Sudhir Chakravarti (19 September 1934 – 15 December 2020) 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 ...

educationist and essayist. He made a vast contribution in Bengal's

folk culture Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from ...

development and research. Chakravarti had completely changed the style of colonial prose with his new narrative style. He,successfully had replaced the prevailing idea of essay based writing being something of heavy scholarly matter, with his graceful and humorous prose language.

Early life and career

Sudhir Chakravarti or Sudhir Prasad Chakravarti was born on 19 September 1934 at Shibpur. His father's name was Ramaprasad Chakravarti and his mother Beenapani Chakravarti. He was the youngest of the nine sons of Ramaprasad. Due to the fear of the Japanese bombardings in Kolkata, Chakravarti's father had shifted to Dignagar,

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...

, (where they had ancestral lands as Zamindars) from

Shibpur Shibpur or Sibpur is a neighbourhood in Howrah city of Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). It is well known for being the location of the ...

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is t ...

in his childhood. After that his family came to

Krishnanagar, Nadia Krishnanagar (; also spelled Krishnagar) is a city and a municipality. in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Nadia district. History Krishnanagar municipality was established in 1864 and is one of the oldest municipal ...

. Chakravarti completed his studies in Calcutta University. Chakravarti is known for his research works on

Folk religion In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized r ...

Lalan Fakir Lalon ( bn, লালন; 14 October 1772 – 17 October 1890), also known as Lalon Shah, Lalon Fakir, Shahji and titled Fakir, Shah, was a prominent Bengali spiritual leader, philosopher, mystic poet and social reformer. Regarded as an icon of ...

and Cultural Anthropology in

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. He spent 30 years researching the folk culture by traveling to different villages all over the

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the four ...

. He was a professor of

Bengali literature Bengali literature ( bn, বাংলা সাহিত্য, Bangla Sahityô) denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time ...

since 1958 to 1994, but even after retirement kept on teaching until 2011. Chakravarti worked in

Krishnagar Government College Krishnagar Government College, established in 1846, is the oldest college in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It offers undergraduate courses in arts and sciences and also some postgraduate courses. At first, the college was u ...

, guest lecturer of

Jadavpur University Jadavpur University is a public state university located in Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was established in 1905 as ''Bengal Technical Institute'' and was converted into Jadavpur University in 1955. In 2022, it was ranked four ...

and was also associated with the Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata. He wrote and edited more than 85 books on various subjects like music, art, folk-religion, cultural anthropology. He was the editor of Bengali literary Magazine ''Dhrubapada''. He died on 15 December 2020 in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Literary career

From

Rabindranath Ravindranath or Rabindranath is an Indian name and may refer to the following: * Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), Bengali poet * Rabindranath Bhattacharjee, Indian politician * Rabindranath Maharaj (born 1955), Trinidad-born Canadian author * ...

, from

Baul The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls c ...

culture to clay modellers, modelling and painters and painting of rural Bengal, everything had become the subject of his interest and research. Besides research and writing, he has also being a prolific editor, his 'Dhruvapada' journal, which had 12 issues had created a sensation in the Bengali literary society. His contribution to the study of Bengali folk culture is immense. His pen had authored immense detailed work on the sub-religions and cult of Kartabhaja, Balahari, Sahebdhani, their belief community and their songs, which were never paid much attention to by the intellectuals. It is to be noted that after William Hunter and Akshoy Kumar Dutta in the 18th Century, few have paid attention to work on these sects. His book 'Bratya Lokayat Lalon' is considered as a milestone in the practice of Lalan Fakir. He had collected songs of different communities in remote villages of Bengal by rigorous fieldwork, which makes him different from other researchers . He has recorded his research experience in folklore in the book 'Gabhir Nirjan Pathe'(Along deep lonely alleys) '. He won the

Ananda Award The Ananda Puraskar () is an award for Bengali literature awarded annually by the ABP Group to writers using Bengali, usually from West Bengal, India. History The award can be traced to a comment by Annada Shankar Ray ruing the absence of lite ...

in 2002 for his book 'Baul Fakir Kotha', and received

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for the same in 2004. He has also written books on

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Li ...

and Music of Modern Bengal like 'Nirjan Ekaker Gaan: Rabindra Sangeet', 'Rabikarrekha', 'Elem Natun Deshe', 'Ganer Leela Sei Kinare', Preme Prana Gane '.Chakravarti in his time had stood to be one of the leading figure in Tagore study and Bengali Music. He was among the first man to embrace

Suman Chattopadhyay Kabir Suman (born Suman Chattopadhyay; 16 March 1949) is an Indian music director, songwriter, singer, composer, politician, and former journalist.

's new genre of Bengali Music. He had academically brought this new genre to the Bengali readers, this gave birth to Suman Chattopadhyay's book 'Sumaner Gaan Sumaner Bhasha. His famous column in ' Aajkal' on Music has discussed a varied range of music from the music of Rabindranath, Atulprasad, Iqbal to Shreya Ghosal, A. R Rahaman, all has been captured Chakravarti's range of work.

