Under the dying yellow bulb: Rakib Hasan, our mentor of courage

Shakhawat Supon (UNB):

A nostalgic collage featuring Rakib Hasan, the legendary creator of Bangladesh’s iconic detective series Tin Goyenda, alongside the timeless covers of his classic adventures that defined a generation.

When the restless heart that once beat with curiosity, mystery and endless imagination suddenly fell silent, it left more than just grief. It carved an untreatable wound where nostalgia of teenage years used to dwell with sweet melancholia.

This Wednesday, Rakib Hasan, the revered author of the Tin Goyenda series, breathed his last at Gonoshasthaya Nagar Hospital during dialysis. He had returned often, each visit a fragile thread keeping his light alive. But now, before treatment could even begin, death claimed him, causing us a great loss. Rakib Hasan was born on December 12, 1950 in Cumilla. His childhood moved with his father’s transferable job, across Feni and beyond, but it was fueled by a world he carried inside, a world of shadows, enigma and bewilderment.

Initially, he completed schooling, tried uneventful regular work for a while. But the 9 to 6 life could never meet the needs of a soul meant to roam the unknown, to explore suspense and to chase anecdotes waiting to be told.

Some books do more than just telling stories. They hide in your backpack, peek from your desk, fold within a fat textbook, become your companions under a warm blanket and your secret friends when the afternoon outside becomes too loud. For those of us who grew up in the ’90s and ’00s, Tin Goyenda was all of that.

Launched in 1985, it was never just detective fiction. Inspired at first by Robert Arthur Jr.’s ‘The Three Investigators’, Rakib Hasan penned the series into a world for restless juvenile hearts.

Kishore, Musa, and Robin, through their laughter echoing under moonlit skies, courage flickering through dark forests, doubts trembling in shadowed corridors, became our invisible companions.
They were our whispered wishes, our daring dreams of justice. Through their adventurous tales, we started believing that mysteries could be solved, truths uncovered and that friendship could conquer any fear.

And then there was Geogina “Jina” Parker. Spirited, mischievous, and fearless, she teased Musa, challenged the boys and yet brought warmth and loyalty that tied the group together. For us juveniles, she wasn’t just a character, she was the laughter in the night, the spark in our imaginations, the daring spirit that made flipping the pages of Tin Goyenda under the dim glow of a bedside lamp feel like sneaking into another world that we didn’t understand properly then.