Hand-written letter of Rabindranath Tagore found in Bangladesh

Dhaka (IANS): A rare hand written letter by Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore has been found from a private collector in a Bangladesh village. The six-page letter was found in Patisar village under Atrai Upazila in the northern Bangladesh district of Naogaon. Over 66 years since Tagore's death, it is a major find for those interested in his memorabilia.

Naheed Sultana, custodian, Rabindranath Kachharibari Museum at Shazadpur Upazila in Sirajganj district, confirmed that Tagore addressed the letter to someone in Bolpur, now in West Bengal in India. He had set up Santiniketan, an open air university, there.

Apparently the missive was a response to a request to the poet for his photograph. The letter was dated on Bhadra 28 in the Bengali year 1317, The Daily Star said on Wednesday. "As far I know, no original handwritten letter or manuscript of Tagore is in any of the museums in Bangladesh," said Mohammad Abdul Khaleque, director general, Department of Archaeology, Bangladesh. The letter throws interesting light on Tagore's date of birth.

Tagore had pointed out in the letter that his date of birth was May 6, 1861. However, Sultana thinks he was born May 7 in the same year. She maintains that Tagore was in all likelihood born after midnight, hence the discrepancy. In response to a request for his biography, the poet said in the letter that his life history was not important. He did, however, give insights into his younger days and his conjugal life.

The letter has a complicated history: Matiur Rahman of Patisar village collected the letter from a man named Nazrul Islam. Nazrul Islam inherited it from his father Kabej Ali Mandal, who was one of the cooks working on the poet's boat. Matiur Rahman has been collecting Tagore memorabilia from several districts in the county since 2003.

The newspaper, however, complained about the poor upkeep of Tagore memorablia.

Bengali literature still has bright prospects -- Sunil Gangopadhyay

Eminent Indian poet and litterateur Sunil Gangopadhyay said that Bengali literature still has bright prospects, as the readership in West Bengal and Bangladesh is sizeable and growing.He made the remark while talking to a BSS correspondent on the concluding day of the three-day 'Sunil Mela' that ended on November 23.Sunil literature Practice and Research Centre organised the 'mela ' (fair) marking the 75th birth anniversary of the poet at his ancestral home at Purba Maijpara village under Kalkini Upazila. Sunil was accompanied by his wife Swati Gangopadhyay, elder brother Anil Gangopadhyay and daughter Konika Gangopadhyay.A total of 20 stalls displaying books written by Sunil at the fair, turned into a festival with the presence of poets, litterateurs, artistes and bookworms, among others. Other attractions of the fair included live performances of 'jari' and 'shari' songs.

A library and a healthcare centre, named after him, are being set up at Sunil's ancestral home. Sunil Gangopadhyay was born on September 7, 1934 in Faridpur. He obtained his Master's degree in Bengali from the University of Calcutta in 1954.

He was associated with the Ananda Bazar group, a major newspaper-publishing house in Kolkata, for many years. He is now the president of Sahitya Academy after serving as its vice-president for five years.

An author of more than 200 books, Sunil is widely regarded as one of the most prolific writers having excelled in different genres, but he proudly declares that poetry is his "first love."

He was the founder-editor of "Krittibas," a poetry magazine that became a platform for the new generation of poets, experimenting with many new forms in poetic themes, rhythms, and words.