Hayat Saif

Saiful Islam Khan (known as Hayat Saif; 16 December 1942 – 13 May 2019) was a twentieth century modern Bengali poet and literary critic from Bangladesh. A career bureaucrat, he retired in 2000 and since then was engaged in the corporate private sector and divided his time in World Scouting and literary and artistic pursuits. He has been translated in English and Spanish and, in Bangladesh, is generally acclaimed as an intellectual interpreter of contemporary life and culture. Saif assumed this pen name in 1961 when contributing to literary journals. In 2005, he was awarded the 305th Bronze Wolf. He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 2018 for his contribution in language and literature. Saif was born on 16 December 1942 in Dhaka to Moslem Uddin Khan and Begum Sufia Khan. After high school, he studied English literature and obtained his M. A. degree in 1965. After graduation, he taught in colleges for about three years and then joined the Pakistan Superior Service in the Finance cadre in 1968. He was involved in the revenue administration and tax policy making for more than three decades. He acted as Chairman of the National Board of Revenue and retired in 1999. In early 1960s, still a student, he worked as a casual announcer and newscaster in the Dhaka centre of the then Radio Pakistan and later in Pakistan Television at Lahore Center. He later continued his interests in broadcasting and telecasting and anchors literary programmers and talk shows.