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{{peacock|date=April 2019}}
{{Short description|Bengali poet and dramatist (1824–1873)}}
{{short description|Bengali poet and dramatist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
{{Infobox writer
| name        = Michael Madhusudan Dutt
| image            = Michael Madhusudan Dutta.jpg
| native_name = মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত
| caption          = Portrait of Dutt, {{circa|1907}}
| native_name_lang = bn
| birth_name      = Sri Madhusudan Dutta
| image      = Mudhusudan Dutta.jpg
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|df=yes|1824|01|25}}
| image_size  =
| birth_place     =[[Sagardari Union|Sagardari]], [[Bangladesh]], Formerly ([[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]])
| alt        =
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1873|06|29|1824|01|25}}
| caption    = Michael Madhusudan Dutt
| death_place     = [[Calcutta]], Bengal Presidency, British India
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|df=yes|1824|01|25}}
| resting_place   = [[Lower Circular Road cemetery]]
| birth_place = Sāgardāri, [[Jashore District]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]] (now [[Bangladesh]])
| occupation       = Writer, poet, playwright
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1873|06|29|1824|01|25}}
| alma_mater       = [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Hindu College]] <br /> [[Gray's Inn]]
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]], (now [[India]])
| citizenship     = [[British Raj|British Indian]]
| resting_place = [[Lower circular road cemetery|Lower Circular Road Cemetery]]
| movement         = [[Bengal Renaissance]]
| occupation = Writer, poet, playwright  
| spouse           = Rebecca Thompson McTavish (m. 1848–1856)
| alma_mater = [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Presidency College]]<br>[[Gray's Inn]]
| partner         = Emilia Henrietta Sophie White (1858–1873)
| citizenship = [[British Indian]]
| children         = 8{{efn|including a stillborn}}
| movement   = [[Bengal Renaissance]]
| language        = English<br />[[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| spouse = Rebecca Thompson McTavish (m. 1848–1856; estranged)
| name            = Michael Madhusudan Dutt
| partner = Emilia Henrietta Sophie White (1858–1873)
| relatives        = {{ubl|
| children = 4
* [[Jennifer Paes|Jennifer Dutton]] (great-granddaughter)
* [[Leander Paes]] (great-great grandson)}}
}}
}}


'''Michael Madhusudan Dutt,''' or '''Michael Madhusudan Dutta''' ({{audio|Madhusudan.ogg|''Maikel Modhushudôn Dôtto''}}; 25 January 1824&nbsp;– 29 June 1873) was a [[Bengali language|Bengali]] poet, writer and dramatist. He is widely considered as the pioneer of Bengali drama.<ref name="EBuckland1999">{{cite book |author=Charles E. Buckland |date=1999 |title=Dictionary of Indian Biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8kH3F664k_gC&pg=PA128 |publisher=Cosmo Publication |pages=128– |isbn=978-81-7020-897-6}}</ref> His famous work ''[[Meghnad Badh Kavya]]'', is a tragic [[Epic poetry|epic]]. It consists of nine [[canto]]s and is exceptional in Bengali literature both in terms of style and content. He is often regarded as the most talented poet in the Bengali literature. He also wrote poems about the sorrows and afflictions of love as spoken by women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2020-08-08|title=Bengal's own virtuoso: Michael Madhusudan of the Duttas|url=https://www.sundayguardianlive.com/culture/bengals-virtuoso-michael-madhusudan-duttas|access-date=2020-08-11|website=The Sunday Guardian Live|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''Michael Madhusudan Dutt''' (born '''Sri Madhusudan Dutta'''; {{audio|Madhusudan.ogg|'' Maikel Modhushudôn Dôtto''}}; 25 January 1824&nbsp;– 29 June 1873) was a [[Bengali poetry]] [[Bangladeshi]] [[Bengali poet]] and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of [[Bengali literature]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt: A Pioneer in Bengali Drama |url=https://www.bangladesh.com/blog/michael-madhusudan-dutt-a-pioneer-in-bengali-drama/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Bangladesh.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dutt, Michael Madhusudan - Banglapedia |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Dutt,_Michael_Madhusudan |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=en.banglapedia.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Madhusudan Datta {{!}} Poet, Playwright, Dramatist {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michael-Madhusudan-Datta |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Shuvo |first=Golam Azam |date=2023-03-18 |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt : Pioneer of Bengali Literature - |url=https://mypenarts.com/michael-madhusudan-dutt/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=My Pen Arts |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Das |first=Alisha |date=2024-01-25 |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt: A Pioneer With An English Heart |url=https://www.thetalentedindian.com/michael-madhusudan-dutt-a-pioneer-with-an-english-heart/ |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=The Talented Indian |language=en-US}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
==Early life==
Dutt was born in Sagordari, a village in [[Keshabpur Upazila]], [[Jessore District]] of [[Bengal|Undivided Bengal]] (now [[Bangladesh]]). His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, a pleader in the [[Sadr Diwani Adalat|Sadar court]],<ref name=":4" /> and his mother was Jahnvi Devi. He was an exceptionally talented student, recognised by teachers and professors as being a precocious child with a gift of literary expression. Early exposure to English education and European literature inspired him to emulate the English in taste, manners and intellect. An early influence was his teacher at [[Hindu College, Calcutta]], [[David Lester Richardson]]. Richardson was a poet and inspired in Dutt a love of English poetry, particularly [[Lord Byron|Byron]].
Madhusudan was born in [[Sagardari Union|Sagardari]], a village in [[Keshabpur Upazila]], [[Jessore District]] of [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] (present-day [[Bangladesh]]), to a [[Hinduism in India|Hindu]] family.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Secondary - 2018 - Class - 9&10 - Bangla Sahitto-9 BV PDF Web .pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dOQAVB6usKCoZ7_4HXYvPq7Eb16ihi1z/view |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Google Docs}}</ref> His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, who was a lawyer<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt {{!}} Making Britain |url=https://www5.open.ac.uk/research-projects/making-britain/content/michael-madhusudan-dutt |access-date=2025-08-01 |website=www5.open.ac.uk}}</ref> and his mother was Jahnabi Devi.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dutt, Michael Madhusudan - Banglapedia |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Dutt,_Michael_Madhusudan |access-date=2024-12-08 |website=en.banglapedia.org |language=en}}</ref> His family, being reasonably well-off, ensured that Madhusudan received an education in the English language and additional tutorship in English at home. Rajnarayan had intended for this Western education to open the doors for a government position for his son.<ref name=":4" />


Dutt began writing English poetry aged around 17 years, sending his works to publications in England, including ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'' and ''[[Bentley's Miscellany]]''. They were, however, never published.<ref name=":12"/> It was also the time he began a correspondence with his friend, [[Gour Das Bysack]], which today forms the bulk of sources on his life.
==College and religious conversion==
After he finished his education in [[Sagardari Union|Sagardari]] at roughly the age of fifteen, Rajnarayan sent Madhusudhan to [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] to attend [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Hindu College]] with the eventual aim of becoming a [[barrister]]. At Hindu College, Michael studied under a [[Westernization|westernized]] curriculum in a university which had been expressly founded for the "uplift of the natives". The college required all students to wear Western clothing, eat European cuisine with cutlery, learn British songs, and speak exclusively in English—with the aim of creating an anglicized Indian middle class to serve as officials in the colonial administration.


