Sheikh Fazlul Karim

Sheikh Fazlul Karim (1882–1936; Bengali: শেখ ফজলুল করিম), also known by his daak naam Mona (Bengali: মোনা), was a Bengali poet and writer. He was born in Lalmonirhat. Fazlul Karim was born on 30 Choitro 1289 BS (1882) to the Bengali Muslim of Sardars in the village of Kakina Bazar which was then located in Lalmonirhat, Rangpur district, Bengal Presidency. He was the second of the five sons and three daughters of Amirullah Sardar and Kokila Bibi. Fazlul Karim was interested in poetry from a young age, and it has been said that there were times when he would escape to go to school whilst only three to four years of age. When he turned five, he joined the Kakina School. At the age of eleven, he published his first handwritten book of poetry, Shorol Poddo Bikash. He then went on to enrol at the Rangpur Zilla School for class six but returned to Kakina School instead where he completed his minor. He was then sent to Rangpur again, but returned home once again. Fazlul Karim married Basirunnesa Khatun when he was 13 years old.