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{{short description|Bengali writer and journalist (1923-2000)}}
{{lead too short|date=November 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
'''Gour Kishore Ghosh''' (20 June 1923—15 December 2000) was a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] writer and journalist.
{{Infobox writer
| name = Gour Kishore Ghosh
| native_name = গৌর কিশোর ঘোষ
| native_name_lang = bn
| birth_date = {{birth-date|20 June 1923}}
| death_date = {{dda|15 December 2000|20 June 1923}}
| alma_mater = [[Nabadwip Bakultala High School]]
| nationality = [[British Indian]], [[India]]n
| awards = [[Magsaysay Award]]
| birth_place = Gopalpur village, [[Jessore]] district, Undivided [[Bengal]] (Now in [[Bangladesh]])
| pseudonym = Rupadarshi (রূপদর্শী)
| occupation = [[Journalism]]
}}

==Early life==
Ghosh was born in Hat Gopalpur village in the [[Jessore District|Jessore]] district in undivided [[Bengal]], (presently [[Bangladesh]]), on 20 June 1923.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-19|title=গৌরকিশোর : নিরীশ্বরবাদ বনাম ঈশ্বরের পথ (স্মৃতিচারণ)|url=https://banglalive.com/remembering-gourkishore-ghosh-on-his-birth-anniversary/|access-date=2020-07-11|website=BanglaLive|language=en-US}}</ref> He completed his schooling in [[Nabadwip]], and completed his intermediate science (I.Sc.) examinations in 1945.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Due to poverty, Ghosh could not continue his education further and had to become a professional soon after.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://o3.indiatimes.com/palashbiswas/archive/2007/02/23/3671512.aspx| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716211223/http://o3.indiatimes.com/palashbiswas/archive/2007/02/23/3671512.aspx| archive-date = 2011-07-16| title = Dipped in Death}}</ref>

He varied his professions between 1941 and 1953. Amongst others, he worked as private tutor, electrician and fitter, sailor, waiter at restaurants, trade union organiser, schoolteacher, [[talent manager|manager]] of a touring dance troupe, land customs clearing clerk, [[proof reader]] and others, until from an interim job as a border customs clerk he joined a new daily newspaper, Satyayuga<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WKLTvyEyUgAC&q=sagina+mahato+gour+ghosh&pg=PA237|title=Calcutta Conversations|first1=Lina|last1=Fruzzetti|first2=Ákos|last2=Östör|date=24 July 2003|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=9788180280092|via=Google Books}}</ref> where his distinctive writing style earned him promotion to editor of two feature sections. Thus, he settled at his chosen profession, that of a reporter / journalist.

==Journalistic and literary career==
Ghosh wrote columns in the literary weekly ''[[Desh (magazine)|Desh]]'' and in [[Calcutta]]'s largest vernacular daily, ''[[Anandabazar Patrika]]'', of which he also became [[senior editor]]. He portrayed the agony of [[West Bengal]] during the [[Naxalite]] movement from 1969 to 1971, in sharp satire, in his "News Commentary by Rupadarshi". He often wrote under his pen-name, ''Rupadarshi''.

After the [[The Emergency (India)|emergency]] was imposed upon India in 1975, Ghosh shaved his head and wrote a symbolic letter to his 13-year-old son explaining his act of "bereavement" over the loss of his freedom to write. Published in ''Kolkata'', a [[Bengali literature|Bengali]] monthly, this letter caused his arrest, was widely circulated through the underground and became a classic of protest. He was sent to jail along with another reporter [[Barun Sengupta]].<ref>The crusade and end of Indira raj by Sudhansu Kumar Ghose – 1978 – Page 19</ref> Ghosh smuggled from prison two other letters on abuses of authoritarian rule before, in his cell, he suffered a third heart attack.

Although reinstated as a senior editor of Ananda Bazar Patrika after the emergency ended and he had recovered from his illness, Ghosh started ''[[Aajkaal]]'' (This Time), in collaboration with a few associates in early 80's.

After a short stint with ''Aajkal'', he wrote for ''Anandabazar Patrika'' till the end.

His weekly satirical column was famous, as also a series of humorous stories. His mature work chose the rather neglected field of interaction between Hindu and Muslim societies.<ref name="auto1"/>

Among his lighter works, [[Brojoda]], although not as popular as [[Feluda]], [[GhanaDa]] and [[Tenida]], has left his distinct mark in the so-called ''dada-literature'' of Bengal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/OPEN-LETTERbrRemembering-dadas-of-yore/articleshow/1128983839.cms|title=OPEN LETTERRemembering dadas of yore | Kolkata News - Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref>

==Awards==
Ghosh's awards included:

# [[Ananda Purashkar]] for Literature (1970)
# Ko Joy Uk Memorial award (1976), from the South Korean Government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thesundayindian.com/sorry.html|title=Sorry!!|website=www.thesundayindian.com}}</ref>
# [[List of Magsaysay awardees#Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts|Ramon Magsaysay Award]] (1981) for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationGhoshGou.htm| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040622142204/http://rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Citation/CitationGhoshGou.htm| archive-date = 2004-06-22| title = 1981 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Journalism, Literature, and the Creative Communication Arts - Gour Kishore Ghosh}}</ref>
# [[Maharashtra]] Government Award (1981).
# [[Bankim Puraskar]] (1982).
# Hardayal Harmony Award (1993).
# [[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad]] Award (1993).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://www.pucl.org/reports/WestBengal/2001/ghosh.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160716233017/http://pucl.org/reports/WestBengal/2001/ghosh.htm |archive-date=16 July 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==List of major works==
Short story collections:
# ''Ei Kolkatay'' (1952)
# ''Mon Maney Na'' (1955)
# ''Sagina Mahato'' (1969)
# ''Poschimbongo Ek Promod Toroni, Ha ha!'' (1969)
# ''Aamra Jekhaney'' (June 1970)
# ''Prem ney''
# ''Jol Porey Pata Norey''
# ''Brojodar Goolpo Samagra''

''Sagina Mahato'', a story written by him in remembrance of a colleague of his in his political activist past, was successfully adopted into movies in Hindi ([[Sagina (film)|Sagina]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072109/|title=Sagina|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> and Bengali ([[Sagina Mahato]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316525/|title=Sagina Mahato|via=www.imdb.com}}</ref> by [[Tapan Sinha]], with the famous thespian [[Dilip Kumar]] playing the part of the protagonist Sagina Mahato in both instances.

==Personal life==
He had two daughters and a son.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} He was known for his Spartan living. His early political inspiration came from [[M. N. Roy]]'s ''Radical Humanism'', but in his later years he veered towards the ideals of [[Gandhi]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

He died on 15 December 2000.<ref name="auto"/> In 2011, a [[Kolkata Metro]] station was named after him.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.deccanherald.com/content/135697/content/212251/india-blend-good-bad-dutch.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170807193248/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/135697/content/212251/india-blend-good-bad-dutch.html| archive-date = 2017-08-07| title = Two Kolkata Metro stations to be named after journalists}} </ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{RMA winners of India}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghosh, Gour Kishore}}
[[Category:Indian political writers]]
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:2000 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian male journalists]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Indian columnists]]
[[Category:Indian newspaper editors]]
[[Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners]]
[[Category:Writers from Kolkata]]
[[Category:Indians imprisoned during the Emergency (India)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ananda Purashkar]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian journalists]]
[[Category:People from Jessore District]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]

Gour Kishore Ghosh - Revision history

->Rlink2 at 21:11, 7 January 2022