News Desk: Two friends, Bulbul Chowdhury and Abdul Hakim. Both are familiar faces in Bengali literature. One gained fame as a novelist, another with a detective series. The two friends did not leave the country on the same day on Saturday.
Abdul Hakim and Bulbul Chowdhury’s friendship started with writing. That too was about five decades ago. They last met last April. Two friends became passengers on the same route about five hours apart on Saturday.
Sheikh Apala Hakim, the youngest daughter of Sheikh Abdul Hakim, said, ‘Dad and Bulbul Chowdhury were friends. They’ve been friends ever since Dad started writing. I’m not sure when their identity is. My guess is that their father has been friends since before he was 24 years old. ‘
He added, ‘Uncle Bulbul used to come home regularly. Dad used to go too. Uncle Bulbul could not come after he got sick. Dad used to go to see him. My father went to see Bulbul Chowdhury last April. ‘
Abdul Hakim, writer, and translator of popular detective Masud Rana series, died at his home in Nandipara in the Mothertech area of the capital around 1 pm on Saturday. He was 65 years old.
On the other hand, Ekushey Padak-winning novelist Bulbul Chowdhury died at his home in Old Dhaka at 5:55 pm on the same day. He was 63 years old.
Bulbul Chowdhury has been diagnosed with lung cancer since December last year. It slowly spreads to the respiratory tract. He was also undergoing treatment.
