9/30/11

GIRISH CHANDRA GHOSH

Girish Chandra Ghosh(1844-1912) playwright, actor and director, was born on 28 February 1844 at Baghbazar in calcutta. He studied first at Hare School and then at Oriental Seminary in Calcutta. His interest in studies waned after he lost his parents and, in 1862, he left school.
Girish Chandra's father-in-law helped get him an apprenticeship in a British company, and Girish Chandra soon became an expert book keeper. He became an avid reader of both Indian and western literature, the puranas and philosophy. At about this time he became acquainted with ishwar chandra gupta and started writing songs, poems and plays.
Girish Chandra initially wrote songs for michael madhusudan dutt's play Sharmistha, staged by the baghbazar amateur theatre. He then acted the role of Nimchand in dinabandhu mitra's Sadhavar Ekadashi. The Baghbazar group established the national theatre in 1871, but Girish Chandra fell out with the group. In 1877, his first play, Agamani, was staged at the great national theatre, which he joined as manager in 1880.
Girish Chandra's play Chaitanyalila, with binodini dasi in the role of Sri chaitanya, was staged at the star theatre on 20 September 1884. ramakrishna Paramhansadev came to see the play. Girish Chandra met Ramakrishna on this occasion and became his disciple. He then started writing plays on religious themes. Girish Chandra also worked with other theatres such as the emerald, Classic, Kohinoor and minerva, which he joined as director in 1908.
Girish Chandra wrote 80 plays on religious, historical and social themes, among them Abhimanyuvadh (1881), Sitar Vanavas (1881), Sitaharan (1882), Pandaver Ajnatavas (1882), Prafulla (1889), Maukulamanjari (1892), Jana (1894), Abu Hussain (1896), Validan (1904), Sirajaddaula (1905), Meer Kasem (1906), Chhatrapati Shivaji (1907), Shankaracharya (1910) Kalapahad, Haranidhi and Vilvamangal Thakur. He also translated Shakespeare's Macbeth (1893) into Bangla and dramatised Bankimchandra's novels Mrnalini, Visvrksa and Durgeshnandini, Madhusudan's epic meghnadbadh and Nabinchandra's poem Palashir Yuddha.
Girish Chandra acted in a variety of roles. His performance in the dual roles of ramachandra and Meghnad in Meghnadbadh in 1877 was applauded by the editor of Sadharani, Akshoy Chandra Sarkar, who referred to him as the 'Garrick of Bengal'. As director, Girish Chandra helped develop many actors and actresses. He also founded a dance school to train prostitutes for the stage. For the convenience of actors, he modified the blank verse of Madhusudan into a form known after him as Gairish Chhanda (Girish metre).
Girish Chandra's lifelong association with the theatre at its nascent stage greatly helped the development of Bengali theatre, transforming what had been amateur theatre into a professional one. Author of the largest number of Bangla plays and perhaps the greatest actor of his time, Girish Chandra died in Kolkata on 8 February 1912. 



GIRISH GHOSH ROCHONABOLI


                                                                               

9/25/11

PROCHET GUPTA

Prochet Gupta

 He was born in 14th October 1962 in Kolkata.He was study in Bngur Avenue School.Form his childhood he was fond of writings.His works  published when he was 12yrs. age in Anandamela.Then he wrote several Patrika.Initially he wrote for children.Then he wrote for elder.He studies in Economics and Journalist by profession.His first writings was published for elder in the year of 2004 in Anandaloke Potrika by the name:Amar Ja Achey.For Children Lal Ronger Churi published in two part for Anandamela. 




KACHANGORER KOKIL SIR


                                                                                 



                              

