A poet of our own passes away

Subhash Mukhopadhyay, one of the most eminent Bangla poets of the 1940s, died on July 7. He was suffering from heart problem and renal failure. He was 84.

Born in the western District Darshana on 13 February 1919, Subhash went to West Bengal in his early youth. His first book of poem Podatik came out in 1940. Among his other books are Chirkut, Joto Durey Jai, Kal Modhumash, Ektu Pa Chaliye Bhai, Phul Phutuk. His novel Hangras earned the readers' praise.

A true friend of our country all his life, Subhash was in Vietnam during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. When he returned from Vietnam, he said, 'My dear motherland Bangladesh is burning before me...what will I write on Vietnam? Here is another Vietnam in front of me--Bangladesh.' Subhash Mukhopadhyay took active part in organising freedom fighters in West Bengal during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. Later, he ran a column titled Khoma Nei (No Mercy) depicting the brutality of the Pakistan armed forces and its allies during the war.

Poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay was given several important awards and honours in India, among which are Sahitya Akademy Award, Jnanpith, Deshikottam from Viswa Bharati University, and Padmabhushan.