The Bibliography of Shahidul Zahir - Miscellaneous

The bibliography of Shahidul Zahir contains only six published books during his lifetime. Some published stories and novels remain to be published in book form, in addition to some unpublished works. His last published story is titled “The Miracle of Life”, which remains to be anthologized.

Novels

Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota

Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota was published in Dhaka by the Mowla Brothers in 1988 as a debut noble. The novella is written against the backdrop of the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971.

A play of the same title based on this novel was performed in Dhaka and directed by dramatist Syed Jamil Ahmed. The inaugural show was held on 23 March 2019, occasionally on the death anniversary of Zaheer.

Se Ratey Purnima Chilo

The second novel written by Zahir was published in Dhaka by Mowla Brothers in 1995. Which is based on the story of killing the family of a dictator of Suhasini village in Bangladesh.

In 2016, a play of the same title based on this novel was produced by theatre group Arshinagar and directed by Reza Arif.

Mukher Dike Dekhi

It was published in Dhaka by Mowla Brothers in 2006 and was the last and 3rd published novel in his lifetime. The dedication letter of the book reads: “pour elle / si je lui vois encore“. Mamun Mia, a vital character in the novel, was smuggled to Chittagong to fetch sawdust when he was a boy, where his new life begins as a rabbit in a cage owned by Asmantara.

The story is characterized by many character traits, the narrative of which has become distinct in construction, description, and type. This is the story of the growth of the main character, Chanmina, who was born in December 1971 at the end of the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Abu Ibrahimer Mirtu

Zahir’s fourth novel Abu Ibrahimer Mirtu (Abu Ibrahim’s Death), was published posthumously by Mowla Brothers in 2009 and written against the backdrop of the reign of the then-dictator Hussein Muhammad Ershad. The story is rich in connotations and commentary on the human experience. The novel’s dedication reads: “People does die, of course, but the meaning of death is different…” It also includes “A person is inherently dead, or heavier than Taishan, or lighter than a feather” by Chinese historian Sima Qian (206 BC-AD 220). The novel won the Prothom Alo Borsho Shera Boi award in 2009.

Before being published as a book, the novel was published on Nipun (issue 6 June 1991).

Stories

Dolu Nadir Hawa O Annanya Galpo

Zahir’s third collection of short stories, Dolu Nadir Hawa O Annanya Galpo, was published by Mowla Brothers on 1 January 2004 in Bangladesh. It compiled seven stories written between 1999 and 2003. In the background of the stories, there are various contexts and curiosities related to the people from Bhuter Goli (Bhajahari Saha Street) at Puran Dhaka and the villagers and the love, dreams, and dream-breaking of the people.

The book’s title is taken from the river Dolu, which flows through Lohagara through the eastern hilly region of Bandarban and Satkania in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh. Zaheer lived in Satkania for some time before his secondary examination and studied at Satkania Adarsh High School. The book won Kagaz Sahitya Puraskar in 2004.