9/21/11

SAURINDA MOHON MUKHERJEE

OBODHUTH


SWAMI DAYANANDA ABADHUT(1884 - 1954)Childhood: Was born in the village of Ujirpur, district Barisal, province of Bengal, India (now in Bangladesh) on 30th Kartik 1291 (November, 1884). His father’s name was Chandra Mohan Chakravarty and his mother’s name was Suniti Devi. Chandra Mohan was a lawyer by profession.
Swamiji’s childhood name was ‘Gopal’ and his given name was Rajendra Mohan Chakravarty. There is an amazing story about his childhood. One day while he was playing with his playmates he jumped into a dumping place of broken glasses and got serious cuts at several places of his body. It did not only cause a lot of blood shed, at nightfall he had intense pain, high body temperature and was in a state of semi-consciousness. Everybody was very much concerned. At the middle of the night they heard a knock at the door. On opening the door they found a Sannyasi clad in saffron colored robes. The Sannyasi wanted to see Gopal. As soon as Sannyasi touched Gopal , he started seeing many beautiful pictures in his vision (at that time he did not know what those pictures were, but later in life he knew that those were pictures of Himalayas). The Sannyasi took out some green leaves from his bag, made some kind of paste, applied it on the wounds and bandaged. He said that Gopal would be O.K. the following day. He also told Gopal the he would meet him next at Amarnath Temple and left. Everybody at the house was so spellbound that they forgot to ask who he was. As soon as he left they realized and started looking for him. But he could not be found anywhere. (When any highly spiritual soul visits, they have the power to throw an envelope of mystic oblivion). Next morning Gopal was alright.
Though very meritorious, Rajendra lacked interest in regular school studies. He would rather like to read ‘Ramayan’, ‘Mahabharat’ and other religious books. Noticing his aversion to studies, his father took him out of the school and arranged for a job under Mr. Bell, Settlement Officer at Barisal. Mr. Bell one day told Chandra Mohan, “I think one day your son will be very famous in spiritual field”.
Youth: Rajendra Mohan got married at his early youth. Soon his father retired due to old age. But he did not live long. After his father passed away Rajendra Mohan had to take all responsibility of his father’s estate. Two years after his father’s death, his wife gave birth to a beautiful son. But his wife died within two weeks due to complication associated with child birth. After his wife’s death Rajendra Mohan became indifferent to worldly life.
At Himalayas: With his mother’s and Guru’s blessings he left home for Himalayas in pursuit of ‘God’. While in Himalayas he traveled on foot ‘Manash Sarovar’, ‘Amarnath Temple’ and various other places in India, Nepal, Tibet etc. While at Amarnath Temple a Sannyasi approached him and asked, “Do you know me”. Rajendra Mohan replied, “No”. The Sannyasi then introduced himself and said that he met him at his house when he was under severe pain due to cuts by glasses at his childhood. Everything reappeared in his memory and Rajendra Mohan bowed down to his feet. The Sannyasi blessed him that his mission to attain God will soon be successful. Rajendra Mohan also came in contact with various other sages and ‘Sadhus’ like Jogiguru Goswamiji, Aghori Baba, Jnaniguru Swami Rameshranda etc. He spent about eight years in austerity and meditation in the Himalayas. One day he heard a divine utterance, “Go to Kamrup in Assam and meditate”. He spent some time on meditation in Kamrup, then one day he heard another divine utterance, “Go to Ponabalia in Barisal and meditate”.
Shiddhi: On arrival at Ponabalia, he found the beautiful ‘Shiva Temple’ and quiet surrounding befitting for meditation. One night in the month of ‘Magh’, 1320 (February 1913) while he was meditating inside the temple closed door, the door opened all on a sudden. He was blessed by the divine vision of Lord Shiva, God Vishnu and Maha Lakshmi. Lord Shiva blessed Rajendra with unflinching devotion (Bhakti). This is called ‘Shiddhi’. When Rajendra asked what should be his next duty, ‘Lord Shiva’ replied, “Spread the message of God to the ignorant masses”. Rajendra asked him again, “When I will see you next”. Lord Shiva replied, “Whenever you want to see me”.
After Rajendra Mohan was blessed with ‘Siddhi’, he assumed the name Swami Dayananda Abadhut. He traveled different places in Barisal like Guthia, Gaila, Ponabalia, Betagi, Banaripara, Sriramkathi etc and spread the message of God. He also traveled to Calcutta and different districts of East and West Bengal. He had a large number of disciples and followers.
Miracles: Swamiji possessed an enormous divine power, but he rarely displayed miracles. However, sometimes he had to show it to save his disciples from impending danger. One day he was traveling by steamer from Khulna to Barisal with a few of his disciples. It was a foggy night with poor visibility. The steamer went aground and got stuck. The Shareng (pilot of the steamer) could not re-float the steamer in spite of his best effort. The Shareng became very worried, since there was a danger of overturning the steamer due to low tide. When the Shareng came to know that Swamiji was a passenger in this steamer, he begged for his divine help. When Swamiji realized that there was a possibility of loss of life, he agreed to help. Swamiji told the Shareng to start the engine. In a moments time people realized that some invisible external force pushed the steamer into the water.
One day Swamiji was talking to his disciples who would usually assemble to listen to him. All on a sudden he stopped talking and became motionless. Almost half an hour later he became alive and started talking. Disciples asked what happened? He replied that he had to go to Benaras to talk to an important person. Disciples asked again, “Was the other person able to see you and talk to you “? Swamiji answered that since the other person had also the spiritual power, that’s why he was able to see him and talk to him.
There are numerous stories about Swamiji curing many of his disciples disease by assuming the disease himself. He saved many of his disciple’s lives who were destined to die. Many Hindus were killed in East Bengal in the riot that followed the partition of Bengal in 1947, but not a single of his disciples was killed.
Swami Dayananda Abadhut had the power to defy the law of nature. Unlike all living being, Swamiji never needed any food for living. In fact he never ate or drunk. Occasionally he would taste a spoon of pudding etc when the disciples would give Bhog (food offering) to him at noon or evening. It was equally amazing that he never had to answer nature’s call. Swamiji’s soul left his mortal body at Guthia in 1954 to unite with God.
Swamiji was never interested in establishing Ashrams, but his disciples established several Ashrams in (1) Hazaribagh (Bihar), (2) Benaras (UP) and (3) Puri (Orissa) while he was alive. After he passed away his disciples established an Ashram in (4) Ariadaha at northern suburb of Calcutta. He has another Ashram in Guthia, Barisal, Bangladesh.
Swamiji’s Message to his disciples:
1) Always pray to God for devotion (Bhakti) and not for wealth or pleasure.
2) Do the rightful work and surrender to God for results of all your actions. If you completely surrender to God, you will achieve boundless pleasure.
3) Shed all your weaknesses. Always keep faith in God. Faith and devotion goes side by side. One can not be achieved without the other. You can not succeed in spiritual achievement without unflinching faith in God.
4) Always mentally chant Guru Mantra whether at work or on meditation. The more you chant Guru Mantra the more strength you will gain.
5) Never be slave to your ‘Ripus’. Uncontrolled ‘Ripus” can cause one to loose human conscience. Control all five (eye, ear, nose, tongue and skin) of your sensual organs. You will achieve immense pleasure.
6) Love all humans equally, even the animals. All are creations of the same God.
7) Respect all women as mothers and sisters.
8) Worship Guru & meditate on Guru. He will lead you in the path to divinity.
9) Eat Swatyik (vegetarian) food, if you can. Gurudev advocated for ‘Swatyik’ food.


