Santosh Kumar Ghosh

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Santosh Kumar Ghosh
British India
Died26 February 1985(1985-02-26) (aged 64)
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Journalist, novelist
Known forShesh Namaskar (1971)
Awards (1971)
  • Bisesh Ananda Puraskar (1972)
  • HonoursD.Lit. from Taiwan Kobisangha

    Santosh Kumar Ghosh (9 September 1920 – 26 February 1985) was an Indian Bengali litterateur[1] and a journalist of repute.[2]

    Early life

    Born in

    Faridpur district of what is now in Bangladesh, Santosh Kumar had his ancestral house in Barisal
    district. Son of Suresh Chandra Ghosh and Sarajubala Devi, he passed the Matriculation examination with a first division scoring very high percentage in both Bengali and mathematics. In the year 1940 he passed B.A. examination with a distinction.

    Career as journalist

    In the year 1941 Santosh Kumar started his career as journalist in Pratyaha Daily. Later in his career he worked in

    Hindusthan Standard, the English publication of Anandabazar Patrika. He also worked for The Morning News and The Nation.[2] In 1958 Santosh Kumar returned to Kolkata as the news editor Anandabazar Patrika. In 1964 he was made the associate editor of both the publications, Anandabazar Patrika and Hindusthan Standard. Finally in 1976 he became the joint editor of Anandabazar Patrika. He attended many forums of journalists in America, Europe, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Russia and many other countries.[2]

    Literary works

    Renowned as a short story and novel writer[3] Santosh Kumar also tried his hand in other literary forms like drama, poetry and essays. Two of his plays, Ajatak (1969) and Aparthibo (1971) are worth mentioning. As for poems there is a collection named Kabitar Praye (1980). His first published poem was 'Prithibi' (Nabashakti, 1937) and first published short story was 'Bilaati Dak' (Bharatbarsha, 1937). Amongst essays are 'Rabindrachinta', 1978, 'Rabir kar', 1984. Apart from these Santosh Kumar also tried his hand in juvenile literature. 'Dupurer Dike' written by him which was published in the year 1980 was meant for such young adults.

    Photograph of Santosh Kumar Ghosh taken at ABP Office

    His first novel was Kinu Goalar Gali (published in 1950 in the magazine Desh) which immediately caught the attention of readers and contemporary writers.[3] Nana Ranger Din (1952), Momer Putul (1958) which was later named as Shudhar Shohor, Mukher Rekha (1959), Renu Tomar Mon (1959), Jol Dao (1967), Swayang Nayak (1969), Sesh Namaskar Sricharaneshu Maa Ke[4] (1971), are some of the other novels that Santosh Kumar wrote. Among his short story collections are Chinemati (1953), which has been translated later as Porcelain and Other Stories,[2] Parabat (1953), Dui Kananer Pakhi (1959), Kusumer Mash (1959), Santosh Kumar Ghosh Golpo Samagra 1st, 2nd and 3rd part (1994, 1995) etc.

    During his last days, when suffering from cancer at the Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, Santosh Kumar wrote some letters, maintained a diary and also wrote his last short story, 'Cholar Pathe' which was published collectively posthumously in 1996.

    Literary style and uniqueness

    A legendary figure of Bengali journalism, Santosh Kumar perhaps deliberately downplayed his extraordinary literary talent. He was extremely keen on exposing the evils of his time. A deeply sensitive writer, Santosh Kumar Ghosh was always sympathetic towards the oppressed people. In 'Kinu Goalar Gali' and in 'Sudhar Shahar' the degeneration of human values during the turbulent post world war 2 years are expressed poignantly. The former was translated into many major Indian languages

    . A continuous seeker of new fictional methods, he wrote 'Renu Tomar Mon' in second person point of view (which is still unique in Bengali literature) and at the same time combined poetry, essay and story in his book Mile Omile.

    Awards and recognition

    Throughout his literary career Santosh Kumar won various awards. Some of the notable ones listed below:

    • Ananda Puroshkar
      in the year 1971.
    • Bisesh Ananda in 1972.
    • The
      Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.[4]
    • Honorary D.Lit from Taiwan Kobisangha in 1984.

    References

    External links