Kamal Chowdhury

Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury (known as Kamal Chowdhury; born 31 December 1957) is a Bengali poet and a member of the Bangladesh Civil Service.[1] He currently holds the position of Chief Coordinator of the National Implementation Committee for the Celebration of Mujib Borsho, the Birth Centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father of Bangladesh.[2] He is a former Principal Secretary of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[3]

Kamal Chowdhury
কামাল চৌধুরী
Chowdhury in 2018
Born
Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury

(1957-12-31) 31 December 1957
Comilla district, East Pakistan, Pakistan (now Chauddagram Upazila, Bangladesh)
NationalityBangladeshi
EducationPh.D
Alma materUniversity of Dhaka
AwardsBangla Academy Literary Award (2011)

He is mostly known for his works on literature, especially poetry. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 2011 for his contributions to Bengali poetry.[4]

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born on 31 December 1957, in Vijaykara village of Chauddagram Upazila of Comilla District. He is the second among six children of Ahmad Hossain Chowdhury and Begum Tahira Hossain. In 1973, he passed Secondary School Certificate from Gaidyanil High School in Narayanganj District and Higher Secondary School Certificate from Dhaka College in 1975. Then he studied sociology at University of Dhaka and received Bachelor's and master's degree.[5] In 2000, he completed PhD in anthropology at the retirement of government jobs.[2] The subject of his PhD dissertation is 'Matrutulan Rasa tradition of Garo people'.

Working life

In 1982, Kamal Chowdhury took up the job as a member of the Bangladesh Civil Service. After serving jobs in different positions in 2010, he was promoted as Secretary of the Government of Bangladesh. While being additional secretary of the Ministry of Information (Bangladesh), he was appointed as Acting Secretary of the same ministry. Afterwards, he served as Secretary of Information for some time. From 2010 to 2014 he was the Secretary of Ministry of Education. After that, he served as the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration from March 2014. At this time, he was promoted as the Senior Secretary of the Government. After retiring from work in late 2016, he was appointed as the Principal Secretary of Prime Minister of Bangladesh.[3] He also represented Bangladesh at the UNESCO Executive Board for the term 2014–2017.[6]

Poetry
Chowdhury discussing poetry translation at Dhaka Lit Fest 2017


Kamal Chowdhury was in close relationship with contemporary poets, including Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah, Taslima Nasrin. While studying at the University of Dhaka, on the occasion of the Bangla Academy of the year 1981, a group of young poets took initiatives to publish the first poetic life of the poet; Kamal Chowdhury is one of them. For this purpose, Dravir publication was established. Kamal Chowdhury's first poetry book was published at Ekushey Book Fair in 1981, at that time he was 48 years old.[7]

Publications

Kamal Chowdhury's first poetry book was published in the year 1981. The list of his poetry books are:

  • Michhiler Shoman Boyoshi (As Old as the Procession), 1981
  • Ae Poth Ae Kolahol, 1993
  • Asheci Nejer Vore, 1995
  • Ae Meg Biduthe Vora, 1997
  • Duli O Sagor Drisho, 2000
  • Rod Brishti Antomil, 2003
  • He Mati Prithibiputro, 2006
  • Premer Kobita, 2008[8]
  • Panthoshalar Ghora, 2010

Awards
  • Bangla Academy Literary Award (2011) [4]
  • Rudro Prize for Literature, 2000
  • All India Bangla Poetry Festival Honours 2003 at Haldia, Paschimbanga, India
  • Shouharda Sammanona (Honour for Friendship), 2003, awarded by the Shouharda’70s, a poetic society representing the poets of the 1970s in Kolkata, Paschimbanga, India
  • Kobitalap Literature Prize 2004.
  • Poet Jibonananda Prize 2008.
  • Citi-Anonda-Alo Literature Prize 2010.
  • Dorianagar (Cox's Bazar) International Poetry Prize 2010.
  • Assam University Honours 2011, Shilchar, Assam.

References
  1. "PM names loyalist Kamal Chowdhury as principal secretary". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. "Dr Kamal Naser Chowdhury gets status of principal secretary". Dhaka Tribune. 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  3. মুখ্য সচিব হলেন কামাল চৌধুরী. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2017-11-14.
  4. "Bangla Academy prizes announced". bdnews24.com. 2012-02-18. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  5. Bangla Academy Lekhok Ovidhan. Dhaka: Bangla Academy. 2009. p. 119.
  6. "Representative of Bangladesh to the UNESCO Executive Board" (PDF). unesco.org.
  7. "Rendezvous with Poet Kamal Chowdhury". The Daily Star. 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
  8. কামাল চৌধুরীর কবিতা : আত্মকথন ও নিসর্গপ্রেম. Risingbd.com (in Bengali). 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
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