MORUTIRTHA HINGLAJ


                                                                                             

BOUL LALON


Lalon Shah
Lalon Shah (1774-1890) Baul guru, singer and composer of baul songs. According to tradition, he was born into a Kayastha family in the village of Bhandara in Kushtia. As a young boy, Lalon caught smallpox and was abandoned in a critical condition. Siraj Sain, a Muslim fakir, picked up the child and nursed him back to health. Lalon was later inducted as a Baul fakir. He set up an Akhda at Chheuriya, where he lived with his wife and a few disciples.
Lalon was a humanist who completely rejected all distinctions of caste and creed. He was also a fine poet and lyricist, whose songs are sung not only by his followers but also by non-Bauls. In 1963, a mausoleum and a research centre were built at the site of his Akhda. Thousands of Bauls come to the Akhda twice a year, Dol-Purnima, in the month of Falgun (February-March) and in October, on the occasion of his death anniversary. During these three-day song melas, Bauls pay rich tributes to their spiritual leader.
Lalon Shah left no written copies of his songs, which were transmitted orally and only later transcribed by his followers. Kangal Harinath Majumdar (1833-1896) was his direct disciple. Rabindranath Tagore was also inspired by his songs and published some of them in the monthly Prabasi of Kolkata. Lalon died at Chheuriya, at the age of 116 on 17 October 1890.

SONGS OF LALON SHAH


                                                                         

KUMARPRASAD MUKHOPADHAYA

Kumar Prasad Mukherjee was a true symbol of a bygone era of this country. A multi-faceted personality, he had achieved and contributed a great deal in various spheres of life. He was the epitome of refined education, polished living, accomplishment and a high degree of culture.

Born in 1927, into a well-known Bengali family, it was his father, Shri Dhurjati Prasad Mukherjee, the well-known musicologist and litterateur of his time, who provided young Kumar Prasad with the excellent education and all-round guidance, which would leave a deep impression throughout his life. Kumar Prasad acquired a Master's Degree in both Economics and Sociology from the University of Lucknow. In his professional career he had been a member of the Industrial Management Pool, Government of India and retired as the senior most Director and Deputy Chairman of Coal India Limited.

Having grown up amongst eminent musicians, authors and intellectuals of yesteryears, he had been fortunate enough to receive all his training from them. He had his early instruction in music from Professor Rabindra Lall Roy, the Chairman, Delhi University, Department of Music. Next he received taalim from the doyen of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana , Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Padma Bhushan . He also learnt from Ustad Ata Hussain Khan, son of the famous Ustad Mehboob Khan ( Daras Piya) and brother-in-law of the great scion of the Agra gharana , Aftab-e-Mausiki Ustad Faiyaz Khan.

With such a treasure-trove of taalim , his knowledge and erudition was a force to contend with. He performed on All India Radio and Doordarshan for over 30 years and also featured in several National Programmes and Radio Sangeet Sammelans. Besides regular performances all over the country, he gave lecture-demonstrations at reputed musical institutions around the country.

His achievements and contributions were no less in the field of literature. He possessed a keen sense of humour and was widely known as an interesting convers-ationalist. He was a true raconteur and was acclaimed for his lucid articles and essays. He was also a music critic in The Statesman for quite some time. He wrote a number of Bengali books on music and cricket, his other passion. His very first novel KUDRAT-RANGI-BIRANGI received the Rabindranath Tagore Purashkar and was translated into Hindi by the redoubtable Shrimati Dipali Nag. MEHFIL, MAJLISH, KHAYAL-O-HINDUSTANI SANGEETER ABAKSHAY and DISHI GAAN O BILITI KHELA are some of the other books he had written .

He received the title of " Pandit " from Gana Kala Parishad in the year 1972. This highly talented personality was also an ace photographer with several exhibitions to his credit.

His association with ITC SRA goes back more than a decade. He had been a member of the Academy's Experts Committee till 2005 and was involved in our Gharana Project funded by the Ford Foundation.

Kumar da , as he was affectionately addressed, breathed his last on the night of May 14, 2006, at 11:15 pm, finally succumbing to a terminal disease that he had withstood with his usual savoir-faire. At the time of his demise, he had been the Vice-Chairman of West Bengal Rajya Sangeet Academy.

