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{{Short description|Bengali poet and novelist}}

{{Infobox writer
| name = Bibhas Roy Chowdhury
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| image = Bibhasda.jpg
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| caption = Bibhas Roy Chowdhury in 2018
| native_name =
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1968|08|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Bongaon]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
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| occupation = Poet, novelist, essayist
| language = [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
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| alma_mater = [[Gobardanga Hindu College]]
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| spouse = Kakali Roychowdhury
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| children = Mrittika Shabnam Roychowdhury
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| awards = Krittibas Award (1997), [[Bangla Academy Award]] (2013), Nirmal Acharya Gold Medal
| signature = Bengali signature of Bibhas Roy Chowdhury.jpg
| signature_alt = Bibhas Roychowdhury
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'''Bibhas Roy Chowdhury''' ({{Lang-bn|বিভাস রায়চৌধুরী}}; born 1 August 1968) is a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] poet, novelist, and essayist. He is the author of more than twenty books including five novels and numerous essays in various Bengali literary magazines. He received awards including Bangla Academy Award ([[Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi]]) in 2013,<ref>see Hirak Sangraha by Nirendranath Chakraborty, Kabi Porichiti, page-154</ref> ''Krittibas Award'' (1997), and ''Nirmal Acharya Gold Medal'' for poetry. Some of his poems have been translated into English by Dr. Kiriti Sengupta, a well-known poet and translator, and published by Inner Child Press (New Jersey, USA) in association with Hawakal Publishers (Kolkata) as ''Poem Continuous: Reincarnated Expression'' (2014).<ref name="Tourism minister, Bratya Basu Releasing the book">{{cite web|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Poem continuous:Reincarnated Expression|url=https://epaper.telegraphindia.com/paper/20-16-29@09@2015-1001.html|website=The telegraph|publisher=Inner Child Press|accessdate=30 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004174529/http://epaper.telegraphindia.com/paper/20-16-29@09@2015-1001.html|archive-date=4 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> He is also one of the chief advisers of the Bengali literary magazine, ''Kabita Ashram'', and founder member and director of a theatrical troupe named ''Banga Natya Charcha Kendra'''.''''' He now works in a publication house.

==Early life==
Roy Chowdhury was born to a refugee family on 1 August 1968 at Bihutipalli in frontier town [[Bangaon]] in the district of [[North 24 Parganas district|North 24 Pargonas]] in [[West Bengal]] in India. His parents, Shyamdulal Roy Chowdhury and Bithika Roy Chowdhury, originally belonged to [[Bangladesh]], were left destitute during the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition of Bengal]], and became full-time laborers when they settled in Bongaon, despite being an affluent family in undivided Bangladesh. Roy Chowdhury went to [[Bongaon High School]], and [[Gobardanga Hindu College]]. After completing graduation, he could not continue his higher education because of extreme proverty. Since childhood he was keenly interested in music ,drama, and poetry. He learned poetry from Usaprasanna Mukhopadyay, a teacher of Bengali literature in Gobardanga Hindu College and from the poet Subhankar Patra. Later, [[Binoy Majumdar]] was his mentor.[[File:Roy Chowdhury in North Bengal 2018.jpg|thumb|Bishas Roy Chowdhury in 2 018, North Bengal]]

==Career==

During the 1980s Roychowdhury's poems regularly appeared in several Bengali literary magazines such as ''Dainik'' ''Basumati'', ''Krittibas'', ''Kabisammelan'', and [[Desh (magazine)|''Desh'']].<ref name="Desh Magazine">{{cite web|last1=Desh|first1=Magazine|title=Desh Magazine|url=https://www.magzter.com/IN/ABP_Pvt_Ltd/Desh/Culture/|website=ABP|accessdate=26 March 2018}}</ref> His first poetry collection, ''Nasta Prajanmer Vasan'' (Song of Degraded Generation), was published in 1996 at the Kolkata book fair. He has published books of verse, including ''Udbastu Shibirer Paakhi'' (1996), ''Shimul Vasha,Palash Vasha'' (1999), ''Jibanander Meye'' (2002), ''Chandalika Gaachh'' (2006), ''Ananta Ashram'' (2015). His novel ''Ashrudana'' first appeared in Desh on 4 November 2002. His poems have been anthologized in books such as Hirak Khanda, edited by poet [[Nirendranath Chakraborty]].<ref name="anthology">{{cite book|last1=Chakraborty|first1=Nirendranath|title=Hirak Sangraha|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-93-5040-829-2|page=137|edition=first}}</ref>

