Kusumkumari Das (1875–1948) was a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

poet, writer and social activist. She is known as a poet and mother of

Jibanananda Das Jibanananda Das (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, writer, novelist and essayist in the Bengali language. Popularly called "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' ('Poet of Beautiful Bengal'), Das is the most read Bengali poet after Rab ...

, the eminent poet of modern Bengali literature and also served as the secretary of Barisal Women Society.

Biography

She was educated at Calcutta Bethune School. At the age of 19, she was married to Satyananda Das in 1894 and bore him two sons (

and Ashokananda Das) and a daughter (Sucharita Das). She inherited the habit of writing from her father, Chandranath Das. Her father used to write light verses. She published poems in several magazines, among them were ''Mukul'', ''Brahmabadi'' and ''Pravasii''. She used to keep journals regularly. But most of them could not found because they were either lost or damaged by herself. Her famous poem is "Adarsha Chele", in English, "the Exemplary Boy" or "the Ideal Boy". The first two lines of this poem gained legendary status: আমাদের দেশে হবে সেই ছেলে কবে কথায় না বড় হয়ে কাজে বড় হবে? মুখে হাসি বুকে বল, তেজে ভরা মন “মানুষ হইতে হবে” এই যার পণ !! Apart from housekeeping and writing, Kusumkumari Das had active participation in social activities. As a female member of

Brahmo Bengali Brahmos are those who adhere to Brahmoism, the philosophy of Brahmo Samaj which was founded by Raja Rammohan Roy. A recent publication describes the disproportionate influence of Brahmos on India's development post-19th Century as un ...

society, she pioneered women's participation in social activities in

Barisal Barisal ( or ; , ), officially known as Barishal, is a major city that lies on the banks of the Kirtankhola river in south-central Bangladesh. It is the largest city and the administrative headquarter of both Barisal District and Barisal Divi ...

. From 1319 to 1338 of

Bengali calendar The Bengali Calendar or Bangla Calendar (, colloquially , or , , "Bangla Year") is a solar calendar used in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. In contrast to the traditional Indian Hindu calendar, which begins with the month Chait ...

she acts as an Acharya in Women's day prayer. Even she sometimes acts as an Acharya in general assembly of Brahsomaj too. She was the secretary of Barisal Mohila Sabha (Barisal Women Society). This society worked to help poor girls, to train midwives, to found girls school, to facilitate indoor education for women etc.

Publications

*''Kavyamukul'' *''Pouranik Akhyayika'' *''Kusumkumari Daser Kabita'' *''Dainandin Dinlipi''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Kusumkumari 1875 births 1948 deaths Educators from Barisal 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali women poets Writers from Barisal Writers from Kolkata Indian women poets Indian poets 20th-century Indian poets Indian writers 20th-century Indian women writers Indian social workers Indian educators 20th-century Indian women educators 20th-century Indian educational theorists Poets from the Bengal Presidency People from Agailjhara Upazila