MAHFIL



                                                                                             




















KUDRAT RANGIBIRANGI



                                                                                             

9/19/11

DEVPROSHAD SENGUPTA

NAKALER HIMALAYA


                                                                               

HARISHANKAR JALADAS






Harishankar Jaladas (b.1955) started his novelist career in 2008. His debut novel ‘Jalaputro’ was written on the life of the fishing community of Chittagong and it was noticed that very immediately he was hailed by the Bangladeshi readership. Till 2012, the number of his novels is only four including ‘Dahankaal’, another one based on the life of the fisherfolk that Harishankar himself experienced, created a tumult in 2010. In the current year, his ‘Ramgolam’ has brought his name as the best book published in the Ekushe Book Fair 2012. In this novel he has fictionalised the life of the sweepers who are called the ‘harijans’ or ‘methors’ in Bangladesh. In between ‘Dahankaal’ and ‘Ramgolam’ he wrote ‘Kosbi’, a tale that tells of the prostitutes. The recent novel opens with the character Ramgolam, a child asking his grandpa about the mystery behind his name. It could be noted here that earlier it was not usual to name a Hindu person with a word which befits a Muslim. The boy who carries the word ‘Rama’, the name of the nine Avataras of Hindu mythology, can in no way have the word ‘golam’ with it. The curiosity of the minor boy is quenched by his grandpa Gurucharan and we can hear a deep sigh of the elderly man. He talks against the people who took strategic roles in Hinduism in the distant bygone days. In his small but authentic conversation he narrates how the people of the Harijan community have been defamed since time immemorial. It was the outcastes, or the dalits who had been the victims of discrimination and prejudices for centuries. Though, Mahatma Gandhi tried his best to free them from the level ‘untouchable’ by calling the ‘Hari-jon’ meaning ‘son of God’, they are yet in the same darkness as is observed by Gurucharan, or his grandson Ramgolam, or by their writer Harishankar Jaladas himself.

MAHITHOR



                                                                             


















                                                                                                    






SAMUDRER DAAK                                                     
















DAHANKAL                                                                       





















JALADASIR GOLPO         
                                 





















                                       

RAMGOLAM                                                                     

SHORT STORIES

MOHAMMAD HABIBUR RAHAMAN

File:Muhammad Habibur Rahman by Sabila Enun 2.JPG

Muhammad Habibur Rahman (Bangla:মুহাম্মদ হাবিবুর রহমান) is a former chief justice of Bangladesh Supreme Court. He was the chief adviser of the 1996 caretaker government which oversaw the Seventh parliamentary elections in Bangladesh.
He was educated in Kolkata, Dhaka, Oxford and London. He attended Dhaka University and was an activist in the Bengali Language Movement.[citation needed] He is a Fellow of Bangla Academy and Asiatic Society of Bangladesh; Honourary Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford; and also Honourary Bencher of Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, London.
He is author of seventy books in Bangla on law, language, literature, poetry and religion and five books in English, including two books of verses.



AKJON BANGALIR ATTOSOMALOCHONA

9/15/11

RAJA RAMMOHON ROY

[Picture+of++Raja+Ram+Mohan+Roy.jpg]
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born of a distinguished Brahmin family in Bengal. After liberal education he entered the service of the East India Company and rose to high office.
Essentially a humanist and religious reformer, he left the Company to devote his time to the service of his people. Profoundly influenced by European liberalism, Ram Mohan came to the conclusion that radical reform was necessary in the religion of Hinduism and in the social practices of the Hindus. He founded the Brahmo Samaj at Calcutta in 1828, which was initially known as the "Brahmo Sabha."
Ram Mohan's claim to be remembered in Indian history is as the originator of all the more important secular movements in that country. His services to the cause of the abolition of suttee are well-known. He was the first feminist in India and his book, Brief remarks regarding modern encroachments on the ancient rights of females (1822), is a reasoned argument in favour of the equality of women.
He argued for the reform of Hindu law, led the protest against restrictions on the press, mobilised the Government against the oppressive land laws, argued the case for the association of Indians in Government and argued in favour of an English system of education in India.
Ram Mohan came to England in 1831 as the ambassador of the Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II. In 1832 he visited Paris, returning to England the same year, and coming to stay at Beech House, Stapleton Grove, Bristol in 1833. During his visit to the city he worshipped at Lewin's Mead Chapel.
However, ten days after arriving in Bristol he fell ill with meningitis, and died on 27 September 1833. He was initially buried in the grounds of Beech House, but ten years later his friend Dwarakanath Tagore had him reinterred at Arno's Vale. A chattri (funerary monument or mandir (shrine) was designed by William Prinsep and built with sponsorship from Dwarakanath Tagore. (See photograph.) In 1997 a statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy was built at
 Bristol.

ROCHONA AND JIBONI





                                                                                 

SHANTANU MAJUMDER


JIBON JOIE HOBE


                                                                               

9/7/11

AHONA BISWAS



Ahana Biswas is a well known poet and novelist from the West Bengal, India. She recently finished her PhD and working as a college profession.







TIN PURUSH AK LATA


                                                                           

SOMIR ROYCHOWDHURI


  1. Birth Place: Panihati, North 24 Parganas.
  2. Medium of writing : Bangla
  3. A founder member of Hungry Generation Movement (1961).
  4. Edited several periodicals, at present editor of HAOWA 49. B-24, Brahmapur Northern Park, P.O. Bansdroni, Kolkata – 700070. 
  5. Author of several books including collection of poems, short stories, essays etc.
  6. Editor of several Anthologies, such as :
  • Falguni Roy Samagra, which includes Falguni Roy’s poems, prose pieces and essays by several critics of Falguni’s writings.
  • Edited :
    1. Postmodern (Adhunantik) poetry collection Vol.1 and 2 which includes 151 Bangla Poets work translated in English.
    2. Postmodern (Adhunantik) short story collection of Bangla Writers (101), translated in English.
    3. Edited “Adhunantik Bangla Kabita”, a collrction of 151 poems translated in Hindi.
    4. Edited a Nepali collection of Bangla and Nepali writers during sixties.
    5. Edited Hindi collections of “SANGKRAMAK”.
    6. Co-editors of a Book on Poet Jibanananda Das in Kannar.
    7. Editor of “Phanishwar Nath Renu” special issue of “KRITTIBAS”
  1. Collection of poems :
    1. ‘Jharnar Pashe Shuye Achhi’
    2. ‘Amara Vietnam’
    3. ‘Janoar’
    4. ‘Manser Kasturi Kalpa’
    5. ‘Adhunantik Kabita Guchha’, etc.
  2. Collection of short stories :
    1. ‘Sigareter Tirobhab’
    2. ‘Chhata Haranor Barsakalin Dhukha’
    3. ‘Adhunantik Galpa Guchha’
    4. ‘Khul Ja Sim Sim’, etc.
  3. Collection of Essays :
    1. ‘Kabitar Alo Andhakar’
    2. Post modern kabita bichar
    3. post modern Bilarer Sandhane
    4. Uttar Adhunik Kabita Sangraha Vol. 1,Vol. 2
    5. Hungry Kingbadanti
    6. Edited : Other Collection of Essays by different authors on
      1. Adhunantik (Postmodern in Bangla prespective)
      2. Post Colonialism ( Uttar Ouponibeshikata )
      3. Echofeminism(Parma prakiti)
      4. Post modernism Ki O Keno
      5. Sima (Boundaries)
      6. Diaspora
      7. Hybridity
      8. Identity
      9. Othering
      10. Subaltern
      11. Anil karanjai, the artist.
  4. Publisher of :
    • Sunil Gangopadhyay’s first book on poems (EKA EBONG KAETJASN)
    • “Haowa 49” publications and periodicals ((B 24 Brahmapur, Northjern park Kolkata 700070)
  5. Special numbers and supplements published by:
    • KALIMATI (quarterly) editor and publisher Kajal Sen from “Jaladhar Smrity” 3 Atasi Road Pramathanagar, Jamsedpur 2 Pin 831002  Issue no 93, Website –www.kalimati.co.in
      Essays and Writings on Samir Roychowdhury
    • “Golpobiswab” Edited and published by Aloke Goswami. 20 Astuloshed Mukherjee road ,College para, Siliguri -734001,  Essays on Samir Roychowdhury’s writings.
    • 'BODH', March 2009, Vol 50 (supplement on Samir) Edited by Aroon Kumar Chattopadhyay.
      'Bonobas', Rupnarayanpur, Pin : 713364, Dist.: Burdwan, 



BASONA ONTOHEEN


                                                                          

DESH

DESH PUJO BARSHIKI


                                                                                     

PARTHOSHAROTI CHAKROBORTY

BUDHHI NIYE DARUN MOJA



                                                                                  

9/6/11

AVIJIT TRAFDAR

OITIHASIK


                                                                             

INDRANIL SANYAL

SUNNO DOSHOKER UPAKHAYAN


                                                                                              

9/5/11

TARUN KUMAR VADURI

BEHOR BAGI BONDUK


                                                                       

NABARUN BHATTYACHARYA

Nabarun Bhattacharya (Bengali: নবারুণ ভট্টাচার্য) (born 23 June 1948) is an Indian Bengali writer deeply committed to a revolutionary and radical aesthetics. He was born at Baharampur (Berhampur), West Bengal. He is the only child of actor Bijon Bhattacharya and writer Mahashweta Devi.[1]
He is most known for his anarchic novel, Herbert (1993), which was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award, and adapted into a film by the same name in 2005, by Suman Mukhopadhyay. [2]


He studied in Kolkata, first Geology, then English, from Calcutta University.[1] Between 1973 and 1991, he occupied important posts at a Soviet news agency. He traveled through Soviet Union, China and Japan. He edited various magazines and journals. At present he is the chief editor of the Bengali magazine, 'Bhashabandhan'. His wife, Pranati is a retired professor. Their only child Tathagata is a journalist. He lives at Golf Green, South Kolkata.

