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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Akhteruzzaman Elias
| native_name =আখতারুজ্জামান ইলিয়াস
| native_name_lang = bn
| image = Akhteruzzaman Elias.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1943|02|12}}
| birth_place = Gotia, [[Gaibandha District]], [[British Raj]] (now [[Bangladesh]])
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1997|01|04|1943|02|16}}
| occupation = [[novelist]], [[short story writer]], [[academician]]
| nationality = [[Bangladesh]]i
| education = [[Master of Arts]]
| alma_mater = [[Bogra Zilla School]] <br/> [[Dhaka College]] <br/> [[University of Dhaka]]
| notableworks = ''Khoabnama'', ''Chilekothar Sepai''
| awards = [[Bangla Academy Literary Award]] (1983)<br />[[Ekushey Padak]] (1998)
}}
'''Akhteruzzaman Elias''' (12 February 1943 – 4 January 1997) (Bengali: আখতারুজ্জামান ইলিয়াস) was a Bangladeshi novelist and short story writer.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |author=Shafiul Alam |chapter=Elias, Akhteruzzaman |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Elias,_Akhteruzzaman |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |editor=Sirajul Islam and Ahmed A. Jamal |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |year=2012 |edition=Second}}</ref> Despite writing only two novels, critics place Elias "in the pantheon of great [[Bengal]]i novelists".<ref name="Nikhat">{{cite book|last1=Ekbal|first1=Nikhat|title=Great Muslims of Undivided India|date=2009|publisher=Kalpaz Publications|location=[[Delhi]]|isbn=9788178357560|page=270|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zjWqXCOTehMC&q=Buddhibrttir+Natun+Binyas&pg=PA269|accessdate=2 April 2018|language=English|chapter=Akhtaruzzaman Ilias}}</ref> Elias "emerged as a powerful short-story writer"<ref name="HoB">{{cite book|last1=Maksud|first1=Syed Abul|authorlink1=Syed Abul Maksud|title=History of Bangladesh (1704-1971)|date=April 2007|publisher=[[The Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]|location=Dhaka|isbn=978-984-512-337-2|page=273|edition=3rd|language=English|chapter=Bangla Literature in the Twentieth Century}}</ref> in 1960s, and published his first novel, ''Chile Kotar Sepai'' in 1987 and his second and last ''Khowabnama'' in 1996 shortly before his death from cancer on 4 January 1997.<ref name=bpedia/>

==Early life and education==
Elias was born at his maternal uncle's home in Gotia village in Gaibandha District.<ref name=bpedia/> His paternal home was in Chelopara, near [[Bogra]]. His father, Badiuzzaman Muhammad Elias, was a member of the East Bengal Provincial Assembly and Parliamentary Secretary of the Muslim League.<ref name=bpedia/> Elias' mother's name was Mariam Elias.

Elias completed his [[Matriculation]] from [[Bogra Zilla School]] in 1958,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.thedailystar.net/starinsight/2006/08/01/guru.htm|title=From Bogra : A Successful Seat of knowledge|author=Md.Mahbur Rahman|date=5 August 2006|accessdate=29 December 2015|newspaper=The Daily Star}}</ref> Intermediate from [[Dhaka College]] in 1960, and [[Bachelor of Arts|BA (Hons)]] and [[Master of Arts|MA]] from the [[University of Dhaka]] in 1964.

==Career==
Elias started his career as a lecturer at [[Jagannath College]] and worked there till 1983.<ref name=bpedia/> He also worked subsequently as Deputy Director, Directorate of Primary Education, Vice-Principal of Music College, and Professor and Head of the Department of Bengali at Dhaka College.<ref name=bpedia/>

== Death ==
On 13 of January, 1996, Akhteruzzaman Elias was diagnosed of cancer. Delayed identification of the disease caused his situation to deteriorate. On 20 March of the same year, his right leg, affected by cancer, had to be cut off from his body. Suffering for a few days, he finally breathed his last breath on 4 January 1997 in Dhaka Community Hospital, Dhaka.

==Works==
Elias is said to not have focused on the quantity of his literary output, rather on the quality. His literary work includes themes such as the country's history, heritage, culture, politics, economics, poverty, exploitation, and deprivation. He is said to have tried to comprehend human life as a whole through these themes. Elias has been praised on his ability to portray subtle mental tendencies.

Below are listed his notable works.

'''Novels'''

*''Chilekothar Sepai /চিলেকোঠার সেপাই'' (The Soldier in the Attic) (1987) - details the psychological journey of a man during the turbulent period of the mass uprisings of 1969, just prior to [[Bangladesh Liberation War|Bangladeshi independence]] in 1971. This novel also contains what is arguably the most authentic description of life in ''Puran Dhaka'', the old and distinctive part of Dhaka.
*''Khoabnama/খোয়াবনামা'' (The Saga of Dreams) (1996) - Khoabnama depicts the socio-political scene in rural pre-[[Partition of India|partition]] Bangladesh.

'''Short story collections'''

*''Dojokher Om/ দোজখের ওম'' (The Warmth of Hell)
* ''Dudhbhate Utpat/'' ''দুধভাতে উৎপাত'' (No Peace in Milk and Rice)
* ''Onno Ghore Onno Shor/ অন্য ঘরে অন্য স্বর'' (Another Tune in Another Room)
* ''Khoari/ খোয়ারি'' (Hangover)
* ''Jal Shopno, Shopner Jal/ জাল স্বপ্ন, স্বপ্নের জাল'' (Fake Dream, Illusion of Dream)

'''Essay collections'''

* ''Shongskritir Bhanga Shetu/ সংস্কৃতির ভাঙা সেতু'' (Broken Bridge of Culture)

==Awards==
* 1977 : Humayun Kabir Smrti Puraskar
* 1983 : [[Bangla Academy Literary Award]] in Literature
* 1987 : Alaol Sahitya Puraskar - ''Chilekothar Sepai''
* 1996 : [[Ananda Puraskar]] - ''Khwabnama''
* 1996 : Saadat Ali Akhand Puraskar - ''Khwabnama''
* 1996 : Kazi Mahbubullah Gold Medal - ''Khwabnama''
* 1999 : [[Ekushey Padak]] (posthumous)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080125141549/http://bangladeshinovels.com/Akhteruzzaman_Elias%20.html Akhtaruzzaman Elias Intermingles Dreams, Myths and Realities]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elias, Akhteruzzaman}}
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Bengali novelists]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi male novelists]]
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:Dhaka College faculty]]
[[Category:Dhaka College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Dhaka alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of Bangla Academy Award]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ekushey Padak]]
[[Category:20th-century novelists]]
[[Category:People from Bogra District]]
[[Category:20th-century Bangladeshi male writers]]
[[Category:People from Gaibandha District]]
[[Category:Magic realism writers]]

Akhteruzzaman Elias - Revision history

Bot at 22:37, 18 May 2022