Mymensingh Board 2024

Michael Madhusudan Dutt was a celebrated 19th century Bangalee poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagordari on the bank of the Kopotaksho River, a village in Keshabpur Upazila under Jashore district. From an early age, Michael aspired to be an Englishman in form and manner. Though he was born in a sophisticated Hindu family, he converted to Christianity as a young man, much to the ire of his family, and adopted the first name Michael. In his childhood, he was recognized by his teachers as a precious child with a gift of literary talent. His early exposure to English education and European literature at home and his college inspired him to imitate the English in taste, manners and intellect. Since his adolescence he started believing that he was born on the wrong side of the planet, and that his society was unable to appreciate his talent. He also believed that the West would be more receptive to his creative genius.

Madhusudan was an ardent follower of the famous English poet Lord Byron. So, after adopting Christianity, he went to Europe and started composing poems and plays in English. They showed his higher level of intellectual ability. However, he failed to gain the right appreciation. To his utter frustration he found that he was not esteemed as a native writer of English literature. Out of his frustration, he composed a sonnet in Bangla "Kopotaksha Nad" which earned him huge reputation in Bangla. Gradually he could realise that his true identity lay in Bengal and he was a sojourner in Europe. Afterwards he regretted his fascination for England and the West. He came back to Bengal and devoted himself to Bangla literature from this period. He has written the first Bangla epic "Meghnad Badh Kabya."

Read the passage on Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah. Complete the following table with information from the passage: 1x5=5

The great men were born in different places of the world but their activities make them familiar and closer to us. Dr. Muhammad Shahidullah was one of those who contributed a lot to Bangla language and literature. He was one of the greatest scholars of Bengal of his time. This great scholar was born on July, 1885 at 24 Paragonas in West Bengal, India. He passed his entrance examination in 1904 and obtained his B. A. degree six years later. It took him two years to complete his M. A. and another two years for his Bachelor of Law Degree. He later joined the University of Dhaka in 1921 as a professor of Sangskrit and Bengali. He was awarded the Doctorate Degree from Sorbonne University, Paris in 1928. "Bangla Shahitter Kotha" the first well arranged history of Bengali literature was composed by him and it was published in 1953. This great scholar remained busy with his works till he became seriously ill in 1967 and was confined to bed for about two and a half years. Dr. Shahidullah breathed his last on July 13, 1969 in Dhaka.