ANISUL HOQUE

A Bangladeshi novelist, dramatist and journalist, Anisul Hoque's portfolio is irreplaceable. Born in March 4, 1965; Anisul Hoque graduated from BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) in Civil Engineering. Later on, he started his career as a journalist. He attended the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa in 2010. He is currently working as an Associate Editor of the Bengali daily "Prothom Alo". He received a huge number of prestigious awards including "Bangla Academy Award (2011)", "Citi Ananda Alo Award for Best Novel (2009)", "Euro Shishu Shahitya Award (2006)", "BACHSAS Award" for best screenplay and "TENASINAS Award" for best screenplay. 

INSPIRATION

Undoubtedly my father, who was a teacher of developmental psychology, is my inspiration. Accordingly, the cultural atmosphere I found in Rangpur PTI (Primary Teachers Training Institute) was extremely in favor of my passion in painting, writing, reading and listening music. All the trainees of that institute were culturally so associated that I got the chance to feel the warmth of art. Mercifully, I was in the midst of poetry, novels, songs, painting, and many other forms of art. Therefore, the overall ambience became my inspiration to think differently.

PHILOSOPHY

Life is evanescent, so it should be enjoyed at its best. A man should do whatever he wants but of course by keeping ethics on mind. I think, life should be spontaneous, it should not be stopped forcefully. A person has the right to taste the freedom in life and to search for the peace of soul as well. To me, creativity is all about failure, whereas failure is a cyclical process towards the success. I believe that art is all about uncertainty, because if I knew the consequence, it could not be framed as an artwork.

VIEW ON HIS PROFESSION

Journalism is both my passion and profession. Painting and writing to me are irresistible; whenever I get new thoughts in my mind, I cannot but refrain myself from giving it a frame by writing or painting. In my point of view, to write for the nation is a service because writings can still be alive and thus widen the thoughts of the reader even after the death of the writer. It's a matter of grief that today's generation is not that much interested in reading or practicing literature and the other forms of moral art. In my opinion, the portrait of our lavish culture should be represented to the youth so that they can focus more on reading literature rather than promoting with less knowledge or experience.

MUSIC

I am a die-hard fan of Rabindra Sangeet. Hence, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Aditi Mohsin, Srikanto Acharya and Kabir Suman are some of my most favorite singers. I also like the songs by Arnob. Among all of the songs, a Rabindra Sangeet "Amar Moner Koner Baire" is my most favorite song in which I find eternal peace.

FILMS

I have watched a lot of movies. Beside Bengali movies, I also watch Hollywood, Italian and Iranian movies. Among all of the movies I watched, "Ballad of a Soldier" is my favorite.

BOOKS

I have a huge collection of books of Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das, Nirmalendu Goon, Shakti Chattopadhyay and Joy Goswami. Among all, "Golpoguccho" by Rabindranath Tagore and "Kobita Samagra" by Jibanananda Das are some of my favorites.

FUTURE PLANS

I usually keep myself busy with writing books year round. This year, some of my books are being published at "Omor Ekushey Boimela". In this year, the number of books is huge, but most of the books are written previously which are being republished. A series of stories named "The Boss Is Always Right", a book with the column from "Oronne Rodon", some books for the children, some novels and short stories, a novel named "Priyo Ei Prithibi Chere" in which I am trying to examine what happens if a Bangladeshi girl starts a one way journey to the planet Mars: these are some of my books for this year.

IDOLS

Unquestionably, Rabindranath Tagore is my idol. He is a great poet with whom I can relate my realization of life. I would say that my teachers, many writers and poets are my idols, along with the great Jibonanondo Das.