Alaol is considered to be one of the most prolific medieval Bengali poets.
11 Facts About Alaol
1.
2.
Alaol was probably born in 1607 in the village of Jalalpur in Fatwabad Pargana, Fatehabad, to a minister in the court of Majlis Qutb, the ruler of Fatehabad.
3.
Alaol was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates while travelling on a boat with his father, and was taken to Arakan.
4.
Alaol worked as a bodyguard for a while, but slowly his reputation as a poet spread.
5.
Alaol's talent was first recognised by Magan Thakur, prime minister of King Sanda Thudhamma of the Mrauk-U dynasty of Arakan.
6.
Alaol was patronised by other elders of the court such as chief minister Sulayman, royal minister Syed Musa, army commander Muhammad Khan and tax minister Majlis Nabaraj.
7.
Alaol translated Tohfa at the request of Shrichandra Sudharma or Sanda Thudhamma.
8.
Alaol began writing the Saifulmuluk Badiuzzamal, an adaptation of a Persian work of the same name during this period.
9.
Alaol translated the Haft Peykar from Persian as Saptapaykar in Bengali at his request.
10.
In 1660, after the killing of Shah Shuja, Alaol was thrown out of the Arakan court because of his closeness with him.
11.
Alaol spent his last days in the court of Majlis Navaraj, another minister of Arakan, where he wrote his last work Sikandarnama or Dara-Sikandar, a translation of Eskander-nama by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi.