Syed Waliullah (August 15, 1922 – October 10, 1971) was a Bangladeshi novelist, short-story writer and playwright. He was notable for his

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, '' Lalsalu'' (translated in English with the title ''"Tree Without Roots"''). He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award (1961), Adamjee Prize (1965),

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 ...

(1984) and Bangladesh National Film for Best Story (2001).

Early life and education

Waliullah was born on 15 August 1922 at Sholashahar in Chittagong District to Nasim Ara Khatun and Syed Ahmadullah. His mother died when he was twelve. He has an elder brother, Syed Nasrullah. His father, Syed Ahmadullah, was a government officer. He was a district magistrate of British Raj period. Waliullah spent his childhood in Mymensingh, Feni, Krishnanagar and Kurigram. His notable novel, ''Lalsalu'', was inspired by a shrine covered with red cloth that he would often pass when he lived in Mymensingh. Waliullah passed his matriculation examination in 1939 from Kurigram High School. He completed his IA from

Dhaka College Dhaka College (), informally known as DC, is a public educational institution of Bangladesh located in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. It is one of the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent. It offers Honours degree, honours and Master's degree ...

in 1941 and bachelor's from Ananda Mohan College in Mymensingh in 1943. He then moved to

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

to complete his master's in economics. But he couldn't complete his master's due to untimely demise of his father. He joined '' The Statesman'' newspaper and worked until 1947.

Career

In 1947, Waliullah moved from Calcutta to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

. He joined Radio Pakistan. In 1950, he was transferred to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. In 1951, he started serving as the press attaché at the Pakistan missions in New Delhi,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

and London. In 1960, he was appointed as the First Secretary at the Pakistan embassy in Paris. In 1967, he joined the UNESCO in Paris.

Literature

Waliullah is often considered the pioneer of existential analysis of the characters psyche in the literature of Bangladesh. The last two of his three novels, especially ' ''Kando Nadi Kando (Cry, o river)'', (কাঁদো নদী কাঁদো) (1968), show his mastery in revealing the inner depths of his characters. ''Chander Amaboshay (Dark moon)'' (চাঁদের অমাবস্যা ), (1964) was another famous novel of him. ''Nayanchara'' (নয়নচারা), (1946) and ''Dui Tir O Anyanya Galpa'' (দুই তীর এবং অন্যান্য গল্প), (1965) are storybooks written by him.

''Lalsalu''

''Lalsalu'' tells the story of Majid, a poor man from a devout

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

background. Majid comes to a remote village. He declares an old grave to be the '' Mazar'' that of a '' Pir'', covers it with the traditional red cloth used for mausoleums, and establishes his stronghold on the life of the people using the reflected power on him of the supposed saint. The novel shows his struggle with other religious figures trying to establish dominance, the undercurrent of pagan ideas among the people, and his own weaknesses. The novel was adapted to a Tanvir Mokammel film with the same title in 2001.

Personal life and death

Waliullah met Anne Marie Thibaud (1929–1997), a French woman, in Sydney. They were married in 1955 and had two children, Simine and Iraj. He was a cousin of Jamal Nazrul Islam, a physicist and mathematician. Waliullah died in Meudon in Paris on October 10, 1971.

Works

;Novels * '' Lalsalu'' (Tree without roots), 1948 * ''Chander Amaboshay'' (Dark moon), 1963 * ''Kando Nadi Kando'' (Cry, o river), 1966 * ''The Ugly Asian'', 1959 ;Dramas * '' Bahipir'' (1955) * ''Tarangabhanga'' (1964) * ''Sudanga'' (1964) ;Short story collection * ''Nayanchara'' (1945) * ''Dui Teer O Anyanya Galpa'' (1965)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waliullah, Syed 1922 births 1971 deaths Pakistani writers Pakistani expatriates in India Pakistani expatriates in Australia Pakistani expatriates in Indonesia Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Pakistani expatriates in France Bengali-language novelists Bangladeshi male novelists 20th-century Bangladeshi novelists University of Calcutta alumni Recipients of Bangla Academy Award Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Best Story National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners People from Chittagong District 20th-century Bangladeshi male writers Dhaka College alumni 20th-century Bangladeshi screenwriters Magic realism writers Ananda Mohan College alumni Bangladeshi people of Arab descent