Dhaka: A five-day celebration of the centenary of the birth of prominent author Shawkat Osman will begin at the Shawkat Osman auditorium of the Public Library on Monday.

Shawkat Osman Smriti Parishad in association of Bangladesh Udichi Shilpigosthi will organise the programme.

Sheikh Azizur Rahman, known as Shawkat Osman, was born in Hooghly of West Bengal on 2 January in 1917. He migrated to East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) after the partition of India in 1947. He started his professional life through teaching at Dhaka College in Dhaka. He also taught at Chittagong Commerce College.

Shawkat Osman wrote novels, short stories, poems, drama, stories for children and essays.

His novel ‘Kritodasher Hanshi’, featuring an upsurge against dictatorship, is considered a classic while his another classic ‘Janani’ (mother), a portrait of the disintegration of a family because of the rural and urban division, was translated into English and has been acclaimed in many countries.

He received many awards and accolades, including Adamji Saitya Award in 1962, Bangla Academy Award in 1966, Ekushey Padak in 1983 and the Independence Day Award in 1997.

Shawkat Osman died in Dhaka on 14 May 1998.