Nabarun is renowned as a fiction writer, and justifiably so. But he writes poems as well and Ei Mrityu Upotyoka Aaamaar Desh Na (This Valley of Death Is Not My Country) is arguably his most acclaimed collection of poems. An interesting dimension of his career as a creative writer is his complete refusal to have any connection with the Anandabazar group, the biggest media and publishing corporate house in Bengal while as a matter of fact, most of the major writers in some way or other, have bowed down before this immensely powerful cultural establishment called Anandabazar.
Nabarun over the years consistently contributed to various little magazines, which together constitute a promising alternative mode of literary culture in Bengal that challenges the influence of big capital. It is equally noteworthy that his writing style deconstructs the gentle middle class ethos of the Bengali society. Most of his characters belong to the lower strata of existence. His fictions reinvigorate the received Bengali language with forceful idioms and expressions from the margins, which might often bombard the chaste taste of a Tagorean upper and middle class, still very much under the spell of a 19th century Victorian sensibility.



CHOTO GOLPO


                                       





















FYATARUR BOMBACHAK



                                                                                                        

KOMOL KUMAR MAJUMDER

(1914-1979)He was son of Prafulla Chandra Majumder and Renukamoyee Majumder.He spent his childhood and teenage year in kolkata. He did his schooling from Siksha Sangha in Bishnupur . In 1937 he found a magazine called Ushnish. he wrote sevarel  pen names. During 1944-1945 he was devoted to painting.

Literacy work of Kamal kumar Majumder :
His stories include: Lal Juto, Madhu, Jal, Teish, Mallika Bahar, Matilal Paddi, Tahader Kotha, Fauj Katha.

                                     His Novels Include: Antarjali Jatra, Golap Sundori, Anila Smorone, Shyam Nouka, Protiva.


GOLPO SOMOROW



                                                                             

BHAWAN KAPIL

Sankhya Shashtra by Rishi Kapil:- The author of this Darshan is Rishi Kapil ji & its subject is about the Prakriti & its products & Purusha. It is absorbed that the word "Purusha" is denoted for both the God & the Soul. The basis of this darshan is Sat Kaarya Vaad "Nothing can ever become something , nor can something ever become nothing". The order of Creation & Dissolution of the universe from the Prakriti is exclusively explained in this darshan. Only through discrimination obtained by knowing the true form of the material world & purusha, Moksha/Salvation is obtained. It is also explained that the universe is not false, True in existence by having the material world as the subtle cause


SHANKHYO DARSHAN



                                                                     

GOURIPRASAD GHOSH




GOURI PRASAD GHOSH (b. 1928) was Professor of English Maulana Azad College, Calcutta and Lecturer in English, Calcutta University. His chief critical works are The Insubstantial Pageant: A study of Shakespeare’s Life-Vision and a work on art forms in Tagore’s poetry. One of his two semi popular books on astrophysics and cosmology has won an award. He has also won an award, along with four colleagues, as the chief editor of Everyman’s Dictionary (English to Bengali). His rendering of the Shakespearean Sonnet-sequence into Bengali verse has been admired by scholars. In 2007 he had published Rabindranath Tagore:Thirty Poems and One Hundred and Thirty Songs in English.




MOHABISSEY MOHAKASHEY

GAGONENDRANATH THAKUR



(b Calcutta, 18 Sept 1867; d Calcutta, 14 Feb 1938). Painter and designer, nephew of (1) Rabindranath Tagore. Largely self-taught, he began painting in 1905, probably inspired by contacts with traditional Japanese painters in 1903; East Asian influence is visible in his early ink paintings (e.g. Jeevansmriti illustrations, 1911; Santiniketan, Nandan Mus.) and watercolours (e.g. Chaitanya series, c. 1913; Calcutta, Rabindra-Bharati Soc.). His later works show a personalized use of post-Cubist conventions (e.g. House Mysterious, c. 1922-5; Santiniketan, Nandan Mus.). He was also a versatile pioneer in lithography and design in India. He issued three portfolios of lithographed social satire between 1917 and 1921 and designed 'Oriental'-style interior decoration to replace prevalent Victorian models. He also took a keen interest in theatre, nurtured different art organizations and wrote a book in the manner of Lewis Carroll, Bhodor Bahadur ('Otter the Great'; Calcutta, 1956).


Read more:

                         GAGONENDRANATH THAKUR






BHONDOR BAHADUR


                                                                               

ASHOK MUKHOPADHAYA

DR. SILA BOSAK

DEBKUMAR BOSE

POKHHIRAJ O URBOSHI


                                                                                             

