2018 – Present Guwahati, Assam, India
Doctoral Research (PhD Program) — Folklore Research Department
Gauhati University
Doctoral research in Folklore and Indigenous Performance Traditions (commenced August 2018).
Biography, Artistic Roots & Academic Career
About Ahasan Imam
Ahasan Imam (আহসান ইমাম) is a filmmaker, lyricist, poet, author, television talk-show host, and Associate Professor in the Department of Bangla at Jahangirnagar University whose work connects Bengali folklore scholarship with contemporary literature, music, and cinema.
Life, Scholarship & Creative Practice
Educated in Folklore at the University of Rajshahi, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 2006 and Master of Arts in 2007, Ahasan Imam began his university teaching career in the Department of Bangla at Jahangirnagar University in 2009. He served as Lecturer from 2009 to 2012 and Assistant Professor from 2012 to 2020 before his appointment as Associate Professor in 2020. Since 2018, he has also been engaged in doctoral research in the Folklore Research Department at Gauhati University in Assam, India.
His academic research explores the intersections of Bengali folklore, indigenous performance traditions, mystic song lineages, cultural studies, and cinema. His ethnographic fieldwork has documented the religious evolution of the Garo community (2004), Rakhain folk culture (2005), folk art in Gaibandha (2007), oral legends and traditions of Tangail (2007), and the Dimasa performance art of Gunjung in Assam (2018). His scholarly papers examine Baul symbolism, the songs of Shah Abdul Karim and Jalal Kha, Tangail's songkhela and Ghatu song traditions, women's vow rituals (brata-parban) in Dhamrai, and the life and works of composer Altaf Mahmud.
Alongside his scholarship, Ahasan Imam maintains an active literary and audiovisual practice. He has authored nine books: five collections of Bengali poetry—এলেবেলে (2022), মুখোশ (2024), নেক্রাফাইল (2025), হ্যালিটোসিস (2025), and রজঃস্বলা দিন (2026)—three volumes of literary criticism and cultural research—ঐতিহ্যের উত্তরাধিকার ও লোকসংগীত (2023), বিম্বিত স্বর (2024), and Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh (2025), which received the Phiredekha Literary Award at the Rangpur Literary Festival in October 2025—and the historical novel নওয়াব ফয়জুন্নেসা (2025).
As a filmmaker and lyricist, he has directed short fiction films including Compendium (2023), Journey, Enner Eye, Mission Kashmir, Awareness, and The Tree, as well as the documentary film তুমি রবে নীরবে (Tumi Robe Nirobe). In December 2025 he established the creative banner AS Production (Film, Music, Creative), and in July 2026 he wrote the lyrics and directed the music videos for the monsoon album বাদলা স্মৃতি (Badla Smriti), composed by Shan Shaik and featuring vocals by Dilshad Nahar Kona, Shan Shaik, Jhilik, and Pintu Ghosh. Beyond the classroom and studio, he hosts the current-affairs talk show প্রশ্নোত্তর (Proshnottor) on Green TV and serves as Faculty Advisor to the Jahangirnagar Cine Society and the Jahangirnagar University Folklore Society.
Memoir in Prothom Alo — ‘স্বরবর্ণে শৈশব’ (Childhood in Vowels)
Artistic Roots & Formative Influences
In his autobiographical essay ‘স্বরবর্ণে শৈশব’ (Childhood in Vowels), structured around the eleven Bengali vowels (অ–ঔ) and published in Prothom Alo on June 4, 2020, Ahasan Imam traces the literary, musical, and cinematic influences of his upbringing in Tangail and Joypurhat:
- Gave his first public singing performance in Tangail on Ekushey February 1992, studied music under lyricist and composer Lokman Hossain Fakir, received childhood encouragement from folk vocalist Rathindranath Roy and Ferdous Wahid, completed a four-year vocal music course at Tangail Shilpakala Academy, and sang on Bangladesh Betar's Anwesha and Bangladesh Television's Nibedon.
