Alokeranjan Dasgupta (6 October 1933 – 17 November 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 w ...

poet who was the author of over 20 books of poetry. He translated

and Santal poetry and plays into English and German, and also translated literature from

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

into

. He also published a number of books of essays, and was well known for his distinctive prose style.Parabaas.com
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Education

Dasgupta was born in 1933 in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. He studied at

Visva-Bharati Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

, Santiniketan, and then at St. Xavier's College, the Presidency College, and finally at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

, gaining a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

for his studies on the lyric in Indian poetry. He used also to be associated vigorously with the little magazines and translate the original

works into

Career

After completing his

, Dasgupta taught comparative literature and Bengali at the Department of

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

(founded by

Buddhadeva Bose Buddhadeva Bose (; 1908–1974), also spelt Buddhadeb Bosu, was an Indian Bengali writer of the 20th century. Frequently referred to as a poet, he was a versatile writer who wrote novels, short stories, plays and essays in addition to poetry. ...

) at

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 fourth am ...

from 1957 until 1971, when he went to Germany on a Humboldt Foundation Fellowship. Since 1971, he taught at the faculty of the South Asia Institute of the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, Germany. He was closely associated with the Deutsche-Indische Gessellschaft (DIG), which is a premier institution for promoting close links between India and Germany. A poet much admired by his fellow poets and the wannabes, his poetry is known for both thematic and technical innovations. The

German government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

felicitated him for his contribution to bring together two different cultures together by awarding him the

Goethe Medal The Goethe Medal, also known as the Goethe-Medaille, is a yearly prize given by the Goethe-Institut honoring non-Germans "who have performed outstanding service for the German language and for international cultural relations". It is an offici ...

in 1985.

Awards

Dasgupta received many awards and honors including the Sudha Basu award from the

(1983), the Goethe Prize in Germany (1985), 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 litera ...

(1985), the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Orig ...

(1985), the

Rabindra Puraskar The Rabindra Puraskar (also Rabindra Smriti Puraskar) is the highest honorary literary award given in the Indian state of West Bengal. This award is named after the famous Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore and is administered by the Government of W ...

(1987), the

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 ...

(1992) for his book of poems ''Marami Karat'' (translated as ''The Mystical Saw and Other Poems'') and the

(2005).

Bibliography

* ''Saranarthir Ritu O Shilpa Bhabna'', Ananda Publishers, 1993. . * ''Bhramane Nay Bhubane'', Ananda Publishers. . * ''Chayapathera Sandra Samlapika'', Ananda Publishers. . * ''Ekhanao Nameni, Bandhu, Niukliyara sitera Godhuli'', Ananda Publishers. . * ''Jvarera Ghore Taraju Kempe Yaya'' * ''Samabayi silpera Garaje'' * ''Tushara Jure Trisulacihna'' * ''Problems of Translation from South Asian Languages'' (by Universitat Heidelberg, Alokeranjan Dasgupta) * ''The Lyric In Indian Poetry'' (1962) * ''The Mystical Saw and Other Poems'' (by Roland Hindmarsh, Sahitya Akademi, Alokeranjan Dasgupta) (1996) * ''Satabarshikira alochayaya'' (2000) * ''The Shadow of a Kite and Other Essays'' (2004) * ''Alo Aro Alo'' (Collection of poems) (Abhijan Publishers, 2009) * ''Se Ki Khunje Pelo Iswerkana'' (Collection of poems) (Abhijan Publishers, 2012) * ''Nirishwar Pakhider Upasonalaye'' (Collection of poems) (Abhijan Publishers, 2013) * ''Ekhon Nabhonil Amar Tahabil'' (Collection of poems) (Abhijan Publishers, 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dasgupta, Alokeranjan 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali Hindus 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Bengalis 21st-century Bengalis Bengali male poets Bengali poets Bengali writers Translators from German Translators to Bengali Translators from Bengali Indian poets Indian translators Indian male poets Indian male writers Indian male essayists 20th-century Indian translators 21st-century Indian translators 20th-century Indian writers 21st-century Indian writers 20th-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian male writers 21st-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian essayists 21st-century Indian essayists Jadavpur University faculty Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar Poets from West Bengal Visva-Bharati University alumni University of Calcutta alumni Writers from Kolkata Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman