Santiniketan
Syed Mujtaba Ali’s language learning and his humour
Syed Mujtaba Ali’s language learning and his humour
One of the finest novelists, short story writers, translators and humourists in modern Bangla literature is Syed Mujtaba Ali. He was born on 13 September 1904 in Karimganj of Sylhet, then part of Assam in undivided British India. A large part of his education was spent at Santiniketan. There he learnt Sanskrit, English, Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Gujarati, French, German, Italian and several other languages. For study, employment and simply out of a passion for travelling, Mujtaba Ali roamed many countries of the world. In humorous writing he was unmatched in Bangla literature. Today, 13 September, is the day of his passing. From the 'Syed Mujtaba Ali Rachanabali" published by Student Wage, five incidents are presented here for readers.