When I was five years old, I asked my mother some questions about my name. I pondered the meaning behind my name, who gave me my name, and why I was called Aritro instead of Arno. Ammu simply replied saying Momtazuddin Ahmed was the man responsible for my name and the meaning behind it. She continued by saying I was named Aritro because of this man. I left it at that. At the time, I wasn’t aware of how this man would affect me. Now looking back, I understand the significance of Momtazuddin Ahmed and I feel honored to have been named by him.
The summer of 2018 was the second time my family and I went to Bangladesh after we had immigrated to the United States back in 2007-- the first being in 2010. It was this time where I would meet Momtazuddin Ahmed.
My family and I were touring around Dhaka and my uncle, Prince, suggested that we visit him. I was excited to finally meet the man who named me but I hardly knew anything about him and I worried that my conversation with him would be very bleak and forgettable. In fact, I didn’t know much about Momtazuddin other than the fact that he was a famous author and enjoyed a career as an actor; I didn’t even know his name at the time and I only referred to him as “Author Nanu”--a name that still sticks today.

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We finally arrived at his house and we were instantly led to his room. As I stepped into Momtazuddin’s room, my eyes were greeted with his presence; he was eating some snacks and writing something. The room was peaceful and quiet; the only sound audible was the fan as it blew gently and provided a relief against the hot weather. On his desks were hundreds of books and I quickly learned that most of those books were the ones he published. As soon as he saw me he offered me a chair right next to him and shared his snacks--I was munching on chanachur, sweets, peanuts, and other snacks while discussing my name and some of the books he wrote. Towards the end of our visit, we all took a group photo, where I was right next to Momtazuddin. I will always remember how hospitable he was towards me.
Now two years have passed and I learned many things about Momtazuddin Ahmed that I didn’t know before. I learned about his great contributions to the Language Movement in 1952 and the Liberation War of 1971. I was unaware of Momtazuddin’s role in the Democratic Movements. I found out that he was a famous playwright as well as an author and he produced many memorable Bangladeshi plays--in fact, he was named one of the most outstanding playwrights in Bangladesh. I was also unaware that Momtazuddin enjoyed a career as a professor and was also in charge of formulating the national curriculum and textbooks from 1976-1978. My time with Momtazuddin Ahmed is one I will never forget.