Sunil Gangopadhyay (Bengali: 唳膏唳ㄠ唳� 唳椸唰嵿唰嬥Κ唳距Η唰嵿Ο唳距Ο唳�) was a famous Indian poet and novelist. Born in Faridpur, Bangladesh, Gangopadhyay obtained his Master's degree in Bengali from the University of Calcutta, In 1953 he started a Bengali poetry magazine Krittibas. Later he wrote for many different publications.
Ganguly created the Bengali fictional character Kakababu and wrote a series of novels on this character which became significant in Indian children's literature. He received Sahitya Academy award in 1985 for his novel Those Days (唳膏唳� 唳膏Ξ唰�). Gangopadhyay used the pen names Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.
Works: Author of well over 200 books, Sunil was a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry to be his "first love". His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.
As in poetry, Sunil was known for his unique style in prose. His first novel was Atmaprakash (唳嗋Δ唰嵿Ξ唳唳班唳距Χ) and it was also the first writing from a new comer in literature published in the prestigious magazine- Desh (1965).The novel had inspiration from ' On the road' by Jack Kerouac. His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the Indian Sahitya Academy award in 1985. Shei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two decade after its first publication. The same is true for Prothom Alo (唳唳班Ε唳� 唳嗋Σ唰�, also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Purbo-Paschim (唳唳班唳�-唳Χ唰嵿唳苦Ξ, translated as East-West) a raw depiction of the partition and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere. He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).
Sunil wrote in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays. Though he wrote all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, was Kakababu, the crippled adventurer, accompanied by his Teenager nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote over 35 novels of this wildly popular series.
Death: Sunil Gangopadhyay died at 2:05 AM on 23 October 2012 at his South Kolkata residence, following a heart attack. He was suffering from prostate cancer for some time and went to Mumbai for treatment. Gangopadhyay's body was cremated on 25 October at Keoratola crematorium, Kolkata.
Awards & Honours: He was honored with Ananda Award (1972, 1979) and Sahitya Academy Award (1984).
One of the richest Bengali novels of all time, Purba-Paschim stands on the ground of partition of Bengal, Naxallist Movement and the transforming Bengali society, love for the nation, and not the least, love for oneself.
The book is an epic in expansion, yet the reader can not, not for once, get bored as the flow is smooth and intoxicating.
One of the few books which must not be missed if you can read Bengali alphabet.
Tolstoyian in scope and ambition, this massive work captures the throbs of a nation parted in two , and the breakaway and creation of a third nation. The political , social class struggles of a long , complex geopolitical bifurcation and its myriad problems are shown through the evolution of few memorable characters across three decades. Stunning.
Sunil Ganguly wrote a history of the Bengali people in the disguise of three novels- Sei Samay, Pratham Aalo and this book. I am thankful to him. Thankful for his undertaking this.
A reminder of the history of pre-british and post-british India/Bengal. Not only it points out the critical darkness of the society but also it clearly drew a picture of efforts of all the reformers to bring it back to the light.