I feel like I’m 19: Mamunur Rashid on his leap-year birthday

Eminent cultural personality and Ekushey Padak winner Mamunur Rashid is a stalwart of the Bangladeshi media, simultaneously contributing as a playwright, director, and actor, and improving the cultural sector in the country. He is also the founder of Aranyak Natyadal.

The evergreen actor has the misfortune of having his birthday on February 29, and he can only celebrate it once every four years. We talk to the legend on this auspicious day.

Don't you feel upset about the fact that your birthday comes every leap year?

Absolutely not! In fact, I like to take this positively. Since my birthday comes every four years, people eagerly wait for it. I wonder if it was yearly whether anyone would celebrate it with this amount of excitement.

How old did you turn this year?

I feel like I am 19! In reality, I turned 77 today. I remember that many years ago I went to Kerala, India, to attend a programme, and it was my birthday. I told them that I turned 17 that day (laughs). I enjoy this feeling.

Aranyak Natyadal and many other cultural organisations have planned quite a few activities to celebrate your birthday.

This brings me a lot of joy! Gratitude to those who are involved with Aranyak and others in this endeavour. Love to them. I owe them. Getting well wishes from various places a few days before my birthday is also very pleasant.

What is your philosophy of life?

I believe in humanity, above everything else.  My father used to say, 'You have so many friends!' It is still true, and I love being surrounded by them. The philosophy of my life is to love people, to be among people, to do something for the people.

Even at this age, you are actively participating in the media and art arena.

I love to think new every day. I still write columns regularly for newspapers, write plays, act, and also direct for the stage. Every birthday, I try to write a new play, and I did so this time as well.

What makes me worry is when I read in newspapers that the hills are being cut down, sand is being dredged, and nature is being destroyed. This makes me think a lot, and I try to write about all of it. I don't even know if it helps, I don't even know if anything will change. However, we won't be here one day. Maybe 100 years from today, people will remember us as a group who spoke up, when no one else did.

What more do you desire from life?

There's nothing to desire. I think about all that I can give to the people, the country, and the world. I never ran after money or wealth. We have an ancestral house in Tangail city. My mother still lives there, and the fact that my mother is still with me is the epitome of hope. As long as I live, I want to give — be it through writing, acting, or protesting.

How much do you contemplate the various uncertainties in the surroundings?

It bothers me a lot. Sometimes the inhumanity of humans puts me in deep sorrow. Yet, I am an optimist. I bind my heart with hope. I dream that the world will be beautiful someday!