Sunil Gangopadhyay

He was born in Faridpur into a Bengali Hindu family in what is now Bangladesh. He came to live in Kolkata from his ancestral town at an early age. Later, his ancestral town fell within East Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947. He studied at the Surendranath College, Dum Dum Motijheel College, City College, Kolkata – all affiliated with the University of Calcutta. Thereafter, he obtained his master's degree in Bengali from the University of Calcutta in 1954.[2]

He married Swati Banerjee on 26 February 1967. Their only son, Souvik, who stays in Boston, was born on 20 November 1967.[2]

Gangopadhyay in 2006

Author of well over 200 books,[1] Sunil was a prolific writer who has excelled in different genres but declares poetry to be his "first love".[7] His Nikhilesh and Neera series of poems (some of which have been translated as For You, Neera and Murmur in the Woods) have been extremely popular.

As in poetry, Sunil was known for his unique style in prose. His second novel was Atmaprakash and it was also the first writing from a newcomer in literature published in the prestigious magazine- Desh (1965).[10] It was critically acclaimed but some controversy arose for its aggressive and 'obscene' style. Sunil said that he was afraid of this novel and went away from Calcutta for a few days. Satyajit Ray thought to make a film on it but it wasn't possible for reasons. The central character of 'Atmaprakash' is a young man of core-calcutta'- Sunil, who leads a bohemian life-style. The novel had inspiration from ' On the road' by Jack Kerouac, the beat generation writer. His historical fiction Sei Somoy (translated into English by Aruna Chakravorty as Those Days) received the Indian Sahitya Akademi award in 1985. Sei Somoy continues to be a best seller more than two-decade after its first publication. The same is true for Prothom Alo (also translated recently by Aruna Chakravorty as First Light), another best selling historical fiction and Poorba-Pashchim, a raw depiction of the partition and its aftermath seen through the eyes of three generations of Bengalis in West Bengal, Bangladesh and elsewhere. He is also the winner of the Bankim Puraskar (1982), and the Ananda Puraskar (twice, in 1972 and 1989).

Sunil Gangopadhyay giving autographs to his fans in Kolkata Book Fair 2010

Sunil wrote in many other genres including travelogues, children's fiction, short stories, features, and essays. Among his pen-names are: Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Nil Upadhyay.[1]

Though he wrote all types of children's fiction, one character created by him that stands out above the rest, was Kakababu, the crippled adventurist, accompanied by his young adult nephew Santu, and his friend Jojo. Since 1974, Sunil Gangopadhyay wrote over 35 novels of this popular series, most of which appeared in Anandamela magazine.

Sunil Gangopadhyay died at 2:05 am on 23 October 2012 at his South Kolkata residence, following a heart attack.[1][13][14] He was suffering from prostate cancer for some time[15] and went to Mumbai for treatment. He returned to Kolkata on the day of Mahalaya.[16] Although he was a communist and an atheist. Controversially, Gangopadhyay's body was cremated following Hindu custom on 25 October at Keoratola crematorium with several dignitaries and numerous fans paying their last tributes. Ganguly was not a Hindu or Muslim but a committed atheist.[17]

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee condoled the death of Gangopadhyay saying–[14]

Gangopadhyay had enriched Bengali literature through his unique style. He was one of the best intellectuals among his contemporaries. The vacuum created by his death cannot be filled

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal, who was closely associated with the writer since 1964, said that Bengali literature would remain indebted to him.[18]

• In 1970 Satyajit Ray's film Pratidwandi released which was based on Gangopadhyay's novel. In the novel Gangopadhyay depicted how a poor nurse used to entertain men for some moolah. This arose controversy and nurses across the city of Kolkata protested against such depiction.[19]
• In 2006 novel Ardhek Jibon, he expressed his carnal desire for Hindu goddess Saraswati created some controversies. A retired IPS officer lodged a case against Gangopadhyay in the Calcutta High Court. Against this controversy Gangpadhyay felt– he had no freedom to express what he felt. Another Bengali writer Buddhadeb Guha found this a cheap gimmick and he told– "I don't support such cheap gimmicks. An author should set an example for the younger generations. If an author thinks it's cool to say that he loves to booze and enjoys going to Sonagachhi, then this only speaks poorly of him."[19]
• In September 2012 Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen accused Sunil Gangopadhyay of sexually harassing her and other women. She also alleged that Gangopadhyay was involved in banning her novel Dwikhandito and her "banishment" from West Bengal.[20][21]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sunil Gangopadhyay.

• Official website
• Works by or about Sunil Gangopadhyay at Internet Archive
• Sunil Gangopadhyay at IMDb
• Sunil Gangopadhyay at Penguin India
• Sunil Gangopadhyay at the Munzinger-Archiv
• Sunil Gangopadhyay at Poetry International
• Sunil Gangopadhyay at The South Asian Literary Recordings Project, Library of Congress; New Delhi Office, India