THROUGH THE EYES ENAMUL HUQ
An award-winning theatre and television actor of Bangladesh, a professor and also a playwright, Enamul Huq was born in 29th May, 1943. He has earned an immense respect for his remarkable contributions which made him an undoubtedly unique icon of our country. He completed his BSc and MSc degree in Chemistry in 1963 and 1964 respectively from Dhaka University. He joined the Department of Chemistry, BUET in 1965 as a lecturer. Then, he earned his PhD degree from the University of Manchester in 1976 in the field of synthetic organic chemistry. He also did his postdoctoral fellowship in Pharmacy Department from the University of Manchester. He served as the Chairman of the Department for 15 years. After that, he also acted as the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for 2 years. He was awarded the precious “Ekushey Padak” in 2012 by the Government of Bangladesh for his outstanding contributions in fine arts.
INSPIRATION
Family is the first and most important object which frames a person's thoughts. Therefore, I must say that the family I am blessed with was supremely inspirational and has introduced me with the arts, customs, and the root of our culture as well. In my family, there were practices of reading books, reciting poems, playing dramas, watching movies all together and so on. These things have motivated me a lot. In school, I learnt about discipline. Moreover, being a class captain, I also learnt how to lead and organize in a proper manner. Maybe these things grew my interest in politics. Later on, my teachers, friends, students and audiences have become my inspiration. And of course, my wife and my two daughters have always been very inspirational in each and every step in my life.
PHILOSOPHY
I believe in serving people. By teaching and practicing cultural activities, I can do something for the nation. It is said that a teacher is a friend, a philosopher and a guardian. In teaching, lessons can be provided directly. And in drama, many social needs, obstacles and other problems can be presented. Through this, a message as a solution can be provided which can help the people, the society as well. I want to spread the humanitarianism amongst the people. For the welfare of our country, eradicating jealousy and working selflessly all together are mandatory factors. I find an inner gratification by working for my society, my surroundings and for mankind as well.
VIEWS ON HIS PROFESSION
Theatre, to me, is nothing but the reflection of human life. The overall atmosphere of theatre makes a person know the characters in various situations. The circumstances can make someone a hero, and sometimes a villain. Acting was never frictional. Rather, both teaching and acting have some educative values. The fundamental similarity of both is to be attentive. Hence, I need students for teaching and similarly, audience for acting. Expressions of the students will tell me if they are able to learn or not; correspondingly, expressions of the audiences in theatre will tell me if it is accepted or not. Currently, our new generation is running towards the shortcut path. So, we have to make an atmospheric condition where they can find interest in reading novels, short stories, essays, poems and in other cultural practices. I believe that this will surely broaden their minds and lead them to touch the luxury of art and culture.
MUSIC
I like listening to various types of songs. But, above all, Rabindra Sangeet has a magical charm which never fails to amaze me. According to this, "Jokhon Porbe Na Mor Payer Chinho" is one of my most favorite songs. Also, I would love listening to the revolutionary songs by our rebel poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.
FILMS
I have watched a lot of movies of different languages in my life. Among those movies, "Sunflower" is one of my favorite movies. And, according to Bengali movies, "Jeebon Theke Neya" by Zahir Raihan is my most favorite movie. Currently, broadcasting newly released movies and stage dramas on television is being practiced in our country and I never support this tendency. For these kinds of activities, people don't prefer watching movies in cinema hall and dramas in theatre hall. I think these practices are the core drawbacks to the theatre and the film industry of our country.
BOOKS
Reading books has always been an addiction to me. Whenever I get time, I read novels, dramas, essays, short stories, the books of popular science and also the books of political and social affairs. I also love to read the books of poems; specially, poems with spiritual depth, enchants me a lot.
FUTURE PLANS
After my retirement from BUET I didn't take any institutional responsibility. Rather, I kept myself busy translating stories of other languages and writing various dramas. Among those, 30 to 35 have already been published. In this year, 6 dramas for children have been published in "Omor Ekushey Boimela". In case of writing, I like to work with the subconscious minds of the people. It motivates me to think in a more realistic approach.
IDOLS
I have so many idols in my entire life. Unquestionably, some of my teachers, instructors and senior artists have become my idols. Remarkably, Alam sir, Khorashani sir and Hoque sir are my teachers who have left deep impressions on me. In case of acting, Golam Mustafa and Anwar Hossain are the examples to be followed. They are considered as the paragons of our country.
By Shawreen Rahman