BS 7094 Paper I: History

and Culture of Bangladesh

Topic 1 (a) Influence of major

cultural figures

Session 01
Sample Question Type
Question 1 (b)
• Describe the life and work of Kazi Nazrul Islam. ( 5)
• Explain the Importance of Kazi Nazrul Islam in the culture of
Bangladesh. ( 3)
Or
• Describe the life and work of Alaol. ( 5)
• Explain why he is so important in the culture if Bangladesh. (
3)

Question Type ( Back in 2011)

• Why is Begum Rokeya considered to be such an important
cultural figure in Bangladesh? (8)
Today’s Lesson

Literary Figures
I. Alaol.
 Learning Objective

To gather knowledge about the life, work and

importance of Alaol.
 SYED ALAOL
Basic Information ( Life)
• Syed Alaol was one of the greatest poets of medieval
Bengali literature.
• It is thought that Alaol was born around 1607 AD. There
are disagreements over the birthplace of Alaol. Some
scholars suggest that he was born in Fatehabad,
Chittagong, while others say Faridpur. Alaol's father was
a minister of Jajlish Kutub, the ruler of Fatwabad .
• He got the proper chance to receive a good education in
his early years as he was born into an aristocratic family.
• He learned Bangla, Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian
languages as well as the art of war and music.
 Basic Information ( Life: CONTD)

A tragic incident took place in Alaol's early life which

changed his fate greatly.

When Aloal was quite young, he was going to Chittagong

with his father by boat on one occasion. They were attacked
by Portuguese pirates on the way. The pirates killed his
father and captured Alaol. Then he was sent to Arakan in
Myanmar.

In Arakan, less fortunate young Alaol found work as a

bodyguard. Later he worked as a teacher of music and dance
in a well-to-do family.
 Basic Information ( Life: CONTD)

At that time he was also patronized by a number of

other important courtiers such as Syed Musa
(Royal Minister), Solaiman (Chief Minister),
Mohammad Khan (Minister of Army), and Majlis
Nabaraj (Minister of Taxation).

Gradually he became a remarkable star in the

galaxy of Bengali literature.

Mughal prince Shah Shuja, the second son of the

Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and empress Mumtaz,
took refuge in the court at Arakan in 1659.
Basic Information ( Life: CONTD)
Shah Shuja was killed in 1660.

And after the killing of Shah Shuja, Alaol was also thrown out
of the Arakan court because he was somehow close to him.
In the autobiographical passages ,it is mentioned that he was
initially imprisoned.
After that, Sayed Masud Shah, a minister or Qazi of the
Arakan king, gave him shelter. Masud Shah was his spiritual
master. He also gave him the title of 'Quaderi Khilafat’.
Alaol spent his last days in the court of Majlis Navaraj,
another minister of Arakan.

This great inspirational poet of Bengali literature died in 1673

in Hat Hazari of Chittagong, probably at the age of 65 or 66.
 Works
No doubt, Alaol was a prolific writer. His most significant
contributions to Bengali literature were made through
translations of famous works in different languages into
Bangla.
His masterpiece, 'Padmavati', is a translation of a Hindi
poem 'Padmavat' by Malik Mohammad Jayasi.

In 1659, he completed Sati Mayna O Lorchandrani,, the

first part of which was completed earlier by another
Bengali court poet of Arakan, Daulat Qazi.

He translated Tohfa at the request of King Shrichondro

Sudhormo ( King of Arakan).
 Work ( CONTD)

His most other translations were made from

Persian. They are :
Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal,
Satimayana O Lor-Chandrani,
Saptapaykar,
Sikandarnama and
Tohifa etc.
 Some Other Important Facts

Alaol was also extraordinary in producing his own original

works.
Among his original works, there are a number of songs,
mostly vaishav, and a book namely Ragtalnama, his earliest
piece of writing. Ragtalnama is his only original writing apart
from his songs.
Another thing about Alaol is that he is mostly hailed as one of
the great poets who introduced romantic themes in Bangla
poetry.
A significant characteristic of his works is that though they
were mostly translated from other languages, his creative
touch and unique style made the works essentially the eternal
property of Bangla language.

Since most of his poems combine emotion with intellect, he is

called the Pandit Kabi (Pandit of Poets) of medieval Bengali
literature.
 Alaol’s important to the culture of
Bangladesh.

Alaol, who had enriched medieval Bengali literature with his works such
as Ragtalnama, Padmabati, Satimayana O Lorchandrani, Saptapaykar,
Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal and Sikandarnama.
Poet Syed Alaol enriched the medieval Bengali literature with his
timeless creations. He wrote on diverse subjects. Because of his
excellent creations, we can consider him as the Rabindranath Tagore of
17th century.
Alaol possessed good command over language. He made significant
contribution to Bengali language and literature. His translations, which
contain many Hindi and Sanskrit words, enriched Bangla language by
introducing new words.
Though Syed Alaol penned his poems during the 17th century, his works
are still relevant today.
We can get a glimpse of his originality and poetic brilliance in his
translation work Padmabati, one of his landmark creations.
 Home Work
Learn Everything properly at home.

Prepare your answer from the lecture:

Q : 1 (b)
i. Describe the life and work of Alaol. ( 5 Marks)
ii. Why Alaol was important to the culture of Bangladesh? (3)

For 1 (b) i: pick 4 sentences ( important facts) for life and Pick 4
sentences for work ( Important facts) and thus prepare your
answer.

For 1 (b) ii: You can write your own point of view and /or you can
pick from the slide. ( Justify propery- write at least 4-5 sentences
for this part)