Rashid Ahmed Chowdhury was a Bengali dancer of British India, and later East Pakistan.
Background
Chowdhury was born in Chunati, a famous village in Satkania (present Lohagara Thana), Chittagong, on January 1, 1919. His father, Mohammed Azamullah, was an inspector (later promoted to Deputy Superintendent of Police) in the then Bengal Police Service during British Reign.
Education
Scottish Church College. University of Calcutta.
Career
Chowdhury was home tutored in Arabic and Persian. Later he would attend the Howrah Primary School, and the Manikganj High School from where he matriculated in 1934. He earned Iowa from Calcutta Presidency College in 1936.
He had later earned Bachelor of Arts degree from the Scottish Church College in 1938, and Master of Arts in arts from the University of Calcutta in 1943.
During the course of his secondary and graduate education in Calcutta, he came in contact with reputed artists, like Santosh Chandra, the sarod player, the composer Timir Baran Bhattacharya, and dancers Uday Shankar and Sadhana Bose. These contacts spurred his desire to excel as a dancer.
He got his break in 1936, when he was given the chance to perform with danseuse Sadhana Bose in the Rabindra Nritya Natya Kach O Devajani. In 1937, he also helped in founding the Oriental Fine Arts Association.
Following the outbreak of the World World War II, in January 1940, Chowdhury came to Dhaka with his troupe and performed a number of dance dramas.
Back in Calcutta, he established Calcutta Culture Centre on 31 March 1941. During the World World War II, he moved to Chittagong and worked at different places from 1943 to 1947. During 1950-1952, he performed in dance concerts in the unified Pakistan.
In 1953, with his troupe, he visited Europe in countries including Britain, Ireland, Holland, Belgium and France.
Chowdhury was declared as the National Dancer of Pakistan in 1949. On May 17, 1954, at the age of 35, Chowdhury died in Calcutta.
After his death, Afroza, Chowdhury"s wife, founded the Bulbul Institute of Culture in Karachi and the Bulbul Academy for Fine Arts (BAFA) in Dhaka. BAFA is also known as Bulbul Lalitakala Academy.
Afroza wrote Sundor Ei Prithibi Amar, a memoir on Chowdhury.