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Renowned Bengali Poet Shankha Ghosh selected for Jnanpith Award

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The Jnanpith Selection Board named the eminent modern Bengali poet Shankha Ghosh for the 52nd Jnanpith Award for 2016 on December 23, 2016.His nomination was decided at a meeting of the Jnanpith selection board chaired by writer and scholar Namwar Singh.

About Shankha Ghosh

Shankha Ghosh was born 6 February 1932 in Chandpur which is now a part of Bangladesh. He is a Bengali Indian poet and critic.Renowned Bengali Poet Shankha Ghosh

  • He is regarded a leading authority on Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in addition to being one of the most prolific poet, critic and academician.
  • He has penned several poems including ‘Adim lata-gulmomay’, ‘Murkha baro, samajik nay’, ‘Kabir abhipray’, ‘Mukh dheke jay bigyapane’ and ‘Babarer prarthana’, that went on to become classic creations.
  • His unique form and feeling, particularly in ‘Dinguli Raatguli and ‘Nihita Patalchaya’, that inspired a whole generation of modern poetry.
  • His works have also been translated widely into several Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Punjabi and Malayalam, as well as into some foreign languages.
  • He has a style that is lyrical and reflective, often portraying a sense of anguish towards the superficiality of the society and existence.
  • Ghosh has also been the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Narsingh Das Puraskar, Saraswati Samman, and Rabindra Puraskar, Padma Bhushan, Sahityabrahma Award among others.
  • He had taught at many educational institutions, including Bangabasi College, City College affiliated to the University of Calcutta and at Jadavpur University, all in Kolkata.
  • He retired from Jadavpur University in 1992. He joined the Iowa Writer’s Workshop in the 1960s. He has also taught at Delhi University, the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies at Shimla, and at the Visva-Bharati University.

About Bharatiya Jnanpith Award

The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their outstanding contribution towards literature.

  • Jnanpith Award is India’s highest literary honour. Its name has been taken from Sanskrit words Jnana and Pitha which means knowledge-seat.
  • Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English.
  • The award carries cash prize of 11 lakh rupees, a citation plaque and a bronze replica of Saraswati.
  • Last year in 2015 the award was presented to Gujarati novelist, poet and critic Raghuveer Chaudhari.