===In his own words===
During his time at Hindu College, Madhusudhan developed an aversion to [[Culture of India|Indian culture]] and a deep yearning to be accepted into [[Culture of Europe|European culture]].<ref name="Chakrabarty2001">{{cite book |author=Dipesh Chakrabarty |title=Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqDa4tGENvYC&pg=PA33 |access-date=9 October 2012 |date=15 February 2001 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-13001-9 |pages=33– |edition=New}}</ref> He expressed these sentiments in one of his poems. An early and formative influence on Dutt was his teacher at Hindu College, [[David Lester Richardson]]. Richardson was a poet and inspired in Dutt a love of English poetry, particularly by that of [[Lord Byron|Byron]]. Dutt began writing English poetry aged around 17 years, sending his works to publications in England, including ''[[Blackwood's Magazine]]'' and ''[[Bentley's Miscellany]]''. They were, however, never accepted for publication.<ref name=":12"/> This was also when he began a correspondence with his friend, [[Gour Das Bysack]], which today forms the bulk of sources on his life.
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
"Where man in all his truest glory lives,
And nature's face is exquisitely sweet;
For those fair climes I heave impatient sigh,
There let me live and there let me die".<ref name="Chakrabarty2001">{{cite book|author=Dipesh Chakrabarty|title=Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqDa4tGENvYC&pg=PA33|access-date=9 October 2012|date=15 February 2001|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-13001-9|pages=33–|edition=New}}</ref>
</poem>


Madhusudan embraced Christianity<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Bhowmik |first=Dulal |year=2012 |chapter=Dutt, Michael Madhusudan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dutt,_Michael_Madhusudan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> at the Old Mission Church in spite of the objections of his parents and relatives on 9 February 1843. He did not take the name Michael until his marriage in 1848.<ref name=":12"/>
On 9 February 1843, Madhusudan embraced [[Christianity]]<ref name=bpedia>{{cite book |last=Bhowmik |first=Dulal |year=2012 |chapter=Dutt, Michael Madhusudan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dutt,_Michael_Madhusudan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-date=7 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707030720/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Dutt,_Michael_Madhusudan |url-status=live}}</ref> at the [[Old Mission Church, Kolkata|Old Mission Church]], in spite of the objections of his parents and relatives. He did not take the name Michael until his marriage in 1848.<ref name=":12"/>


He describes the day as:
He describes the day as:
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</poem>
</poem>


He had to leave [[Hindu College, Calcutta|Hindu College]] on account of being a convert. In 1844, he resumed his education at [[Bishop’s College, Calcutta|Bishop's College]], where he stayed for three years.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0195167996|title=The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal|last1=Dutt|first1=Michael Madhusudhan|last2=Seely|first2=Clinton B.|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2004|isbn=9780195167993|location=New York City|pages=16, 22–23|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>
He had to leave Hindu College on account of converting to Christianity. In 1844, he resumed his education at [[Bishop's College, Calcutta|Bishop's College]], where he stayed for three years.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0195167996 |title=The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal |last1=Dutt |first1=Michael Madhusudhan |last2=Seely |first2=Clinton B. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=9780195167993 |location=New York City |pages=16, 22–23 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>


In 1847, he moved to [[Madras]] (Chennai) due to family tensions and economic hardship, having been disinherited by his father.<ref name=":2" /> While in Madras, he stayed in the [[George Town, Chennai|Black Town]] neighbourhood,<ref name=":12" /> and began working as an "usher" at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum. Four years later, in 1851, he became a Second Tutor in the Madras University High School.<ref name=":2" /> He edited and assisted in editing the periodicals ''Madras Circulator and General Chronicle, Athenaeum, [[Spectator (1828)|Spectator]]'' and ''Hindoo Chronicle.''<ref name=":12"/>
In 1847, he moved to [[Madras]] (Chennai) due to family tensions and economic hardship, having been disinherited by his father.<ref name=":2" /> While in Madras, he stayed in the [[George Town, Chennai|Black Town]] neighbourhood,<ref name=":12" /> and began working as an "usher" at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum. Four years later, in 1851, he became a Second Tutor in the Madras University High School.<ref name=":2" /> He edited and assisted in editing the periodicals ''Madras Circulator and General Chronicle, Athenaeum, [[Spectator (1828)|Spectator]]'' and ''Hindoo Chronicle.''<ref name=":12"/>
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==Literary life==
==Literary life==


=== Early works (1849-1855)<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" /> ===
=== Early works (1849–1855) ===
Dutt wrote exclusively in English in his early writing years. The Captive Ladie was published in 1849 and, like Derozio's The Fakeer of Jungheera, is a long narrative poem in which it is difficult to sustain one's interest. In The Anglo- Saxon and the Hindu(1854), an essay in florid, even purple, prose, are references to and quotations from almost the whole of Macaulay's shelf of European books. He was greatly influenced by the works of [[William Wordsworth]] and [[John Milton]]. Dutt was a spirited [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] and [[Romanticism|Romantic]].  
Dutt wrote exclusively in English in his early writing years. The Captive Ladie was published in 1849 and, like Derozio's The Fakeer of Jungheera, takes on the form of a long narrative poem. In ''The Anglo-Saxon and the Hindu'' (1854), an essay in florid, even purple prose, are references to and quotations from almost the whole of Macaulay's shelf of European books. He was greatly influenced by the works of [[William Wordsworth]] and [[John Milton]]. Dutt was a spirited [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] and [[Romanticism|Romantic]].<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" />


=== Calcutta Years (1858-1862)<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" /> ===
=== Calcutta years (1858–1862) ===
The period during which he worked as a head clerk and later as the Chief Interpreter in the court, marked his transition to writing in his native Bengali, following the advice of [[John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune|Bethune]] and [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]]. He wrote 5 plays: ''Sermista'' (1859)'', Padmavati'' (1859)'', Ekei Ki Boley Sabyata'' (1860), ''Krishna Kumari'' (1860) ''and Buro Shaliker Ghare Ron'' (1860). Then followed the narrative poems: ''Tilottama Sambhava Kavya'' (1861), ''Meghnad Badh Kavya'' (1861), ''Brajagana Kavya'' (1861) and ''Veerangana Kavya'' (1861). He also translated three plays from Bangla to English, including his own ''Sermista.''
The period during which he worked as a head clerk and later as the Chief Interpreter in the court marked his transition to writing in his native Bengali, following the advice of [[John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune|Bethune]] and [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]]. He wrote 5 plays: ''Sermista'' (1859)'', Padmavati'' (1859)'', Ekei Ki Boley Sabyata'' (1860), ''Krishna Kumari'' (1860) ''and Buro Shaliker Ghare Ron'' (1860). Then followed the narrative poems: ''Tilottama Sambhava Kavya'' (1861), ''Meghnad Badh Kavya'' (1861), ''Brajagana Kavya'' (1861) and ''Veerangana Kavya'' (1861). He also translated three plays from Bangla to English, including his own ''Sermista''.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" />


=== Final years (1866-1873)<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" /> ===
=== Final years (1866–1873) ===
A volume of his Bangla sonnets was published in 1866. His final play, ''Maya Kannan'', was written in 1872. ''The Slaying of Hector'', his prose version of the ''[[Iliad]]'' remains incomplete.
A volume of his Bangla sonnets was published in 1866. His final play, ''Maya Kannan'', was written in 1872. ''The Slaying of Hector'', his prose version of the ''[[Iliad]]'', remains incomplete.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":2" />


=== Linguistic abilities ===
=== Linguistic abilities ===
Madhusudan was a gifted [[linguistics|linguist]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Mohit K. |date=2007 |title=The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_YatfLrgnMC&pg=PA154 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |pages=154– |isbn=978-81-269-0832-5}}</ref> and [[Polyglot (person)|polyglot]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ghose |first=Subhas Chandra |date=1996 |title=Socio-Political Dynamics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNYL20IU20sC&pg=PA178 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |page=178 |isbn=978-81-7211-070-3}}
Madhusudan was a gifted [[linguistics|linguist]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Ray |editor-first=Mohit K. |date=2007 |title=The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_YatfLrgnMC&pg=PA154 |publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist |pages=154– |isbn=978-81-269-0832-5}}</ref> and [[Polyglot (person)|polyglot]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Ghose |first=Subhas Chandra |date=1996 |title=Socio-Political Dynamics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNYL20IU20sC&pg=PA178 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |page=178 |isbn=978-81-7211-070-3}}


{{cite book|last1=Subhas Chandra Ghose|title=Socio-Political Dynamics|date=1 January 1996|publisher=Northern Book Centre|isbn=9788172110703|page=178|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNYL20IU20sC&q=Madhusudan+polyglot&pg=PA178}}</ref> He studied [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]], and [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":5" />
{{cite book |last1=Subhas Chandra Ghose |title=Socio-Political Dynamics |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=Northern Book Centre |isbn=9788172110703 |page=178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GNYL20IU20sC&q=Madhusudan+polyglot&pg=PA178}}</ref> He studied English, Bengali, [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] and [[Sanskrit]].<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":5" />


