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{{Short description|Indian poet (1899–1954)}}
{{Short description|Bengali poet (1899–1954)}}
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'''Jibanananda Das'''{{efn|{{IPA|bn|'dʒibonˌanondoː daʃ}}}} (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954)<ref name="s">{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Sengupta |editor1-first=Subodh Chandra |editor2-last=Basu |editor2-first=Anjali |year=1988 |orig-year=First published 1976 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |trans-title=Jibanananda Das |script-encyclopedia=bn:সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান |encyclopedia=Saṃsada bāṅāli caritābhidhāna |trans-encyclopedia=Parliament Bengali Biographical Dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/Samsad-Bangali-Charitabhidhan-Ed2/page/১৭৯/mode/1up |language=bn |volume=1 |edition=2nd |location=Kolkata |publisher=Sahitya Samsad |page=179}}</ref> was an Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist who wrote in the [[Bengali language]]. Often referred to as the ''Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ({{lit|'Poet of Beautiful Bengal'}}),<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.prothomalo.com/pachmisheli/article/1154181/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%96-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9B%E0%A6%BF |title=Banglar Mukh Ami Dekhiyachi |date=23 April 2017 |work=[[Prothom Alo]] |access-date=7 June 2018 |publisher=Transcom Group |language=bn |script-title=bn:বাংলার মুখ আমি দেখিয়াছি |trans-title=I've Seen the Face of Bengal}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> he is regarded as one of the most prominent Bengali poets after [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]], although he received limited recognition during his lifetime.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Hajar Bacharer Bangali Sangskriti |last=Murshid |first=Ghulam |publisher=Abasar |year=2016 |isbn=978-984-415-190-1 |location=Dhaka |pages=316 |language=bn |script-title=bn:হাজার বছরের বাঙালি সংস্কৃতি |trans-title=Bengali Culture across the Millennia |chapter=Bangla Bhasha o Sahitya |script-chapter=bn:বাংলা ভাষা ও সাহিত্য |trans-chapter=Bengali Language and Literature |author-link=Ghulam Murshid}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/article/703870 |title=Barishale Jibanananda Mela |date=6 December 2015 |work=Prothom Alo |access-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607123213/http://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/article/703870 |archive-date=7 June 2018 |publisher=Transcom Group |location=Dhaka |language=bn |script-title=bn:বরিশালে জীবনানন্দ মেলা |trans-title=Jibanananda Fair in Barishal |quote=বাংলা সাহিত্যে রবীন্দ্রনাথ ও নজরুল ইসলামের পর শ্রেষ্ঠ কবি জীবনানন্দ দাশ। নতুন প্রজন্ম জীবনানন্দ দাশকে ভুলতে বসেছে। জীবনানন্দের প্রকৃতি প্রেম ও দর্শন নতুন প্রজন্মের মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে দিতে হবে। ... বলেন রবীন্দ্র ভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সাবেক উপাচার্য পবিত্র সরকার। Jibanananda Das is the greatest poet after Rabindranath and Nazrul Islam. The young generation is forgetful of Jibanananda. We should promulgate his love and view of nature among the new generations. ... said Pabitra Sarkar, the ex-VC of Rabindra Bharati University.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alokitobangladesh.com/online/details/14964 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশের কবিতার সংখ্যা কত? |website=Alokita Bangladesh |language=bn |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Jibanananda Das |last=Salekeen |first=Seraj |publisher=Kathaprokash |year=2018 |series=Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] |location=Dhaka |pages=7 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |language=bn |quote=আমৃত্যু নির্জন, অথচ মৃত্যুপরবর্তী কিছুকালের মধ্যে সমকালীন বাংলা কবিতার অন্যতম জনপ্রিয় কবিতে পরিণত হন জীবনানন্দ দাশ। Despite being desolate till death, Jibanananda Das became one of the popular poets of contemporary Bengali poems immediately after his death.}}</ref>
'''Jibanananda Das'''{{efn|{{IPA|bn|'dʒibonˌanondoː daʃ}}}} (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954)<ref name="s">{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Sengupta |editor1-first=Subodh Chandra |editor2-last=Basu |editor2-first=Anjali |year=1988 |orig-year=First published 1976 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |trans-title=Jibanananda Das |script-encyclopedia=bn:সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান |encyclopedia=Saṃsada bāṅāli caritābhidhāna |trans-encyclopedia=Parliament Bengali Biographical Dictionary |url=https://archive.org/details/Samsad-Bangali-Charitabhidhan-Ed2/page/১৭৯/mode/1up |language=bn |volume=1 |edition=2nd |location=Kolkata |publisher=Sahitya Samsad |page=179}}</ref> was an Indian poet and writer who wrote in the [[Bengali language]]. Often referred to as the ''Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ({{lit|'Poet of Beautiful Bengal'}}),<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.prothomalo.com/pachmisheli/article/1154181/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%82%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%81%E0%A6%96-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF-%E0%A6%A6%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%96%E0%A6%BF%E0%A7%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%9B%E0%A6%BF |title=Banglar Mukh Ami Dekhiyachi |date=23 April 2017 |work=[[Prothom Alo]] |access-date=7 June 2018 |publisher=Transcom Group |language=bn |script-title=bn:বাংলার মুখ আমি দেখিয়াছি |trans-title=I've Seen the Face of Bengal}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> he is regarded as one of the most prominent Bengali poets after [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]], although he received limited recognition during his lifetime.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |title=Hajar Bacharer Bangali Sangskriti |last=Murshid |first=Ghulam |publisher=Abasar |year=2016 |isbn=978-984-415-190-1 |location=Dhaka |pages=316 |language=bn |script-title=bn:হাজার বছরের বাঙালি সংস্কৃতি |trans-title=Bengali Culture across the Millennia |chapter=Bangla Bhasha o Sahitya |script-chapter=bn:বাংলা ভাষা ও সাহিত্য |trans-chapter=Bengali Language and Literature |author-link=Ghulam Murshid}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/article/703870 |title=Barishale Jibanananda Mela |date=6 December 2015 |work=Prothom Alo |access-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607123213/http://www.prothomalo.com/entertainment/article/703870 |archive-date=7 June 2018 |publisher=Transcom Group |location=Dhaka |language=bn |script-title=bn:বরিশালে জীবনানন্দ মেলা |trans-title=Jibanananda Fair in Barishal |quote=বাংলা সাহিত্যে রবীন্দ্রনাথ ও নজরুল ইসলামের পর শ্রেষ্ঠ কবি জীবনানন্দ দাশ। নতুন প্রজন্ম জীবনানন্দ দাশকে ভুলতে বসেছে। জীবনানন্দের প্রকৃতি প্রেম ও দর্শন নতুন প্রজন্মের মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে দিতে হবে। ... বলেন রবীন্দ্র ভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সাবেক উপাচার্য পবিত্র সরকার। Jibanananda Das is the greatest poet after Rabindranath and Nazrul Islam. The young generation is forgetful of Jibanananda. We should promulgate his love and view of nature among the new generations. ... said Pabitra Sarkar, the ex-VC of Rabindra Bharati University.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alokitobangladesh.com/online/details/14964 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশের কবিতার সংখ্যা কত? |website=Alokita Bangladesh |language=bn |access-date=7 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Jibanananda Das |last=Salekeen |first=Seraj |publisher=Kathaprokash |year=2018 |series=Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] |location=Dhaka |pages=7 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |language=bn |quote=আমৃত্যু নির্জন, অথচ মৃত্যুপরবর্তী কিছুকালের মধ্যে সমকালীন বাংলা কবিতার অন্যতম জনপ্রিয় কবিতে পরিণত হন জীবনানন্দ দাশ। Despite being desolate till death, Jibanananda Das became one of the popular poets of contemporary Bengali poems immediately after his death.}}</ref>