==Writing style==

Roychowdhury writes from life in pithy language, in both metrical and non-metrical verse. In his poems, he often explores the highs and lows of life, the aftermath of [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition of Bengal]], the struggle of refugee-life, love for native language and the suffering of his fellow people. His recent book of verse, ''Jashor Roder Gaachh'' (Trees Either Side of [[Jessore (city)|Jessore]] Road), laments the felling of trees, pollution, and destruction due to selfishness and greed. He uses 'the speech of ordinary men' but his metaphors casts a haunting effect on the readers.<ref name="eminant Bengali poet praises Roy Chowdhury">{{cite book |last1=Goswami |first1=Joy |title=Gonsaibagan,Vol.2 |publisher=Prativas |location=Kolkata |pages=see page–193 }}</ref> He writes in all types of poetic forms, including payar, a metrical form popular in medieval Bengali literature. Earlier in his poetic journey he was influenced by the eminent Bengali poets of 1970s such as [[Joy Goswami]], Shyamal Kanti Das, Mridul Dasgupta, and Nirmal Halder.<ref name="Interview in Epilogue by Kiririti Sengupta">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Poem Continuous:Reincarnated Expression|publisher=Inner Child Press Lmt.|location=New Jersey,U.S.A|page=see -68}}</ref> [[File:At international poetry day.jpg|thumb|Roychowdhury (extreme right) at Jibananda Sabhaghar, Kolkata on International Poetry Day]] [[File:IMG 20180210 181345 HDR.jpg|thumb|Roychowdhury reading at [[Kolkata Book Fair]] 2018]]

==Critical acclaim==
Roychowdhury's works earned him wide acclaim early on. Bengali poet [[Joy Goswami]] lauded him saying "He is a poet of new empowerment", and [[Sunil Gangopadhyay]] saying "Bibhas's poems have provided much support to the livelihood and struggle. Bangladesh prosper in his poems".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=16072|title=Bibhas Roy Chowdhury's Poetic Journey Continues|last=Halder|first=Santanu|date=2014-07-11|work=Boloji|access-date=2018-06-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144750/http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=16072|archive-date=2018-06-12|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A [[Muse India]] review (Issue 58, November–December 2014) says, "Roy Chowdhuy's thematic trajectory touches the milestones of death thoughts that loom large, palpable nostalgia and essential poetic sadomasochism, all through ignited by a sense of Bengali-ness with a view to communicating with the readers about their genesis and probable destination. Roy Chowdhury does not emphasize on any monolithic poetic premise: instead his easeful tête-à-tête mood builds up a quick bond with the readers, and why not? He thinks the way the Bengalis think, he lends voice to the habitual Bengali Poetic thoughts. This rare excellence has characterized every piece of his writings that amuses poetry lovers".<ref name="Review, issue 58, Nov-Dec,2014">{{cite book|last1=Poem Continuous:Reincarnated Expression review|first1= Muse India|title= at epilogue of the book ,issue58 ,2014|publisher=Inner Child Press|location=U.S.A|isbn=978-0692529874| page= see 71–72|edition=second}}</ref>

The Fox Chase Review says, "Bibhas's voice pulsates with an undercurrent of passion... it is melancholic yet inflected with hope... pithy in words but loaded with sensitivity... it is a reflection of the loneliness of the poet's heart and its aches. To quote Kafka, "(his) pen is the seismograph of (his) heart." I realized that these poems are not for idle reading. I read them once, I read them again and then again each time sinking a little deeper into their profundity, their challenging complexity, and emerged with an 'aha' feeling. That is the beauty of these poems... they plummet you beyond the tips into their inner core and thereby into your own deeper recesses, conversing with your sense of self."<ref name="Fox Chase Review">{{cite book|title=Poem Continuous:Reincarnated Expression|last1=Roy Chowdhury|first1=Bibhas|publisher=Inner Child Press|year=|isbn=978-0692529874|location=U.S.A|page=76}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=June 2018}}

The Red Fez magazine claims (in issue 73), "There is an undercurrent of melancholy in the poems offered in this text. But buoyant optimism of the poet comes to the fore fascinatingly. Source of melancholy need not cloud spirit of hope as is evident here. Perhaps, it explains why this book is so appealing. Nowhere does rendition look jarring or monotonous.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.redfez.net/nonfiction/books-poem-continuous-bibhas-roy-chowdhury-593|title=BOOKS: Poem Continuous by Bibhas Roy Chowdhury|last=Mouli|first=T.S.Chandra|date=November 2014|work=Red Fez|access-date=2018-06-08|language=en}}</ref>

