| Obaidullah, Abu
Zafar (1934-2001) poet, litterateur, civil servant. Born on 8 February
1934 in Baherchar-Kshudrakathi village under Babuganj upazila of Barisal
district, Abu Zafar Obaidullah got his primary education in Mymensingh
where his father, Abdul Jabbar Khan, had been working as a district judge.
He passed Matriculation examination from Mymensingh Zilla School in 1948
and the Intermediate of Arts examination from Dhaka College in 1950. After
the completion of BA (Hons.) and Masters of Arts in English in 1953 and
1954 respectively, Obaidullah joined the Dhaka University as a lecturer
in the Department of English.
But he left teaching to join the Pakistan Civil Service in 1957.
After retirement from civil service, Obaidullah became a minister
for Agriculture and Water Resources in 1982 and Ambassador of
Bangladesh to the United States of America in 1984. He joined
the FAO as the deputy director general for Asia-Pacific in 1992
and later he became its director general. He retired from the
FAO job in 1997.
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Abu Zafar Obaidullah |
Abu Zafar Obaidullah was a renowned poet and critic.
As a poet he belong to both modernist and post-modernist schools of literature.
According to literary critics, his literary creations transcended the
limits set by the early modern poets like Jibanananda Das, Buddhadev Basu
and Sudhindranath Datta, Shamsur Rahman, Syed Ali Ahsan and Al Mahmud.
In his poems, Obaidullah successfully tried to portray sentiments and
emotions elicited by the pains of Pakistan, the language
movement and the war
of liberation. His famous sentimental poem Kono ek ma-ke
(Ode to a Mother) is frequently recited in functions on the occasion of
the 21st of February, the international
mother language day.
Obaidullah got lavish popular and literary acclaim for
his poems 'Ami kingbadontir katha bolchhi' and 'Kumro phuley
phuley nuey porechhey lotara'. The first poem that depicts the culture
of Bangladesh hugely draws images and symbolisms from the nature and life
of the country. The second poem is a mournful presentation of how a mother
awaits for her son, who has not returned home at the close of the eventful
day of Language Movement in 1952, the 21st of February. His first collection
of poems, Shaatnori Haar, was written in the style of old Bangla
ballads.
A quintessential poet, Obaidullah was awarded the Ekushey Padak for his great contribution to the Language Movement and also to its literature. In recognition of his contribution to Bangla literature, he was honoured with the Bangla Academy Award in 1979. His important literary works include Kakhono Rong Kakhono Shuur; Kamol-er Chokh; Ami Kingbadontir Katha Bolchhi; Shohishnu Protikkha; Brishti Ebong Shahoshi Purush-er Janno Prarthona, Amar Shomoi Amar Shakol Katha; and Khachar Bhitor Ochin Pakhi. Worth mentioning among his books published in English are Yellow Sands' Hills: China through Chinese Eyes; Rural Development - Problems and Prospects; Creative Development; Food and Faith. Abu Zafar Obaidullah was the founder the Padabali, forum for the poets, which in the 1980s arranged sessions of poetry recital for visitors on payment of admission fee.
Abu Zafar Obaidullah died in Dhaka on 19 March 2001.
[Aminur Rahman]
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