Born in [[Barisal]] to a [[Bengali Hindu]] family, Das studied English literature at [[Presidency College, Kolkata]], and earned a master's degree from [[Calcutta University]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=[[Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh]] |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |year=2012 |editor-last=Islam |editor-first=Sirajul |editor-link=Sirajul Islam |edition=2nd |location=Dhaka |chapter=Das, Jibanananda |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Das,_Jibanananda}}</ref> He experienced persistent difficulty securing stable employment and faced financial hardship throughout his life. He taught at several colleges but never granted tenure. Following the partition of India, he permanently settled in Kolkata. Das died on 22 October 1954, eight days after being struck by a [[tramcar|tram]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jibanananda Das |last=Salekeen |first=Seraj |publisher=Kathaprokash |year=2018 |series=Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] |location=Dhaka |pages=80 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |language=bn}}</ref> Witnesses had later reported that the tram had sounded its whistle, but Das did not stop and was hit. Some accounts have speculated that the incident may have been a suicide.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |title=Jibanananda Daser Prakashita-Aprakashita KabitaSamagra |date=1998 |publisher=Abasar |isbn=984-446-008-5 |editor1-last=Syed |editor1-first=Abdul Mannan |editor1-link=Abdul Mannan Syed |location=Dhaka |page=618 |language=bn |chapter=Parishishta}}</ref>
Born in [[Barisal]] to a [[Bengali Hindu]] family, Das studied English literature at [[Presidency College, Kolkata]], and earned a master's degree from [[Calcutta University]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Name me a word: Indian writers reflect on writing |date=2018 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-22258-6 |editor-last=Alexander |editor-first=Meena |location=New Haven |pages=42-46}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=[[Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh]] |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |year=2012 |editor-last=Islam |editor-first=Sirajul |editor-link=Sirajul Islam |edition=2nd |location=Dhaka |chapter=Das, Jibanananda |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Das,_Jibanananda}}</ref> He experienced persistent difficulty securing stable employment and faced financial hardship throughout his life. He taught at several colleges but never granted tenure. Following the partition of India, he permanently settled in Kolkata. Das died on 22 October 1954, eight days after being struck by a [[tramcar|tram]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Jibanananda Das |last=Salekeen |first=Seraj |publisher=Kathaprokash |year=2018 |series=Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] |location=Dhaka |pages=80 |script-title=bn:জীবনানন্দ দাশ |language=bn}}</ref> Witnesses had later reported that the tram had sounded its whistle, but Das did not stop and was hit. Some accounts have speculated that the incident may have been a suicide.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |title=Jibanananda Daser Prakashita-Aprakashita KabitaSamagra |date=1998 |publisher=Abasar |isbn=984-446-008-5 |editor1-last=Syed |editor1-first=Abdul Mannan |editor1-link=Abdul Mannan Syed |location=Dhaka |page=618 |language=bn |chapter=Parishishta}}</ref>


Das was relatively unrecognised during his lifetime. Although he wrote profusely, he published little of his work, partly due to his introverted nature. Much of his writing remained unpublished,<ref name=":3" /> and only seven volumes of his poetry appeared during his lifetime.<ref name=":2" /> After his death, it was discovered that, in addition to poetry, Das had written 21 novels and 108 short stories. His notable works include ''[[Ruposhi Bangla]]'', ''[[Banalata Sen (book)|Banalata Sen]]'', ''Mahaprithibi'', and ''Shreshtha Kavita''.<ref name=":3" /> His early poetry reflects the influence of Kazi Nazrul Islam,<ref name=":3" /> but by the latter half of the 20th century, his own work had become a major influence on the development of modern Bengali verse.<ref>{{cite book |last=Das Gupta |first=Chidananda |year=1972 |title=Jibanananda Das |series=Makers of Indian Literature |location=New Delhi |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |page=13 |oclc=313728800 |quote=For the younger generation of Bengali poets today, he [Das] has practically come to take the place of [[Tagore]]. His influence on them is all-pervading.}}</ref>
Das was relatively unrecognised during his lifetime. Although he wrote profusely, he published little of his work, partly due to his introverted nature. Much of his writing remained unpublished,<ref name=":3" /> and only seven volumes of his poetry appeared during his lifetime.<ref name=":2" /> After his death, it was discovered that, in addition to poetry, Das had written 21 novels and 108 short stories. His notable works include ''[[Ruposhi Bangla]]'', ''[[Banalata Sen (book)|Banalata Sen]]'', ''Mahaprithibi'', and ''Shreshtha Kavita''.<ref name=":3" /> His early poetry reflects the influence of Kazi Nazrul Islam,<ref name=":3" /> but by the latter half of the 20th century, his own work had become a major influence on the development of modern Bengali verse.<ref>{{cite book |last=Das Gupta |first=Chidananda |year=1972 |title=Jibanananda Das |series=Makers of Indian Literature |location=New Delhi |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |page=13 |oclc=313728800 |quote=For the younger generation of Bengali poets today, he [Das] has practically come to take the place of [[Tagore]]. His influence on them is all-pervading.}}</ref>
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
=== Early life ===
[[File:Jibanananda Das Old.jpg|250px|thumbnail|right|Young Jibanananda Das]]
[[File:Child Jibanananda Das.jpg|thumb|left|Das in his childhood|207x207px]]
Das was born in 1899 in [[Barisal]], a district town in the [[British Raj]], into a Bengali [[Baidya]] family. His ancestors originated from the [[Bikrampur]] region (now [[Munshiganj District|Mushiganj]])  of the [[Dhaka Division]], from the now-extinct village of Gaupara in the kumarvog area of the [[Louhajang Upazila]] on the banks of the river [[Padma]].<ref name="Das,_P._2003_1">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=1}}</ref> Das' grandfather Sarbānanda Dāśagupta was the first to settle permanently in Barisal. He was an early exponent of the reformist [[Brahmo Samaj]] movement in Barisal and was highly regarded in town for his philanthropy. He erased the ''-gupta'' suffix from the family name, regarding it as a symbol of [[Vedic period|Vedic]] [[Brahmin]] excess, thus rendering the surname to ''Das''.<ref name="Das,_P._2003_2">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=2}}</ref> Jibanananda's father Satyānanda Dāś (1863–1942) was a schoolmaster,  essayist, magazine publisher, and
[[File:Jibanananda Das Old.jpg|250x250px|thumbnail|Young Jibanananda Das]]
founder-editor of ''Brôhmobadi'', a journal of the Brahmo Samaj dedicated to the exploration of social issues.<ref name="Das,_P._2003_6">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=6}}</ref>
Das was born in 1899 in [[Barisal]], a district town in the [[British Raj]], into a Bengali [[Baidya]] family. His ancestors originated from the [[Bikrampur]] region (now [[Munshiganj District|Mushiganj]])  of the [[Dhaka Division]], from the now-extinct village of Gaupara in the kumarvog area of the [[Louhajang Upazila]] on the banks of the river [[Padma]].<ref name="Das,_P._2003_1">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=1}}</ref> Das' grandfather Sarbānanda Dāśagupta was the first to settle permanently in Barisal. He was an early exponent of the reformist [[Brahmo Samaj]] movement in Barisal and was highly regarded in town for his philanthropy. He erased the ''-gupta'' suffix from the family name, regarding it as a symbol of [[Vedic period|Vedic]] [[Brahmin]] excess, thus rendering the surname to ''Das''.<ref name="Das,_P._2003_2">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=2}}</ref>  


