Arjumand Ali Chowdhury ( bn, আর্জুমন্দ আলী চৌধুরী; 1870–1930), better known as simply Arjumand Ali, was a blind

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 ...

author and poet during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The customary style of

Bengali literature Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...

had historically been through poetry ('' puthis''), with prose literature only emerging in the 19th century. Ali's ''Premdarpaṇ'' is the earliest example of a prose novel from Bengal's

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

community.

Biography

Ali was born in 1870, to a Bengali Muslim family of Chowdhuries in eastern Bhadeshwar, Golapganj, located in the

Sylhet District Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট), located in north-east Bangladesh, is the divisional capital and one of the four districts in the Sylhet Division. History Sylhet district was established on 3 January 1782, and until 1878 it was part of Bengal Pro ...

of Assam Province. Through his father, Bande Ali Chowdhury, he was a descendant of the medieval Baro-Bhuiyan chieftain

Fateh Khan Fateh Khan or Dera Fateh Khan is a town and union council of Dera Ghazi Khan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town is part of Taunsa Tehsil. It is located at 31°4'0N 70°43'0E and has an altitude of 140 metres (462 feet). It i ...

. From an early age, Ali was described to have been a lover of poetry and a deep thinker. After passing matriculation in 1890, Ali left education and found employment as a school inspector. In 1891, he wrote ''Premdarpaṇ'', which is recognised as the first Bengali prose novel written by a Muslim. The novel was a love story between a Muslim boy and Hindu girl, as well as Ali's personal sorrows. Ali claimed that the novel was based on a true incident. He married Amina Khatun Chowdhurani, the daughter of the Zamindar of Rupsha Umed Reza Chowdhury and Syeda Aftabunnesa Chowdhurani. His brother-in-law was Khan Bahadur

Abidur Reza Chowdhury Khan Bahadur Abidur Reza Chowdhury ( bn, আবিদুর রেজা চৌধুরী; 1872 - 16 January 1961) was a Bengali politician and philanthropist. He was one of the founding members of the All-India Muslim League. The present-day C ...

. At the age of 30, Ali was diagnosed with visual impairment. His poetry anthology was published in 1905, with the title ''Hriday Sangīt''. Ali died in 1930 and had no children. He was buried in the Rupsa zamindar family graveyard in Faridganj,

Chandpur District Chandpur District () is a district located in Chattogram Division, Bangladesh. It was a part of the Cumilla District until 15 February 1984.Musa, Muhammad. Brahmanbariar Itibrittyo, Shetu Prokashoni, Brahmanbaria,1998. History During the ru ...

, and a mazar (mausoleum) was constructed around his grave.

Biography

See also

References

Further reading