- Grew up reading in his paternal grandfather's library in Joypurhat—where his grandfather taught English literature and his father taught Bengali literature—encountering Shakespeare, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Rabindranath Tagore, and Kashiram Das's Mahabharata at an early age.
- Developed a lifelong passion for visual storytelling and cinema after watching Humayun Ahmed's Aguner Poroshmoni and the films of Ritwik Ghatak, Satyajit Ray, and Mrinal Sen.
Read the original Bengali memoir in Prothom Alo (June 4, 2020): স্বরবর্ণে শৈশব ↗
Academic Credentials
Education
2007 Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Master of Arts (MA) — Folklore
University of Rajshahi
Graduate degree in Folklore, including master's ethnographic fieldwork on the traditions and legends of Tangail District.
2006 Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Bachelor of Arts (BA Honours) — Folklore
University of Rajshahi
Four-year Honours degree in Folklore with primary fieldwork across Garo, Rakhain, and Gaibandha communities.
Early Education Bhuapur, Tangail, Bangladesh
Secondary School Education — Secondary Education
Bhuapur Pilot High School
Completed secondary schooling in Bhuapur, Tangail.
University & Visiting Appointments
Teaching & Experience
2020 – Present Primary Faculty Appointment
Associate Professor
Department of Bangla, Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2012 – 2020 Faculty Appointment
Assistant Professor
Department of Bangla, Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2009 – 2012 Faculty Appointment
Lecturer
Department of Bangla, Jahangirnagar University
Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
2025 Visiting Faculty
Guest Teacher
Bangla Department, Southeast University
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2013 – 2014, 2022, 2024 Visiting Faculty
Guest Teacher
English Department, Southeast University
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2023 Visiting Faculty
Guest Teacher
English Department, State University of Bangladesh
Dhaka, Bangladesh
2018 Visiting Faculty
Guest Teacher
Language, Communication and Culture Department, Gono Bishwabidyalay
Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Scholarly Focus
Areas of Research & Inquiry
Connecting primary ethnographic fieldwork and textual criticism with cinematic and musical practice.
Folklore & Oral Traditions
Key Works & Focus: Regional folk traditions of Tangail (songkhela, Ghatu songs, lathikhela, and local legends), mystic song lineages (Baul songs, Shah Abdul Karim, Jalal Kha), indigenous performance arts (Marma melodies and Dimasa dance), and women's ritual vows and festivals (Dhamrai brata-parban and Bhoot Chaturdashi).
Disciplinary Scope: Examining how oral narratives, musical traditions, material crafts, and seasonal rituals transmit collective memory and social ethics across generations in Bengal and Northeast India.
Cultural Studies & Literature
Key Works & Focus: Bengali literary criticism, dramatic history in West Bengal and Bangladesh (including the plays of Ibrahim Khan), children's rhymes (Khaled Hossain), the protest music of Hemango Biswas and Altaf Mahmud, and contemporary cultural transformations explored in Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh (2025).
Disciplinary Scope: Situating poetic, dramatic, and popular texts within their broader historical, social, and postcolonial environments.
Film Studies & Visual Storytelling
Key Works & Focus: Documentary and short-form filmmaking, scriptwriting, film criticism, and visual adaptation of everyday realities, enriched by international cinema workshops with Pathshala South Asian Media Institute, Gauhati University, and Film Development Board Nepal.
Disciplinary Scope: Connecting critical film scholarship with independent screen direction, documentary observation, and lyric cinematography.
Milestones (1992 – 2026)
Academic & Creative Timeline
2026
Monsoon Album 'Badla Smriti', Fifth Poetry Collection & Green TV Hosting
Published his fifth poetry collection রজঃস্বলা দিন (Prokriti, March 2026), joined Green TV as Host of the talk show প্রশ্নোত্তর (March 14, 2026), and unveiled the monsoon music album বাদলা স্মৃতি as Lyricist and Music Video Director (July 31, 2026).