Jibanananda's mother [[Kusumkumari Das|Kusumakumārī Dāś]] (1875–1948) was a poet who wrote a famous poem called ''Adôrsho Chhēlē'' ("The Ideal Boy") whose refrain is well known to Bengalis to this day: ''Āmādēr dēshey hobey shei chhēlē kobey / Kothae nā boṛo hoye kajey boro hobey.'' (''The child who achieves not in words but in deeds, when will this land know such a one?''){{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}
Jibanananda's father, Satyānanda Dāś, was a schoolmaster and publisher, and Jibanananda's mother, [[Kusumkumari Das|Kusumakumārī Dāś]], was a poet who explored social issues.<ref name="Das,_P._2003_6">{{harvnb|Das, P.|2003|p=6}}</ref>Jibanananda was the eldest son and had two siblings, Aśōkānanda and Sucharita.


Jibanananda was the eldest son of his parents, and was called by the nickname Milu. A younger brother Aśōkānanda Dāś was born in 1901 and a sister called Sucharita in 1915. Jibananda fell violently ill in his childhood, and his parents feared for his life. Fervently desiring to restore his health, Kusumkumari took her ailing child on pilgrimage to [[Lucknow]], [[Agra]] and [[Giridih]]. They were accompanied on these journeys by their uncle Chandranāth.
=== Education and Career ===
In 1919, Jibanananda received a BA Degree in English literature from [[Presidency College, Kolkata]]. He first poem appeared in the [[Boishakh]] issue of ''Brahmobadi'' journal. The poem was called ''Borsho-abahon'' (''Arrival of the New Year''). Jibanananda sometimes published his works under the pseudonyms Sri or Das Gupta.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}


In January 1908, Jibanananda, by now eight years old, was admitted to the first grade in ''Brojomohon School''. The delay was due to his father's opposition to admitting children into school at too early an age. Jibanananda's childhood education was therefore limited to his mother's tutelage.
Jibanananda earned his MA Degree in English from the University of Calcutta in 1921, taught and tutored students in English, and published his first collection of poems called Jhara Palok (Fallen Feathers) in 1927.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}


His school life passed by relatively uneventfully. In 1915 he successfully completed his [[matriculation]] examination from Brajamohan College, obtaining a first division in the process. He repeated the feat two years later when he passed the intermediate exams from [[Brajamohan College]]. Evidently an accomplished student, he left his home at rural Barisal to join [[University of Calcutta]].
By the last year of his life, Jibanananda was acclaimed as one of the best poets of the post-Tagore era. In May 1954, he published a volume titled 'Best Poems' (Sreshttho Kobita), which won the Indian [[Sahitya Akademi]] Award in 1955.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}


=== Life in Calcutta: first phase ===
=== Personal Life ===
Jibanananda enrolled in [[Presidency College, Kolkata]]. He studied [[English literature]] and graduated with a BA (Honours) Degree in 1919. That same year, his first poem appeared in print in the [[Boishakh]] issue of ''Brahmobadi'' journal. Fittingly, the poem was called ''Borsho-abahon'' (''Arrival of the New Year''). This poem was published anonymously, with only the honorific Sri in the byline. However, the annual index in the year-end issue of the magazine revealed his full name: "Sri Jibanananda Das Gupta, BA".
In May 1930, Jibanananda married [[Labanyaprabha Das]] (née Gupta) and they had a daughter and son named Manjusree and Samarananda.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} Labanyaprabha was the daughter of Rohini Kumar Gupta and Sarojubala Gupta. Her paternal uncle was Acharya of the Brahmo Samaj in Dhaka.[[File:কবিতা ভবন থেকে প্রকাশিত বনলতা সেনের প্রথম সংস্করণ.jpg|thumb|First Edition of Banalata Sen published from Kavita Bhavan of [[Buddhadev Bose]]]]
 
== Death and Legacy ==
In 1921, he completed the MA degree in English from University of Calcutta, obtaining a second class. He was also studying law. At this time, he lived in the Hardinge student quarters next to the university. Just before his exams, he fell ill with [[bacillary dysentery]], which affected his preparation for the examination.
During Jibanananda's evening walk on 14 October 1954, he was struck by a tram while crossing a road near Calcutta's [[Deshapriya Park]]. He was taken to Shambhunath Pundit Hospital, where he died eight days later.<sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>
 
The following year, he started his teaching career. He joined the English department of [[City College, Calcutta]] as a tutor. By this time, he had left Hardinge and was boarding at Harrison Road. He gave up his law studies. It is thought that he also lived in a house in Bechu Chatterjee Street for some time with his brother Ashokanananda, who had come there from Barisal for his MSc studies.
[[File:Adobe Scan 08-Jul-2022 (1) 2.jpg|thumb|Signet Edition of Mahaprithibi]]
 
=== Travels and travails ===
His literary career began to improve. When [[Chittaranjan Das|Deshbondhu Chittaranjan Das]] died in June 1925, Jibanananda wrote a poem called 'Deshbandhu' Prayan'e' ("On the Death of the Friend of the nation") which was published in ''Bangabani'' magazine. This poem would later take its place in the collection called ''Jhara Palok'' (1927). On reading it, poet [[Kalidas Roy]] said that he had thought the poem was the work of a mature, accomplished poet hiding behind a pseudonym. {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} Jibanananda's earliest printed [[prose]] work was also published in 1925. This was an obituary entitled "Kalimohan Das'er Sraddha-bashorey," which appeared in serialised form in ''Brahmobadi'' magazine. His poetry began to be widely published in various literary journals and [[little magazine movement|little magazines]] in Calcutta, Dhaka and elsewhere. These included ''[[Kallol]]'', perhaps the most famous literary magazine of the era, ''Kalikalam'' (Pen and Ink), ''Progoti'' (Progress) (co-edited by [[Buddhadeb Bose]]) and others. At this time, he occasionally used the surname Dasgupta as opposed to Das.
 
In 1927, he published ''Jhara Palok'' (Fallen Feathers), his first collection of poems. A few months later, Jibanananda was fired from his job at the City College. The college had been struck by student unrest surrounding a religious festival, and enrolment seriously suffered  as a consequence. Still in his late 20s, Jibanananda was the youngest member of the faculty and therefore regarded as the most dispensable. In the literary circle of Calcutta, he also came under serial attack. One of the most serious literary critics of that time, [[Sajanikanta Das]], began to write aggressive critiques of his poetry in the review pages of ''Shanibarer Chithi'' (the Saturday Letter) magazine.
 
