|
Sunil Gangopadhyay
was born on 7 September 1934 in Faridpur
in what is now Bangladesh is an Indian poet.
Sunil obtained his Master's degree in Bengali
from the University of Calcutta in 1954.
He has been associated with the Ananda Bazar
group, a major publishing house in Kolkata,
for many years, and after serving five years
as the Vice President he is currently the
President of the Sahitya Akademi.
Author of well over 200 books, Sunil is
a prolific writer who has excelled in different
genres but declares poetry to be his "first
love". He was the founder editor of
Krittibas, a seminal poetry magazine that
became a platform for a new generation of
poets experimenting with many new forms
in poetic themes, rhythms, and words. His
Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some
of which have been translated as For You,
Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been
extremely popular.
As in poetry, Sunil is known for his unique
style in prose. Arjun, Pratidwandi, filmed
by Satyajit Ray (English title: The Adversary),
Aranyer Din-Raatri (The Days and Nights
of the Forest, also filmed by Satyajit Ray),
Abar Aranya (filmed by Gautam Ghosh), Ekaa
ebong Koyekjon are some of his well known
works of fiction. His historical fiction
Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna
Chakravorty as Those Days) received the
Indian Sahitya Akademi award in 1985. Sei
Somoy continues to be a best seller more
than a decade after its first publication.
The same is true for Pratham Alo (also translated
recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light),
another best selling historical fiction
and Purbo-Paschim, a raw depiction of the
partition and its aftermath seen through
the eyes of three generations of Bengalis
in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere.
He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar
(1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice).
Sunil has written (and still writes) in
many other genres including travelogues,
children's fiction, short stories, features,
and essays. Among his pen-names are: Nil
Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.
Though he has written all types of children's
fiction, one character created by him that
stands out above the rest, is Kakababu,
the crippled adventurist, accompanied by
his young adult nephew Shantu, and his friend
Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay has
written over 35 novels of this popular series,
most of which appeared in Anandamela magazine.
Some Books
" Aranyer Din Ratri
" Sei Samay
" Rokto
" Arjun
" Purush
" Agniputro
" Sorol Satya
" Byaktigoto
" Pratidwandi
" Mohaprithibi
" Roktomangsho
" Atmoprokash, his first novel
" Bandhubandhab, unusual work on friendship
" Purba-Paschim (1, 2), epic book on
east and west Bengal
" Jeeban Je Rakam
" Ardhek Manobi
" Bondhubandhob
" Atmoprokash - the first prosaic writing
of Sunil, who originally was poet only.
" Kakababu Series - The best in the
adventures....
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/
|
