Noted linguist, humour novelist, fiction writer and essayist Syed
Muztaba Ali was perhaps the most famous practitioner of "literary
humour" in the subcontinent.
Needless to say, Syed Mujtaba Ali was
also a Bengali author, scholar and journalist. He was a pioneer of
'Ramya Rachana' in Bengali literature. His unique writing style became
very popular among the people. Many of the stories were based on his
life experiences. Among them were 'Deshe Bideshe' which was based on his
experience in Kabul and 'Panchatantra' which was based on his
experience in Europe, Cairo and Baroda. He graduated from Visva-Bharati
University in 1926. He earned his PhD from University of Bonn in 1932.
He learned fifteen languages - French, German, Italian, Arabic, Urdu,
Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi and English etc. He joined Visva-Bharati
University as professor of German language and Islamic Culture from 1956
to 1964.
Syed Muztaba Ali was an educationist, novelist, thinker and
writer, was born on September 13 in 1904 at his father's workplace in
Sylhet. His father, Syed Sikandar Ali, was a sub-registrar. Muztaba Ali
studied at various educational institutions because of his father's
frequent transfers from one place to another. He was finally admitted to
Santiniketan where he obtained his BA degree in 1926. He learned
several languages at Visva-Bharati---- Sanskrit, English, French,
German, Persian, Arabic, Italian, Hindi, and Gujrati. He had learned
Urdu at home. Apart from languages, he also studied Sangkhya and Vedanta
at Visva-Bharati.
Since a diploma from Visva-Bharati was then not
recognised by other universities, Muztaba Ali proceeded to sit for the
Entrance Examination from Calcutta University as a private candidate in
1926. He studied Intermediate of Arts at Aligarh University before
leaving for Germany on a scholarship to study Philosophy. In 1932 he was
awarded a DPhil for his research on Comparative Religion. He also
studied at Al-Azhar University from 1934 to 1935.
While Muztaba Ali
was studying at Santiniketan, some of his writings were published in the
Visva-Bharati, a handwritten magazine. He wrote columns in different
journals such as the Ananda Bazar, Desh, Satyayug, Shanibarer Chithi,
Basumati, Hindustan Standard, etc. under different pseudonyms such as
'Satyapir', 'Rai Pithora', 'Omar Khaiyam', 'Tekchand', 'Priyadarshi'. He
was also a regular contributor to the Mohammadi, Chaturanga, Matrbhumi,
Kalantar, Al-Islah, etc.
He has thirty books to his credit, in a
variety of genres: novels, short stories, essays and travelogues, etc.
His travelogues, Deshe-Bideshe and Jale-Danay were particularly well
received. His novels include Abishvasya, Shabnam and Shahar-Iyar.
Panchatantra and Mayurkanthi are humorous writings. His short stories
have been compiled in Chacha Kahini and Tuni Mem. Bonn University
published his DPhil. dissertation The Origin of Khojahs and Their
Religious Life Today. He also wrote about the language issue in East
Pakistan in Purba-Pakistaner Rastrabhasa.
As an intellectual, Muztaba
Ali was highly esteemed in both India (particularly Pacchim Bangla) and
Bangladesh. His international exposure gave him a broadness of vision,
which, together with his style of writing, brought him considerable
renown. His short humorous writings have always been popular with
readers. However, under the guise of humour, he expressed deeply felt
truths. He died on February 11 in 1974.
September 13 marked 114th birth anniversary of Syed Muztaba Ali.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
