Qazi Anwar Husain passes away

Qazi Anwar Husain, the creator of the popular book series "Masud Rana" and the man behind the teen detective series "Tin Goyenda" that engrossed generations, passed away yesterday.

He was 86.

Anwar suffered a stroke and a heart attack simultaneously while on life support, his sister cultural personality Sanjida Khatun told The Daily Star.

"He had been on life support at Birdem Hospital and was moved to its ICU on Tuesday. He breathed his last at 4:40pm yesterday," she added.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on October 31 and had been hospitalised five times since then.

Anwar, born on July 19, 1936, in Dhaka, got his master's degree in Bangla literature and language from Dhaka University.

He started publishing house Seba Prokashoni with Tk 10,000 given by his father National Professor Qazi Motahar Hossain, also an eminent scientist and writer.

Seba publishes paperbacksthat are both well written and affordable.

In the mid-60s, Anwar launched Masud Rana series. The swiftly paced spy thrillers kept readers spellbound with the suspense of the plots and breathtaking final twists. He immortalised the character of Masud Rana.

Anwar through Seba also published translations of classics as well as cowboy stories widely known as "Westerns".

Seba introduced Tin Goyenda series, written by Rakib Hasan, in the mid-80s. This series is credited with giving generations a reading habit.

He also published Kuasha series, a monthly magazine called Rohoshsho Potrika, and teen magazine Kishore Potrika.

In recent years, he drew flak after Bangladesh Copyright Office granted the copyrights of many "Masud Rana" books to its ghost writer Sheikh Abdul Hakim in June 2020.

Anwar's body will be kept at his Quantuam Foundation. After Zohr prayers today, he will be buried at the Banani Graveyard in his mother's grave.

Anwar is survived by two sons and a daughter.

His wife renowned singer Farida Yasmin died in 2015.