===Work with the sonnet===
===Work with the sonnet===
He dedicated his first [[sonnet]] to his friend [[Rajnarayan Basu]], which he accompanied with a letter: "What say you to this, my good friend? In my humble opinion, if cultivated by men of genius, our sonnet in time would rival the Italian."<ref>{{cite book|author=Sri Aurobindo Ashram|title=Mother India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ|access-date=9 October 2012|date=February 1961|page=56}}</ref> His most famous sonnet is ''Kapatakkha River''.
He pioneered the Bengali sonnet and introduced European-style blank verse into Bengali poetry, revolutionizing its metrical structure.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=Rosinka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D_QfnwEACAAJ |title=The Literary Thing: History, Poetry and the Making of a Modern Cultural Sphere |date=2014 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-3-0343-1760-3 |language=en}}</ref>
 
Michael Madhusudan Dutt dedicated his first [[sonnet]] to his friend [[Rajnarayan Basu]], which he accompanied with a letter: "What say you to this, my good friend? In my humble opinion, if cultivated by men of genius, our sonnet in time would rival the Italian."<ref>{{cite book |author=Sri Aurobindo Ashram |title=Mother India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ |access-date=9 October 2012 |date=February 1961 |page=56}}</ref> His most famous sonnet is ''Kapatakkha River''.
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
Always, o river, you peep in my mind.
Always, o river, you peep in my mind.
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Many a river I have seen on earth;
Many a river I have seen on earth;
But which can quench my thirst the way you do?
But which can quench my thirst the way you do?
You’re the flow of milk in my homeland’s breasts.
You're the flow of milk in my homeland's breasts.
Will I meet you ever? As long as you
Will I meet you ever? As long as you
Go to kinglike ocean to pay the tax
Go to kinglike ocean to pay the tax
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</poem>
</poem>


When Dutt later stayed in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], the sixth centenary of the Italian poet [[Dante Alighieri]] was being celebrated all over Europe. He composed a poem in honour of the poet, translated it into French and Italian, and sent it to the king of Italy. [[Victor Emmanuel II]], then monarch, liked the poem and wrote to Dutt, saying, "It will be a ring which will connect the Orient with the Occident."<ref name="Yajnik1933">{{cite book|author=Ramanial Kanaiyaial Yajnik|title=The Indian Theatre: Its Origins and Its Later Developments Under European Influence, with Special Reference to Western India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r5ycUQEl-wC&pg=PA219|access-date=9 October 2012|year=1933|publisher=Ardent Media|pages=219–|id=GGKEY:WYN7QH8HYJB}}</ref>
When Dutt later stayed in [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], the sixth centenary of the Italian poet [[Dante Alighieri]] was being celebrated all over Europe. He composed a poem in honour of the poet, translated it into French and Italian, and sent it to the king of Italy. [[Victor Emmanuel II]], then monarch, liked the poem and wrote to Dutt, saying, "It will be a ring which will connect the Orient with the Occident."<ref name="Yajnik1933">{{cite book |author=Ramanial Kanaiyaial Yajnik |title=The Indian Theatre: Its Origins and Its Later Developments Under European Influence, with Special Reference to Western India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r5ycUQEl-wC&pg=PA219 |access-date=9 October 2012 |year=1933 |publisher=Ardent Media |pages=219– |id=GGKEY:WYN7QH8HYJB}}</ref>


===Work in blank verse===
===Work in blank verse===
''Sharmistha'' (spelt as ''Sermista'' in English) was Dutt's first attempt at [[blank verse]] in Bengali literature. [[Kaliprasanna Singha]] organised a felicitation ceremony to Madhusudan to mark the introduction of blank verse in Bengali poetry.
''Sharmistha'' (spelt as ''Sermista'' in English) was Dutt's first attempt at [[blank verse]] in Bengali literature. [[Kaliprasanna Singha]] organised a felicitation ceremony for Madhusudan to mark the introduction of blank verse in Bengali poetry. His famous epic, quoted as the only epic of Bengali kind, [[Meghnad Badh Kavya|Meghnadbad-Kabya]] is also totally written in blank verse.


Praising Dutt's blank verse, Sir [[Ashutosh Mukherjee]], observed: "As long as the Bengali race and Bengali literature would exist, the sweet lyre of Madhusudan would never cease playing."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Mother India: Monthly Review of Culture|year = 1961|pages = 57|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ&q=Ordinarily,+reading+of+poetry+causes+a+soporific+effect,+but+the+intoxicating+vigour+of+Madhusudan+poems+makes+even+a+sick+man+sit+up+on+his+bed|volume = 13}}</ref> He added: "Ordinarily, reading of poetry causes a soporific effect, but the intoxicating vigour of Madhusudan's poems makes even a sick man sit up on his bed."<ref name=":0" />
Praising Dutt's blank verse, Sir [[Ashutosh Mukherjee]], observed: "As long as the Bengali race and Bengali literature would exist, the sweet lyre of Madhusudan would never cease playing."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Mother India: Monthly Review of Culture |year=1961 |pages=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ&q=Ordinarily,+reading+of+poetry+causes+a+soporific+effect,+but+the+intoxicating+vigour+of+Madhusudan+poems+makes+even+a+sick+man+sit+up+on+his+bed |volume=13}}</ref> He added: "Ordinarily, reading of poetry causes a soporific effect, but the intoxicating vigour of Madhusudan's poems makes even a sick man sit up on his bed."<ref name=":0" />


In his ''[[The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian]],'' [[Nirad C. Chaudhuri]] has remarked that during his childhood days in Kishoreganj, a common standard for testing guests' erudition in the Bengali language during family gatherings was to require them to recite the poetry of Dutt, without an accent.[[File:"Rue Des Chantiers" Street.jpg|thumb|The street where M Dutt used to live in Versailles, France]]
In his ''[[The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian]]'', [[Nirad C. Chaudhuri]] has remarked that during his childhood days in Kishoreganj, a common standard for testing guests' erudition in the Bengali language during family gatherings was to require them to recite the poetry of Dutt, without an accent.
[[File:"Rue Des Chantiers" Street.jpg|thumb|The street where Dutt used to live in Versailles, France.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=ভার্সাইতে মাইকেল মধুসূদন |url=https://www.prothomalo.com/amp/story/technology/%25E0%25A6%25AD%25E0%25A6%25BE%25E0%25A6%25B0%25E0%25A7%258D%25E0%25A6%25B8%25E0%25A6%25BE%25E0%25A6%2587%25E0%25A6%25A4%25E0%25A7%2587-%25E0%25A6%25AE%25E0%25A6%25BE%25E0%25A6%2587%25E0%25A6%2595%25E0%25A7%2587%25E0%25A6%25B2-%25E0%25A6%25AE%25E0%25A6%25A7%25E0%25A7%2581%25E0%25A6%25B8%25E0%25A7%2582%25E0%25A6%25A6%25E0%25A6%25A8}}</ref>


== Barrister-at-Law ==
== Barrister-at-law ==
[[Image:12 Rue Des Chantier, 78000 Versailles, France.jpg|right|thumb|12 Rue Des Chantiers, 78000 Versailles, France – the apartment building where M. Dutt dwelled (photo taken in July 2011)]]
[[Image:12 Rue Des Chantier, 78000 Versailles, France.jpg|right|thumb|12 Rue Des Chantiers, 78000 Versailles, France – the apartment building where Dutt dwelled (photo taken in July 2011)]]
[[Image:Residence_of_Micheal_Madhusudhan_Dutt_in_Khidirpur.JPG|right|thumb|Dutt 's residence in Khidirpur, [[Kolkata]], [[India]]]]
[[Image:Residence_of_Micheal_Madhusudhan_Dutt_in_Khidirpur.JPG|right|thumb|Dutt's residence in Khidirpur, [[Kolkata]], India]]
Dutt went to [[England]] in 1862 to become a [[Barrister-at-Law]], and enrolled at the [[Gray's Inn]].<ref name=":12"/>
Dutt went to England in 1862 to become a [[barrister-at-law]] and enrolled at the [[Gray's Inn]].<ref name=":12"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Choudhuri |first1=Mrinmaya |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u4CkPXiF_vkC&dq=which+case+Michael+Madhusudan+Dutt+appeared+in+court&pg=PA183 |title=Glimpses of the Justice System of Presidency Towns, 1687-1973 |last2=Choudhuri |first2=Mina |date=2006 |publisher=Regency Publications |isbn=978-81-89233-32-7 |language=en}}</ref>


