Bishnu Dey (; 18 July 1909 – 3 December 1982) was a Bengali poet, writer and academician in the era of modernism, post-modernism, who hailed from Pantihal village. Starting off as a symbologist, he won recognition for the musical quality of his poems, and forms the post-Tagore generation of Bengali poets, like Buddhadeb Basu and Samar Sen, which marked the advent of "New Poetry" in Bengali literature, deeply influenced by Marxist ideology. He published a magazine wherein he encouraged socially conscious writing. His own work reveals a poet's solitary struggle, quest for human dignity, amidst a crisis of uprooted identity. Through his literary career, he taught English literature at various institutes with various capacities such as lecturer at Krishnagar College (1934–40) and Surendranath College (1940–44), Reader at Presidency University (1944–1947), Professor at Maulana Azad College (1947–1969). also remained a member of a young group of poets, centered on the Kallol (Commotion) magazine.
His most important work, Smriti Satta Bhabishyat (Memory, being, the Future) (1955–61), set a new precedent in Bengali poetry. It later won him the 1965 Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali as well as the highest literary award of India, Jnanpith Award, in 1971.
Biography
Bishnu Dey was born in 1909 in the area of College Square in Calcutta. His poetic skills flourished in the stagnating time after WW1. He came from a well-educated, affluent family and his father was an attorney, from Pantihal village. He was allowed to buy as many books as he wanted making him a prolific reader.
In 1930, he started studying at St. Pauls College and a new phase of his life began. His professors influenced him in powerful ways exposing him to Western Classical Music. It was the key to his poetic form and content. His son Jishnu Dey fondly remembers their time in Rikhia where they would take his hand winding gramophone with his 78 RPM records of Bach, Beethoven and Mozart.
Rikhia, Jharkhand - the land of the ancient Santhal Praganas - was a special place for Bishnu Dey where he tried his hand at landscape painting. As a poet, beauty was the inexhaustible truth - and composing, a river for Bishnu Dey.
A new revelation came to his life as he read TS Eliot's poems that revolved around the crisis of capitalist culture in Europe after WW1. In the 1930s, BD came out of Rabindranath's shadow, towards progressive poetry writing along with other Bengali poets. But he didn't pride himself against Rabindranath as he understood the importance of traditions in a progressive world of poetry writers.
In the 1930s, Rabindranath carved out a niche for himself, as he began painting, which revealed his inner soul. His exhibition of paintings created a stir in Paris in 1931. Shudhindranath Dutta published a journal 'Purichoy' and Bishnu Dey associated with it. He was greatly influenced by Jamini Roy at this point. His first book of poems came out in 1933 for which he received letters of appreciation from RT.
From 1932 to 1934, he pursued his Post Graduation at Calcutta University where his musical tastes were greatly influenced by Jyotinindra Moitro. He married his classmate Pronoti Roy Choudhury on Dec 2, 1934.
In 1935 he joined Rippon College as a professor of literature where began 'Kobita', a quarterly magazine. The same year his first daughter Ruchira was born. In 1937, he came out with his second book of poems titled 'Chorabali'. In 1938, his second daughter Uttara was born.
In 1939, World War II commenced and Bishnu Dey was inspired by world history. His roots in Marxism strengthened; it was his own interpretation of Marxism in art and literature. On June 22, 1941, 'Friends of Soviet Committee' was formed and Dey joined it.
On August 7, 1941, Rabindranath Tagore died. That coincided with Bishnu Dey's third book of poems 'Burbolekho'. Jamini Roy illustrated the cover. The poems were dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore. Bishnu Dey's bond with Marxism reoriented the understanding of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, at the same time Jamini Roy had come into his life in a very big way.
The modernity of Bengali poets in the 1930s distanced themselves from Rabindranath's poetry and came under the influence of contemporary western poetry, advances in science and philosophy.