Abdul Mannan Syed

Abdul Mannan Syed (3 August 1943 – 5 September 2010) was a Bangladeshi poet, and critic. He is known for his considerable research works on Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jibanananda Das, Farrukh Ahmad, Syed Waliullah, Manik Bandyopadhyay, Bishnu De, Samar Sen, Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain, Abdul Ghani Hazari, Muhammad Wajed Ali, Prabodh Chandra Sen. From 2002 to 2004, he had been the executive director of Nazrul Institute. Syed was born on 3 August 1943 at Basirhat, on the Ichamati River, in 24 Paraganas, in West Bengal of undivided India. In 1946, just before the partition of British Indian, a lethal Hindu-Muslim riot took place and forced many Muslims to leave West Bengal to settle in East Bengal, now Bangladesh. A less discussed but equally fearsome riot took place in 1950 that drove the family of Syed from West Bengal and to settle in Dhaka of then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. He lost his motherland for ever and always felt like a refugee. They first lived in Gopibagh of Dhaka town. Shortly his father bought a piece of land on the Green Road, formerly called Kuli Road. Since then 51 Green Road has been his address until his sudden death in September 2010. His father Syed A. M. Badruzzdoza was a public official who served in many places of the then East Pakistan. He was very strict about the formal education of his children. He had six sons and four daughters. Syed was married to his cousin Syra Syed Ranu. His only child was a daughter named Jinan Syed Shampa. In 1958, Syed passed the Matriculate examination from the Nawabpur High School. In 1960, he passed the Intermediate from the Dhaka College. He studied Bengali language and literature in the Dhaka University from where he obtained his B. A and M. A. degrees, respectively, in 1963 and 1964. Most of his life he earned his livelihood as a teacher of Bengali language and literature in government colleges. He started his career as a lecturer in the M. C. College of Sylhet town. He also taught in the Sheikh Borhanuddin College in Faridpur. However he served in the Jagannath College for a long time from where he retired in 1998. He also served as the District Gazetteer for a period of time. Later he was appointed the executive director of the Nazrul Institute (2002–2004).