Works

1. Sahebdhani Sampraday O tader gaan (সাহেবধনী সম্প্রদায় তাদের গান), 1985 2. Ganer Lilar Sei Kinare (গানের লীলার সেই কিনারে), 1985 3. Krishnagarer Mritshilpo o Mritshilpi Samaj (কৃষ্ণনগরের মৃৎশিল্প ও মৃৎশিল্পী সমাজ), 1985 4. Balahari Sampraday o Tader Gaan (বলাহাড়ি সম্প্রদায় আর তাদের গান), 1986 5. Gabhir Nirjan Pathe (গভীর নির্জন পথে),1989 6. Dwijendralal Smaran Bismaran (দ্বিজেন্দ্রলাল রায় স্মরণ বিস্মরণ), 1989 7. Bangla Ganer Sandhane (বাংলা গানের সন্ধানে), 1990 8. Sadar -Mafaswal (সদর-মফস্বল), 1990 9. Agradwiper Gopinath (অগ্রদ্বীপের গোপীনাথ), 1992 10. Nirjan Ekaker Gaan Rabindrasangeet (নির্জন এককের গান রবীন্দ্র সংগীত),1992 11. Bangla Ganer char diganta (বাংলা গানের চার দিগন্ত), 1992 12. Bratya Lokayata Lalan (ব্রাত্য লোকায়ত লালন),1992 13. Chalchitrer Chitralekha (চালচিত্রের চিত্রলেখা), 1993 14. Bangla Filmer Gaan O Satyajit Ray (বাংলা ফিল্মের গান ও সত্যজিৎ রায়),1994 15. Nirbas (নির্বাস), 1995 16. Panchagramer Karacha (পঞ্চগ্রামের কড়চা), 1995 17. Paschimbanger Mela o Mohotsav (পশ্চিমবঙ্গের মেলা ও মহোৎসব), 1996 18.Debabrata Biswaser Gaan(দেবব্রত বিশ্বাসের গান), 1997 19. Lalan (লালন), 1998 20. Mati-Prithibir Tane (মাটি-পৃথিবীর টানে), 1999 21. Baul Fakir Katha (বাউল ফকির কথা),2001 22. Bangla Ganer Alokporbo (বাংলা গানের আলোকপর্ব),2001 23. Gane Gane Gaoya (গানে গানে গাওয়া),2003 24. Banglar Gounadharma : Sahebdhani O Bolahari (বাংলার গৌণধর্ম সাহেবধনী ও বলাহাড়ি), 2003 25. Rupe Barne Chande (রূপে বর্ণে ছন্দে),2003 26. Lekha Pora Kore Je (লেখা পড়া করে যে), 2003 27.Utsabe, Melay Itihase (উৎসবে মেলায় ইতিহাসে), 2004 28. Ghanaran Bahirana (ঘরানা বাহিরানা),2006 29. Kabitar Vichitra Pathe (কবিতার বিচিত্রপথে), 2006 30. Gaan Hote Gaane (গান হতে গানে),2008 31. Lokayoter Antarmohol (লোকায়তের অন্তরমহল), 2008 32. Shamuk Jhinuk (শামুক ঝিনুক), 2009 33. Akhyaner Khoje (আখ্যানের খোঁজে),2009 34. Loksomaj O Lokchitra (লোকসমাজ ও লোকচিত্র), 2009 35. Rabindranath Anekanta (রবীন্দ্রনাথ অনেকান্ত), 2010 36.Nirjansajane (নির্জনসজনে), 2011 37. Alaldost Sevakamalini lalan (আলালদোস্ত সেবাকমলিনী লালন),2011 38.Manini Rupmati Kubir Gosai (মানিনী রূপমতী কুবির গোঁসাই), 2012 39. Kabitar Khonje (কবিতার খোঁজে),2012 40. Dekha na Dekhaye Mesha (দেখা না দেখায় মেশা),2012 41. Sudhir Chakravarti Rachanavali -1 (সুধীর চক্রবর্তী রচনাবলি-প্রথম খণ্ড),2012 42. Sudhir Chakravarti Rachanavali -2 (সুধীর চক্রবর্তী রচনাবলি- দ্বিতীয় খণ্ড),2013 43. Chorano Ei Jibon (ছড়ানো এই জীবন),2013 44. Bhadrajaner Drishtite Lalan Fakir (ভদ্রজনের দৃষ্টিতে লালন ফকির), 2013 45. Sahityer Lokayata Path (সাহিত্যের লোকায়ত পাঠ), 2013 46. Anek Diner Anek Katha (অনেক দিনের অনেক কথা), 2013 47. Abataler Rupabali Abataler Padabali (অবতলের রূপাবলি, অবতলের পদাবলি), 2013

Awards

Chakravarti received the

Ananda Purashkar The Ananda Puraskar () is an award for Bengali literature awarded annually by the ABP Group to writers using Bengali, usually from West Bengal, India. History The award can be traced to a comment by Annada Shankar Ray ruing the absence of liter ...

in 2002 for his book ''Baul Fakir Katha'' and the

2004. He got the awards of Eminent Teacher from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

in 2006, Narasimha Das award Medal from

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

and the Dr. Sukumar Sen Gold Medal from the

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

. He has also been awarded by the Tagore research Institute the title of ''Rabindratatvacharya''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chakraborty, Sudhir 1934 births 2020 deaths Indian folklorists Bengali writers Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Bengali historians Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali University of Calcutta alumni University of Calcutta faculty People from Nadia district Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar Writers from Kolkata Indian writers Indian male writers 20th-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian male writers Indian lecturers Indian musicologists Indian scholars 20th-century Indian scholars 21st-century Indian scholars Indian essayists Indian male essayists 20th-century Indian essayists 21st-century Indian essayists Educationists from India Indian non-fiction writers Indian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers Indian educators 20th-century Indian educators 21st-century Indian educators Educators from West Bengal