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 Bangladesh Shishu Academy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ শিশু একাডেমি) is the national academy for children in Bangladesh. It was established in 1976 for promoting cultural development of children, and nurturing their tal ...

. 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 Con ...

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 A ...

of the

University of Calcutta 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 ...

where he studied science. Following the advice of the author

Syed Mujtaba Ali Syed Mujtaba Ali ( bn, সৈয়দ মুজতবা আলী; 13 September 1904 – 11 February 1974) was a Bengali writer, journalist, travel enthusiast, academic, scholar and linguist. He lived in Bangladesh, India, Germany, Afghanistan ...

, he transferred to the

Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata The Government College of Art & Craft (GCAC) in Kolkata is one of the oldest Art colleges in India. It was founded on August 16, 1854 at Garanhata, Chitpur, "with the purpose of establishing an institution for teaching the youth of all classes ...

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 Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy ( bn, শিল্পকলা একাডেমি; National Academy of Fine and Performing Arts) is the principal state-sponsored national cultural center of Bangladesh. History It is the national academy of f ...

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 armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali n ...

in 1971, he organized

puppet shows Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – wikt:inanimate, inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. S ...

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 fourt ...

. 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 Tareque Masud (6 December 1956 – 13 August 2011) was a Bangladeshi independent film director, film producer, screenwriter and lyricist. He first found success with the films ''Muktir Gaan'' (1995) and ''Matir Moina'' (2002), for which he won thr ...

's film ''

Muktir Gaan ''Muktir Gaan'' ( bn, মুক্তির গান ''The Song of Freedom'') is a 1995 Bangladeshi documentary film directed by Tareque Masud and Catherine Masud. This is a documentary film which explores the impact of cultural identity on the ...

'' (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 Saat Bhai Champa or Sat Bhai Chompa is a popular folk tale in the Bengal region in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. The story was first officially published by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder in the book Thakurmar Jhuli in 1907. The intr ...

''. 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 nation ...

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, consisti ...

's The Nightingale, 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#New Fairy Tales. Fir ...

. 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