Alaol

Syed Alaol (; 1607–1680) was a Bengali poet of the 17th century. and is regarded as one the greatest poets of medieval Bengal. His most famous work, Padmavati, recounts the story of Padmavati, a princess from Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka). Because his poetry often blended emotion with intellectualism, he earned the title Pandit Kabi (Scholar of Poets).

Life He was probably born in 1607 in the village of Jalalpur in Fatwabad Pargana (Present Madadipur, Bangladesh) to a minister in the court of Majlis Qutb, the ruler of Fatehabad. He learned Bengali, Arabic, Persian, and Sanskrit languages. Alaol was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates while travelling on a boat with his father and was subsequently taken to Arakan.

Legacy An important Bangladeshi literary prize, the Alaol Literary Puroshkar, is named after him. Alaol Hall, a principal male student dormitory at the University of Chittagong in Bangladesh, is named after him.