Manindra Gupta

Manindra Gupta
Died	January 31, 2018(2018-01-31) (aged 91)
Occupation	novelist
Language	Bengali
Notable awards	Rabindra Puraskar (2010) Sahitya Academy Award (2011)

Manindra Gupta (Bengali: মনীন্দ্র গুপ্ত; 24 September 1926 – 31 January 2018) was an Indian Bengali poet, essayist, novelist and painter. He received the Rabindra Puraskar from the Government of West Bengal in 2010 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2011 for his poetry collection Bane Aaj Concerto.

Early life

Manindra Gupta was born in Gaila village, Barisal District (now in Bangladesh), in undivided Bengal during British India. He lost his mother at ten months old. After his paternal grandparents' deaths in 1933, he was raised in Silchar, Barak Valley, Assam at his maternal uncle's home. He completed school education in 1941 before moving to Kolkata. He joined the British Indian Army in 1943, received engineering training, and was posted at Lahore Cantonment until his service ended in 1946. He graduated from the University of Calcutta in 1956, then worked in the West Bengal Government's Industries Department until retiring in 1984.

Literary career

Gupta began writing poetry and painting during his military service in the 1940s. His first solo poetry collection, "Nila Pathorer Akash" (Blue Stone Sky), was published in 1969, the same year he started editing the literary magazine "Parama." His distinctive style set him apart from contemporary trends. In 1970, he co-edited the anthology "Ek Batsarer Shreshtha Kabita" (Best Poems of the Year) with poet Ranjit Sinha, and he also edited the three-volume anthology "Abahaman Bangla Kabita" (Timeless Bengali Poetry)

His autobiographical trilogy Akshay Malberi (1981–2004), featuring his own illustrations, was critically acclaimed for its profound exploration of memory and identity. His 1991 essay collection Chander Opith (The Far Side of the Moon) created significant literary impact.

According to his Sahitya Akademi profile, Gupta's work is characterized by "a unique blend of visual artistry and poetic imagination" that creates "multilayered textual landscapes."

Works

Poetry

• Nila Pathorer Akash (1969)
• Moupokader Gram (1974)
• Lal Schoolbari (1978)
• Chhatrapalash Chaittye Dinsheshe (1986)
• Sharatmegh o Kashphuler Bondhu (1992)
• Kabita Samgraha (1994)
• Nomeru Mane Rudrakkho (2000)
• Tung Tang Shabdo Nishshabdo (2005)
• Shreshtha Kabita (2005)
• Bane Aaj Concerto (2009)
• Barir Kopale Chand (2014)

Essays

• Chander Opith (1991)
• Tahara Adbhut Lok (1992)
• Janamanush o Banamanush (2005)
• Gadya Samgraha (2007)
• Ulto Katha (2011)

Criticism

• Drakshapunj, Shunri o Matal (2010)

Novels

• Prem Mrityu ki Nakshatra (2005)
• Uponyas Samgraha (Collected Novels)
• Nuri Bandor (2015, ISBN 978-93-8073-241-1)

Autobiographical and biographical works

• Akshay Malberi (3 volumes: 1981, 1998, 2004)
• Rong Kankar Ramkinkar (2014)

Awards and honours

• Bishnu Dey Memorial Award (2005)
• Rabindra Puraskar (2010) for Tung Tang Shabdo Nishshabdo
• Sahitya Akademi Award (2011) for Bane Aaj Concerto

Personal life and death

Gupta married poet Debarati Mitra in 1975 after an earlier unsuccessful marriage. He died in Kolkata on 31 January 2018. His novel Nuri Bandor was translated into English as Pebblemonkey (ISBN 978-93-8366-091-9) by Arunava Sinha in 2022.