Nitya Gopal Kundu (3 December 1935 – 15 September 2006) was a Bangladeshi artist, sculptor and entrepreneur. Kundu played an important role during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He founded the furniture company Otobi.

Early life

Kundu was born in Dinajpur district to his Kayastha parents Gnanendranath Kundu and Binapani Kundu. He was the fourth among seven siblings. Kundu was married to Phalguni Kundu and had a daughter Amity and a son Animesh.

Education and early career

Kundu graduated from Dhaka Art College (now the Institute of Fine Arts) in 1959. In the years leading up to 1971, he worked at the

United States Information Service The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to "public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

(USIS) in

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

designing exhibits and graphics.

Liberation War

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, Kundu worked with the artist

Quamrul Hassan Quamrul Hassan (, 1921–1988) was a Bengali artist. Hassan is referred to in Bangladesh as Potua, a word usually associated with folk artists, due to his down to earth style yet very modern in nature as he always added Cubism other than the fo ...

at the public relations department of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile at

Mujibnagar Mujibnagar ( bn, মুজিবনগর), formerly known as Baidyanathtala (Boiddonathtola) and Bhoborpara, is a town in the Mujibnagar Upazila of Bangladesh. The Provisional Government of Bangladesh was formed on 10 April 1971, however, swor ...

. In collaboration with Hassan and a group of notable artists namely Debdas Chakraborty, Nasir Biswas, Pranesh Mandal and Biren Shome; Kundu worked on numerous posters and works of art aimed at arousing the newly formed

Mukti Bahini The Mukti Bahini ( bn, মুক্তিবাহিনী, translates as 'freedom fighters', or liberation army), also known as the Bangladesh Forces, was the guerrilla resistance movement consisting of the Bangladeshi military, paramilitary ...

liberation army and also raising awareness of the genocide being unleashed by the Pakistan Army on the people of Bangladesh. It was during this period he designed two posters which became among the most recognized works of art produced during the war. They were titled ''Sada Jagrata Banglar Mukti Bahini'' and ''Banglar Hindu, Banglar Bouddha, Banglar Christian, Banglar Musalman; Amra Sabai Bangali''. The Liberation War was the inspiration for Kundu's most famous work, the sculpture '' Shabash Bangladesh'', a tribute to the fallen freedom fighters of the Mukti Bahini. This is situated on the campus of Rajshahi University.

Entrepreneur

In the 1975, following a brief stint at Bitopi advertising agency, Kundu established his own company, a furniture store featuring his own designs, Otobi. Within a relatively short period, Otobi became the most prominent Bangladeshi furniture brand. He started the company with an initial investment of 5000 taka.

Works

Kundu crafted several national trophies including National Film Award, President Gold Cup, Notun Kuri Award, Asia Cricket Cup, and the Ekushey Padak. His some notables works are the following: * Sada Jagrata Banglar Muktibahini (poster) * Amra Sabai Bangali (poster) * Banglar Bir Muktijoddha (poster) * Shabash Bangladesh (sculpture at

University of Rajshahi The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...

) * SAARC Fountain at Karwan Bazar, Dhaka * Fountain,

Dhaka High Court The High Court Division, Supreme Court of Bangladesh ( bn, হাইকোর্ট ডিভিশন) popularly known as the 'High Court' is one of the two divisions of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, the other division being the Appellate D ...

, Dhaka * Sampan,

Shah Amanat International Airport Shah Amanat International Airport ( bn, শাহ আমানত আন্তর্জাতিক বিমানবন্দর ''Shah Amanôt Antôrjatik Bimanbôndôr'') is an international airport serving Bangladesh's southeastern port ...

, Chittagong * Kadam Fountain,

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

, Dhaka

Death

Kundu died of old age complications at Ibrahim Memorial Cardiac Centre in Dhaka Friday morning.

Awards and honors

Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak ( bn, একুশে পদক; lit. "Twentyfirst Award") is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of the martyrs of the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contribut ...

(1997) * Daily Star-DHL Best Entrepreneur Award * National Film Award * President Gold Cup * Notun Kuri Award (

Bangladesh Television Bangladesh Television ( bn, বাংলাদেশ টেলিভিশন), commonly known by its acronym BTV ( bn, বিটিভি), is the state-owned television network of Bangladesh. The network was originally established as the East ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kundu, Nitun 1935 births 2006 deaths Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus Bangladeshi sculptors Recipients of the Ekushey Padak 20th-century Bangladeshi businesspeople 20th-century sculptors 20th-century Bangladeshi painters 20th-century male artists