A twentieth-century poet and scholar of literature who focused on rural life and won many awards for his work. Polli Kobi Jasimuddin, a renowned poet and scholar of literature, was born on 1 January 1903 in the village of Tambulkhana in the Faridpur district.
Jasimuddin started his formal education at Faridpur Welfare School and then he went to Fridpur District School where he completed his matriculation, or secondary level education, in 1921. He passed IA (Intermediate of Arts) from Rajendra College and gained his BA and MA from Calcutta University.
Work in Kolkata and Dhaka
Polli Kobi Jasimuddin started his career as a collector of folk literature. He was appointed to this job while he was working as a research assistant at Kolkata University. He joined Dhaka University as a lecturer in 1937 and worked there until 1944 when he joined the government department of Information and Broadcasting.
Jasimuddin’s poetic talent developed in his student life. He was the famous poet, Kabar (the Grave) when he was a college student. The poem was included in school textbooks (Bengali syllabus for the matriculation examination while Jasimuddin was still a student at university.
A rural poet (Polli Kobi Jasimuddin)
Polli Kobi Jasimuddin emerged as a poet among the rural people of Bangladesh. He had spent most of his childhood, adolescence, and youthful years among the farmers in the countryside. His writings reflect the freshness and natural beauty of the rural world, as well as the life of ordinary peasants with their sincerity and simplicity. He is called the Palli Kabi (Poet of the Countryside).
His first book of verse, Rakhali (Shepherd) was published in 1927. Some of his famous books are Nakshi Kanthar Math, Shujon Badiyar Ghat, Matir Kanna, and Bangalir Hashir Golpo. Nakshi Kanthar Math and Bangalir Hashir Golpo have been translated into English and Field of the Embroidered Quilt and Folk Tales of Bangladesh respectively.
Among these, Nakshi Kanthar Math and Shujon Badiyar Ghat are unique in terms of style of presentation as well as the way they explore the heart of picturesque rural Bangladesh.
Honors
In 1969 Jasimuddin was awarded the DLitt by Rabindra Bharati University. He also won several other awards, including the president’s Award for Pride of Performance (1956).
Ekushey Padak (1976) and Swadhinata Dibas Puruskar (Posthumous, 1978). In 1974 he was also selected for the Bangla Academy Award but refused it. Jasimuddin died in Dhaka on 13 March 1976 and was buried in his village.
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