With nothing to keep him in [[Calcutta]], Jibanananda left for the small town of [[Bagerhat]] in the far south, there to resume his teaching career at [[Government P.C. College, Bagerhat|Bagerhat P. C. College]]. But after about three months he returned to the big city, now in dire financial straits. To make ends meet, he gave private tuition to students while applying for full-time positions in academia. In December 1929, he moved to Delhi to take up a teaching post at [[Ramjas College]]; again this lasted no more than a few months. Back in Barisal, his family had been making arrangements for his marriage. Once Jibanananda went to Barisal, he failed to go back to Delhi – and, consequently, lost the job.
 
In May 1930, he married Labanyaprabha Sen, a girl whose ancestors came from [[Bagerhat]]. His marriage was solemnized at the Brahmo Samaj Mandir which was attended by leading literary lights of the day such as [[Ajit Kumar Dutta]] and [[Buddhadeb Bose]]. A daughter called Manjusree was born to the couple in February of the following year.
[[File:কবিতা ভবন থেকে প্রকাশিত বনলতা সেনের প্রথম সংস্করণ.jpg|thumb|First Edition of Banalata Sen published from Kavita Bhavan of [[Buddhadev Bose]]]]
Around this time, he wrote one of his most controversial poems. "[[Campe (poem)|Camp'e]]" (At the Camp) was printed in [[Sudhindranath Dutta|Sudhindranath Dutta's]] ''Parichay'' magazine and immediately caused a firestorm in the literary circle of Calcutta. The poem's ostensible subject is a deer hunt on a moonlit night. Many accused Jibanananda of promoting indecency and [[incest]] through this poem.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}} More and more, he turned now, in secrecy, to fiction. He wrote a number of short novels and short stories during this period of unemployment, strife and frustration.
 
In 1934 he wrote the series of sonnets that would form the basis of the collection called ''[[Rupasi Bangla]]''. These poems were not discovered during his lifetime, and were only published in 1957, three years after his death.
 
=== Back in Barisal ===
In 1935, Jibanananda, by now familiar with professional disappointment and poverty, returned to his ''alma mater'' Brajamohan College, which was then affiliated with the University of Calcutta. He joined as a lecturer in the English department. In Calcutta, [[Buddhadeb Bose]], [[Premendra Mitra]] and [[Samar Sen (poet)|Samar Sen]] were starting a brand new poetry magazine called ''Kobita''. Jibanananda's work featured in the very first issue of the magazine, a poem called ''Mrittu'r'' Aagey (''Before Death''). Upon reading the magazine, [[Rabindranath Tagore|Tagore]] wrote a lengthy letter to Bose and especially commended the Das poem: "Jibanananda Das' vivid, colourful poem has given me great pleasure." It was in the second issue of ''Kobita'' ([[Poush]] 1342 issue, Dec 1934/Jan 1935) that Jibanananda published his now-legendary "[[Banalata Sen]]". Today, this 18-line poem is among the most famous poems in the language.
 
The following year, his second volume of poetry ''[[Dhusar Pandulipi]]'' was published. Jibanananda was by now well settled in Barisal. A son Samarananda was born in November 1936. His impact in the world of [[Bengali literature]] continued to increase. In 1938, Tagore compiled a poetry anthology entitled ''Bangla Kabya Parichay'' (''Introduction to Bengali Poetry'') and included an abridged version of ''Mrityu'r Aagey'', the same poem that had moved him three years ago. Another important anthology came out in 1939, edited by Abu Sayeed Ayub and Hirendranath Mukhopadhyay; Jibanananda was represented with four poems: ''Pakhira'' (The Birds), ''Shakun'' (The Vulture), ''Banalata Sen'', and ''Nagna Nirjan Haat'' (Naked  Lonely Hand).
 
In 1942, the same year that his father died, his third volume of poetry ''[[Banalata Sen (book)|Banalata Sen]]'' was published under the aegis of Kobita Bhavan and Buddhadeb Bose. A ground-breaking modernist poet in his own right, Bose was a steadfast champion of Jibanananda's poetry, providing him with numerous platforms for publication. 1944 saw the publication of ''Maha Prithibi'', Jibanananda's 4th collection of poems. The [[Second World War]] had a profound impact on Jibanananda's poetic vision. The following year, Jibanananda provided his own translations of several of his poems for an English anthology to be published under the title ''Modern Bengali Poems''. Oddly enough, the editor Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya considered these translations to be sub-standard, and instead commissioned [[Martin Kirkman]] to translate four of Jibanananda's poems for the book.
 
=== Life in Calcutta: final phase ===
The aftermath of the war saw heightened demands for [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]]. Muslim politicians led by [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Jinnah]] wanted an independent homeland for the Muslims of the subcontinent. Bengal was uniquely vulnerable to partition: its western half was majority-Hindu, its eastern half majority-Muslim. Yet adherents of both religions spoke the same language, came from the same ethnic stock, and lived in close proximity to each other in town and village. Jibanananda had emphasized the need for communal harmony at an early stage. In his very first book ''Jhora Palok'', he had included a poem called ''Hindu Musalman''.
However, events in real life belied his beliefs. In his  poem 1946-47 he deplored the loss of life  in communal riots. In the summer of 1946, he travelled to Calcutta from Barisal on three months' paid leave. He stayed at his brother Ashokananda's place through the bloody riots that swept the city. Violence broke out in Noakhali and Tippera districts later in the autumn. Just before partition in August 1947, Jibanananda quit his job at Brajamohan College and said goodbye to his beloved Barisal. He and his family were among the 10 million refugees who took part in the largest cross-border migration in history. For a while he worked for a magazine called ''Swaraj'' as its Sunday magazine editor. However, he was fired from the job after a few months.
 
In 1948, he completed two of his novels, ''Mallyaban'' and ''Shutirtho'', neither of which were discovered during his life. ''Shaat'ti Tarar Timir'' (Darkness of Seven  Stars), his 5th  anthology of poems, was published in December 1948. The same month, his mother Kusumkumari Das died in Calcutta.
 
By now, he was well established in the Calcutta literary world. He was appointed to the editorial board of yet another new literary magazine ''Dondo'' (''Conflict''). However, in a reprise of his early career, he was sacked from his job at [[Kharagpur College]] in February 1951. In 1952, Signet Press published an  expanded edition of ''Banalata Sen''. The book received widespread acclaim and won the Book of the Year award from the All-Bengal Tagore Literary Conference. Later that year, the poet found another job at ''Barisha College'' (now known as [[Vivekananda College, Thakurpukur]]). This job too he lost within a few months. He applied afresh to Diamond Harbour Fakirchand College, but eventually declined it, owing to travel difficulties. Instead he was obliged to take up a post at Howrah Girl's College (now known as [[Bijoy Krishna Girls' College]]), a constituent affiliated undergraduate college of the University of Calcutta. As the head of the English department, he was entitled to a 50-taka monthly bonus on top of his salary.
 
By the last year of his life, Jibanananda was acclaimed as one of the best poets of the post-Tagore era. He was constantly in demand at literary conferences, poetry readings, radio recitals etc. In May 1954, he was published a volume titled 'Best Poems' (''Sreshttho Kobita''). His ''Best Poems'' won the Indian [[Sahitya Akademi]] Award in 1955.
 
