Mohitlal Majumdar (Bengali: মোহিতলাল মজুমদার; 26 October 1888 – 26 July 1952) was a renowned Indian poet and essayist in the

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 ...

-language. He began his journey as a poet, but later became literary critic.

Life

Majumder was born in a

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste (''jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

family on 26 October 1888 in the village of

Kanchrapara Kanchrapara is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.It is also known as the mini Kolkata of West Bengal. History From early historical period, geographically, this area had been full of swa ...

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

at his maternal uncle's house(

is now in

North 24 Parganas district North 24 Parganas (abv. 24 PGS (N)) or sometimes North Twenty Four Parganas is a district in southern West Bengal, of eastern India. North 24 Parganas extends in the tropical zone from latitude 22° 11′ 6″ north to 23° 15′ 2″ north and f ...

). His native village was

Balagarh Balagarh is a village in Balagarh CD Block in Chinsurah subdivision of Hooghly district in the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Balagarh is located at . The Balagarh CD Block is mostly part of the Hooghly Flats, one of the thre ...

Hooghly District Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsura (''C ...

of present-day

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 ...

. He graduated in arts in 1908 from Ripon College (now

Surendranath College Surendranath College is an undergraduate college affiliated to the University of Calcutta, in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1884 by the nationalist leader and scholar Surendranath Banerjee. The Women's section of the college was founded ...

), Kolkata. He began his career as a teacher at Calcutta High School in 1908 and continued in this profession until 1928. He also worked briefly as a kanungo (1914-1917) in the Settlement Department. He joined

University of Dhaka The University of Dhaka (also known as Dhaka University, or DU) is a public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is the oldest university in Bangladesh. The university opened its doors to students on July 1st 1921. Currently i ...

, now in

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 ...

as a lecturer in the Bengali and Sanskrit Department in 1928 and retired from there in 1944. His present house is in a state of ruin at Chongarbon.

Writing career

Mohitlal Majumder made his literary debut through the journal "Manasi".Mohitlal Majumder biography
(in Bengali) ''sobbanglay.com''. Retrieved 2 October 2021 Later, he contributed regularly to journals such as the Bharati and

Shanibarer Chithi ''Shanibarer Chithi'' (meaning ''the Saturday Letter'' in English) was a monthly Bengali literary magazine published by Shaniranjan Press in Kolkata, India. It was founded in 1929 by Ashok Chattopadhyay as the conservative response to the progres ...

. His early poems, written in pleasing rhythms, reflect the aspirations and sorrows of a dreaming youth. Acquainted with Arabic and Persian, he used Arabic and Persian words in his poems. In pre-Nazrul era, he was the user of Arabic and Persian words. His poems are inspired by both aestheticism and spiritualism. Mohitlal early poems reveal the influence of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, but later, as a member of the

group, he distanced himself from the older poet. As a literary critic, Mohitlal attempted to set standards and reveal the problems of art and literature. His psychological and poet-like approach greatly elevated the status of criticism. In writing critiques he used a number of pseudonyms such as Krittivas Ojha, Sabyasachi and Sri Satyasundar Das. Swapan Pasari (1921), Smargaral (1936), Adhunik Bangla Sahitya (1936), Bangla Kavitar Chhanda (1945), Kavi Shri Madhusudan (1947), Sahitya Bichar (1947), Bangla O Bangali (1951), and Kavi Rabindra O Rabindrakavya (1st Vol. 1952, 2nd Vol. 1953).

Poetry

*Swapan Pasari ushpo jibon(1921) *Bishorini *Smar Garal (1936) *Hemanta Godhuli *Robi pradakshin *Milanotkantha

Essays

*Adhunik Bangla Sahitya (1936) *Kobi Sri Madhusudan (1947) *Sahitya Bichar (1947) *Sahitya katha (1938) *Bichitra katha (1941)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Majumdar, Mohitlal 1888 births 1952 deaths Bengali writers Bengali-language writers Bengali poets 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali-language poets Bengali Hindus 20th-century Bengalis Surendranath College alumni University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Indian poets Indian poets Indian essayists Indian literary critics West Bengal academics Indian male writers Indian male essayists Bengali male poets Indian male poets Poets from West Bengal 20th-century Indian male writers Writers from Kolkata People from North 24 Parganas district