I have many memories of Sir. I remember seeing him for the first time in 1973. I was in 8th grade. I lived in the hostel quarters of Mohammadpur Government School. My father was a school teacher.
‘Nondito Noroke’ just got published and readers were crazed all around. On the second page of the novel, it said, ‘You can bring a hundred lanterns/I am a humble soul, I will fly some lanterns in the sky one day.’ I read with unequivocal enchantment.
I made up my mind to meet him. I looked around for his address. Suddenly a friend said that Humayun Ahmed studied with them and Ahsan Habib is his brother. They used to call him Shaheen. I charged him, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Shaheen replied, “Hey, what’s the point?’
I asked him to take me to Humayun Ahmed’s home. He agreed and informed me that he lived in Babar Road, next to Humayun Road, in Mohammadpur.
One morning I headed out with Shaheen. Humayun Ahmed was sitting in his drawing room, reading a book. We exchanged greetings. He asked my name. He also asked me if I studied properly. I said, “Yes, I do. I am the son of a teacher. I am forced to do so.” He smiled and told me to go upstairs.
Belonging from a martyred family, they were given the two-story house. Shaheen’s room was in the attic upstairs. He was painting at the time. I chatted with him for a while and came back. This was my first memory of seeing Humayun Ahmed.
I have been acting in Dhaka Theater since 1980. At that time, no one from Dhaka Theater was allowed to act in TV dramas easily. I got the permission after 10 years. I auditioned for BTV and failed the first time. But I passed the next time and started acting on the small screen.
One day, BTV’s famous producer Riaz Uddin Badsha called me. At that time, I was completely engrossed in theatre. I had already acted in many famous plays such as Chokro, Keramot Mondol, Kittonkhola, Bonpangshul, Prachya, and Muntasir Fantasy.
Badshah Bhai told Humayun Bhai, “His name is Faruque. He acts well on stage.” I did not tell him about the incident of our acquaintance in 1973.
Humayun Bhai liked me. He asked me to come back the next day and rehearse. ‘Achin Brikkho’ was the name of the play. Then I got involved with ‘Aaj Robibar’.
I was acquainted with him for 20 to 22 years. So many memories! It is not possible to talk about them all.
I remember one time during Ramadan, he gave Iftar to 40 people in the open field in Nuhash Polli. He fed everyone with his own hand. The satisfaction and joy he got from this is unforgettable. He would feed everyone together and then pray with everyone.
When Humayun Ahmed asked me to do the play ‘Ure Jai Bok Pokkhi’, I was a bit hesitant. Because only one episode of the play had been written till then and my character did not have much scope.
Another actor had told me that when Humayun Ahmed himself asked me to do the play,I must do it. I agreed. The late actor Masum Aziz played the main character. He could not give much time to the play for various reasons. As a result, Humayun Ahmed later expanded the scope of my character.
He liked my acting a lot. And now the character of Taiyyab is very popular with the audience. I see that a lot of people are watching the drama’s clips on Facebook nowadays.
I wrote a book about him a few years ago, Smriti Humayun Ahmed. ‘Amar Na Bola Kotha’, published this year, also has mentions of Humayun Bhai.
Currently I am writing ‘Ghum’, ‘Megheder Songshar’ and even in these books I have mentioned him. In fact, whenever I write something, I will always write something about him.
I am directing the play ‘Rongmohol’ for Dhaka Theater. I have worked with Humayun Bhai for two decades and I have learned a lot about his directing techniques. I believe that if I direct his writings into a play, I will not do too bad.
I wanted to write a play based on ‘Ayna’, which Humayun Bhai wrote. I have yet to get permission but I will start working on it as soon as I get the permit.
My last memory of Humayun Bhai still brings me to tears. He had just come back to the country from the US for a few days after receiving chemotherapy. He was scheduled to fly back soon again for treatment. One day he asked me to visit him at his house. “I will tell a story,” he said in front of everyone present there.
He had a love for storytelling. Then he started the story.
“It was my youngest son’s birthday. I gave someone the responsibility of inviting everyone close to me. The event was going to take place at a restaurant in Gulshan. The person who was responsible for sending out the invites might have forgotten to invite Faruque. But on the day of the event, I saw Faruque arrive in the evening with a gift.
“He came and said, ‘Humayun Bhai, you did not invite me, but I still came’. Do you know what this is called? Love. True love. The kind of love that does not believe in give and take.’ Then I saw tears in his eyes. He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes.
He said, “It’s late. Go to Dhaka. Goodbye, Faruk.”