On the eve of his departure to England:<poem style="margin-left:2em">
On the eve of his departure to England:<poem style="margin-left:2em">
রেখ, মা, দাসেরে মনে, এ মিনতি করি পদে
সাধিতে মনের সাধ
ঘটে যদি পরমাদ,
মধুহীন কর না গো মনঃ কোকনদে |
(Original Bengali)
Forget me not, O Mother,
Forget me not, O Mother,
Should I fail to return
Should I fail to return
To thy hallowed bosom.
To thy hallowed bosom.
Make not the lotus of thy memory
Make not the lotus of thy memory
Void of its nectar Madhu.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sri Aurobindo Ashram|title=Mother India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ|access-date=9 October 2012|date=February 1961|page=55}}</ref>
Void of its nectar honey.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sri Aurobindo Ashram |title=Mother India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy0PAQAAIAAJ |access-date=9 October 2012 |date=February 1961 |page=55}}</ref>
(Translated from the original Bengali by the poet.)
(English translation by the poet.)
</poem>
</poem>


His family joined him in 1863, and thereafter they shifted to the much cheaper [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], due to the miserable state of their finances. Funds were not arriving from India according to his plans. He was only able to relocate to England in 1865 and study for the bar due to the munificent generosity of [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar]]. For this, Dutt was to regard Vidyasagar as ''Dayar Sagar'' (meaning ''the ocean of kindness'') for as long as he lived. He was admitted to the High Court in Calcutta on his return in February 1867.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=940074661X|title=Making India: Colonialism, National Culture, and the Afterlife of Indian English Authority|last=Paranjape|first=Makarand R.|publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]]|year=2012|isbn=9789400746602|pages=76–78|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His family followed him in 1869.<ref name=":4" />
His family joined him in 1863, and thereafter they shifted to the much cheaper [[Versailles (city)|Versailles]], due to the miserable state of their finances. Funds were not arriving from India according to his plans. He was only able to relocate to England in 1865 and study for the bar due to the generosity of [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar]]. For this, Dutt was to regard Vidyasagar as ''Dayar Sagar'' (meaning ''the ocean of kindness'') for as long as he lived. He was admitted to the High Court in Calcutta on his return in February 1867.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=940074661X |title=Making India: Colonialism, National Culture, and the Afterlife of Indian English Authority |last=Paranjape |first=Makarand R. |publisher=[[Springer Publishing|Springer]] |year=2012 |isbn=9789400746602 |pages=76–78 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His family followed him in 1869.<ref name=":4" />


His stay in England had left him disillusioned with European culture. He wrote to his friend [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]] from France: {{quote|If there be any one among us anxious to leave a name behind him, and not pass away into oblivion like a brute, let him devote himself to his mother-tongue. That is his legitimate sphere his proper element.<ref name="Poddāra1970">{{cite book|author=Arabinda Poddāra|title=Renaissance in Bengal: quests and confrontations, 1800–1860|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Msd4rdQoHE8C|access-date=23 July 2012|year=1970|publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study|page=216}}</ref>}}
His stay in England had left him disillusioned with European culture. He wrote to his friend [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]] from France: {{blockquote|If there be any one among us anxious to leave a name behind him, and not pass away into oblivion like a brute, let him devote himself to his mother-tongue. That is his legitimate sphere his proper element.<ref name="Poddāra1970">{{cite book |author=Arabinda Poddāra |title=Renaissance in Bengal: quests and confrontations, 1800–1860 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Msd4rdQoHE8C |access-date=23 July 2012 |year=1970 |publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study |page=216}}</ref>}}


==Marriage and family==
==Marriage and family==
Dutt had refused to enter into an [[arranged marriage]] which his father had decided for him. He had no respect for that tradition and wanted to break free from the confines of [[caste]]-based [[endogamous]] marriage. His knowledge of the European tradition convinced him of his choice of marriages made by mutual consent (or [[love marriage]]s).
Dutt had refused to enter into an [[arranged marriage]] which his father had decided for him. He had no respect for that tradition and wanted to break free from the confines of [[caste]]-based [[endogamous]] marriage. His knowledge of the European tradition convinced him of his choice of marriages made by mutual consent (or [[love marriage]]s).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt(Bengali Authors) |url=https://parabaas.com/translation/database/authors/texts/michael.html}}</ref>


He was the first Bengali to marry a European or Anglo-Indian woman.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Moreno|first=H. W. B.|date=1923|title=Michael Madhu Sudhan Dutt & His Anglo-Indian Wives|url=http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/handle/2015/500677|journal=Journal of the Calcutta Historical Society|volume=26|issue=Bengal Past And Present|via=[[Digital Library of India]]}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name=":12"/> While in [[Madras]] he married Indo-Scottish-Britton,<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":12"/> Rebecca Thompson McTavish,<ref name=":12"/> a 17-year-old resident<ref name=":4" /> of the Madras Female Orphan Asylum, on 31 July 1848.<ref name=":12"/> Dutt assumed the name Michael when the marriage was registered in the baptismal register. They had four children together. He wrote to [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]] in December 1855:{{quote|Yes, dearest Gour, I have a fine English Wife and four children.<ref name="MurshidMajumdar2003">{{cite book|author1=Ghulam Murshid|author2=Gopa Majumdar|title=Lured by hope: a biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KZjAAAAMAAJ|access-date=9 October 2012|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-565362-5}}</ref>}}
While in [[Madras]], he married Rebecca Thompson McTavish,<ref name=":12"/> a 17-year-old of Scottish-Indian parentage,<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Moreno |first=H. W. B. |date=July–December 1923 |title=Michael Madhu Sudhan Dutta and His Anglo-Indian Wives |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.501554/page/n221/mode/1up?q=wives |journal=Bengal Past and Present |volume=26}}</ref><ref name=":12"/> a resident<ref name=":4" /> of the Madras Female Orphan Asylum, on 31 July 1848.<ref name=":12"/> Dutt assumed the name Michael when the marriage was registered in the baptismal register. They had four children together. He wrote to [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]] in December 1855:{{blockquote|Yes, dearest Gour, I have a fine English Wife and four children.<ref name="MurshidMajumdar2003">{{cite book |author1=Ghulam Murshid |author2=Gopa Majumdar |title=Lured by hope: a biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KZjAAAAMAAJ |access-date=9 October 2012 |date=30 October 2003 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-565362-5}}</ref>}}


