Bangladeshi educator and former teacher, who has spent most of his life in the academic halls of Anandamohan College, recently reflected on his journey from a modest upbringing to a career in teaching and writing. In an interview with journalist Muhammad Farid Hasan, published in the Bangla Tribune on 14 August 2024, he recounted how his early life shaped his educational aspirations. The educator, who prefers to be called a “teacher” rather than a “professor,” said that his family played a significant role in his intellectual development. He described himself as having been “intellectually mature” from childhood and noted that he had a limited relationship with standard textbooks. Instead, he was drawn to non‑textbook literature, finishing several books by the writer Sharat Chandra while still in the third grade. He also completed a work by B. Chandra (Benkimchandra) with an essay before passing his matriculation exam, although he admitted that he did not read many textbooks and scored only 33 out of 100 in mathematics—a passing mark of 30. Despite these modest academic results, he earned a Master’s degree and later became a faculty member at Anandamohan College. He credited a lecture by Professor Sudendra Chakraborty as a pivotal moment that inspired him to pursue a career in academia. “I decided then that I had to become a professor,” he said, noting that his decision was driven by a desire to overcome the poverty he had experienced. In his teaching career, he specialized in grammar, a subject he described as “dull” but one that attracted students from Anandamohan College to his classes. He claimed that his approach to teaching grammar was unique and that no other teacher could replicate it. The educator also spent a year and a half in jail, during which he wrote a book titled ব্যাকরণের ভয় অকারণ (“Fear of Grammar is Unnecessary”). According to the interview, the book was based on his reflections while incarcerated and was later published following his release. He expressed ambivalence about his own writing, stating that he does not particularly like the work he has produced. Nevertheless, he maintains that his greatest satisfaction comes from teaching and that he finds no fulfillment in other pursuits.
Article source: Ajker Patrika | Image credit: Ajker Patrika