The Beauteous Bengal - Rupasi Bengal

Poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote to the then rising poet Jibanananda Das, on the 12th March, 1937 in the following words. I am glad to read your poems, which indicate a sense of relish, an individuality and a pleasure of looking around. Prof. Humayun Kabir, a reputed Oxonian and a poet himself, spoke of Jibanananda as the noblest Bengali poet after Rabindranath Tagore. The illustrated Weekly of India, wrote in 1985 of Jibanananda as one of four finest poets’. The poet did not receive much attention except during the last decade of his life. But his posthumous lame is growing enormously year after year. These poems are in the nature of sonnets and without being simply individual poems, from a whole together. In the opinion of the poet, “None of these poems are of separate and individual existence, but wholly a body of a complete image. Like the disshevelled nature of rural Bengal, while different, yet they are supplementary to each other.” The RUPASI BANGLA (Beauteous Bengal) is not only a unique contribution to Bengali literature but also to world-Literature, because of its fine first-hand representation of Bengal’s nature landscape of unrivalled beauty embracing the entire gamut of man. insects, birds, beasts, rivers, dales and mountains, tradition and culture, against the world background in the deeper recesses of the poet’s mind. Jibanananda in his portrayal of Bengal in multifarious aspects has shown this rich sensibility in a very high degree. He has been labelled variously-a Nature poet, a poet, historically and socially conscious, a symbolist, a surrealist often difficult, solitary, withdrawn. While each of these attributes may be partially correct, as a totality he is a poet of rich sensibility, of genuine experience, and of very fine poetic expression. And so, he is a great poet of the modern world

Poet Jibanananda Das (1899-1954) was born at Barisal town (now in Bangladesh). Educated at B.M. School and B.M. College. He graduated from the Presidency College. Calcutta and got his M.A. degree in English from the University of Calcutta. He worked as lecturer in English in City College, Calcutta. B.. College, Barisal and for brief periods in some other colleges including Ramjas College, Delhi While working as the Head of the Department of English at Girls College, Howrah, he died )of the after-effects) of a Tram accident in Calcutta on the 22nd October 1954.  Published Works : During his life time his published works include (i) JHARA PALAK (Fallen of feathers) 1927, (ii) DHUSAR PANDULIPI (Grey manuscript). 1936. (iii) BANALATA SEN (1942) and its English Translation by Writers Workshop in 1962. (iv) MAHAPRITHIWI (The Great World) 1944. (V) SATTI TARAR TIMIR (The Darkness of Seven Stars) 1948 and (Vi) SRESTHA KAVITA (Best Poems) 1954.  His posthumous publications include : Poetry : (i) RUPASI BANGLA (bEAUTEOUS bENGAL) 1957. (ii) BELA. ABELA O KALBELA (Time, Un-Time, Inauspicious Time) 1961. (iii) SUDARSHANA, 1973 (iv) MONBIHANGAM (The Mins-Bird) 1978, (V) ALO PRITHWI (The World of Light) 1982 and (VI) KABYA GRABTH ABALI (Book of Poetry) 1970. Stories and Novels : (VII) JIBANANANDA DASER GALPA (Stories of Jibanananda Das) 1972, (VIII) MALYABAN (1973) and (ix) SUTIRTHA, 1976.