Poetry
স্মৃতি সত্তা ভবিষ্যৎ
Bishnu Dey · 1963
Synopsis
Poems written from 1955 to 1961, whose title brings together memory, being and the future. In them the poet wages a solitary struggle for human dignity, amid a crisis of uprooted identities, and speaks of his country and of those who, having suffered cruelly throughout history, have remained unconquered. Music, both classical Indian and Western, mythology and painting mingle there with a thought nourished by Marxism.
Context
The collection was published in 1963. Its author was then one of the most demanding voices in modern Bengali poetry, held to be difficult by his contemporaries: he mingled in it the Western classics, art and music with the concepts of the Indian tradition. The collection is thought to have set a new precedent in this poetry. Some of the author's poems were translated into English by himself.
Who it is for
Poems reputed to be difficult, which presuppose familiarity with the European poetry of the century as well as with Indian figures. No French translation.
Prizes and reception
Sahitya Akademi Award in 1965 and Jnanpith Award in 1971, the highest literary distinction in India.
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