangha Sahitya Padak (1985) * Kamar Mushtari Sahitya Padak (1990) *

Anannya Literature Award Anannya Literature Award () is the prize for women in Bangladesh recognition of contribution to the field of literature by Anannya Magazine in every Bengali year since 1401 (Gregorian 1993). Winners References Bangladeshi literary awards ...

(1995) * Humayun Kadir Sriti Puraskar * Jasimuddin Shwarna Padak * Shawgat Shwarna Padak *

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...

(2019)

Death

Rahman died on 16 August 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, Rizia 1939 births 2019 deaths Writers from Kolkata Bengali writers Bengali-language writers Bangladeshi women writers Recipients of Bangla Academy Award Recipients of the Ekushey Padak