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 p ...

, '' Lalsalu'' (translated in English with the title ''"Tree Without Roots"''). He was awarded

Bangla Academy Literary Award The Bangla Academy Literary Award ( bn, বাংলা একাডেমি সাহিত্য পুরস্কার; ''Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar''), is given by the Bangla Academy of Bangladesh in recognition of creative genius i ...

(1961), Adamjee Prize (1965),

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 ...

(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 Chittagong District, renamed the Chattogram District, is a district located in the south-eastern region of Bangladesh. It is a part of the Chattogram Division. The port city of Chattogram, which is the second largest city in Bangladesh, is ...

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 Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north ...

, Feni,

Krishnanagar Krishna Nagar or Krishnanagar may refer to: Places India * Krishna Nagar, Delhi ** Krishna Nagar metro station (Delhi) ** Krishna Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) * Krishna Nagar, Hyderabad * Krishna Nagar, Lucknow ** Krishna Nagar metro s ...

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 Intermediate College in 1941and bachelor's from

Ananda Mohan College Government Ananda Mohan College is a higher secondary school and National University, Bangladesh affiliated college in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. One of the oldest educational premises in South Asia, the institute was established in 1883 by Anand ...

in 1943. He then moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, 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 A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

'' newspaper and worked until 1947.

Career

In 1947, Waliullah moved from Calcutta to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. He joined

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...

. In 1950, he was transferred to

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

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

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

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 misguided

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 ...

background. Majid comes to a remote village. He declares an old grave to be the ''

Mazar Mazar of Al-Mazar may refer to: *Mazar (mausoleum); often but not always Muslim mausoleum or shrine. Places *Mazar (toponymy), a component of Arabic toponyms literally meaning shrine, grave, tomb, etc. *Mazar, Afghanistan, a village in Balkh Pro ...

'' 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 Tanvir Mokammel (born 8 March 1955) is a Bangladeshi filmmaker and writer. He is the recipient of Ekushey Padak in 2017. He won Bangladesh National Film Awards total ten times for the films ''Nodir Naam Modhumoti'' (1995), '' Chitra Nodir Pare'' ( ...

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 Jamal Nazrul Islam (24 February 1939 – 16 March 2013) was a Bangladeshi mathematical physicist and cosmologist. He was a professor at University of Chittagong, served as a member of the advisory board at Shahjalal University of Science and Te ...

, a physicist and mathematician. Waliullah died in

Meudon Meudon () is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris. The city is known for many historic monuments and some extraordinary trees. One of t ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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

{{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 writers Bengali novelists Bangladeshi male novelists 20th-century 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 screenwriters Magic realism writers Ananda Mohan College alumni