=== Love and marriage ===
Young Jibanananda fell in love with Shovona, daughter of his uncle Atulananda Das, who lived in the neighbourhood. He dedicated his first anthology of poems to Shovona without mentioning her name explicitly. He did not try to marry her since marriage between cousin was not socially acceptable.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} She has been referred to as Y in his literary notes.
 
Jibananda married [[Labanyaprabha Das]] (née Gupta) in 1930. Labanyaprabha was the daughter of Rohini Kumar Gupta and Sarojubala Gupta. Her paternal uncle was Amritalal Gupta, a renowned Acharya of the Brahmo Samaj in Dhaka. He was the author of "Cheleder Katha" and "Punyabati Nari".{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}}
 
=== Death ===
 
Jibanananda was in a road accident on 14 October 1954. He was hit by a tram while crossing a road near Calcutta's [[Deshapriya Park]], while on his evening walk. Seriously injured, he was taken to [[Shambhunath Pundit Hospital]], where he died eight days later on 22 October 1954, aged 55. He left behind his wife, Labanyaprabha Das, a son and a daughter.


His body was cremated the following day at Keoratola crematorium.<ref>{{cite book |last=Das |first=Prabhatkumar |year=2003 |title=Jibanananda Das |edition=2nd |location=Calcutta |publisher=Poshchim-bongo Bangla Akademi |ref={{harvid|Das, P.|2003}}}}</ref> It has been alleged in some biographical accounts that his accident was actually an attempt at suicide.<ref>''আধুনিক বাঙলা কবিতা'' [Modern Bengali Poetry], ed. [[Humayun Azad]], {{oclc|60264629}}.</ref>
His body was cremated the following day at Keoratola crematorium.<ref>{{cite book |last=Das |first=Prabhatkumar |year=2003 |title=Jibanananda Das |edition=2nd |location=Calcutta |publisher=Poshchim-bongo Bangla Akademi |ref={{harvid|Das, P.|2003}}}}</ref> It has been alleged in some biographical accounts that his accident was actually an attempt at suicide.<ref>''আধুনিক বাঙলা কবিতা'' [Modern Bengali Poetry], ed. [[Humayun Azad]], {{oclc|60264629}}.</ref>


He was widely mourned in literary circles, with obituaries in almost all the main newspapers appreciating his poetry. Poet Sanjay Bhattacharya wrote the news of the death and sent it to different newspapers. On 1 November 1954, ''The Times of India'' wrote that "The premature death after an accident of Mr. Jibanananda Das removes from the field of Bengali literature a poet, who, though never in the limelight of publicity and prosperity, made a significant contribution to modern Bengali poetry by his prose-poems and free-verse ...  A poet of nature with a serious awareness of the life around him, Jibanananda Das was known not so much for the social content of his poetry as for his bold imagination and the concreteness of his image."{{cn|date=January 2026}}
During his lifetime he published only 269 poems in different journals and magazines, of which 162 were collected in seven anthologies, from ''Jhara Palak'' to ''Bela Obela Kalbela''.<ref>Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1995), ''I have seen the Bengal's face – Poems from Jibanananda Das'', Creative Workshop, Chittagong (A collection of forty poems by Jibanananda Das, rendered into English by different translators).</ref> Many of his poems have been published posthumously at the initiative of his brother Asokananda Das, sister Sucharita Das and nephew Amitananda Das, and the efforts of Dr. Bhumendra Guha, who over the decades copied them from scattered manuscripts. By 2008, the total count of Jibananda's known poems stood at almost 800. In addition, numerous novels and short stories were discovered and published about the same time.<ref name="blt">''Beyond Land and Time'', ed. [[Faizul Latif Chowdhury]] and Golam Mustafa, 2008, Somoy Prokashon, Dhaka</ref>
 
[[File:জীবনানন্দ দাশের লেখা ঝরা পালক কাব্যগ্রন্থের প্রথম সংস্করণ.jpg|thumb|Jibananda's first book 'Jhara Palak'|254x254px]]
== Poetics ==
Jibanananda Das started writing and publishing in his early 20s. During his lifetime he published only 269 poems in different journals and magazines, of which 162 were collected in seven anthologies, from ''Jhara Palak'' to ''Bela Obela Kalbela''.<ref>Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1995), ''I have seen the Bengal's face – Poems from Jibanananda Das'', Creative Workshop, Chittagong (A collection of forty poems by Jibanananda Das, rendered into English by different translators).</ref> Many of his poems have been published posthumously at the initiative of his brother Asokananda Das, sister Sucharita Das and nephew Amitananda Das, and the efforts of Dr. Bhumendra Guha, who over the decades copied them from scattered manuscripts. By 2008, the total count of Jibananda's known poems stood at almost 800. In addition, numerous novels and short stories were discovered and published about the same time.<ref name="blt">''Beyond Land and Time'', ed. [[Faizul Latif Chowdhury]] and Golam Mustafa, 2008, Somoy Prokashon, Dhaka</ref>
[[File:জীবনানন্দ দাশের লেখা ঝরা পালক কাব্যগ্রন্থের প্রথম সংস্করণ.jpg|thumb|Jibananda's first book 'Jhara Palak']]
Jibanananda scholar [[Clinton B. Seely]] has termed Jibanananda Das as "Bengal's most cherished poet since [[Rabindranath Tagore]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Seely |first=Clinton B. |author-link=Clinton B. Seely |year=1990 |title=A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954) |location=Newark |publisher=[[University of Delaware Press]] |page=9 |isbn=9788186438138}}</ref> He was known as a [[surrealist poetry|surrealist poet]] for his spontaneous, frenzied overflow of subconscious mind in poetry and especially in diction.<ref>[https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-269709 Jibanananda Das, the foremost figure of surrealism. The Daily Star, Feb 20, 2013]</ref>
Jibanananda scholar [[Clinton B. Seely]] has termed Jibanananda Das as "Bengal's most cherished poet since [[Rabindranath Tagore]]".<ref>{{cite book |last=Seely |first=Clinton B. |author-link=Clinton B. Seely |year=1990 |title=A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954) |location=Newark |publisher=[[University of Delaware Press]] |page=9 |isbn=9788186438138}}</ref> He was known as a [[surrealist poetry|surrealist poet]] for his spontaneous, frenzied overflow of subconscious mind in poetry and especially in diction.<ref>[https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-269709 Jibanananda Das, the foremost figure of surrealism. The Daily Star, Feb 20, 2013]</ref>


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* ''[[Banalata Sen (book)|Banalata Sen]]'', 1942.
* ''[[Banalata Sen (book)|Banalata Sen]]'', 1942.
* ''Môhaprithibi'' (''Great Universe''), 1944.
* ''Môhaprithibi'' (''Great Universe''), 1944.
[[File:Adobe Scan 08-Jul-2022 (1) 1.jpg|thumb|First Edition of Mahaprithibi]]
[[File:Adobe Scan 08-Jul-2022 (1) 1.jpg|thumb|First Edition of Mahaprithibi|319x319px]]
* ''Shaat-ti Tarar Timir'', (''Darkness of Seven Stars''), 1948.
* ''Shaat-ti Tarar Timir'', (''Darkness of Seven Stars''), 1948.
* ''Shreshtho Kobita'', (''Best Poems''), 1954: Navana, Calcutta.
* ''Shreshtho Kobita'', (''Best Poems''), 1954: Navana, Calcutta.
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[[Category:Novelists from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Novelists from West Bengal]]

