Gour Kishore Ghosh (20 June 1923 – 15 December 2000) 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 ...
writer and journalist. Associated with ''
Anandabazar Patrika
''Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million cop ...
'' for decades, Ghosh was known for his novels ''Desh Mati Manush'' and ''Prem Nei''. He was the first editor of ''
Aajkaal
''Aajkaal'' (pronounced: ) is a Bengali newspaper which is one of the principal newspapers published in Kolkata, India. It covers myriad subjects (broadly business, entertainment, politics, etc.) from Kolkata and the world, and has developed a ...
''.
Early life
Ghosh was born in Hat Gopalpur village in the
Jessore
Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...
district in undivided
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 ...
, (presently
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
), on 20 June 1923.
Due to poverty, Ghosh could not continue his education further and had to become a professional soon after.
He varied his professions between 1941 and 1953. Amongst others, he worked as private tutor, electrician and fitter, sailor, waiter at restaurants, trade union organiser, schoolteacher,
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
of a touring dance troupe, land customs clearing clerk,
proof reader
Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication.
Professional
Traditional ...
and others, until from an interim job as a border customs clerk he joined a new daily newspaper, Satyayuga
where his distinctive writing style earned him promotion to editor of two feature sections. Thus, he settled at his chosen profession, that of a reporter / journalist.
Journalistic and literary career
Ghosh wrote columns in the literary weekly ''
Desh'' and in
Calcutta
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 ...
's largest vernacular daily, ''
Anandabazar Patrika
''Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million cop ...
'', of which he also became
senior editor
A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication.
United States
In the United States, a managing edito ...
. He portrayed the agony of
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 fourt ...
during the
Naxalite movement from 1969 to 1971, in sharp satire, in his "News Commentary by Rupadarshi". He often wrote under his pen-name, ''Rupadarshi''.
After the
emergency
An emergency is an urgent, unexpected, and usually dangerous situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or environment and requires immediate action. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening ...
was imposed upon India in 1975, Ghosh shaved his head and wrote a symbolic letter to his 13-year-old son explaining his act of "bereavement" over the loss of his freedom to write. Published in ''Kolkata'', 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 ...
monthly, this letter caused his arrest, was widely circulated through the underground and became a classic of protest. He was sent to jail along with another reporter
Barun Sengupta
Barun Sengupta ( bn, বরুণ সেনগুপ্ত) (23 January 1934 – 19 June 2008), the founder-editor of ''Bartaman'' newspaper, was a Bengali journalist and popular political critic. He is remembered for his bold and simple dicti ...
. Ghosh smuggled from prison two other letters on abuses of authoritarian rule before, in his cell, he suffered a third heart attack.
Although reinstated as a senior editor of Ananda Bazar Patrika after the emergency ended and he had recovered from his illness, Ghosh started ''
Aajkaal
''Aajkaal'' (pronounced: ) is a Bengali newspaper which is one of the principal newspapers published in Kolkata, India. It covers myriad subjects (broadly business, entertainment, politics, etc.) from Kolkata and the world, and has developed a ...
'' (This Time), in collaboration with a few associates in early 1980s.
After a short stint with ''Aajkal'', he wrote for ''Anandabazar Patrika'' until the end.
His weekly satirical column was famous, as also a series of humorous stories. His mature work chose the rather neglected field of interaction between Hindu and Muslim societies.
Among his lighter works,
Brojoda, although not as popular as
Feluda
Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his ap ...
,
GhanaDa and
Tenida
Bhajahari Mukhujjee (Bengali: ভজহরি মুখার্জী), commonly known as Tenida (Bengali: টেনিদা) or Teni (see Tenida for ''da''), is a fictional native of Potoldanga in Calcutta, who appears in a number of short ...
, has left his distinct mark in the so-called ''dada-literature'' of Bengal.
Awards
Ghosh's awards include:
#
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 ...
for Literature (1970)
# Ko Joy Uk Memorial award (1976), from the South Korean Government.
#
Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealis ...
(1981) for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.
#
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
Government Award (1981).
#
Bankim Puraskar
Bankim Puraskar ( bn, বঙ্কিম পুরস্কার, Bankim Memorial Award) is the highest award given by the Government of West Bengal for contribution to Bengali fiction. The award was instituted in 1975 in memory of Bankim Chandra ...
(1982).
# Hardayal Harmony Award (1993).
#
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Abul Kalam Ghulam Muhiyuddin Ahmed bin Khairuddin Al-Hussaini Azad (; 11 November 1888 – 22 February 1958) was an Indian independence activist, Islamic theologian, writer and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Following Ind ...
Award (1993).
List of major works
Short story collections:
# ''Ei Kolkatay'' (1952)
# ''Mon Maney Na'' (1955)
# ''Sagina Mahato'' (1969)
# ''Poschimbongo Ek Promod Toroni, Ha ha!'' (1969)
# ''Aamra Jekhaney'' (June 1970)
# ''Prem ney''
# ''Jol Porey Pata Norey''
# ''Brojodar Goolpo Samagra''
''Sagina Mahato'', a story written by him in remembrance of a colleague of his in his political activist past, was successfully adopted into movies in Hindi (
Sagina
''Sagina'' (like ''Colobanthus'' called "pearlworts") is a genus of 20–30 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. These are flowering herbs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere extending south to tropical m ...
) and Bengali (
Sagina Mahato
''Sagina Mahato'' is a 1970 Bengali film. Produced by Shri J. K. Kapur and directed by Tapan Sinha, the film stars Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu. The film is based on the true story of the labour movement of 1942–43, told through with fiction ...
) by
Tapan Sinha
Tapan Sinha (2 October 1924 – 15 January 2009) was one of the most prominent Indian film directors of his time forming a legendary quartet with Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Mrinal Sen. He was primarily a Bengali filmmaker who worked both ...
, with the famous thespian
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
playing the part of the protagonist Sagina Mahato in both instances.
Personal life
He died on 15 December 2000.
In 2011, a
Kolkata Metro
The Kolkata Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Kolkata in West Bengal, India. , it has two operational lines, a line from Dakshineswar to Kavi Subhash and a line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah, for a total of . Four o ...
station was named after him.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosh, Gour Kishore
Indian political writers
1923 births
2000 deaths
Bengali Hindus
20th-century Bengalis
Indian male journalists
Bengali-language writers
Indian columnists
Indian editors
Indian newspaper editors
Indian newspaper founders
Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
Writers from Kolkata
Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)
Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar
Indian journalists
20th-century Indian journalists
People from Jessore District
Indian male short story writers
Indian short story writers
20th-century Indian short story writers
Indian writers
Indian male writers
Indian essayists
20th-century Indian writers
20th-century Indian essayists
20th-century Indian male writers
Indian male essayists
Indian newspaper journalists
Indian novelists
Indian male novelists
20th-century Indian novelists
Indian political journalists