Dutt returned from Madras to Calcutta in February 1856, after his father's death (in 1855), abandoning his wife and four children in Madras. No records of his divorce from Rebecca or remarriage have been found.<ref name=":12"/> In 1858, he was joined there by a 22-year old of French extraction,<ref name=":4" /> Emelia Henrietta Sophie White, the daughter of his colleague at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum.<ref name=":2" /> They had two sons, Frederick Michael Milton (23 July 1861 – 11 June 1875)<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0821443585|title=Indian Angles: English Verse in Colonial India from Jones to Tagore|last=Gibson|first=Mary Ellis|publisher=Ohio University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0821419410|pages=166|via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|title=Makers Of Indian Literature: Michael Madhusudan Dutt|last=Bose|first=Amalendu|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=1979|location=New Delhi|pages=49}}</ref> and Albert Napoleon (1869 – 22 August 1909),<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> and a daughter, Henrietta Elizabeth Sermista<ref name=":4" /> (1859 – 15 February 1879).<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> A fourth child was stillborn.<ref name=":12"/> Their relationship lasted until the end of his life, Henrietta pre-deceasing him by three days, on 26 June 1873.<ref name=":2" />
Dutt returned from Madras to Calcutta in February 1856, after his father's death (in 1855), abandoning his wife and four children in Madras. No records of his divorce from Rebecca or remarriage have been found.<ref name=":12"/> In 1858, he was joined there by a 22-year old woman of French Eurasian extraction,<ref name=":4" /> Emelia Henrietta Sophie White, the daughter of his colleague at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum.<ref name=":2" /> They had two sons, Frederick Michael Milton (23 July 1861 – 11 June 1875)<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0821443585 |title=Indian Angles: English Verse in Colonial India from Jones to Tagore |last=Gibson |first=Mary Ellis |publisher=Ohio University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0821419410 |pages=166 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |title=Makers Of Indian Literature: Michael Madhusudan Dutt |last=Bose |first=Amalendu |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |year=1979 |location=New Delhi |pages=49}}</ref> and Albert Napoleon (1869 – 22 August 1909),<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> and a daughter, Henrietta Elizabeth Sermista<ref name=":4" /> (1859 – 15 February 1879).<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /> A fourth child was stillborn.<ref name=":12"/> Their relationship lasted until the end of her life, Henrietta pre-deceasing him by three days, on 26 June 1873.<ref name=":2" />


Rebecca died in Madras in July 1892. Only a daughter and a son survived her. The son, McTavish-Dutt, practised as a pleader in the Court of Small Causes in Madras.<ref name=":4" />
Rebecca died in Madras in July 1892. Only a daughter (Phoebe Rebecca Salfelt Dutt) and a son (George John McTavish-Dutt) survived her. The son, McTavish-Dutt, practised as a pleader in the Court of Small Causes in Madras.<ref name=":4" />


The tennis player [[Leander Paes]] is a direct descendant of Dutt, who is his great-great-grandfather on his mother's side.<ref>{{Cite news |title=I'm waiting for the right opportunity to join politics: Leander Paes |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Im-waiting-for-the-right-opportunity-to-join-politics-Leander-Paes/articleshow/34472601.cms |newspaper=Times of India |access-date=29 August 2016}}</ref>
The tennis player [[Leander Paes]] is a direct descendant of Dutt, who is his great-great-grandson on his mother's side.<ref>{{Cite news |title=I'm waiting for the right opportunity to join politics: Leander Paes |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Im-waiting-for-the-right-opportunity-to-join-politics-Leander-Paes/articleshow/34472601.cms |newspaper=Times of India |access-date=29 August 2016 |archive-date=10 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310055651/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/top-stories/Im-waiting-for-the-right-opportunity-to-join-politics-Leander-Paes/articleshow/34472601.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>


==Death==
==Death==
Dutt died in Calcutta General Hospital on 29 June 1873.<ref name=":2" /> Three days prior to his death, he recited a passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth to his dear friend [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]], to express his deepest conviction of life:
Dutt died in Presidency General Hospital on 29 June 1873.<ref name=":2" /> Three days before his death, he recited a passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth to his dear friend [[Gour Das Bysack|Bysack]], to express his deepest conviction of life:
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
<poem style="margin-left:2em">
...out, out, brief candle!
...out, out, brief candle!
Line 141: Line 145:
</poem>
</poem>


[[Image:Tomb of Michael Madhusudhan Dutta.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Tomb of Michael Madhusudan Dutt at the [[Lower Circular Road cemetery]] ]]
[[Image:Tomb of Michael Madhusudhan Dutta.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Tomb of Michael Madhusudan Dutt at the [[Lower Circular Road cemetery]].
 
]]
<!--Samadhilipi quote box begins-->
<!--Samadhilipi quote box begins-->
{{Quote box|quote=<big>দাঁড়াও পথিক-বর, জন্ম যদি তব<br />
{{Quote box|quote=<big>দাঁড়াও পথিক-বর, জন্ম যদি তব<br />
Line 148: Line 154:
বিরাম) মহীর পদে মহা নিদ্রাবৃত<br />
বিরাম) মহীর পদে মহা নিদ্রাবৃত<br />
দত্তোকুলোদ্ভব কবি শ্রীমধুসূদন!<br />
দত্তোকুলোদ্ভব কবি শ্রীমধুসূদন!<br />
যশোরে সাগরদাঁড়ি কবতক্ষ-তীরে<br />
যশোরের সাগরদাঁড়ি কপোতাক্ষ-তীরে<br />
জন্মভূমি, জন্মদাতা দত্ত মহামতি<br />
জন্মভূমি, জন্মদাতা দত্ত মহামতি<br />
রাজনারায়ণ নামে, জননী জাহ্নবী</big>
রাজনারায়ণ নামে, জননী জাহ্নবী</big>
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==Legacy and honours==
==Legacy and honours==
Dutt was largely ignored for 15 years after his death.<ref>[http://www.parabaas.com/translation/database/reviews/brLured1.html "A Review": Ghulam Murshid, ''Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt''], translated from Bengali by Gopa Majumdar, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2003. {{ISBN|0-19-565362-9}}. Pp 238 + xvi, at Parabaas</ref> The belated tribute was a tomb erected at his gravesite.  
Dutt was largely ignored for 15 years after his death.<ref>[http://www.parabaas.com/translation/database/reviews/brLured1.html "A Review": Ghulam Murshid, ''Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529084226/http://www.parabaas.com/translation/database/reviews/brLured1.html |date=29 May 2010 }}, translated from Bengali by Gopa Majumdar, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2003. {{ISBN|0-19-565362-9}}. Pp 238 + xvi, at Parabaas</ref> The belated tribute was a tomb erected at his gravesite.


His epitaph, a verse of his own, reads:
His epitaph, a verse of his own, reads:
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On the bosom of the earth,
On the bosom of the earth,
Enjoys the sweet eternal sleep
Enjoys the sweet eternal sleep
Poet Madhusudan of the Duttas.<ref name="A poet of epic proportions">{{cite news |title=A poet of epic proportions |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-144528 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=29 June 2010 |access-date=23 July 2012}}</ref>
Poet Madhusudan of the Duttas.<ref name="A poet of epic proportions">{{cite news |title=A poet of epic proportions |url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-144528 |newspaper=The Daily Star |date=29 June 2010 |access-date=23 July 2012 |archive-date=14 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814041807/http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-144528 |url-status=live}}</ref>
</poem>
</poem>


''Michael Madhusudhan'' is a 1950 Indian Bengali-language [[drama film]] by Modhu Bose which starred [[Utpal Dutt]] in the titular role.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Madhuja Mukherjee|author2=Kaustav Bakshi|title=Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Cultures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NXpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP92|date=9 June 2020|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-00-044892-4|page=92}}</ref>
''Michael Madhusudhan'' is a 1950 Indian Bengali-language drama film by [[Madhu Bose|Modhu Bose]] which starred [[Utpal Dutt]] in the titular role.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Madhuja Mukherjee |author2=Kaustav Bakshi |title=Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Cultures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NXpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PP92 |date=9 June 2020 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-00-044892-4 |page=92}}</ref>


Author [[Namita Gokhale]] published a play about Madhusudhan in 2021, based largely on letters written by him to friends and other authors, called ''Betrayed by Hope''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghosh |first=Paramita |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-betrayed-by-hope-a-play-on-the-life-of-michael-madhusudan-dutt-by-namita-gokhale-malashri-lal-101613121946371.html |title=Review: Betrayed by Hope, a play on the life of Michael Madhusudan Dutt |work=Hindustan Times |date=12 February 2021}}</ref>
Author [[Namita Gokhale]] published a play about Madhusudhan in 2021, based largely on letters written by him to friends and other authors, called ''Betrayed by Hope''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Paramita |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-betrayed-by-hope-a-play-on-the-life-of-michael-madhusudan-dutt-by-namita-gokhale-malashri-lal-101613121946371.html |title=Review: Betrayed by Hope, a play on the life of Michael Madhusudan Dutta |work=Hindustan Times |date=12 February 2021 |access-date=1 April 2021 |archive-date=22 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422195135/https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/review-betrayed-by-hope-a-play-on-the-life-of-michael-madhusudan-dutt-by-namita-gokhale-malashri-lal-101613121946371.html |url-status=live}}</ref>