DINOBONDHU MITRA


Dinabandhu Mitra:(1830–1873) the Bengali dramatist, was born in 1830 at village Chouberia in Gopalnagar P.S., (N) 24 Parganas and was the son of Kalachand Mitra. His given name was Gandharva Narayan, but he changed it to Dinabandhu Mitra.
Early life:
Dinabandhu Mitra's education started at a village pathshala. His father arranged a job for him on a zamindar's estate (1840). But the small boy fled to Kolkata, where he started working in the house of his uncle, Nilmani Mitra. Around 1846, he was admitted to the free school run by James Long. Dinabandhu was a bright student and won a number of scholarships. In 1850, he enrolled at Hindu College and was awarded scholarships for academic excellence. However, he did not appear in his last examination, and, instead, started working as a postmaster at Patna (1855). He served in various posts in the Postal Department in Nadia, Dhaka and Orissa. In 1870, he was made supernumerary post- master in Calcutta. In 1872, he joined the Indian Railway as an inspector.
Literary career:
Dinabandhu started writing literary pieces while still at college. His poetic style was inspired by the well known poet Ishwar Chandra Gupta. His poems were able to attract the attention of intellectuals at kolkata, but his favourite genre was the drama. His work in the postal department had taken him to various parts of the country giving him opportunities to study humanity closely and thereby adding to his ability to unfold the drama of life with a degree of realism unknown at that time. Among his books of poems are Suradhuni Kavya (first part appeared in 1871, second part appeared in 1876), Dvadash Kavita (1872). His plays include Nildarpan (1860), Nabin Tapasvini (1863), Biye Pagla Budo (1866), Sadhabar Ekadashi (1866), Lilavati (1867), Jamai Barik (1872)and Kamale Kamini (1873). He also wrote a novel titled Poda Mahehshvar. Another one of his noted contributions was the hilarious - "Jamalay-e Jiyonto Manush" (An Alive man in the abode of Yama), the basic story line will later be adopted into an iconic film starring Bhanu Bandopadhyay. It has to be noted that Mitra was also a pioneer in the sense that his plays focused on humans rather than gods & goddesses. Also in Jamalay-e he involves popular Hindu gods to generate humour, which would later be done by Rajshekhar Basu too.

Dinabandhu was awarded the title 'Rai Bahadur' by the British government for services rendered at the Battle of Lushai. He died on 1 November 1876.

DINOBANDHU ROCHONA



                                                                          

SADHANA MUKHOPADAHYA

MACH RANNA


                                                                

DEBOBROTO BISWAS

See full size image
Biswas, Debabrata (1911-1980) noted singer and cultural activist. Born in Barisal and educated at Vidyasagar College, Calcutta, and Calcutta University, Debabrata Biswas, a lifelong bachelor, made music his passion and career. Beginning in 1938, he recorded many songs written by Rabindranath Tagore for His Master’s Voice. In 1939, after joining the Communist Party, he moved about the country singing patriotic songs to inspire the masses. During this period he was also connected with the people’s theater and played roles in Navanna, Chendatar, Raktakaravi. Though very popular as a singer, Biswas came under severe criticism from Tagore song specialists, particularly of the Visva-Bharati school, who believed that he had been deliberately trying to change the original musical score of Rabindranath Tagore.



 

BRATTO JONER RUDHHO SANGEET


                                                                          

PREMANKUR ATORTHI


Premankur Atorthy: (1 January 1890 – 13 October 1964) was a novelist, journalist, and film director, born in Faridpur. His father, Mahesh Chandra Atorthy, was a propagator and writer of the brahma samaj. Premankur's initial schooling started at Brahmo School, Kolkata. He then studied variously at Duff School, Keshab Academy, City School and Brahma Boys Boarding and Day School
Premankur was imaginative and fond of adventure from boyhood. Failing to do well in his studies, he ran away to Bombay. At Bombay he learnt to play the sitar under Ustad Karamatullah. Returning to Kolkata, he started working at a sports goods shop in Chowringee. Subsequently, he worked for the Baikali, Yadughar, Hindustan, bharatvarsha, Sangkalpa, Nachghar and bharati. He also edited the Betarjagat, the Bangla magazine of All-India Radio.
Premankur entered the cinema world with a role in the Bangla film Punarjanma. He also directed movies, first for a film studio in Lahore and then for the New Theatres Ltd, Kolkata. Among the movies which he directed are Dena Paona Kapalkundala, Dikshul, Bharat Ki Beti, Sudhar Prem, Ihudi Ki Ladki.
Premankur was also a novelist. Among his novels are Anarkali (1925), Bajikar (1929), Chasar Meye (1924), Takht Taus, Mahasthabir Jatak (3 vols, 1944–54).




MOHASTHOBIR JATOK


                                                                                       

SUNANDA SIKDAR

See full size imageShe spent her childhood 'reading Kashiram Das’s Mahabharata and Krittibas’s Ramayana. She learnt the Bengali script from these books and was considered literate by the villagers of Dighpait in Bangladesh where she lived with her widowed pishi. Most of her neighbours were farmers, many were refugees from India, who brought with them Bengali translations of Laila Majnu or parts of the Koran and Sunanda Sikdar alias Dayamayee would read these aloud to them. She never went to school in her village because in those days, girls and boys were not allowed to attend the same school. Little did she know that her rustic life would one day become a story that others would read.

The ten golden years of her life in her village Bangladesh as Dayamayee, is what Sunanda Sikdar writes about in her book Dayamayeer Katha. She started writing only to get rid of her depression. Through restless nights, she scribbled her emotions and experiences on pieces of paper. She was crestfallen when she heard that her Majumda had died. He was the caretaker of her paternal home in Dighpait, but more than that, he was like her elder brother. She felt stiffed as she found no outlet to express herself. Eventually, her doctor asked her to jot down her emotions.