Latest revision as of 03:12, 7 May 2026


Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
Jibanananda Das
BornJibanananda Das
(1899-02-17)17 February 1899
Bakerganj, Bengal Presidency, British Raj
Died22 October 1954(1954-10-22) (aged 55)
Calcutta, West Bengal, India
OccupationPoet, writer, and professor
LanguageBengali
NationalityBritish Indian (1899–1947)
Indian (1947–1954)
Alma materBrajamohan College
University of Calcutta
GenrePoetry, novels, short stories, criticism
Literary movementBengali Modernism
Notable worksBanalata Sen, Rupasi Bangla, Akashlina, Banalata Sen, Campe, Bodh
Notable awardsNikhil Banga Rabindra Sahitya Sammelan Award (1952)
Sahitya Akademi Award (1955)
SpouseLabanyaprabha Das (née Gupta)
Children2
RelativesKusumkumari Das (mother)
Signature

Jibanananda Das[lower-alpha 1] (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954)[1] was an Indian poet and writer who wrote in the Bengali language. Often referred to as the Rupashi Banglar Kabi (lit. ''Poet of Beautiful Bengal''),[2][3] he is regarded as one of the most prominent Bengali poets after Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, although he received limited recognition during his lifetime.[4][5][6][7]

Born in Barisal to a Bengali Hindu family, Das studied English literature at Presidency College, Kolkata, and earned a master's degree from Calcutta University.[8][3] He experienced persistent difficulty securing stable employment and faced financial hardship throughout his life. He taught at several colleges but never granted tenure. Following the partition of India, he permanently settled in Kolkata. Das died on 22 October 1954, eight days after being struck by a tram.[9] Witnesses had later reported that the tram had sounded its whistle, but Das did not stop and was hit. Some accounts have speculated that the incident may have been a suicide.[10]

Das was relatively unrecognised during his lifetime. Although he wrote profusely, he published little of his work, partly due to his introverted nature. Much of his writing remained unpublished,[3] and only seven volumes of his poetry appeared during his lifetime.[10] After his death, it was discovered that, in addition to poetry, Das had written 21 novels and 108 short stories. His notable works include Ruposhi Bangla, Banalata Sen, Mahaprithibi, and Shreshtha Kavita.[3] His early poetry reflects the influence of Kazi Nazrul Islam,[3] but by the latter half of the 20th century, his own work had become a major influence on the development of modern Bengali verse.[11]

Das received the Rabindra-Memorial Award for Banalata Sen in 1953 at the All Bengal Rabindra Literature Convention.[3] His collection Shrestha Kavita won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955.[3] A film inspired by his short story Jamrultola, titled 'Sunder Jibon' and directed by Sandeep Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee), was produced by Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute,[12][13] The film won the National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film at the 50th National Film Awards, with Shantanu Bose in the lead role.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

Das in his childhood
Young Jibanananda Das

Das was born in 1899 in Barisal, a district town in the British Raj, into a Bengali Baidya family. His ancestors originated from the Bikrampur region (now Mushiganj) of the Dhaka Division, from the now-extinct village of Gaupara in the kumarvog area of the Louhajang Upazila on the banks of the river Padma.[14] Das' grandfather Sarbānanda Dāśagupta was the first to settle permanently in Barisal. He was an early exponent of the reformist Brahmo Samaj movement in Barisal and was highly regarded in town for his philanthropy. He erased the -gupta suffix from the family name, regarding it as a symbol of Vedic Brahmin excess, thus rendering the surname to Das.[15]

Jibanananda's father, Satyānanda Dāś, was a schoolmaster and publisher, and Jibanananda's mother, Kusumakumārī Dāś, was a poet who explored social issues.[16]Jibanananda was the eldest son and had two siblings, Aśōkānanda and Sucharita.

Education and Career[edit | edit source]

In 1919, Jibanananda received a BA Degree in English literature from Presidency College, Kolkata. He first poem appeared in the Boishakh issue of Brahmobadi journal. The poem was called Borsho-abahon (Arrival of the New Year). Jibanananda sometimes published his works under the pseudonyms Sri or Das Gupta.[citation needed]

Jibanananda earned his MA Degree in English from the University of Calcutta in 1921, taught and tutored students in English, and published his first collection of poems called Jhara Palok (Fallen Feathers) in 1927.[citation needed]

By the last year of his life, Jibanananda was acclaimed as one of the best poets of the post-Tagore era. In May 1954, he published a volume titled 'Best Poems' (Sreshttho Kobita), which won the Indian Sahitya Akademi Award in 1955.[citation needed]

Personal Life[edit | edit source]

In May 1930, Jibanananda married Labanyaprabha Das (née Gupta) and they had a daughter and son named Manjusree and Samarananda.[citation needed] Labanyaprabha was the daughter of Rohini Kumar Gupta and Sarojubala Gupta. Her paternal uncle was Acharya of the Brahmo Samaj in Dhaka.

First Edition of Banalata Sen published from Kavita Bhavan of Buddhadev Bose

Death and Legacy[edit | edit source]

During Jibanananda's evening walk on 14 October 1954, he was struck by a tram while crossing a road near Calcutta's Deshapriya Park. He was taken to Shambhunath Pundit Hospital, where he died eight days later.[citation needed]

His body was cremated the following day at Keoratola crematorium.[17] It has been alleged in some biographical accounts that his accident was actually an attempt at suicide.[18]

During his lifetime he published only 269 poems in different journals and magazines, of which 162 were collected in seven anthologies, from Jhara Palak to Bela Obela Kalbela.[19] Many of his poems have been published posthumously at the initiative of his brother Asokananda Das, sister Sucharita Das and nephew Amitananda Das, and the efforts of Dr. Bhumendra Guha, who over the decades copied them from scattered manuscripts. By 2008, the total count of Jibananda's known poems stood at almost 800. In addition, numerous novels and short stories were discovered and published about the same time.[20]

Jibananda's first book 'Jhara Palak'

Jibanananda scholar Clinton B. Seely has termed Jibanananda Das as "Bengal's most cherished poet since Rabindranath Tagore".[21] He was known as a surrealist poet for his spontaneous, frenzied overflow of subconscious mind in poetry and especially in diction.[22]

Major works[edit | edit source]

Poetry[edit | edit source]

First Edition of Mahaprithibi
  • Shaat-ti Tarar Timir, (Darkness of Seven Stars), 1948.
  • Shreshtho Kobita, (Best Poems), 1954: Navana, Calcutta.
  • Ruposhi Bangla (Bengal, the Beautiful), written in 1934, published posthumously in 1957.
  • Bela Obela Kalbela (Times, Bad Times, End Times), 1961, published posthumously but the manuscript was prepared during lifetime.
  • Sudorshona(The beautiful), published posthumously in 1973: Sahitya Sadan, Calcutta.
  • Alo Prithibi (The World of Light), published posthumously in 1981: Granthalaya Private Ltd., Calcutta.
  • Manobihangam (The Bird that is my Heart), published posthumously in 1979: Bengal Publishers Private Ltd. Calcutta.
  • Oprkashitô Ekanno (Unpublished Fifty-one), published posthumously in 1999, Mawla Brothers, Dhaka.
  • Krishna Dasami, Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka. published posthumously in 2015.
  • Surya Osuryaloke, Suchoyoni, Dhaka. published posthumously in 2021.

