Remembering Sukanta Bhattacharya on his 73rd death anniversary
Today marks the 73rd death anniversary of renowned poet Sukanta Bhattacharya, one of the key figures in modern Bengali poetry from the 20th century. Viewed by some as a realist and by others as a romantic, Sukanta's poems are popular for their revolutionary nature, shedding light on socialism, patriotism, humanism and romanticism. He was often called the 'John Keats of Bengal', likely because both the poets emerged with immense talent, but took an early departure from life.
In the preface of Sukanta Samagra, eminent poet Subhash Mukhopadhyay, a good friend of Sukanta expressed his awe at the mastery over language unimaginably mature for a then 14 year-old Sukanta to achieve. At 18, Sukanta joined the Communist Party of India, in 1944. He introduced a new spirit into Bangla poetry with works linked to social commitment and revolutionary idealism.
He hailed from an orthodox vaidik bhramha family from the village of Kotalipara in Faridpur, Bangladesh. From a young age, Sukanta was deeply inspired by communist beliefs and words of Annadashankar Bhattacharya, a student leader. He was Sukanta's 'friend philosopher', who enlisted the poet in Kishore Bahini, his political school for children.
Sukanta later was in charge of the children's section's editorial, 'Kishore Sabha', in the communist magazine, Swadhinata. In the book, Sukanta Bichitra, Annadashankar writes, "Fighting through the orthodox surrounding, Sukanta found solace in revolutionary movements. Since I share a similar story, we bonded instantly."
After losing his Ranidi (sister) and his mother early in life, Sukanta was closest to his Mejho Boudi (sister- in-law). In a letter to her, he once wrote, "I want to be a poet of the people. Without the people, there is no poetry in me. I'm above and beyond a communist." Sukanta was influenced by Kazi Nazrul Islam's anti-colonial poetry and works on the struggles of African- American poets. His romanticism earned him the title, 'Kishor Bidrohi Kobi', after Nazrul.
He was soft-spoken in nature, but bold as a poet. He surprised all with his masterful use of metaphors and similes, even at the cost of aesthetics at times. One of his most popular poems, He Mohajibon, which carries imageries of food and hunger, is relevant even today.
In Ekti Moroger Kahini, he described the story of a chicken — from its desire to eat good food to landing on the dining table as food. He wrote about the middle class, the labourers, the soldiers, the enemies and the farmers. At the same time, his poems Obak Prithibi, Bodhan and Thikana mark his depth of thoughts as a young poet. Most of his works were published posthumously.
The poet's literary biographer Jagannath Chakraborty said that the poet worked day and night to organise relief camps to ensure that starving individuals received just portions of food from authorised shops. Sukanta often said, "In my pulsating heart for revolution, I feel Lenin and I are one."
Noted poet and translator Arunachal Basu, a dear friend of him, revealed that although Sukanta is known to most as a poet, he also wrote a number of short stories, plays and even a novel. As seventh graders, the duo brought out the manuscript magazine, Saptamika, of which Sukanta was the editor. Most of the letters in Sukanta Samagra, were written to Arunachal Basu by Sukanta.
A small incident narrated by his contemporaries reveal that on one of his last birthdays, an elderly member from his family gave him one rupee as a gift. He took the money and went straight to a photo studio to get a photo of himself. Perhaps it is the only photograph that we have of him. Sukanta Bhattacharya passed away on May 13, 1947, only three months before his 21st birthday.
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