Selim Al-Deen

Mohammad Mainuddin Ahmed (Selim Al Deen) (18 August 1949 – 14 January 2008) was a Bangladeshi playwright and theatre artist. He was the founder chairperson of the Department of Drama and Dramatics at Jahangirnagar University. He was awarded Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1984 and Ekushey Padak in 2007 by the Government of Bangladesh for his contribution to theatre and won the Independence Award in 2023 for his contribution to the field of literature. Deen was born as Mainuddin to Mofizuddin Ahmed and Firoza Khatun in Shenerkhil village of Sonagazi Upazila of Feni on 18 August 1949. He was the third of their seven siblings. He assumed this pen name later. His school life started in 1954. He travelled with his father to different parts of the country and received education in many institutions as his father was doing a transferable government job in the department of Customs and Excise. He passed matriculation examination in 1964 from Mongal Kandi Bohu Mukhi High School and ISc from Feni College in 1966. In 1967m he was admitted to the University of Dhaka to study Bengali literature. But later he graduated from the Karatia College, Tangail. He came back to the University of Dhaka and obtained his MA degree from the Bengali Department. In 1995, he earned his PhD from Jahangirnagar University. His first job was in an advertising firm as a copywriter. In 1974, he joined Jahangirnagar University as a lecturer. He married Begaumjadi Meherunnisa Parul the same year. Deen was attracted to reading literary works at a very young age. As he turned on to admit into Dhaka University in 1966, he decided to become a career writer. In the early years, Deen wanted to be a poet and published some of poems he composed. But soon he realised that poetry was not his cup of tea. It was his instructor and a playwright Munier Chowdhury who encouraged him to focus attention on drama. First he started reading plays and study the life of playwrights. Then he started to write plays himself. He wrote his first drama in 1968 while still a university-student. His first radio play was Biporit Tomosay ('On the other side of Darkness') was broadcast in 1969. He wrote a play for Bangladesh Television styled Librium (later renamed Ghoom Nei) which was broadcast in 1970. His first play for the theatre was Shorpo bishoyok golpo (tr. Story about snakes') was staged in 1972