Alaol

Syed Alaol (Bengali: সৈয়দ আলাওল; 1607–1680) was a Bengali poet of the 17th-century. He is referred to as a "bard of Middle Bengali literature, 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). In his honor, a major Bangladeshi literary award—the Alaol Sahitya Puroshkar is named after him.