Sudhir Chakraborty facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sudhir Chakravarti
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Chakravarti in 2012
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| Born | 19 September 1934 Shibpur, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 15 December 2020 (aged 86) Kolkata, West Bengal |
| Occupation | Literary, teacher, educator, music specialist |
| Language | Bengali, India |
| Alma mater | B.A Krishnagar Government College, M.A. University of Calcutta, Ph.D. Jadavpur University |
| Notable works |
Gabhir Nirjan Pathe
Baul Fakir Katha Ganer Lilar Sei Kinare Sadar Mafaswal |
| Notable awards | Ananda Puraskar Sahitya Akademi Award (1985) Shiromani Award Acharya Dinesh Chandra Sen Award Narashinga Das Award Sarojini Basu Gold Medal |
| Spouse | Nivedita Chakravarti |
| Children | Sananda Chakravarti Sreya Chakravarti |
| Signature | |
Sudhir Chakravarti (born September 19, 1934 – died December 15, 2020) was a famous Bengali teacher and writer. He made a huge difference in how people understood and studied folk culture in Bengal. He changed the way essays were written, making them more fun and easy to read instead of being heavy and academic.
Early Life and Career
Sudhir Chakravarti was born on September 19, 1934, in Shibpur. His family moved around a bit when he was young. They went from Shibpur to Dignagar in Nadia because they were worried about bombings in Kolkata during World War II. His family owned land there. Later, they settled in Krishnanagar, Nadia.
Sudhir Chakravarti studied at Calcutta University. He became well-known for his deep research into Folk religion, especially about a famous mystic named Lalan Fakir. He also studied Cultural Anthropology in Bengal. To learn more, he spent 30 years traveling to many different villages across West Bengal. He wanted to understand their folk culture firsthand.
He was a professor of Bengali literature for a long time, from 1958 to 1994. Even after he officially retired, he kept teaching until 2011. He taught at Krishnagar Government College and was a guest lecturer at Jadavpur University. He also worked with the Institute of Development Studies in Kolkata.
Sudhir Chakravarti wrote and edited more than 85 books. These books covered many different topics like music, art, folk-religion, and cultural studies. He was also the editor of a Bengali literary magazine called Dhrubapada. He passed away in Kolkata on December 15, 2020.
Literary Journey
Sudhir Chakravarti was interested in many things, from the famous poet Rabindranath Tagore to Lalan Fakir. He studied the unique Baul culture and the artists who made clay models and paintings in rural Bengal. His research and writing helped people learn about these important parts of Bengali culture.
He was also a great editor. His journal, Dhruvapada, had 12 issues and was very popular in the Bengali writing world.
His work on Bengali folk culture was very important. He wrote detailed books about smaller religious groups and their beliefs, like the Kartabhaja, Balahari, and Sahebdhani communities. He also wrote about their songs. Before him, not many scholars had paid attention to these groups since the 18th century. His book Bratya Lokayat Lalon is considered a very important book for understanding Lalan Fakir.
What made his research special was that he collected songs from different communities by visiting remote villages himself. He wrote about these experiences in his book Gabhir Nirjan Pathe (which means 'Along deep lonely alleys'). He won the Ananda Award in 2002 for his book Baul Fakir Kotha. He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award for the same book in 2004.
He also wrote books about Rabindra Sangeet (songs by Rabindranath Tagore) and modern Bengali music. Some of his music books include Nirjan Ekaker Gaan: Rabindra Sangeet and Ganer Leela Sei Kinare. He was a leading expert on Tagore's work and Bengali music during his time. He was one of the first people to support the new style of Bengali music by Suman Chattopadhyay. He helped introduce this new music style to Bengali readers. He also wrote a famous column in the newspaper 'Aajkal' where he discussed many types of music, from old classics to modern artists.
Works
Sudhir Chakravarti wrote many books on a wide range of topics. Here are some of his notable works:
- Sahebdhani Sampraday O tader gaan (1985)
- Ganer Lilar Sei Kinare (1985)
- Krishnagarer Mritshilpo o Mritshilpi Samaj (1985)
- Balahari Sampraday o Tader Gaan (1986)
- Gabhir Nirjan Pathe (1989)
- Sadar -Mafaswal (1990)
- Bratya Lokayata Lalan (1992)
- Paschimbanger Mela o Mohotsav (1996)
- Baul Fakir Katha (2001)
- Lokayoter Antarmohol (2008)
Awards
Sudhir Chakravarti received several important awards for his contributions:
- He won the Ananda Purashkar in 2002 for his book Baul Fakir Katha.
- He also received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2004 for the same book.
- In 2006, he was honored as an Eminent Teacher by Calcutta University.
- He received the Narasimha Das award Medal from Delhi University.
- He was awarded the Dr. Sukumar Sen Gold Medal from the Asiatic Society.
- The Tagore Research Institute gave him the title of Rabindratatvacharya, which means an expert on Rabindranath Tagore.
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Sudhir Chakraborty
