Portrait emblem of Ahasan Imam
Ahasan Imam Filmmaker · Author · Scholar
Academic Scholarship & Ethnography

Research, Publications & Fieldwork

Peer-reviewed journal articles, chapters in edited volumes, research monographs, and multi-region ethnographic fieldwork exploring Bengali folklore, mystic song traditions, literature, and cinema.

Disciplinary Focus

Core Research Areas

Bridging primary ethnographic fieldwork across Bangladesh and Northeast India with literary criticism, oral history, and visual culture.

Research Area

Folklore & Oral Traditions

Major Studies: 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).

Scope of Inquiry: Examining how oral narratives, musical traditions, material crafts, and seasonal rituals transmit collective memory and social ethics across generations in Bengal and Northeast India.

Research Area

Cultural Studies & Literature

Major Studies: 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).

Scope of Inquiry: Situating poetic, dramatic, and popular texts within their broader historical, social, and postcolonial environments.

Research Area

Film Studies & Visual Storytelling

Major Studies: 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.

Scope of Inquiry: Connecting critical film scholarship with independent screen direction, documentary observation, and lyric cinematography.

Peer-Reviewed & University Journals

Journal Articles

Published articles examining women’s vow rituals, mystic song traditions, Partition memories, folk dance, and Bengali drama.

2021 Journal ArticlesMusic & Cultural History

“Musician Altaf Mahmud: Life and Works”

Imam, Ahasan (2021). The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C , Vol. XXXII (2020–2021) .

Biographical and musicological study of martyred composer and cultural activist Altaf Mahmud, tracing his musical contributions to the Language Movement and the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

2020 Journal ArticlesFolklore & Fieldwork
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“Vow of Dhamrai : A field work research (ধামরাই অঞ্চলের ব্রত-পার্বণ : ক্ষেত্রসমীক্ষণ ভিত্তিক পর্যবেক্ষণ)”

Imam, Ahasan (2020). The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C , Vol. XXX (listed on faculty profile as Vol. XXXI, 2019–2020) , pp. 193–206 (ISSN 2306-3920).

Ethnographic fieldwork study conducted among ten Hindu families in Barigaon village, Kushura Union, Dhamrai Upazila, documenting women's domestic vow rituals (brata-parban), seasonal observance calendars, alpona motifs, and rhymed chhara across seven rituals including Lakshmi Brata, Kumari Brata, Punya-Pukur Brata, Go-Kal Brata, Prithibi Brata, Yama-Pukur Brata, and Senjuti Brata.

2017 Journal ArticlesFolklore & Regional Studies

“Consciousness of Folklife in Tangail District”

Imam, Ahasan (2017). The Jahangirnagar Review, Part C , Vol. XXVIII , pp. 145–163 (ISSN 2306-3920).

Examines regional folk consciousness, agrarian social memory, and vernacular cultural identity across Tangail District.

2017 Journal ArticlesFolk Music & Mystic Traditions

“Symbolic expressions in Baul Song”

Imam, Ahasan (2017). Jahangirnagar University Language-Literature Studies (ভাষা-সাহিত্যপত্র) , No. 34 , pp. 01–17 .

Analyzes esoteric metaphor, coded spiritual vocabulary (sandhya-bhasha), and philosophical symbolism in the Baul lyrical tradition.

2014–15 Journal ArticlesFolk Music & Mystic Traditions

“Philosophy of Body in Songs of Jalal Kha”

Imam, Ahasan (2014–15). The Jahangirnagar Review, Part C, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Jahangirnagar University .

Investigates dehatattva (the mystic philosophy of the human body as microcosm) in the songs of eastern Mymensingh folk poet and Baul master Jalaluddin Khan (Jalal Kha).

2014 (Falgun 1420) Journal ArticlesLiterary Criticism

“Rhymes of Khaled Hossain: The depiction of artist”

Imam, Ahasan (2014 (Falgun 1420)). Patader Songsar , No. 1, Falgun 1420 .

Critical appreciation of rhythm, imagery, and artistic sensibility in the rhymes of poet and scholar Khaled Hossain.

2010 Journal ArticlesFolklore & Regional Studies

“Folk Tradition of Tangail: ‘songkhela’ and sweet of Tangail”

Imam, Ahasan (2010). The Jahangirnagar Review, Part-C , Vol. XX and XXI (2008–2009) and (2009–2010) .

Studies two signature elements of Tangail's intangible and material folk heritage: the satirical processional performance art of Songkhela and traditional sweetmeat craftsmanship.

