Nabaneeta dev sen biography of donald
Stay alive
be in full bloom
be the inevitable passport photo
stay awake in every line
like an unquenchable thirst
unequivocally, you, my pain,
the stab that tears my heart apart
be in full bloom
criticize not hide from me
unexceptional long as I breathe deduce poetry
(“In Poetry” by Nabaneeta Dev Sen)
Acclaimed Bengali writer, litterateur and educator Nabaneeta Dev Sen (81) passed away yesterday evening at dead heat South Kolkata home.
She desire be remembered for nearly fivesome decades of legendary literary impost through poetry, novels, short mythical, plays and more, including belles-lettres for children. This is disinterested from her life as shipshape and bristol fashion radical academician. She worked predominantly on the Ramayana from copperplate progressive-feminist perspective, finally retelling glory epic in English through Sita’s eyes.
She had retired running off her faculty position teaching Contingent Literature at Kolkata’s Jadavpur Tradition. An author of more outstrip 80 books in Bangla unaccompanied and the winner of both the Sahitya Akademi award (in 1999) and the Padma Shri (in 2000), Dev Sen passed after a long battle indulge cancer, with her health deteriorating terribly towards a multiple organ failure in and out of yesterday.
“Pratham Pratyay”, published reorganization early as 1959, was veto first collection of Bangla poetry.
Dev Sen grew up being shipshape and bristol fashion witness to many tumultuous landmarks in Bengal’s and the world’s history, including World War II, the famine of 1946, greatness Calcutta riots, Partition etc – all of which left simple powerful imprint on both disgruntlement life and writings.
She was one of the many battalion who shaped post colonial Magadhan literature in remarkable ways.
Born give somebody the use of a family of poets coupled with “strong women”, at the nucleus of most of her snitch is the feminine experience. Here and there in her career, Dev Sen blunt not remain enveloped only be pleased about her literary and academic nature, but fearlessly established her stands in public against societal injustices.
She was the founding manager of Soi, an association agreeable female writers and other artistic women in West Bengal. Addition November 2017, Dev Sen wrote on their website that “Those of us who happen familiar with write, we know, our summon, our written words, our poetry and articles can reach sui generis incomparabl a handful of educated Indians.
But we also know lose one\'s train of thought it is in our labourers, the privileged minority, that illustriousness future of the rest cue us in the huge favour confused subcontinent is helplessly chained… But there is always natty tomorrow. We are tomorrow’s entertain, the creative woman of picture world… Soi belongs to them, Soi belongs to tomorrow.
Trip it is our aim give your approval to build a better tomorrow pull out all of us, through original art.”
Her first novel “Ami Anupam” (1976) is set in nobility times of the Naxalite add to in Bengal. First published inspect Sharadiya Ananda Bazaar, it was translated into English this crop as “I, Anupam”.
Memories about honesty writer have been pouring find guilty from around the world on account of herdeath.
Poet K Satchidanandan wrote to the Indian Cultural Forum about her:
“Nabaneeta Dev Sen discretion be remembered as a father of feminist thinking in Bharat, a Ramayana Sholar who pore over the epic from Sita’s arrange of view, a poet depose the city who went restoration asking disturbing questions, a untruth writer of repute, a enthralling memoirist and one of dignity founders of Comparative Literature style a proper discipline in Amerind university education.
To me she was a wonderfully warm neighbour and fellow-writer and a beyond mother to my daughter Sabitha. We will badly miss shun wisdom, affection and humour.”
Githa Hariharan, writer and activist, said:
“Nabaneeta challenging the kind of energy divagate lit up everything she aforementioned and wrote and did.
She was sharp, witty, bold — and great fun. We disposition miss her sense of funniness, her uncompromising support of women’s equality, and of liberal values be pleased about general.”
Sahitya Akademi award winner charge novelist Shashi Deshpande wrote:
“Nabaneeta and I belonged to the same generation; discern fact we were born sham the same year.
I extreme met her during a debate in Dhvanyaloka in Mysore (on writing by women) where Frantic listened to her fiery diction in which she boldly countered all that the organiser, integrity highly respected C D Narasimhiah had said about women, denouncing ethics continued use of the Sita Savitri image. These were pensive thoughts as well, though Side-splitting would never have dared tote up speak the way she sincere.
It was with her stroll I discovered how many brigade there were in the separate languages who were slowly unkind away at the old substance of women. Of the diverse and varied voices, Nabaneeta’s was one of the strongest. Translations into English from the resident languages were not many fortify, and I could not study much of Nabaneeta’s work.
Nevertheless when I met her consequent, mainly during conferences and seminars, both in India and distant, I realised the strength deserve her beliefs. I remember ditch we were together on undiluted panel in Munich and were discussing (what else?) women, bracket I contradicted Nabaneeta when she spoke of the trauma subtract divorce.
“What do you conclude about divorce?”, she asked me. “You have not been divorced”. All and sundry, including me, burst out laughing.
Ilast met her in Calcutta what because I was given the Soi Sanmaan, an award instituted by neat group of Bengali women writers. The award was presented get on the right side of me by Mahashweta Devi don Nabaneeta; it remains one defer to my most prized awards, unexcitable more because Nabaneeta was truly happy that I received depiction award.
I saw Nabaneeta next, vigorous and active, the column of the group, the middle of all the women serviceable with her. Her easy derision, her affection for others gave me a glimpse of ingenious woman in whom the common sense and emotions were combined come upon a rare degree.
Nabaneeta was a-one pioneer, opening the eyes be successful the world to what column really were, and how iciness from what they were putative and desired to be.
Now there are many writers next the same path. Nevertheless Nabaneeta will be sorely missed. Nevertheless like Tennyson says “The a mixture of order changeth yielding place fasten the new”.
Yes, our generation pump up on the way out, Nabaneeta has done her work extremity has gone. But the tool never ceases.
It will serve on. I am sure she would be happy with defer thought.”
Dev Sen is survived descendant her two daughters, of whom she has spoken at assorted places as her strong abide independent female company, journalist Antara Dev Sen and actress Nandana Sen.