Syed Mustafa Siraj
Syed Mustafa Siraj | |
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Colonel Niladri Sarkar, Amartya Premkatha (1988), Trinabhumi, Inspector Bramha, Bhautik Galpa Samagra, Tara Ashariri | |
Notable awards |
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Spouse | Hasne Ara Siraj |
Children |
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Parents | Syed Abdur Rahman Ferdausi (father) Anwara Begum (mother) |
Syed Mustafa Siraj (Bengali pronunciation:
Life and works
Siraj was born into a
One day he got tired of this life and felt he had a wider life spreading around him. He turned to writing poetry and short stories. Later he came to Kolkata and entered the world of serious writings and immediately became famous for his short stories. "Inti, Pisi O Ghatbabu", "Bhalobasa O Down Train" (his first story that was published in Desh, 1962), "Hijal Biler Rakhalera" and "Taranginir Chokh" brought fame for him.[3] He joined a Bengali daily newspaper and worked as a journalist for years.[3] He wrote around 150 novels and 300 short stories.[2] His short stories "Uro Pakhir Chhaya", "Manusher Janma", "Ranabhumi", "Rakter Pratyasha", "Maati", "Goghna", and "Mrityur Ghora" immediately attracted Bengali readers and intellectuals.
His first novel is Neel Gharer Nati (1966), it is about a village performer forced into the profession by her father, it received critical acclaim.[4] His best known novel is Aleek Manush (Mythical Man), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1994), the Bankim Puraskar, and has been translated into eleven Indian languages.[4] He also won the Narasimha Das Memorial Award for his novel Amartya Premkatha (1988). His novels Nishimrigaya (1970) and Krishna Bari Phereni (1980) have been filmed in Bengali. Also his famous short story named Ranir Ghater Brittanta was screen played as Faltu (2006) in Bengali language. In the next year, this film was selected for the National Film Awards. Other notable novels include Trinabhumi, Kingbadantir Nayak, and Uttar Jahnabi;[3] Trinabhumi was translated into all major Indian languages. His short stories "Mrityur Ghora", "Rakter Pratyasha", "Goghna" and many others have been translated into different Indian languages Hindi, Urdu and Tamil.
He is the creator of the detective character "
Siraj did not start his career writing for children until later in life.[3] His reputation was built on writing novels and short stories for adults. He started writing for children to respond the huge demand for that genre in Bengali.
English translations
Not much of Siraj has been translated into English.[1] In 2004, Delhi University professor Nivedita Sen translated some of Siraj's popular stories written for children that featured the detective Colonel Niladri, the collection is called The Colonel Investigates.[1] In 2012, Sen translated Die, Said the Tree and Other Stories, a collection of 10 short stories.[1] In 2005, Aleek Manush was translated as Mythical Man.[4]
Film Adaptation on his Book
- Faltu (2006)
- Chandragrohon (2008)
- Brihonnola (2014)
- Teenkahon (2014)
- Dharmajuddha (2021)
References
- ^ a b c d Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty (26 August 2012). "So says Siraj". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f Ziya Us Salam (5 September 2012). "Voice of the 'other' India falls silent". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Literary world to miss its bohemian genius". The Times of India. 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f "Remembering Siraj". katha.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Enter Colonel Niladri Sarkar". Blogus. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2018. [unreliable source?]