2025
Phiredekha Literary Award, Four Authored Volumes & Sri Lanka Conference
Published নেক্রাফাইল, হ্যালিটোসিস, the novel নওয়াব ফয়জুন্নেসা, and Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh (honoured with the Phiredekha Literary Award at the Rangpur Literary Festival on October 24, 2025). Presented research on Hemango Biswas at IRC-SVIAS 2025, Eastern University, Sri Lanka, and served as Guest Teacher in the Bangla Department at Southeast University.
2024
Poetry & Critical Essay Volumes, Vilnius Folklore Conference & Kathmandu Festival
Published মুখোশ (Poetry) and বিম্বিত স্বর (Essays); presented 'Naraka Chaturdashi (Bhoot Chaturdashi) in Bengali Folklore and Festivals' at the 13th International Conference of Young Folklorists (YoFo 2024) in Vilnius, Lithuania (October 9–11, 2024); participated in the Human Rights Film Festival and storytelling workshop in Kathmandu, Nepal (December 2024); became Advisor to the Jahangirnagar University Folklore Society and Member of BFDC.
2022 – 2023
First Authored Books, Short Film 'Compendium' & Nrityakalaratna Samman
Published এলেবেলে (2022) and ঐতিহ্যের উত্তরাধিকার ও লোকসংগীত (2023), alongside chapters in edited volumes in New Delhi (2022) and Kolkata (2023). Directed the short film Compendium (2023), hosted the International Dance Festival in Puri, Odisha—receiving the Nrityakalaratna Samman 2022—and served as Invited Speaker and Session Co-Chair at Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
2020 – 2021
Appointment as Associate Professor, Dhamrai Ritual Study & Cultural Journalism
Appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Bangla at Jahangirnagar University (2020–Present). Published peer-reviewed studies on women's vow rituals in Dhamrai (2020) and composer Altaf Mahmud (2021), alongside cultural essays and memoirs in Prothom Alo, Daily Bangladesh, and Barta24.
2018 – 2019
Doctoral Research at Gauhati University & International Folklore Seminars
Commenced doctoral research in the Folklore Research Department at Gauhati University, Assam, India (2018–Present), conducting fieldwork on Dimasa dance in Gunjung. Presented papers at NEICSSR Shillong, ICCR Kolkata, ICLA, and ICAES, and served as Resource Person at Jadavpur University.
2009 – 2017
Faculty Appointments at Jahangirnagar University
Joined the Department of Bangla at Jahangirnagar University as Lecturer (2009–2012) and served as Assistant Professor (2012–2020), House Tutor at Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall (2011–2016), and Acting Teacher of Bangla Sangsad (2016).
2004 – 2007
BA (Honours) & MA in Folklore at the University of Rajshahi
Completed his Bachelor of Arts (Honours, 2006) and Master of Arts (2007) in Folklore at the University of Rajshahi, conducting primary fieldwork on Garo religious evolution (2004), Rakhain folk culture (2005), Gaibandha folk art (2007), and Tangail traditions and legends (2007).
1992 & Early Years
Early Musical Training, Radio & Television Performances
Raised in a literary household in Tangail and Joypurhat, he gave his first public singing performance on Ekushey February 1992, studied song with Lokman Hossain Fakir, and performed on Bangladesh Betar's Anwesha and Bangladesh Television's Nibedon.
Leadership & Service
All Activities & Conferences → Organisational, Advisory & Institutional Roles
Faculty Advisor
Jahangirnagar Cine Society (JCS)
Jahangirnagar University Students' Organisation
Faculty Advisor
Folklore Society
Jahangirnagar University Students' Organisation
Member
Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC)
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Member
The International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR)
International Academic Society
Faculty Advisor
Kalboishakhi (কালবৈশাখী)
Jahangirnagar University Students' Cultural Organisation
Acting Teacher
Bangla Sangsad
Department of Bangla, Jahangirnagar University
House Tutor
Shaheed Salam-Barkat Hall (Shahid Salam Barkat Hall)
Jahangirnagar University