Nitya Gopal Kundu (3 December 1935 – 15 September 2006) was a Bangladeshi artist, sculptor and entrepreneur. Kundu played an important role during the liberation war of Bangladesh in 1971. He founded the furniture company

Otobi Otobi is a Bangladesh-based furniture manufacturer and retailer. The company was established in 1975 by Nitun Kundu. As of 2020, Otobi was tied with Navana and Nadia for second place among Bangladeshi furniture companies, with a 5 percent marke ...

Early life

Kundu was born in Dinajpur district to his Kayastha parents Gnanendranath Kundu and Binapani Kundu. He was the fourth among seven siblings. Kundu was married to Phalguni Kundu and had a daughter Amity and a son Animesh.

Education and early career

Kundu graduated from Dhaka Art College (now the Institute of Fine Arts) in 1959. In the years leading up to 1971, he worked at the United States Information Service (USIS) in Dhaka designing exhibits and graphics.

Liberation War

During the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...

, Kundu worked with the artist Quamrul Hassan at the public relations department of the Bangladesh Government-in-Exile at Mujibnagar. In collaboration with Hassan and a group of notable artists namely Debdas Chakraborty, Nasir Biswas, Pranesh Mandal and Biren Shome; Kundu worked on numerous posters and works of art aimed at arousing the newly formed Mukti Bahini liberation army and also raising awareness of the genocide being unleashed by the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

on the people of Bangladesh. It was during this period he designed two posters which became among the most recognized works of art produced during the war. They were titled ''Sada Jagrata Banglar Mukti Bahini'' and ''Banglar Hindu, Banglar Bouddha, Banglar Christian, Banglar Musalman; Amra Sabai Bangali''. The Liberation War was the inspiration for Kundu's most famous work, the sculpture ''

Shabash Bangladesh Shabash Bangladesh (Bravo Bangladesh) () is a sculpture in Bangladesh. It is located at Rajshahi University premises. Shabash Bangladesh is another state of the art sculpture created to pay tribute to those killed in the Liberation War of Banglade ...

'', a tribute to the fallen freedom fighters of the Mukti Bahini. This is situated on the campus of

Rajshahi University The University of Rajshahi, also known as Rajshahi University or RU ( bn, রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়), is a public co-educational research university in Bangladesh situated near the northern Bangladeshi cit ...

Entrepreneur

In the 1975, following a brief stint at Bitopi advertising agency, Kundu established his own company, a furniture store featuring his own designs,

. Within a relatively short period, Otobi became the most prominent Bangladeshi furniture brand. He started the company with an initial investment of 5000 taka.

Works

Kundu crafted several national trophies including National Film Award, President Gold Cup,

Notun Kuri ''Notun Kuri'' ( bn, নতুন কুঁড়ি, lit=New Bud) is a Bangladeshi reality television competition series for child artistes created by Mustafa Monwar. The show debuted in 1966 which ran on Pakistan Television from 1966 to 1971. Af ...

Award, Asia Cricket Cup, and the Ekushey Padak. His some notables works are the following: * Sada Jagrata Banglar Muktibahini (poster) * Amra Sabai Bangali (poster) * Banglar Bir Muktijoddha (poster) *

(sculpture at University of Rajshahi) *

SAARC Fountain SAARC Fountain is a fountain in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It is situated at Kawran Bazar, at the intersection of Panthapath, Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, and Sonargaon Road, and is adjacent to the Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel. The structure was designed by ...

at Karwan Bazar, Dhaka * Fountain, Dhaka High Court, Dhaka * Sampan, Shah Amanat International Airport,

Chittagong Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...

* Kadam Fountain, National Press Club, Dhaka

Death

Kundu died of old age complications at Ibrahim Memorial Cardiac Centre in Dhaka Friday morning.

Awards and honors

* Ekushey Padak (1997) * Daily Star-DHL Best Entrepreneur Award * National Film Award * President Gold Cup * Notun Kuri Award ( Bangladesh Television)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kundu, Nitun 1935 births 2006 deaths Bengali Hindus Bangladeshi Hindus Bangladeshi sculptors Recipients of the Ekushey Padak 20th-century Bangladeshi businesspeople 20th-century sculptors 20th-century Bangladeshi painters 20th-century male artists