Rumpa Das, Associate Professor and head of the department of English in Maheshtala College in Kolkata writes (on Ink Sweat and Tears), "Reading Roy Chowdhury's poems that smell of his thought-ridden soul – his anguished response to the holocaust of the Partition (in Bhatiyali), his painful awareness of a poet's predicament in today's society and refusal to conform to pre-conditioned roles (in Bibhas) or his interpretation of relationships as an intimate experience such as those of water-droplets caressing the body while bathing (as in Ashram) – all these arouse us, his readers, as it possibly did Kiriti [Sengupta], to the intense thrill of a life beyond … of a life where every moment encompasses a myriad lives, some colored as dark as pain, and some as mysterious as evening rain."<ref name="Rumpa Das' Review">{{cite web |last1=Roy Chowdhury |first1=Bibhas |title=Poem continuous |url=http://www.inksweatandtears.co.uk/pages/?p=10214 |website=ink sweat and tears |publisher=IST |accessdate=27 June 2018}}</ref>[[File:Roychowdhury at seminar.jpg|thumb|Roy Chowdhury at a seminar in 2013, second from left right, beside poet [[Subodh Sarkar]] .]]

The Ethos Literary Journal says (ELJ, Issue I, 9 June 2018), "Roy Chowdhury's unique and powerful voice lingers long after it stops. It's soft, warm and soulful. He writes, like he always does, either from epiphany or from peak-experience, so his every poem becomes real and living. Bibhas Roy Chowdhury creates magic reality out of the stark realities. He is the master of the craft."<ref name="Bankim Let on Roy Chowdhury">{{cite web |last1=Bankim |first1=Let |title=Notes On Jashor Road-er Gach |url=http://ethosliterary.org/current-issue/nonfiction/jessore-road-er-gach-by-bibhas-roy-chowdhury |website=Ethos Literary Journal |publisher=ELJ |accessdate=27 June 2018}}</ref>[[File:Bibhas roy chowdhury ,award.jpg|thumb|Roy Chowdhury receiving Paschim Banga Bangla Academy Award in 2013]]