2010 Journal ArticlesFolklore & Regional Studies

“Legends of Tangail: Collection and Categorization”

Imam, Ahasan (2010). Jahangirnagar University Language-Literature Studies , No. 36 .

Field collection and typological classification of local legends, place-name narratives, and historical folk tales from Tangail District.

Edited Volumes (প্রবন্ধ — গ্রন্থে সঙ্কলিত)

Book Chapters

Published chapters in edited academic volumes in Kolkata and New Delhi.

Book Chapter · 2023

“ইব্‌রাহীম খাঁর নাটকে তৎকালীন সমাজ”

Contemporary Society in the Plays of Ibrahim Khan

In দুই বাংলার নাট্যচর্চার গতি প্রকৃতি (Trends of Theatre Practice in Two Bengals) , edited by Ramshankar Pradhan & Kailashpati Saha (সম্পা. রামশঙ্কর প্রধান ও কৈলাশপতি সাহা). Kabitika, Kolkata (কবিতিকা, কলকাতা), 2023 .

Examines social reform, agrarian life, and early twentieth-century Bengali Muslim society as depicted in the dramatic works of pioneer playwright and educationist Principal Ibrahim Khan.

Book Chapter · 2022

“Sad thoughts in songs by Shah Abdul Karim”

In Cultural Exchange through Folklore, Vol. 2 . Serials Publications, New Delhi, 2022 , p. 515 (ISBN 978-93-91844-03-5).

Explores themes of melancholy, mortal transience, humanist longing, and spiritual separation across the lyrical repertoire of Baul maestro Shah Abdul Karim.

Authored Monographs & Critical Volumes

Research & Essay Books

Full-length volumes authored by Ahasan Imam on Bengali folk music, cultural criticism, and literary heritage.

View in Books Catalogue →
Concept artwork for Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh
2025 · Idea Prokashoni (আইডিয়া প্রকাশনী)

Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh

Published by Idea Prokashoni in 2025, Pulse in Culture: Context Bangladesh is an English-language volume of essays and folklore research (লোকগবেষণা) examining cultural practices, oral traditions, and social transformation in Bangladesh. On October 24, 2025, the book was honoured with the Phiredekha Literary Award (ফিরেদেখা সাহিত্য পদক) at the Rangpur Literary Festival.

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Concept artwork for ঐতিহ্যের উত্তরাধিকার ও লোকসংগীত
2023 · Prokriti Prokashoni (প্রকৃতি প্রকাশনী)

ঐতিহ্যের উত্তরাধিকার ও লোকসংগীত

Heritage of Tradition and Folk Music

Published in 2023 by Prokriti Prokashoni, Dhaka, ঐতিহ্যের উত্তরাধিকার ও লোকসংগীত (Heritage of Tradition and Folk Music) is a volume of research essays examining cultural inheritance, oral transmission, and the folk musical traditions of Bengal—an area central to Ahasan Imam's academic scholarship and fieldwork.

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Concept artwork for বিম্বিত স্বর
2024 · Idea Prokashoni (আইডিয়া প্রকাশনী)

বিম্বিত স্বর

Reflected Voice

Published in 2024 by Idea Prokashoni, বিম্বিত স্বর (Bimbito Shor — 'Reflected Voice') is a collection of literary and cultural essays examining Bengali literature, artistic expression, and cultural memory.

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Primary Ethnographic Investigations (2004 – 2018)

Fieldwork Research

Field investigations conducted across indigenous and regional communities in Bangladesh and Assam, India.

Fieldwork · 2018 Gunjung, Dima Hasao, Assam, India

“Dimasa Dance of Gunjung: A Performance Art”

PhD Coursework Program — Folklore Research Department, Gauhati University, Assam, India

Fieldwork · 2007 Tangail District, Bangladesh

“Folkculture of Tangail District: Tradition and Legend”

Master of Arts (MA) Program in Folklore — University of Rajshahi

Fieldwork · 2007 Gaibandha District, Bangladesh

“Folkart at Gaibandha District”

Partial Completion of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Folklore — University of Rajshahi

Fieldwork · 2005 Coastal / Hill Regions, Bangladesh

“Folkculture of Rakhain People”

Third Year of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Folklore — University of Rajshahi

Fieldwork · 2004 Greater Mymensingh / Madhupur Region, Bangladesh

“Religious Evolution of Garo”

Second Year of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Folklore — University of Rajshahi