Purnendu Patri (sometimes Anglicised as Purnendu Pattrea) (2February 193119 March 1997) was an Indian poet, writer, editor, artist, illustrator, and film director. He was best known for his poems and stories, particularly for his poetry collection ''Kathopokathan'' in

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 ...

, and for his experimentation with book cover design. He also was a researcher of the history of

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 ...

Career

Pattrea was admitted to Indian Art College in 1949. He started contributing his painting and writing to the film magazine "Chitrita", and the cultural magazine "Deepali", which were edited and co-edited respectively by his uncle Nikunjabihari Pattrea. His first collection of poems, ''Ek Mutho Rod'' ("a Handful of Sun"), was published in 1951. In 1958, his first novel, ''Dnarer Moyna'' ("Caged

Myna The myna (; also spelled mynah) is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to southern Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Several species have been introduced to areas like ...

"), won him the then prestigious award 'Manik Smriti Purashkar' by Ultarath Publication. He was the first art director of the Ananda Bazar Patrika group of publications, from 1971 to 1984/85. Pattrea was the director and screenwriter for the 1972 film ''

Strir Patra ''Strir Patra'' (also ''Streer Patra''; English: ''A Wife's Letter'') is a 1972 Bengali film, directed by Purnendu Patri, based on a short story by Rabindranath Tagore, and with Madhabi Mukherjee playing the lead role. Tagore's story, first pub ...

''. This was awarded the

Rajat Kamal The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

(Silver Lotus) for Best Feature Film in Bengali, at the

20th National Film Awards The 20th National Film Awards, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1972. With this year, new award category is introduced for the feature films made in Meit ...

. The film also received the Award for Best Direction at the Tashkent Film Festival. His other films included Swapnoniye, Malancha, Chhenra Tamsuk, Chhotobakulpurer jatri etc. His first solo painting exhibition was held in British Council, Kolkata in 1982. He also had his other solo exhibitions held in Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay and Cema Art Gallery, Kolkata. He started a research project on

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (also Chattopadhayay) CIE (26 or 27 June 1838 – 8 April 1894) was an Indian novelist, poet, Essayist and journalist.Staff writer"Bankim Chandra: The First Prominent Bengali Novelist" ''The Daily Star'', 30 June 2011 ...

, 'Bankim Jug' (The Era of Bankim); unfortunately only the first of five planned volumes was published before his death.

Filmography

*''

'' (1972) *''Swapnoniye'' (1966) *''Malancha'' *''

Chhera Tamsuk ''Chhera Tamsuk'' is a Bengali drama film directed by Purnendu Pattrea based on a novel of Bengali writer Samaresh Basu. This film was released on 1 January 1974. Plot Cast * Ranjit Mallick * Sumitra Mukherjee * Biplab Chatterjee * Nimu Bhow ...

'' (1974) *''Chhotobakulpurer Jatri''

References

External links

* 1931 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Bengali poets 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian male writers Bengali film directors Bengali male poets Film directors from West Bengal Indian male poets People from Howrah district Writers from West Bengal {{India-writer-stub