Abdullah Abu Sayeed

Abdullah Abu Sayeed
Abdullah Abu Sayeed
Native name	আবদুল্লাহ আবু সাইয়ীদ
Born	25 July 1939 (age 85); Park Circus, Calcutta, British India (now India)
Occupation	writer, television presenter, activist
Nationality	Bangladeshi
Education	BA Hons (Bengali); MA (Bengali);
Alma mater	University of Dhaka;
Notable awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award (2004); Bangla Academy Award (2011); Ekushey Padak (2005);

Abdullah Abu Sayeed (born 25 July 1939) is a Bangladeshi writer, television presenter, organizer and activist. He is currently the Chairman of Bishwa Sahitya Kendra, a non-profit organization that promotes the study of literature, reading habits and progressive ideas.

Early life

Sayeed was born in 1939 in Calcutta. His father was Azimuddin Ahmed, a teacher of both English and Bengali literature.^[2] He was also a playwright. Sayeed passed SSC exam from Pabna Zilla School in 1955 and HSC exam from Profollo Chandra College in 1957. He later earned the degree of BA and MA in Bengali from the University of Dhaka in 1960 and 1961 respectively.

Career

Sayeed was a professor of Bengali language in Dhaka College.^[3] In mid-1970s he started presenting Shaptabarna (Seven Colors), a multidimensional TV show in Bangladesh Television. In 1978, he founded the Bishwa Sahitya Kendra.

Abdullah Abu Sayeed (left), with Yasmeen Haque and Muhammed Zafar Iqbal

Awards

Sayeed was given the 97th Ramon Magsaysay Award in Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts for "cultivating in the youth of Bangladesh a love for literature and its humanizing values through exposure to the great books of Bengal and the world".^[4] Other awards include: