Biswabrata Goswami
KRISHNAGAR, 12 SEP: On the occasion of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay’s 129th birth anniversary, the department of Bengali of Kalyani university paid their homage to Bengal’s crown jewel and one of the best exponents of modern Bengali literature, on Monday.
To commemorate his birth anniversary, Vice Chancellor, Prof Manas Kumar Sanyal garlanded the bust of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay in presence of the academic community and Bandyopadhyay aficionados. Head of the Bengali department, Prof Sanjit Mandal and other senior professors also garlanded the bust of Bandyopadhyay.
The VC, Prof Sanyal said, “The place where the Kalyani university is now situated was once named as Muratipur where Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay was born on this day in 1894. We have identified his birthplace and laid a bust statue of him.”
He also said the room of the Bengali department named after Bibhutibhushan has been modernized. “We have planned to initiate research projects on Bandyopadhyay and we will set up a Bibhutibhushan archive in the university soon. This apart, we will display cinemas made on Bandyopadhyay’s literary works by the filmmakers including Satyajit Ray,” Prof Sanyal said.
The department also arranged a discussion on the theme – ‘Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyayer Akhyaner Swarantar’. The former vice-chancellor of Gourbanga University, Prof Gopa Dutta Bhowmik, Professor of Bengali department, Burdwan University, Alok Chakraborty and Prof Sabitri Nanda Chakraborty, Bengali department of Kalyani University delivered their speeches at the discussion.
Born on 12 September 1894 in a village named Muratipur in Kalyani, Bandyopadhyay had a hard life. Although he was a bright student, he was forced to interrupt his postgraduate studies to earn a living. He took on several odd jobs, from teaching in schools to managing estates, to support his family, while keeping up his writing. By the time he died in 1950, Bandyopadhyay had left behind a rich legacy, in spite of the relatively brief 56 years he lived. More than a dozen works of fiction, hundreds of short stories, a handful of memoirs and essays: His output was diverse, eclectic, and prolific.
Tags: #BibhutibhushanBandyopadhyay #BirthAnniversary #KalyaniUniversity #BibhutibhushanArchive
