Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal’s 23rd death anniversary
Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal — a poet, educationist, singer and composer — was a professor of Bengali literature at Dhaka University and was the director general of the Bangla Academy from 1986 till his death in 1989.
An orator, narrator and conversationalist, Abu Hena had an irresistible charm. He could captivate anyone with his eloquence and humour.
September 23 marked the 23rd death anniversary of the multifaceted personality.
Abu Hena was born in Gobinda village of Ullahpara Upazila in the district of Pabna on March 11, 1936. After passing MA in Bangla in 1959 from Dhaka University, he taught at different local colleges before joining the Department of Bangla, Dhaka University, as a lecturer in 1963. He joined Rajshahi University as senior lecturer of Bangla in 1965. In 1966 he went to London University on a Commonwealth Scholarship and earned PhD degree for his dissertation on Bengali Press and Literary Writings. Abu Hena joined Chittagong University in 1973. In 1978 he rejoined the Bangla Department of Dhaka University as professor. He became director general of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1984 and of the Bangla Academy in 1986.
Fond of poetry, Abu Hena published an anthology, “Purbo Banglar Kobita”, in collaboration with Mohammad Mahfuzullah in 1954. He also wrote poems and composed songs, many of which were sung by his friends like Abu Bakr Khan, Anwaruddin Khan and Mohammad Asafaddaula, thus helping in the creation of modern songs. He also had a mellifluous voice and regularly performed on Dhaka Radio. His voice could convey intimate feelings and deep emotions, making his songs memorable.
Abu Hena produced three books of poems — “Apan Jouban Bairi” (1974), “Jehetu Janmandha” (1984) and “Akranta Ghazal” (1988) and a collection of songs “Ami Sagarer Neel”. He was also a fine prose writer and wrote several essays on Bangla literature, which have been collected in “Shilpir Rupantar” and “Kotha O Kobita”. These books are a valuable contribution to Bangla literary criticism. He also used to write witty columns, which were greatly acclaimed. His research work written in English, “The Bengali Press and Literary Writing”, is a discussion of literature published in the Bangla periodicals of 19th century in Kolkata.
-With The Daily Star input