Scraps of paper formed the manuscript of an award-winning novel. Sunanda Sikdar never thought that an account of her childhood would one day 'win her literary prizes. First came the Shera Bangali Puashkar and the Leela Award from Calcutta University in 2008 and then the Ananda Puraskar in 2010.
Sunanda Sikdar nee Bhowmick, made waves in literary circles. She still wonders how it all happened. Had it not been for Asru Kumar Sikdar, a writer and a relative, the papers would still be collecting dust in her room. “He asked me to publish it. I had refused initially but finally gave in. All I did was to compile was to compile the writings for him," said Sikdar. The rest is history and Dayamayeer Katha is now in its ninth edition published by Gangchil.

Affter winning the first two awards, Sikdar grabbed the first opportunity to go back to her village in 2009. “Some residents of Bally, who were visiting a neighbouring village, offered to to Dighpait. I was very happy to go there. A lot has changed smce I left. The school that once had a thatched roof now has a tin shade. Farmers get a good yield from their crop each year and do not have to buy rice. The villagers have a better lifestyle. What was most striking was that there were no religious differences between the Hindus and the Muslims any more. I was told that the 1971 war had changed all that," said Sikdar. An evening of kirtan was organised while she was there and Sunanda was delighted to see a number of
Muslims in the audience. A feast of khichuri, labra and payesh was arranged and women of both communities got together to cook the meal. " Considering that there was so much c ommunal tension at one time, I was pleasantly surprised to see the two communities living in harmony." said Sikdar.

Although Bally has been home to Sikdar for the past 48 years, the 10 years of her llfe in Dighpait still come back to her. Her Widowed pishima was very close to her. She shared a somewhat distant relationship with her own mother. “My mother; Suprabha Bhowmick, was a school headmistress in Mymensingh. When our family moved to India, she became the headmistress of Bally Girls’ School. I have heard that she was instrumental in developing the school. I had minimal interaction with my mothen because I was separated from her when I was only eight months old and I would see her occasionally, when I came on holidays w1th my aunt. My mother was forced to keep me away because those tunes were bad. She had to run a school and there wasn't enough money to feed me said Sikdar. It was only after she turned 11, that she came to 11ve with her parents 1n Bally. "The Shlfl was necessary for my educatlon. My pzshzma sold off some of the property at Dlghpalt and accompamed me to Bally. I would not live without her and she felt that I would not get any education if I continued living in the village,” she said.

Life Started afresh for Sunanda who had so far lived a pampered life as Dighpait’s Dayamayee. For a a girl who had never been to School, it was tough for her to join class VII in her mother's school. “I could not follow what was happening in class,” she said. One day; Sunanda ran away from school with her Hindi answer script. “I could not recognise the Devanagari script. I was too scared and ran away with my answer sheet. Later my teachers came home to take the sheet back," said Sunanda.

Her school life was full of such incidents. Her mother, unaware of her daughter’s plight, had forced her to study Science, but eventually she had to give it up. “My mother was highly educated and thought that learning came naturally. She never really bothered to look into my problems. Besides, she was too busy with her work,” said Sunanda. “We were seven brothers and sisters and I was the youngest. Since two of my brothers were studying engineering, my mother felt that I, too, must study science. Howeven I was not inclined towards it,” she said. After overcoming the initial hurdles, Sunanda managed to complete school and also graduated from Raja Pyaremohan college in Uttarpara.

Handling cash was also a new experience for Sunanda after she left her vi1lage. "‘I had never seen money when I lived in Dighpait. The barter system was prevalent there. Men carried a variety of household items in boats to the riverbanks and would exchange them for rice grains. I would watch pishima bargain with them," she said. When she came to live in Bally, Sunanda would often have to go to the market. "My mother would send me out so that I could get familiar with the place," she said.

It was on one of these expeditions that Sunanda discovered Bally Sadharana Granthagar. " This was my place of refuge. I spent long hours in the library reading. I was surprised to see such a huge library. I walked in and was amazed to see skeoet many books in one place.I still remeber Sushil Mukhopadhyay, one of the library's caretakers, who helped me find book. Since I was not a member, I could not bring back books home," said Sunanda. It was there that Sunanda came across some rare books. She read the translations of Rig Vedas by Ramesh Dutta and also transaled version of the Upanishads. After reading Kaliprasanna Singha's Mahabharata, Sunanda realised that it was a far better work than Kashiram Das's version of the epic.

Sunanda read her favourite author, Rabindranath, but secretly. " I would steal the voulmes one by one from my mother's room and put them back once I finished. I would not tell any one, lest they tease in 1974 and had to shift to north Bengal. But that was for a brief period of three years until her husband, who worked with a bank, took a transfer to Calcutta. "Once we returned to Calcutta, I visited my mother and pishima at Bally regularly and also came to the library. Gradually I brought this house and we shifted here." said Sikdar.

The 48 eventful years of her life afte she left Bangladesh will follow as a sequel.




DOYAMOYIR KOTHA