Subhash Mukhopadhyay (poet)

Not to be confused with Subhash Mukhopadhyay (physician).
Subhash Mukhopadhyay

Subhash Mukhopadhyay
Born (1919-02-12)12 February 1919
Krishnanagar, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died 8 July 2003 (aged 84)
Kolkata, India
Occupation Poet
Nationality Indian
Genre novels, poetry, libretto

Subhash Mukhopadhyay ( Shubhash Mukhopaddhae ; 12 February 1919 – 8 July 2003) was one of the foremost Indian Bengali poets of the 20th century. He is also known as the "podatik kobi" in the field of Bengali literature .A book of thirty of Subhash's best known poems in English translation, titled ' As Day is Breaking', was published in 2014 by Anjan Basu,a Bangalore-based writer/critic. The book includes a rather detailed introduction to the poet's work as well.[1][2]

Early life

Mukhopadhyay was born in 1919 in Krishnanagar, a town in Nadia district in the province of West Bengal.[3][4] An excellent student, he studied philosophy at the Scottish Church College in Calcutta, graduating with honours in 1941.[5]

Career

Like his contemporary Sukanta Bhattacharya, Mukhopadhyay developed strong political beliefs at an early age. He was deeply committed to the cause of social justice, and was active in left-wing student politics through his college years. Following graduation, he formally joined the Communist Party of India. He thus became one of a handful of literary practitioners with first-hand experience as a party worker and activist.

In 1940, while still a student, he published his first volume of poetry Padatik (The Foot-Soldier).[4] Many critics regard this book as a milestone in the development of modern Bengali poetry. It represented a clear departure from the earlier Kallol generation of poets; and Subhash's distinctive, direct voice, allied with his technical skill and radical world-view, gained him great popularity. In his poetry, Subhash grappled with the massive upheavals of that era which ruptured Bengali society from top to bottom. The 1940s were marked by world war, famine, partition, communal riots and mass emigration in Bengal. Subhash's writings broke away from the traditional moorings of the establishment poets, and instead addressed the despair and disillusion felt by the common people. He remained throughout his life an advocate of the indivisibility of the Bengali people and Bengali culture. His radical activism continued unabated. He was one of the leaders of the "Anti-Fascist Writers' and Artists' Association", formed in March 1942 in reaction to the murder of Somen Chanda, a fellow-writer and Marxist activist. Subhash remained attached with the Communist Party until 1982, and spent time in jail as a political prisoner briefly in the late 1960s. From the late 1950s onwards, Subhash's poetry evolved into something more personal and introspective. The lyricism of Phul phutuk na phutuk, aaj Boshonto, one of his most famous poems, was a result of this period.

Later in the 1970s, Subhash's poetry took a turn toward the narrative and the allegorical. But he never lost his technical facility nor his unique voice. Besides verse, Subhash also wrote works of prose including novels, essays and travelogues. He was active in journalism too, having served on the editorial staff of daily and weekly newspapers. He was an editor of the leading Bengali literary journal Parichay. He was also an accomplished and popular writer for children. He edited the Bengali children's periodical Sandesh jointly with Satyajit Ray for a few years in the early sixties.[6]

Personal life

Mukhopadhyay married Gita Bandyopadhyay, also a well-known writer, in 1951. They adopted three daughters.

According to those close to him, Mukhopadhyay had become disillusioned with politics in his final years. He suffered from severe heart and kidney ailments, and died in Kolkata in July 2003. He was 84.

Awards

Mukhopadhyay received numerous awards and honours in his lifetime, including the two highest literary prizes in India: the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1964 (for Joto Dureii Jai), and the Jnanpith Award in 1991. The Government of India awarded the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 2003.[7]

Bibliography

Sample work

Phul phutuk na phutuk, aaj Boshonto

Shaan-badhano footpath-ey
Pathorey paa dubiye
Ek katth-khotta gachh
Kochi kochi patae
Paanjor phatiye hashchhey.

Translation to English:

Whether flowers bloom or not, it's Spring today

Standing on the concrete pavement
Dipping his toes into the rock
A curmudgeonly tree
Decked out in new leaves
Laughs his heart out.


When you see, may you not feel hurt,
May your sight be soothed and you feel good,
For that
I have stuck flowers in all the thorns pricked in my breast,
Do smile.
May you not feel sad when you hear,
May your ears be soothed with sweet sound and you feel good,
For that
I have wrapped my weeping heart in melodious tunes
Do smile, all ye, do enjoy...

Notable works

Recognition

He was a fellow of the Sahitya Akademi, and was the Deputy Secretary of the Progressive Writers' Union. He was conferred Deshikottama (Honorary D.Litt.) by the Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. He was the Organizer-General of the Afro-Asian Writers' Association in 1983. He was also a member of the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi since 1987.

The U.S. Library of Congress has a collection of forty titles by him including translations.

Legacy

References

  1. ↑ Biography of Subhash Mukhopadhyay from The South Asian Literary Recordings Project
  2. ↑ "Everyman's poet bids final farewell" Obituary of Subhash Mukhopadhyay from The Telegraph Calcutta, 9 July 2003
  3. ↑ "End of revolution for everyman's poet". Telegraph Calcutta. 9 July 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 Subhash Mukherjee; Surabhi Bandyopādhyāẏa (1 January 1996). The Cape. Orient Blackswan. pp. 3–. ISBN 978-81-250-0936-8. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
  5. ↑ Some Alumni of Scottish Church College in 175th Year Commemoration Volume. Scottish Church College, April 2008, p. 591
  6. ↑ "Sandesh: Reborn on May, 1931" article from http://www.satyajitray.com
  7. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ode to a poet" The Telegraph Calcutta, 6 August 2003
  9. ↑ "Kolkata metro reaches New Garia". Railway Gazette. 7 October 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Tracks & trains for 'backward' region". Telegraph Calcutta. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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