==Major works==
In honour of Dutt, every year on his birthday, a fair is held in his home at [[Sagardari Union|Sagardari]], which is organized by the District Council of [[Jessore District|Jessore]]. Every year, various MPs and ministers of the national parliament of Bangladesh attend this fair.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=ypwcOeSiv9rTD0Xy&v=peoUMc8AUIc&feature=youtu.be |title=মাইকেল মধুসূদনের স্মরণে চলছে ৯ দিনব্যাপী মেলা {{!}} Michael Madhusudan Dutt {{!}} Madhu Mela {{!}} Ekhon TV |date=2024-01-22 |last=EKHON TV |access-date=2024-12-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=MADHU MELA |url=https://beautifulbangladesh.gov.bd/event/169 |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=beautifulbangladesh.gov.bd}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Madhusudan Dutt's 197th birth anniversary being observed |date=25 January 2021 |url=https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/236754/michael-madhusudan-dutt-s-197th-birth-anniversary}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Madhusudan Dutt's birth bicentenary today |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/223683/madhusudan-dutts-birth-bicentenary-today}}</ref>
 
In honour of Dutt a school and a college are named after him in [[Jessore District]]. And a university was proposed to be set up in this birthplace. They are:
* [[Michael Madhusudan College]]
* [[Sagardari Michael Madhusadan Institution]]
* Micheal Madhusudan Specialized University
* A 12&nbsp;km Long Road which connects [[Keshabpur, Jessore|Keshabpur]] with [[Sagardari Union|Sagardari]] Named after him, The road Known as Modhu Sarak.
* His Ancestors House known as [[Modhu Polli]] is also named after him.
 
=== In India ===
* [[Michael Madhusudan Dutta College]] in Tripura is named after him.
* [[Michael Madhusudan Memorial College]] in West Bengal is named after him.
* [[Madhusudan Mancha]] in West Bengal is named after him.
 
==Works==
* ''King Porus''
* ''King Porus''
* ''The Captive Ladie'' (1849)
* ''The Captive Ladie'' (1849)
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==See also==
==See also==
{{portal bar|Biography|India|Literature|Poetry|}}
{{portal bar|Biography|Bangladesh|Literature|Poetry|}}
* [[Indian poetry in English]]
* [[Indian poetry in English]]
* [[Indian English literature]]
* [[Indian English literature]]
* [[Indian literature]]
* [[Indian literature]]
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}


==References==
==References==
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==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Murshid |first=Ghulam |date=2003 |title=Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-565362-5}}&nbsp;– Gopa Majumdar's translation of ''Ashar Chalane Bhuli''
* {{cite book |last=Murshid |first=Ghulam |date=2003 |title=Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutta |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-565362-5}}&nbsp;– Gopa Majumdar's translation of ''Ashar Chalane Bhuli''
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Pinarki |chapter=Extravagant Genius: Michael Madhusudan Dutt and his Oeuvre |date=2016 |editor-last=Mitra |editor-first=Zinia|title=Indian Poetry in English: Critical Essays |publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. |pages=17–32 |isbn=978-81-203-5261-2}}
* {{cite book |last=Roy |first=Pinarki |chapter=Extravagant Genius: Michael Madhusudan Dutta and his Oeuvre |date=2016 |editor-last=Mitra |editor-first=Zinia |title=Indian Poetry in English: Critical Essays |publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. |pages=17–32 |isbn=978-81-203-5261-2}}
* Modhusudoner Engreji Kabita by Sayeed Abubakar, Bhumika Prakashani, Bangla Bazar, Dhaka-1100, (2009)
* Modhusudoner Engreji Kabita by Sayeed Abubakar, Bhumika Prakashani, Bangla Bazar, Dhaka-1100, (2009)
* Modhusudoner Engreji Sonnet, Translation and Preface: Sayeed Abubakar, Kabitirtha, 50/3, Kabitirtha Saroni, Kolkata-23 {{ISBN|978-81-951031-8-8}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|Michael Madhusudan Dutt}}
{{commons category|Michael Madhusudan Dutt}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* {{Internet Archive author}}
* [http://www.hindu-school.com/ Hindu School, Kolkata – Web Site]
* [http://www.hindu-school.com/ Hindu School, Kolkata – Web Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100707082843/http://www.hindu-school.com/ |date=7 July 2010 }}
* [http://granthsouthasia.in/sambhaba.html Tilottoma Sambhaba Kabya]
* [http://granthsouthasia.in/sambhaba.html Tilottoma Sambhaba Kabya]
* {{Librivox author |id=14588}}


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{{Bengal Renaissance}}
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[[Category:Indian Christian writers]]

Revision as of 22:45, 28 February 2026


Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Portrait of Dutt, c. 1907
Portrait of Dutt, c. 1907
BornSri Madhusudan Dutta
(1824-01-25)25 January 1824
Sagardari, Bangladesh, Formerly (Bengal Presidency, British India)
Died29 June 1873(1873-06-29) (aged 49)
Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India
Resting placeLower Circular Road cemetery
OccupationWriter, poet, playwright
LanguageEnglish
Bengali
CitizenshipBritish Indian
Alma materHindu College
Gray's Inn
Literary movementBengal Renaissance
SpouseRebecca Thompson McTavish (m. 1848–1856)
PartnerEmilia Henrietta Sophie White (1858–1873)
Children8[lower-alpha 1]
Relatives

Michael Madhusudan Dutt (born Sri Madhusudan Dutta; About this sound Maikel Modhushudôn Dôtto (help·info); 25 January 1824 – 29 June 1873) was a Bengali poetry Bangladeshi Bengali poet and playwright. He is considered one of the pioneers of Bengali literature.[1][2][3][4][5]

Early life

Madhusudan was born in Sagardari, a village in Keshabpur Upazila, Jessore District of Bengal (present-day Bangladesh), to a Hindu family.[6] His father was Rajnarayan Dutt, who was a lawyer[7] and his mother was Jahnabi Devi.[8] His family, being reasonably well-off, ensured that Madhusudan received an education in the English language and additional tutorship in English at home. Rajnarayan had intended for this Western education to open the doors for a government position for his son.[9]

College and religious conversion

After he finished his education in Sagardari at roughly the age of fifteen, Rajnarayan sent Madhusudhan to Calcutta to attend Hindu College with the eventual aim of becoming a barrister. At Hindu College, Michael studied under a westernized curriculum in a university which had been expressly founded for the "uplift of the natives". The college required all students to wear Western clothing, eat European cuisine with cutlery, learn British songs, and speak exclusively in English—with the aim of creating an anglicized Indian middle class to serve as officials in the colonial administration.

During his time at Hindu College, Madhusudhan developed an aversion to Indian culture and a deep yearning to be accepted into European culture.[10] He expressed these sentiments in one of his poems. An early and formative influence on Dutt was his teacher at Hindu College, David Lester Richardson. Richardson was a poet and inspired in Dutt a love of English poetry, particularly by that of Byron. Dutt began writing English poetry aged around 17 years, sending his works to publications in England, including Blackwood's Magazine and Bentley's Miscellany. They were, however, never accepted for publication.[11] This was also when he began a correspondence with his friend, Gour Das Bysack, which today forms the bulk of sources on his life.

