Career
In 1947, Waliullah moved from Calcutta to Dhaka. He joined Radio Pakistan. In 1950, he was transferred to Karachi. In 1951, he started serving as the press attaché at the Pakistan missions in New Delhi, Sydney, Jakarta and London. In 1960, he was appointed as the First Secretary at the Pakistan embassy in Paris. In 1967, he joined the UNESCO in Paris.
Literature
Waliullah is often considered the pioneer of existential analysis of the characters psyche in the literature of Bangladesh. The last two of his three novels, especially ' Kando Nadi Kando (Cry, o river), (কাঁদো নদী কাঁদো) (1968), show his mastery in revealing the inner depths of his characters.[4] Chander Amaboshay (Dark moon) (চাঁদের অমাবস্যা ), (1964) was another famous novel of him. Nayanchara (নয়নচারা), (1946) and Dui Tir O Anyanya Galpa (দুই তীর এবং অন্যান্য গল্প), (1965) are storybooks written by him.
Lalsalu
Main article: Lalsalu
Lalsalu tells the story of Majid, a poor man from a misguided Muslim background. Majid comes to a remote village. He declares an old grave to be the Mazar that of a Pir, covers it with the traditional red cloth used for mausoleums, and establishes his stronghold on the life of the people using the reflected power on him of the supposed saint. The novel shows his struggle with other religious figures trying to establish dominance, the undercurrent of pagan ideas among the people, and his own weaknesses.[5]
The novel was adapted to a Tanvir Mokammel film with the same title in 2001.
Personal life and death
Waliullah met Anne Marie Thibaud (1929–1997), a French woman, in Sydney. They were married in 1955 and had two children, Simine and Iraj. He was a cousin of Jamal Nazrul Islam, a physicist and mathematician.[6]
Waliullah died in Meudon in Paris on October 10, 1971.
