“I have no regrets in life; I am happy with what I achieved”
Masud Ali Khan is a veteran theatre and television actor, who has been admired by the Bangladesh audience for decades. He has been involved in the acting industry for the last 50 years. He was one of the founding members of the first theatre group in the country, Drama Circle. The veteran actor recently shared his childhood memories with The Daily Star.
I remember my childhood vividly. I was a very mischievous kid, who was always up to something. Most of the time, I used to roam around. I loved playing football, but it never hampered my studies. Despite my mischievous attitude, I was an attentive student.
The memory of plucking mangoes from trees are one of my favourite ones. In summer, my friends and I used to climb the trees and pick the ripe ones. Those days and those friends, they remain in my memory yet I lost them long ago.
I loved riding horses in my childhood. Riding a horse can be a difficult task when the horse starts to run; you have to hold on tightly. I injured myself several times, yet I enjoyed riding the horse.
Riding the palki (palanquin) with my mother to visit my grandparent's house is another favourite memory of mine. How beautifully simple those days were! My grandparent's house was almost six miles away from our village. We used to travel by boat on rainy days and by palki during summer. We used to cross the Dhaleshwari river, but there is little similarity with the Dhaleshwari we see now.
My childhood memories involve my favourite people. Odhonno Ghosh, was a favourite uncle who used to buy me 'Khirsha', a rural sweet. Khirsha and puffed rice was one of my favourite snacks. Till now, I can feel that taste of this sweet. Amullo Dey was our postman, I have several fond memories with him as well.
I remember my father's certain rules and regulations as well his love and affection. My father used to work in Kolkata and visited us only twice a year. Once in holidays during summer and once in Puja holidays. When he was at home, I was not allowed to play football anymore because he would worry that I will injure myself. It was hard for me to abstain from football and sometimes I even broke the rule and went to play. Though I had to receive punishment for doing so, I believe that side of my father's affection was the biggest achievement in my life.
After passing my SSC exam, I got admitted into Salimullah College and later, in Jagannath College. My acting journey started with Jagannath College. I first acted in a play titled, Bish Bochor Age, when I was a student at JC.
My friendship with Mir Maksud-Us-Salehin started at that time. Salehin and I, along with some of our friends started Drama Circle. Since then, acting has been an integral part of my life.
Drama Circle was founded on October 6, 1956. Since then, I acted in many plays and received so much love from the audience. I have no regrets in life; I am happy with what I achieved.
We used to rehearse at poet Hasan Hafizur Rahman's house in old town in our Drama Circle days. The memories of those days, the peaceful feelings, the lovable moments, all these have made my life so rich and full of love -- are etched deeply in my mind.
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