On 9 February 1843, Madhusudan embraced Christianity[12] at the Old Mission Church, in spite of the objections of his parents and relatives. He did not take the name Michael until his marriage in 1848.[11]

He describes the day as:

Long sunk in superstition's night,
By Sin and Satan driven,
I saw not, cared not for the light
That leads the blind to Heaven.
But now, at length thy grace, O Lord!
Birds all around me shine;
I drink thy sweet, thy precious word,
I kneel before thy shrine![13]

He had to leave Hindu College on account of converting to Christianity. In 1844, he resumed his education at Bishop's College, where he stayed for three years.[11]

In 1847, he moved to Madras (Chennai) due to family tensions and economic hardship, having been disinherited by his father.[14] While in Madras, he stayed in the Black Town neighbourhood,[11] and began working as an "usher" at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum. Four years later, in 1851, he became a Second Tutor in the Madras University High School.[14] He edited and assisted in editing the periodicals Madras Circulator and General Chronicle, Athenaeum, Spectator and Hindoo Chronicle.[11]

Literary life

Early works (1849–1855)

Dutt wrote exclusively in English in his early writing years. The Captive Ladie was published in 1849 and, like Derozio's The Fakeer of Jungheera, takes on the form of a long narrative poem. In The Anglo-Saxon and the Hindu (1854), an essay in florid, even purple prose, are references to and quotations from almost the whole of Macaulay's shelf of European books. He was greatly influenced by the works of William Wordsworth and John Milton. Dutt was a spirited bohemian and Romantic.[11][14]

Calcutta years (1858–1862)

The period during which he worked as a head clerk and later as the Chief Interpreter in the court marked his transition to writing in his native Bengali, following the advice of Bethune and Bysack. He wrote 5 plays: Sermista (1859), Padmavati (1859), Ekei Ki Boley Sabyata (1860), Krishna Kumari (1860) and Buro Shaliker Ghare Ron (1860). Then followed the narrative poems: Tilottama Sambhava Kavya (1861), Meghnad Badh Kavya (1861), Brajagana Kavya (1861) and Veerangana Kavya (1861). He also translated three plays from Bangla to English, including his own Sermista.[11][14]

Final years (1866–1873)

A volume of his Bangla sonnets was published in 1866. His final play, Maya Kannan, was written in 1872. The Slaying of Hector, his prose version of the Iliad, remains incomplete.[11][14]

Linguistic abilities

Madhusudan was a gifted linguist[15] and polyglot.[16] He studied English, Bengali, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Tamil, Telugu and Sanskrit.[11][17]

Work with the sonnet

He pioneered the Bengali sonnet and introduced European-style blank verse into Bengali poetry, revolutionizing its metrical structure.[18]

Michael Madhusudan Dutt dedicated his first sonnet to his friend Rajnarayan Basu, which he accompanied with a letter: "What say you to this, my good friend? In my humble opinion, if cultivated by men of genius, our sonnet in time would rival the Italian."[19] His most famous sonnet is Kapatakkha River.

Always, o river, you peep in my mind.
Always I think you in this loneliness.
Always I soothe my ears with the murmur
Of your waters in illusion, the way
Men hear songs of illusion in a dream.
Many a river I have seen on earth;
But which can quench my thirst the way you do?
You're the flow of milk in my homeland's breasts.
Will I meet you ever? As long as you
Go to kinglike ocean to pay the tax
Of water, I beg to you, sing my name
Into the ears of people of Bengal,
Sing his name, o dear, who in this far land
Sings your name in all his songs for Bengal.

When Dutt later stayed in Versailles, the sixth centenary of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri was being celebrated all over Europe. He composed a poem in honour of the poet, translated it into French and Italian, and sent it to the king of Italy. Victor Emmanuel II, then monarch, liked the poem and wrote to Dutt, saying, "It will be a ring which will connect the Orient with the Occident."[20]

Work in blank verse

Sharmistha (spelt as Sermista in English) was Dutt's first attempt at blank verse in Bengali literature. Kaliprasanna Singha organised a felicitation ceremony for Madhusudan to mark the introduction of blank verse in Bengali poetry. His famous epic, quoted as the only epic of Bengali kind, Meghnadbad-Kabya is also totally written in blank verse.

Praising Dutt's blank verse, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, observed: "As long as the Bengali race and Bengali literature would exist, the sweet lyre of Madhusudan would never cease playing."[21] He added: "Ordinarily, reading of poetry causes a soporific effect, but the intoxicating vigour of Madhusudan's poems makes even a sick man sit up on his bed."[21]

In his The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, Nirad C. Chaudhuri has remarked that during his childhood days in Kishoreganj, a common standard for testing guests' erudition in the Bengali language during family gatherings was to require them to recite the poetry of Dutt, without an accent.

The street where Dutt used to live in Versailles, France.

[22]

Barrister-at-law

12 Rue Des Chantiers, 78000 Versailles, France – the apartment building where Dutt dwelled (photo taken in July 2011)
Dutt's residence in Khidirpur, Kolkata, India

Dutt went to England in 1862 to become a barrister-at-law and enrolled at the Gray's Inn.[11][23]

On the eve of his departure to England:

রেখ, মা, দাসেরে মনে, এ মিনতি করি পদে
সাধিতে মনের সাধ
ঘটে যদি পরমাদ,
মধুহীন কর না গো মনঃ কোকনদে |
(Original Bengali)

Forget me not, O Mother,
Should I fail to return
To thy hallowed bosom.
Make not the lotus of thy memory
Void of its nectar honey.[24]
(English translation by the poet.)

His family joined him in 1863, and thereafter they shifted to the much cheaper Versailles, due to the miserable state of their finances. Funds were not arriving from India according to his plans. He was only able to relocate to England in 1865 and study for the bar due to the generosity of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. For this, Dutt was to regard Vidyasagar as Dayar Sagar (meaning the ocean of kindness) for as long as he lived. He was admitted to the High Court in Calcutta on his return in February 1867.[11][14] His family followed him in 1869.[9]

His stay in England had left him disillusioned with European culture. He wrote to his friend Bysack from France:

If there be any one among us anxious to leave a name behind him, and not pass away into oblivion like a brute, let him devote himself to his mother-tongue. That is his legitimate sphere his proper element.[25]

Marriage and family

Dutt had refused to enter into an arranged marriage which his father had decided for him. He had no respect for that tradition and wanted to break free from the confines of caste-based endogamous marriage. His knowledge of the European tradition convinced him of his choice of marriages made by mutual consent (or love marriages).[26]

While in Madras, he married Rebecca Thompson McTavish,[11] a 17-year-old of Scottish-Indian parentage,[9][11] a resident[9] of the Madras Female Orphan Asylum, on 31 July 1848.[11] Dutt assumed the name Michael when the marriage was registered in the baptismal register. They had four children together. He wrote to Bysack in December 1855:

Yes, dearest Gour, I have a fine English Wife and four children.[27]

Dutt returned from Madras to Calcutta in February 1856, after his father's death (in 1855), abandoning his wife and four children in Madras. No records of his divorce from Rebecca or remarriage have been found.[11] In 1858, he was joined there by a 22-year old woman of French Eurasian extraction,[9] Emelia Henrietta Sophie White, the daughter of his colleague at the Madras Male Orphan Asylum.[14] They had two sons, Frederick Michael Milton (23 July 1861 – 11 June 1875)[9][17][28] and Albert Napoleon (1869 – 22 August 1909),[9][28] and a daughter, Henrietta Elizabeth Sermista[9] (1859 – 15 February 1879).[9][14] A fourth child was stillborn.[11] Their relationship lasted until the end of her life, Henrietta pre-deceasing him by three days, on 26 June 1873.[14]

Rebecca died in Madras in July 1892. Only a daughter (Phoebe Rebecca Salfelt Dutt) and a son (George John McTavish-Dutt) survived her. The son, McTavish-Dutt, practised as a pleader in the Court of Small Causes in Madras.[9]

The tennis player Leander Paes is a direct descendant of Dutt, who is his great-great-grandson on his mother's side.[29]

Death

Dutt died in Presidency General Hospital on 29 June 1873.[14] Three days before his death, he recited a passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth to his dear friend Bysack, to express his deepest conviction of life:

...out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more; it is a tale Told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

Tomb of Michael Madhusudan Dutt at the Lower Circular Road cemetery.
দাঁড়াও পথিক-বর, জন্ম যদি তব

বঙ্গে! তিষ্ঠ ক্ষণকাল! এ সমাধিস্থলে
(জননীর কোলে শিশু লভয়ে যেমতি
বিরাম) মহীর পদে মহা নিদ্রাবৃত
দত্তোকুলোদ্ভব কবি শ্রীমধুসূদন!
যশোরের সাগরদাঁড়ি কপোতাক্ষ-তীরে
জন্মভূমি, জন্মদাতা দত্ত মহামতি

রাজনারায়ণ নামে, জননী জাহ্নবী

Legacy and honours

Dutt was largely ignored for 15 years after his death.[30] The belated tribute was a tomb erected at his gravesite.