Major collected texts[edit | edit source]

  • Bandopdhaya, Deviprasad : Kabya Songroho − Jibanananda Das (tr. Collection of Poetry of Jibanananda Das), 1993, Bharbi, 13/1 Bankim Chatterjje Street, Kolkata-73.
  • Bandopdhaya, Deviprasad : Kabya Songroho − Jibanananda Das (tr. Collection of Poetry of Jibanananda Das), 1999, Gatidhara, 38/2-KA Bangla Bazaar, Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh.
  • Bandopdhaya, Deviprasad : Jibanananda Das Uttorparba (1954–1965), 2000, Pustak Bipani, Calcutta.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1990), Jibanananda Das'er Prôbôndha Sômôgrô, (tr: Complete non-fictional prose works of Jibanananda Das), First edition : Desh Prokashon, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1995), Jibanananda Das'er Prôbôndha Sômôgrô, (tr: Complete non-fictional prose works of Jibanananda Das), Second edition : Mowla Brothers, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, F. L. (ed) : Oprokashito 51 (tr. Unpublished fifty one poems of Jibanananda Das), 1999, Mawla Brothers, Dhaka.
  • Shahriar, Abu Hasan : Jibanananda Das-er Gronthito-Ogronthito Kabita Samagra, 2004, Agaami Prokashoni, Dhaka.

Books on Jibanananda[edit | edit source]

  • (1965) 'Ekti Nakkhatro Ase', Ambuj Basu, Mousumi.
  • (1970) 'Kobi Jibanananda Das', Sanjay Bhattacharya, Varbi.
  • (1971) 'Jibanananda (ek khando)', Gopal Chandra Roy, Sahittya Sadan;
  • 'Manus Jibanananda', Labanya Das, Bengal Publishers;
  • 'Jibanananda Smriti', Debkumar Basu edited, Karuna Prokasani.
  • (1972) 'Suddhatamo Kobi', Abdul Mannan Saiyad, Knowledge Home, Dhaka; 'Rupasi Banglar Kobi Jibanananda', Bijan Kanti Sarkar, Bijoy Sahitya Mandir; 'Rupasi Banglar Kobi Jibanananda', Shaymapada Sarkar, Kamini Prokasan.
  • (1973) 'Jibanananda das', edited by Birendra Bhattacharya, Onnisto.
  • (1975) 'Kobi Jibanananda', Suddhaswatto Basu, Sankha Prokasan.
  • (1976) 'Jibanishilpi Jibanananda Das', Asadujjan, Bangladesh Book Corporation, Dhaka.
  • (1979) 'Rupasi Banglar Kobi Jibanananda', Bijan Kanti Sarkar, Bijoy Sahitya Mandir; 'Rupasi Banglar Kobi Jibanananda', Shyamapada Sarkar, Kamini Prokashan.
  • (1980) 'Rupasi Banglar Dui Kobi', Purnendu Patri, Ananda Publishers Ltd.
  • (1983) 'Kacher Manus Jibanananda', Ajit Ghose, Bijoy Krishna Girls' College Cheap Store;'Rabindranath Najrul Jibanananda ebong aekjon Probasi Bangali', Kalyan Kumar Basu, Biswagaen;'Adhunikata, Jibanananda o Porabastob', Tapodhir Bhattacharya and Swapna Bhattacharya, Nobark;'Jibananander Chetona Jagot', Pradumno Mitra, Sahityshri;'Jibanananda Das:Jiboniponji o Granthoponji', Provat Kumar Das, Hardo;'Prosongo:Jibanananda', Shibaji Bandopadhaya, Ayon.
  • (1984) 'Jibanananda', Amalendu Basu, Banishilpo,;'Uttor Probesh', Susnato Jana;'Jibanananda', edited by Abdul Manna Sayad, Charitra, Dhaka;'Jibanananda Prasongiki', Sandip Datta, Hardo,
  • (1985) 'Ami sei Purohit', Sucheta Mitra, A.Mukherji and Co;'Probondhokar Jibananada', Subrata Rudro, Nath Publishing;'Jibanananda Jiggasa', edited by Tarun Mukhopadhaya, pustok Biponi.
  • (2003) 'Jibananda : Kabitar Mukhamukhi', Narayan Haldar.
  • (2005) 'Amar Jibanananda', Dr. Himabanta Bondopadhyay, Bangiya Sahitya Samsad.
  • (2008) 'Essays on Jibanananda Das', edited by Chowdhury F. L., Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka.
  • (2009) 'Etodin Kothay Chilen', Anisul Hoque.
  • (2014) 'Jibananander Andhokaare', Rajib Sinha, Ubudash, Kolkata-12.
  • Ekjon Komolalebu (Reincarnation as an Orange: The Story of Jibanananda), Sahaduzzaman

Awards[edit | edit source]

The Kolkata Poetry Confluence, in collaboration with Bhasha Samsad, has instituted the Jibanananda Das Award for poetry translation.[23] Jibanananda Das awards for translation were given away in ten different languages.[24]

A literary award named Jibanananda Puroshkar, also known as the Jibanananda Prize, has been instituted in Bangladesh.[25] It confers annual awards to the best works of poetry and prose by Bangladeshi authors.[26]

