Bande Ali Mia

Bande Ali Mia (17 January 1906 – 27 June 1979) was a Bangladeshi poet, lyricist, novelist, dramatist, essayist, children’s writer and journalist. He was awarded the Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1962 and Ekushey Padak in 1988. Mia was born in Radhanagar, Pabna. He passed the entrance examination in 1923 from the Majumder Academy. He then studied painting at the Indian Art Academy in Calcutta in 1927. He worked as a journalist for the magazine Islam Darshan. He also taught at a Calcutta Corporation School during 1930–1950. His first book, Chor Jamai, was published in 1921 by Calcutta Ashutosh Library. He authored a total of 84 books, most of which feature a rural setting. Another work, Maynamotir Char, was published in 1931 by DM Library in Calcutta. He was the editor of the periodicals Bikash and Bhorer Alo. Later he worked as a script-writer at Rajshahi Radio Station until his death in 1979. Mia's poems were included in the curriculum of school level, secondary and higher secondary Bengali literature in Bangladesh. A school, Kobi Bonde Ali High School, was established in 1988. Bande's noteworthy work include the following.