Satyendranath Dutta

Satyendranath Dutta (also spelt as Satyendranath Datta or Satyendra Nath Dutta) ( _bn. সত্যেন্দ্রনাথ দত্ত) (1882-1922), a Bengali poet, is considered the wizard of rhymes (or ছন্দের যাদুকর - "chhonder jadukar" in Bengali). Satyendranath Dutta was an expert in many disciplines of intellectual enquiry including medieval Indian history, culture, and mythology.

His Life

He was the son of Rajaninath Dutta, who was a trader. He was born at Chupi in Bardhaman on February 11, 1882. His grandfather, Akshay Kumar Datta, was a great thinker, Brahmo social reformer and writer who was the guiding spirit of the Tattwabodhini Patrika. After passing the school leaving examination from the Central Collegiate School, he received his graduate level education from the General Assembly’s Institution in Kolkata. Although he left (what is now) Scottish Church College without taking a degree, his training there helped him immensely for the future. After unsuccessfully to join the ranks of his father in their family business, he quit that to devote his energies entirely to scholarly pursuits.

He composed poems and initially composed poems for the Bengali magazine "Bharati". Although his stylistic nuances during this stage reflect the influence of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Akshay Kumar Boral, and Debendranath Sen, his later poetry illustrates a greater resonance with the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore. Nevertheless, he maintained his distinctive poetic style. He was well known for his material skill, and devised several metres while keeping intact the sound system and phraseology of Bangla. This is why he was known as 'the magician of metrics' or 'the king of metres'. His famous essay, "Chhanda-Sarasvati", on metrics, was published in the Baishakhi issue of the "Bharati" magazine in 1918. He was the first poet to compose poems using words from Persian and Arabic and thus expanded the versatility of the Bengali language. Being a polyglot, he translated poems from Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, English and French, thus giving Bengali readers a taste of foreign poetry and metric nuances. He tried to bridge the gap between Bengali literature and world literatures. The main thematic refrains of his poetry are patriotism, humanism, tradition, worship of power, among others. He also wrote poems on the depressed classes or Dalits, such as the sweeper community.

Satyendranath Dutta wrote under several pseudonyms: "Nabakumar", "Kaviratna", "Ashitipar Sharma", "Tribikram Varman", "Kalamgir" etc.

He passed away on June 25, 1922. Rabindranath has immortalized Satyendranath in a poem written after his death.

His works

Books of Poems

* "Sabita"(The Sun, 1900)
* "Sandhiksan" (The Opportune Moment, 1905)
* "Benu O Bina" (1906)
* "Hom Shikha" (The Blaze of the Yagya, 1907)
* "Fuler Fasal" (The Harvest of Flowers, 1911)
* "Kuha O Keka" (1912)
* "Tulir Likhon" (Written with a Brush, 1914)
* "Abhra-Avir" (1916)
* "Hasantika" (1919)
* "Bela Sheser Gan" (Song at Dusk, 1923)
* "Biday-Arati" (Farewell Hymn, 1924)
* "Kavyasanchayan" (Collected Poems, 1930)
* "Shishu-Kavita" (Children's Poetry, 1945)

Translations

* "Tirtharenu" (1910)
* "Tirtha-Salil" (1918)
* "Mani Manjusa" (1915)

Other works

* "Janmaduhkhi" (Destined to be sad from Birth - novel, 1912)
* "Chiner Dhup" (Chinese incense - essays, 1912)
* "Rangamalli" (play, 1913)

References

*"Banglapedia article"
*"Bangla Sahitya" (Bengali Literature), the national text book of intermediate level of Bangladesh published in 1996 by all educational boards.
*"Dakhil Bangla Sahitya"
*"Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan" (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose

External links

* [http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/D_0322.htm Banglapedia article]