Ferdousi Mazumder is a Bangladeshi film, television and stage actress. She was awarded Ekushey Padak and Independence Day Award by the Government of Bangladesh. As of 2009, on stage she has given over 1200 performances of about 35 plays, mostly for her own group, • Born Ferdausi Ara Begum, later established herself as Ferdousi Mazumder after her marriage. Meanwhile, she was able to prove her worth simultaneously in stage, radio, television and silver screen. She has been acting for over five decades and in during her long career her ability to play a diverse range of characters gave her an edge over her peers, be that male or female. • The versatile actress was born on June 18, 1943 in Noakhali. Her father Khan Bahadur Abdul Halim was a district magistrate. Her mother Afia Begum was a homemaker who took care of her entire household like true matriarch. • Ferdousi Mazumder was 11th among 14 children of the couple. Most of her siblings are also established in their own fields. Educationist, playwright, literary critic and political dissident late Munier Choudhury was her elder brother. Another brother, Kabir Chowdhury, was a professor and intellectual. • Though Ferdousi was born in Noakhali, she grew up in Dhaka. • She completed her primary schooling from Nari Shiksha Mandir School. After completing class five, she got admitted to Muslim Girls High School. • ‘Getting admission in Muslim Girls High School wasn’t easy for me. My father accompanied me to the school for admission. The officials weren’t allowing me to get admitted in their school as my eldest sister Nadera Begum was in Jail. She was a self-professed communist,’ Ferdousi Mazumder recalled. • Her father Khan Bahadur Abdul Halim however was a stubborn man. He somehow managed to admit his daughter in that school. Later Ferdousi completed her matriculation from that institution. • ‘I cannot recall many things about my school life. But I have few things in my mind. Headmistress of Nari Shiksha Mandir School was Dr Nandi. I used to visit her home more often. She adored me a lot,’ said Ferdausi, harking back to her school days. • ‘These days children are smart enough, even compared to their age they seem much aware of too many things. But we were not that smart at our time. However, I had a friend named Maya in Nari Shiksha Mandir School. I don’t know where she is now. But still I recall her. She was once hurt while we were playing and she bled,’ she add • Ferdousi’s father was too strict a father to have allowed the children room for any disregard for rules and regulations. His children used to respect him a lot but at the same time, he was a figure they looked at with a certain amount of fear. So venturing into the theatre arena was a struggle for Ferdousi. • Any kind of cultural practice, including dance, music, acting and others were considered as anti-religious by Ferdausi’s father. • However, despite the restrictions Ferdousi and some of her other siblings became involved in various cultural practices. Her second eldest sister was a theatre artiste. She often used to share her experience of acting. • ‘My sister had very long hair. She once acted in Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s play. She had a funny experience at that play,’ Ferdausi recalled with a hearty laughter. • Ferdousi Mazumder developed a great passion for acting since she was very young. Besides, she could copy anyone’s body language, facial expressions and style of speech. She used to entertain her siblings with her talent for mimicry. • ‘My father once caught me while I was mimicking him,’ she recalled. • ‘My father used to beat us for different reasons. Only because he was strict, I think he could raise his children with the assurance of good manners. We however could not react while he used to beat us. But my immediate younger sister Banu sometimes used to raise her voice,’ said Ferdousi Mazumder. • ‘But interesting thing is, he used to give tasty treat whenever he became hard on us,’ Ferdousi added as she laughed while remembering all such uneasy details. • Ferdousi Mazumder completed her intermediate from Eden Girls’ College. When she was a college student, her brother Munier Choudhury asked her to play a role in his drama. • ‘He came and said that one of his artistes failed to turn up at the rehearsal, so he needs a proxy. Before that, I never thought about acting on the stage. Later my brother said that I have to play the role of a robot,’ she said. Munier Choudhury also assured that he would manage their father. • This is how Ferdousi Mazumder debuted as an actor through ‘Daktar Babur Karkhana’. It was written by Shawkat Osman. The drama was staged at Iqbal Hall, presently Shaheed Serjeant Jahurul Haque Hall, University of Dhaka.