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

Early life and education

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

Kolkata University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

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 Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi ( bn, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ বাংলা একাডেমি) is the official regulatory body of the Bengali language in West Bengal, India. Modeled after Bangla Academy of Bangladesh and France's Académ ...

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 northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Mrinal Sen Mrinal Sen (''Beng.'' মৃণাল সেন; 14 May 1923 – 30 December 2018) was an Indian film director, and screenwriter known for his work primarily in Bengali, and few Hindi and Telugu language films. Regarded as one of the finest Ind ...

directed ''

Aamar Bhuban ''Aamar Bhuvan'' is a 2002 Bengali film directed by Mrinal Sen. The film depicts a place of India where people live peacefully and love each other despite the hatred and violence that scars the rest of the nation. For this film director Mrinal S ...

'' 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 or Chattopadhyay (চট্টোপাধ্যায়) is a Bengali Hindu family name, used primarily by the Kulin group of Pancha-Gauda Brahmins in India, and associated with the Bengali Brahmin caste. ''Chatterjee'' is an Anglicize ...

), 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 (Bengali: বাংলা) 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 Businesses and organ ...

. He and Kalim Hazique translated Abdus Samad's

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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''

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 m ...

for this work in 2000. He also received

Bankim Puraskar Bankim Puraskar ( bn, বঙ্কিম পুরস্কার, Bankim Memorial Award) is the highest award given by the Government of West Bengal for contribution to Bengali fiction. The award was instituted in 1975 in memory of Bankim Chandra ...

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 Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali University of Calcutta alumni People from Howrah district Bengali-language poets Bengali novelists Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation Writers from Kolkata Bengali-language writers Indian novelists 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian translators