Story of a Free Spirit

Actor
Quazi Nawshaba Ahmed
Talks to
Rakibul Hasan

	courtesy: nawshaba Ahmed

I was quite a good egg in school. My father was in the army and always taught us to abide by the rules. Due to the nature of his job I had to move to different districts along with my family from time to time. As a result, I went to almost half a dozen schools. I was kind of an introvert and had only a few friends. However, I have always been very close with them. Though I had a reputation for scoring perfect grades while I was in the kindergarten, I developed particular interests on subjects like Drawing and Literature as I grew up. Thus, my grades in other subjects started to fall, and I still hate maths! It was quite common for me to stay busy with drawing pictures or writing diaries during a Physics class! I passed my SSC and HSC from Holy Cross School and College, Dhaka.

Though I came from a family of brilliant students of Science, who are well established in their own fields, I always wanted to get myself admitted into Charukola (Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University). When I informed my father about my intention, at first he didn't like the idea very much. However, he got convinced eventually as I made it into the merit list of the top candidates who applied for Charukola. I got myself admitted into the Department of Drawing and Painting. In Charukaola, I felt a sense of emancipation for the first time in my life. I auditioned for the character of 'Ikri' (a cute little puppet monster in the famous kids' show 'Sisimpur') while I was still a sophomore in the university, and got selected. I rediscovered myself through Ikri. Apparently, Ikri was a nature lover who likes to sing and dance, just like myself. I enjoyed the character very much and somehow I felt Sisimpur was the perfect place for me to be. Unfortunately, I got myself into an accident and had to take up a wheelchair for quite some time. I had to stop working as a puppeteer.

Nevertheless, the difficult period of getting my strengths back let me realise new aspects of my creativity and I discovered my feat in television plays for the first time. I also joined a theatre group named Stage One around this time. I have been very fortunate to find a soul mate in my husband, noted musician Ahmed Ehsanur Rahman Zia. Currently, I am working with him as a lyricist for a musical album named 'Areas of blindness', which will come out next year. I don't have a steady future plan but I would always be dedicated to art, for sure. I feel, nowadays our lives are getting full of noises. Thanks to the social networking websites, these days we can connect with so many people online but can manage hardly any time to connect with our own selves. To all the youngsters out there, my message would be always try to stay committed to your passion and you will be successful for sure.