==Notable works==
===Poetry===
* '''''Nasta Prajanmer Vasan''''' (The Song of Degraded Generation), January 1996, Prativash<ref name="Prativas">{{cite web|last1=Publication|first1=Prativas|title=Nasta Prajanmer Vasan|url=https://www.justdial.com/Kolkata/Prativash-Publication-Opposite-Of-Rabindra-Bharati-Univercity/033P4800394_BZDET|website=prativas|publisher=prativas|accessdate=11 January 2018}}</ref>
* '''''Udbastu Shibirer Paakhi''''' (The Bird of Rufugee-camp), January 1998, Prativash <ref name="Udbastu Shibirer Paakhi">{{cite web|last1=roychowdhury|first1=bibhas|title=udbastu shibrire pakhi|url=https://www.justdial.com/Kolkata/Prativash-Publication-Opposite-Of-Rabindra-Bharati-Univercity/033P4800394_BZDET|website=prativas|publisher=prativas|accessdate=25 March 2018}}</ref>
* '''''Shimul Bhasha Palash Bhasha''''' (The Language of Shimul and Palash Trees), January 1999, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Shimul Vasha Palash Vasha">{{cite web|last1=publisher|first1=Ananda|title=abp|url=https://www.justdial.com/Kolkata/Ananda-Publishers-Pvt-Ltd-Near-College-Square-Raja-Ram-Mohan-Roy-Sarani/033P4800214_BZDET|website=ananda|publisher=ananda|accessdate=11 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="Shimul Bhasha, Palash Bhasha">{{cite book|last1=roychowdhuri|first1=bibhas|title=Shimul Vasha Palash vasha|date=1998|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=8172159102}}</ref>
* '''''Jibananander Meye''''' (The Daughter of Jibanananda), December 2002, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Jibanander Meye">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Jibanander Meye|date=December 2002|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=81-7756-284-3|page=64}}</ref>
* '''''Chandalikagaachh''''' (The Wild Tree), January 2006, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="81-7756-562-1">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Chandalika Ghaach|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=81-7756-562-1}}</ref>
* '''''Yakhan Brij Perocchhe Bongaon lokal''''' (While the Bongaon Local Plying Across the Bridge), January 2008, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="on Brij Perocchhe Bongaon Local">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Yakhon Brij Perocchhe Bongaon Local|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-81-7756-724-3}}</ref>
* '''''Samasta Dukhike Aaj''''' (To all the Agonizing People Today), December 2012, [[Signet Press]]<ref name="samasta dhukhike aj">{{cite book |last1=Roychowdhury |first1=Bibhas |title=samasta dukhike aj |publisher=signet |location=kolkata |isbn=978-93-5040-251-1 }}</ref>
* '''''Parajanmer Janye Swikaroktti''''' (The Confession to Next-Birth/Aterlife), January 2011, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Parajanmer Janye swikaroktti">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Parajanmer Janye swikaroktti|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-81-7756-985-8}}</ref>
* '''''Shrestha Kabita''''' (The Collected/Best Poems of Bibhas Roychowdhury), January 2013, Prativash
* '''''Poem Continuous:Reincarnated Expression''''' (Translated by Kiriti Sengupta), June 2014, Inner Child Press<ref name="tinuous:Reincarnated Expression">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Poem Continuous:Reincarnated Expression|publisher=Inner Child Press|location=U.S.A|isbn=978-0692529874|edition=Second}}</ref><ref name="abc">{{cite web|last1=Inner Child Press|first1=Lmtd.|title=abc|url=http://www.innerchildpress.com/|website=inner child press|publisher=Inner Child Press Lmtd|accessdate=26 March 2018}}</ref>
* '''''Ananta Ashram''''' (The Infinite Hermitage), January 2015, [[Signet Press]]<ref name="ananta ashram">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=ananta ashram|publisher=Signet Press|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-93-5040-514-7}}</ref>
* '''''Beejdhan Sangraha''''' (The Collection of Paddy-seeds), February 2015, Sangbed<ref name="Bijdhaan Sangraha">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Bijdhaan Sangraha|publisher=Sambed|location=Bangladesh|isbn=978-984-8892-78-7}}</ref>
* '''''Amar samanya Dau Dau''''' (A little Blaze within Me), January 2016, Aihik<ref name="Aamar Samany Dau Dau">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Aamar Samany Dau Dau|publisher=Aihik|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-81-920076-7-0}}</ref>
* '''''Jashor Roder Gaachh''''' (The Trees Alongside Jessore Road), January 2018, Chhonya Prakashani<ref name="Jashor Roder Gaachh">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Jashor Roder Gaachh|publisher=Chonya|location=kolkata|isbn=978-93-82879-74-9}}</ref>
* '''''Prem''''' (Love), January 2018, Boitarani

===Novels===
* '''''kalapatar Banshi''''' (Harmonica of Banana leaf), January 2002, Muhurta Publishers
* '''''Ashrudana''''' (The Wings of Tears), January 2007, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Ashrudana">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Ashrudana|publisher=Ananda|isbn=81-7756-661-X}}</ref>
* '''''Baishe Shraban''''' (22nd Shraban, the fourth month in Bengali year), January 2007, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Baishe Shraban">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Baishe Shraban|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-81-7756-964-3}}</ref>
* '''''Priya Ichhamati''''' (Beloved Ichhamati,the River), January 2009, [[Ananda Publishers]]<ref name="Priya Ichhamati">{{cite book|last1=Roychowdhury|first1=Bibhas|title=Priya Ichhamati|publisher=Ananda|location=Kolkata|isbn=978-81-7756-775-5|year=2009}}</ref>
* '''''Valobsar Mati''''', [[Ananda Publishers]]

==Awards and honours==
* Bangla Academy Award ([[Paschimbanga Bangla Akademi]])
* [[Krittibas]] Award
* ''Nirmal Acharya Gold Medal''
* Boi Tarani Sammanana
* Achena Yatri Ebong dwaipayan Sahity Sammanana (অচেনা যাত্রী ও দ্বৈপায়ন সাহিত্য সম্মাননা- ১৪২২)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Biswas |first1=Amit Kumar |title=বিভাস রায়চৌধুরী |url=http://authorsbongaon.blogspot.in/2015/11/blog-post_57.html |accessdate=9 June 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Bibhas Roy}}
[[Category:1968 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengali poets]]
[[Category:Bengali novelists]]
[[Category:Poets from West Bengal]]
[[Category: Writers from West Bengal]]

Bibhas Roy Chowdhury - Revision history

Delinker at 13:19, 31 July 2023