His epitaph, a verse of his own, reads:

Stop a while, traveller!
Should Mother Bengal claim thee for her son.
As a child takes repose on his mother's elysian lap,
Even so here in the Long Home,
On the bosom of the earth,
Enjoys the sweet eternal sleep
Poet Madhusudan of the Duttas.[31]

Michael Madhusudhan is a 1950 Indian Bengali-language drama film by Modhu Bose which starred Utpal Dutt in the titular role.[32]

Author Namita Gokhale published a play about Madhusudhan in 2021, based largely on letters written by him to friends and other authors, called Betrayed by Hope.[33]

In honour of Dutt, every year on his birthday, a fair is held in his home at Sagardari, which is organized by the District Council of Jessore. Every year, various MPs and ministers of the national parliament of Bangladesh attend this fair.[34][35][36][37]

In honour of Dutt a school and a college are named after him in Jessore District. And a university was proposed to be set up in this birthplace. They are:

In India

Works

  • King Porus
  • The Captive Ladie (1849)
  • Ratul Potra
  • Sermista (1859) (Bengali and English)
  • Padmavati (1859)
  • Ekei Ki Boley Sabyota (1860)
  • Krishna Kumari (1860)
  • Buro Shaliker Ghare Ron (1860)
  • Tilottama Sambhava Kavya (1861)
  • Meghnad Badh Kavya (1861)
  • Brajagana Kavya (1861)
  • Veerangana Kavya (1861)
  • Ratnavali (English translation)
  • Nil Darpan (English translation)
  • Choturdoshpodi Kobitaboli
  • Rizia, the Sultana of Inde
  • Rosalo Sornolatika
  • Bongobani
  • Sonnets and other poems (1866)
  • Bongo bhumir prati

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ including a stillborn

References

  1. ↑ "Michael Madhusudan Dutt: A Pioneer in Bengali Drama". Bangladesh.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Dutt, Michael Madhusudan - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Michael Madhusudan Datta | Poet, Playwright, Dramatist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Shuvo, Golam Azam (18 March 2023). "Michael Madhusudan Dutt : Pioneer of Bengali Literature -". My Pen Arts. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  5. ↑ Das, Alisha (25 January 2024). "Michael Madhusudan Dutt: A Pioneer With An English Heart". The Talented Indian. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Secondary - 2018 - Class - 9&10 - Bangla Sahitto-9 BV PDF Web .pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Michael Madhusudan Dutt | Making Britain". www5.open.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Dutt, Michael Madhusudan - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 Moreno, H. W. B. (July–December 1923). "Michael Madhu Sudhan Dutta and His Anglo-Indian Wives". Bengal Past and Present. 26.
  10. ↑ Dipesh Chakrabarty (15 February 2001). Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference (New ed.). Princeton University Press. pp. 33–. ISBN 978-0-691-13001-9. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 11.13 11.14 11.15 Dutt, Michael Madhusudhan; Seely, Clinton B. (2004). The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal. New York City: Oxford University Press. pp. 16, 22–23. ISBN 9780195167993 – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ Bhowmik, Dulal (2012). "Dutt, Michael Madhusudan". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  13. ↑ Mitra, Zinia, ed. (2012). Indian Poetry in English: Critical Essays. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 32. ISBN 978-8120345713.
  14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 Paranjape, Makarand R. (2012). Making India: Colonialism, National Culture, and the Afterlife of Indian English Authority. Springer. pp. 76–78. ISBN 9789400746602 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ Ray, Mohit K., ed. (2007). The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. pp. 154–. ISBN 978-81-269-0832-5.
  16. ↑ Ghose, Subhas Chandra (1996). Socio-Political Dynamics. Northern Book Centre. p. 178. ISBN 978-81-7211-070-3. Subhas Chandra Ghose (1 January 1996). Socio-Political Dynamics. Northern Book Centre. p. 178. ISBN 9788172110703.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Gibson, Mary Ellis (2011). Indian Angles: English Verse in Colonial India from Jones to Tagore. Ohio University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0821419410 – via Google Books.
  18. ↑ Chaudhuri, Rosinka (2014). The Literary Thing: History, Poetry and the Making of a Modern Cultural Sphere. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-0343-1760-3.
  19. ↑ Sri Aurobindo Ashram (February 1961). Mother India. p. 56. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Ramanial Kanaiyaial Yajnik (1933). The Indian Theatre: Its Origins and Its Later Developments Under European Influence, with Special Reference to Western India. Ardent Media. pp. 219–. GGKEY:WYN7QH8HYJB. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Mother India: Monthly Review of Culture. Vol. 13. 1961. p. 57.
  22. ↑ "ভার্সাইতে মাইকেল মধুসূদন".
  23. ↑ Choudhuri, Mrinmaya; Choudhuri, Mina (2006). Glimpses of the Justice System of Presidency Towns, 1687-1973. Regency Publications. ISBN 978-81-89233-32-7.
  24. ↑ Sri Aurobindo Ashram (February 1961). Mother India. p. 55. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  25. ↑ Arabinda Poddāra (1970). Renaissance in Bengal: quests and confrontations, 1800–1860. Indian Institute of Advanced Study. p. 216. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "Michael Madhusudan Dutt(Bengali Authors)".
  27. ↑ Ghulam Murshid; Gopa Majumdar (30 October 2003). Lured by hope: a biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-565362-5. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Bose, Amalendu (1979). Makers Of Indian Literature: Michael Madhusudan Dutt. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 49.
  29. ↑ "I'm waiting for the right opportunity to join politics: Leander Paes". Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  30. ↑ "A Review": Ghulam Murshid, Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutt Archived 29 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine, translated from Bengali by Gopa Majumdar, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2003. ISBN 0-19-565362-9. Pp 238 + xvi, at Parabaas
  31. ↑ "A poet of epic proportions". The Daily Star. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2012.
  32. ↑ Madhuja Mukherjee; Kaustav Bakshi (9 June 2020). Popular Cinema in Bengal: Genre, Stars, Public Cultures. Taylor & Francis. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-00-044892-4.
  33. ↑ Ghosh, Paramita (12 February 2021). "Review: Betrayed by Hope, a play on the life of Michael Madhusudan Dutta". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  34. ↑ EKHON TV (22 January 2024). মাইকেল মধুসূদনের স্মরণে চলছে ৯ দিনব্যাপী মেলা | Michael Madhusudan Dutt | Madhu Mela | Ekhon TV. Retrieved 2 December 2024 – via YouTube.
  35. ↑ "MADHU MELA". beautifulbangladesh.gov.bd. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  36. ↑ "Michael Madhusudan Dutt's 197th birth anniversary being observed". 25 January 2021.
  37. ↑ "Madhusudan Dutt's birth bicentenary today".

Further reading

  • Murshid, Ghulam (2003). Lured by Hope: A Biography of Michael Madhusudan Dutta. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-565362-5. – Gopa Majumdar's translation of Ashar Chalane Bhuli
  • Roy, Pinarki (2016). "Extravagant Genius: Michael Madhusudan Dutta and his Oeuvre". In Mitra, Zinia (ed.). Indian Poetry in English: Critical Essays. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 17–32. ISBN 978-81-203-5261-2.
  • Modhusudoner Engreji Kabita by Sayeed Abubakar, Bhumika Prakashani, Bangla Bazar, Dhaka-1100, (2009)
  • Modhusudoner Engreji Sonnet, Translation and Preface: Sayeed Abubakar, Kabitirtha, 50/3, Kabitirtha Saroni, Kolkata-23 ISBN 978-81-951031-8-8

External links

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