Footnotes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ bn

Citations[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Sengupta, Subodh Chandra; Basu, Anjali, eds. (1988) [First published 1976]. জীবনানন্দ দাশ [Jibanananda Das]. Saṃsada bāṅāli caritābhidhāna (in Bengali). Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Kolkata: Sahitya Samsad. p. 179. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Unknown parameter |script-encyclopedia= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |trans-encyclopedia= ignored (help)
  2. ↑ "Banglar Mukh Ami Dekhiyachi" বাংলার মুখ আমি দেখিয়াছি [I've Seen the Face of Bengal]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Transcom Group. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Islam, Sirajul, ed. (2012). "Das, Jibanananda". Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (2nd ed.). Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  4. ↑ Murshid, Ghulam (2016). "Bangla Bhasha o Sahitya" বাংলা ভাষা ও সাহিত্য [Bengali Language and Literature]. Hajar Bacharer Bangali Sangskriti হাজার বছরের বাঙালি সংস্কৃতি [Bengali Culture across the Millennia] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Abasar. p. 316. ISBN 978-984-415-190-1.
  5. ↑ "Barishale Jibanananda Mela" বরিশালে জীবনানন্দ মেলা [Jibanananda Fair in Barishal]. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Dhaka: Transcom Group. 6 December 2015. Archived from the original on 7 June 2018. Retrieved 7 June 2018. বাংলা সাহিত্যে রবীন্দ্রনাথ ও নজরুল ইসলামের পর শ্রেষ্ঠ কবি জীবনানন্দ দাশ। নতুন প্রজন্ম জীবনানন্দ দাশকে ভুলতে বসেছে। জীবনানন্দের প্রকৃতি প্রেম ও দর্শন নতুন প্রজন্মের মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে দিতে হবে। ... বলেন রবীন্দ্র ভারতী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সাবেক উপাচার্য পবিত্র সরকার। Jibanananda Das is the greatest poet after Rabindranath and Nazrul Islam. The young generation is forgetful of Jibanananda. We should promulgate his love and view of nature among the new generations. ... said Pabitra Sarkar, the ex-VC of Rabindra Bharati University.
  6. ↑ জীবনানন্দ দাশের কবিতার সংখ্যা কত?. Alokita Bangladesh (in Bengali). Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Salekeen, Seraj (2018). Jibanananda Das জীবনানন্দ দাশ. Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Kathaprokash. p. 7. আমৃত্যু নির্জন, অথচ মৃত্যুপরবর্তী কিছুকালের মধ্যে সমকালীন বাংলা কবিতার অন্যতম জনপ্রিয় কবিতে পরিণত হন জীবনানন্দ দাশ। Despite being desolate till death, Jibanananda Das became one of the popular poets of contemporary Bengali poems immediately after his death.
  8. ↑ Alexander, Meena, ed. (2018). Name me a word: Indian writers reflect on writing. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 42–46. ISBN 978-0-300-22258-6.
  9. ↑ Salekeen, Seraj (2018). Jibanananda Das জীবনানন্দ দাশ. Jibani Granthamal [Biography Series] (in Bengali). Dhaka: Kathaprokash. p. 80.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Syed, Abdul Mannan, ed. (1998). "Parishishta". Jibanananda Daser Prakashita-Aprakashita KabitaSamagra (in Bengali). Dhaka: Abasar. p. 618. ISBN 984-446-008-5.
  11. ↑ Das Gupta, Chidananda (1972). Jibanananda Das. Makers of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 13. OCLC 313728800. For the younger generation of Bengali poets today, he [Das] has practically come to take the place of Tagore. His influence on them is all-pervading.
  12. ↑ Sundar Jeebon | National Award winning short film | A diploma film@SRFTI, 20 June 2017, retrieved 9 March 2021
  13. ↑ Chatterjee, Sandeep (3 May 2002), Sundar Jeebon (Short), Debolina Addhya, Ardhendu Banerjee, Santanu Bose, Sharmistha Chakravarty, Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, retrieved 9 March 2021
  14. ↑ Das, P. 2003, p. 1
  15. ↑ Das, P. 2003, p. 2
  16. ↑ Das, P. 2003, p. 6
  17. ↑ Das, Prabhatkumar (2003). Jibanananda Das (2nd ed.). Calcutta: Poshchim-bongo Bangla Akademi.
  18. ↑ আধুনিক বাঙলা কবিতা [Modern Bengali Poetry], ed. Humayun Azad, OCLC 60264629.
  19. ↑ Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1995), I have seen the Bengal's face – Poems from Jibanananda Das, Creative Workshop, Chittagong (A collection of forty poems by Jibanananda Das, rendered into English by different translators).
  20. ↑ Beyond Land and Time, ed. Faizul Latif Chowdhury and Golam Mustafa, 2008, Somoy Prokashon, Dhaka
  21. ↑ Seely, Clinton B. (1990). A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das (1899–1954). Newark: University of Delaware Press. p. 9. ISBN 9788186438138.
  22. ↑ Jibanananda Das, the foremost figure of surrealism. The Daily Star, Feb 20, 2013
  23. ↑ "Kolkata Poetry Confluence – Multilingual Poetry Translation Awards". Antonym Magazine. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  24. ↑ "Kolkata Poetry Confluence – Translation Awards Announcement". Kolkota Poetry Confluence. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  25. ↑ Sushanta Ghosh (12 October 2014). "Festival for distributing Jibanananda Prize". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  26. ↑ "Jewel Mazhar and Abdul Mannan get Jibanananda Puroshkar". Bangla News. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2022.

Further reading[edit | edit source]

Biography[edit | edit source]

  • Bhattacharya, Bitoshoke (2001), Jibanananda, Banishilpo Publishers, Kolkata.
  • Banerjee, Deviprarad (1986), Jibanananda Das – Bikaash Protishthaar Itirbitta (tr: A chronicle of development and achievements of Jibanananda Das), Bharat Book Agency, Calcutta.
  • Seely, Clinton B. : 'A Poet Apart' (A comprehensive literary biography of Jibanananda Das), 1990, Associated University Press Ltd, USA
  • Ray, Gopal (1971), Jibanananda, Sahitya Sadan, Calcutta.
  • Das, Prabhatkumar (2003), Jibanananda Das (2nd edition), Poshchim-bongo Bangla Akademi, Calcutta.
  • Dassarma, Pradip (2009), Nil Hawar Samudre: a biographical novel on Jibanananda Das, Pratibhash Publishers, Kolkata

Literary analysis[edit | edit source]

  • Bose, Ambuj (1965), Ekti Nakshetra Ashe (tr. A star arrives), Mausumi, Calcutta.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1994), Jibanananda Das'er "Aat bochor aager ekdin", Dibbyo Prokash, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1995), Jibanananda Das'er "Godhuli-shondhi'r Nritto", Dibbyo Prokash, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1999), Jibanananda Das'er "Mrityur Aage, Dibbyo Prokash, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (1999), Jibanananda Bibechona, Anya Prokash, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (2000), Proshôngo Jibanananda, Dibbyo Prokash, Dhaka.
  • Chowdhury, Pranab (editor) (2001), Jibanananda Niye Probôndho (tr: Essays on Jibanananda), Jatiyo Grontho Prokashon, Dhaka
  • Das, Prabhatkumar (1999), Jibanananda Das, Poshchim-bongo Bangla Akademi, Kolkata.
  • Dutta, Birendra (2005), Jibanananda: Kobi Gôlpokar (tr: Jibanananda: Poet and Short Story Writer), Pustok Biponi, Kolkata .
  • Gupta, Dr. Kshetra (2000), Jibanananda: Kobitar Shorir, Shahitto Prokash, Kolkata.
  • Mukhopadhyay, Kamal (editor) (1999), Jibanananda Onnikhon, Shilindhro Prokashon, Kolkata
  • Roychoudhury, Samir (editor) (2001), Postmodern Bangla Poetry, Haowa#49 Publishers, Kolkata.
  • Rudro, Subrata (1985), Probôndhokar Jibanananda (tr: Jibanananda the Essayist), Nath Publishing, Kolkata
  • Roychoudhury, Malay (2002), Postmodern Jibanananda, Graffiti Publishers, Kolkata.
  • Shahriar, Abu Hasan (editor) (2003), Jibanananda Das: Mullayon o Patthodhhar (tr: Jibanananda Das: Assessment and Critical Readings), Shahitto Bikash, Dhaka
  • Syed, Abdul Mannan (editor) and Hasnat, Abul (editor) (2001), Jibanananda Das: Jônmo-shôtobarshik Sharok-grontho, Ôboshôr Prokashona Shôngstha, Dhaka.
  • Sinha, Rajib (2014),'Jibananander Andhokaare', Ubudash, Kolkata-12.ISBN 978-93-82982-10-4
  • Chowdhury, Faizul Latif (editor) (2022), Jibanananda Patrabali (letters of Jibanananda Das), Pathak Samabesh, Dhaka.

External links[edit | edit source]

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