Padyasamagra 1 by Shakti Chattopadhyay [Hardcover]

Shakti Chattopadhyay

Shakti Chattopadhyay was born on November 25, 1933, in Baharu, in the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. He lost his father early in life and was raised by his maternal grandfather in Baharu and later at his maternal uncle’s house in Baghbazar, Kolkata. His education included attending Baharu High School, Maharaja Kashimbazar School, and Presidency College; he also began, though did not complete, a program in Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University.

Shakti entered the world of literature in 1956, with the poem “Yama,” published in Kobita, a literary magazine edited by Buddhadev Bose. He was also associated with the magazine Krittibas, and his Kobita Saptahiki magazine stirred the poetry world with its originality. Over his lifetime, he published and translated over a hundred collections of poetry and prose, with additional uncollected works widely scattered in various journals and magazines.

He received several prestigious awards, including the Ananda Puraskar, the Sahitya Akademi Award, Sambalpur University’s Gangadhar Meher Award, and a posthumous Rabindra Puraskar. Professionally, he worked as a journalist for Anandabazar Patrika. While serving as a guest professor of Creative Writing at Visva-Bharati University, Shakti Chattopadhyay passed away suddenly from a heart attack in Santiniketan on March 23, 1995.