Himu is a character like Sherlock Holmes or Kiriti Roy who repeatedly occur in a series of books by the same author. However, this pattern is very characteristic of only detective stories where the main role is played by a detective, or a spy or a lawyer who solves the mystery around a crime or event. In Bangladesh, Qazi Anwar Hussain created two such characters, namely, Masud Rana and Kuasha. However, Himu is possibly the first fictional character that recurs in different non-detective stories of the same author.
Himu's real name is Himalaya. When Himu was young, his psychopathic father killed his mother so as to prevent her from interfering with the way he intended to bring him up. Himu is a shortened form of Himalaya. His father named him Himalaya because the Himalayas symbolized greatness. He could have also been named Akash (Sky), but the sky cannot be touched.
Although it is mentioned in the novels that the name "Himu" is short for Himalay,Humayun Ahmed said he actually derived Himu from his own name,Humayun.When asked whether Himu is his alter ego, he said that he is half Himu, and half Misir Ali (another popular character from his books). In the foreword to one of his books, he mentioned that while writing stories about Himu, he feels that he himself is Himu and this feeling isn't there when he is writing any other book.
Himu is a young man whose age may be between 18 to 30.His appearance is odd.He always wears a yellow Punjabi and walks barefoot.His cousin "Badal" is highly influenced by Himu's vagabond lifestyle and Badal tries to imitate Himu all the time.It's possible that some readers find his strange behaviour annoying or just bizarre e.g.having cockroach soup or fleeing with his uncle's Mercedes.Despite that,in every book Himu is trying to improve the human condition using his `anti-logic'.
Himu lives like a vagabond or a gypsy. He does not have a source of income. He walks and walks. He likes to meet people from odd walks of life. He likes to charm people with prophetic comments or counter-intuitive remarks. He remains uncowed when caught in awkward situation.
His father wanted to make him a "Mahapurush" (a great man, possibly with supernatural powers) by making him familiar with the evil, greedy, mean and cruel sides of the world. Later, when Himu grew up he thought that his father was not a psychopath, and he was right to try to make Himu a "Great Phillosopher".
Himu is decidedly eccentric. This makes him popular with teenagers. The way he responds to situations is unpredictable and unusual. For instance, he can give a 500 Taka note to a beggar or a rikshawpuller or he can spend a night in rail station - totally randomly. He attracts people by his great sense of humour.
Himu appears to have the power to prophesise. Although he dismisses it as mere coincidences. Some people think Himu has similarity with the characters created by a Dostoyevsky. Himu has a girlfriend named Rupa whom he hardly contacts.
The first book having Himu as a central character was Mayurakkhi published in May 1990. Since then as many as 18 books have been written by the writer with Himu as the protagonist.
In the recent stories of Himu, his super natural powers are increasing. In the early novels he tricked people by his influencing presence, and he lead them to a pre-determined future (he set up the situation, as people didn't know, they thought that as a supernatural power, i.e. "Chole Jay Boshonter Din") but now he can make an infertile woman pregnant by the breath of his mouth. Some fans are worried about his metamorphosis, they do not want him to be a mystic but they want him to remain the old funny Himu.
Himu can be considered as a protagonist that has been created by Humayun Ahmed as a silent but powerful protest to modern human personality. The common traits of modern man, namely, ambition, greed, opportunism, self-mindedness, materialsm, compliance, fear of the state and police, lie, hypocrisy and trickery are conspicuous in Himu by their total absence. Himu is smart because he can stand up to any situaiton but he does not try to be smart by conventional norms. He lives in the present and is not obsessed with the future. He does not suffer from sense of guilt which is a common feature of modern psychology. The author's approach in creating the character is unbiased. Nevertheless it has turned out to be impressionistic. The young adults of Bangladesh are highly inspired by the uncorrupted spirit envisaged in Himu's character.
He seems to have links with and influences from the tradition of ancient sages in India. In one of the books on Himu there is a verse, attahi attano natho..., from the Buddhist Dhammapada. Thus the personality of Himu, who seems to be untouched by the ambitions of worldly gains, has links with Buddhist philosophy. Humayun Ahmed is a genius and he does it totally up to date with the modern taste.
চলে যায় বসন্তের দিন। নায়ক হিমু। বরাবরের মত এখানেও হিমু তার চারপাশের পরিবেশকে ঘোলাটে রাখতে সক্ষম হযেছে। হুমায়ূন আহমেদ এর বেশিরভাগ উপন্যাসগুলো আমাদের মনে নির্মল আনন্দের সৃষ্টি করে। কিন্তু আমি তার উপন্যাসগুলো পড়তে গিয়ে দেখেছি তার উপন্যাসগুলোতে একই জিনিসের বার বার আগমন হচ্ছে। লেখক হিসাবে তার মান কতটা উচু পর্যায়ে তার হিসাব করা আমার পক্ষে সম্ভব নয়। তবে আমি তার অন্যান্য হিমু বিষয়ক রচনা থেকে এই রচনাটি কোনভাবেই আলাদা করতে চাচ্ছি না। আমি তার উপন্যাসে কোন নতুনত্ব না পাওয়াই মর্মাহত হয়েছি। এখানে বলে রাখা ভালো আমার বয়স খুবই কম এবং আমার উপন্যাস এ হাতে খরি মাস দুয়েক আগে। এর মাঝে আমি হুমায়ূন আহমদের যে বইগুলো পড়েছি তা পড়ে প্রথমে খুব আশান্বিত হলেও বর্তমানে আমি মর্মাহত। আমি তার কাছে আরো নতুন কিছু আশা করি। চলে যায় বসন্তের দিন উপন্যাসটি আরো ভালো করা যেত। কিন্তু তিনি কেন যে বার বার একই ধরনের ঘটনা তুলে আনছেন তা আমি কিছুতেই অনুমান করতে পারছি না। তার উপন্যাসের গল্পের বিষয় বস্তু খুবই সাধারন, কিন্তু তিনি সেই সাধারন থেকেই অসাধারন গল্প সৃষ্টি করতে পারেন যা আমরা প্রায় সকলেই জানি। কিন্তু সব সময় একই ধাচের লেখায় আমাদের মন অনিহা প্রকাশ করে বসে। খাবার যত ভালোই হোক না কেন প্রতিদিন একই খাবার খেলে একসময় আর সেটা মুখে দিতেই ইচ্ছা করে না। তখন মনে হয় এর থেকে খারাপ খাবার খেলেও বোধ হয় ভালো হত, পেট ভরে খেতে পারতাম। আমার মতে তাকে উপন্যাসের উপর আরো মনযোগ দিতে হবে যাতে তার উপন্যাসগুলো আরো সুন্দর এবং আকর্ষনীয় হয় এবং নতুনত্ব থাকে। বিশেষ করে হিমু বিষয়ক উপন্যাসগুলো, কারন আমার প্রিয় চরিত্রগুলোর মধ্যে হিমু অন্যতম।
