Amiya Chakravarty
Amiya Chakravarty | |
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Born | Amiya Chandra Chakravarty 10 April 1901 |
Died | 12 June 1986 Santiniketan,West Bengal,India |
Amiya Chandra Chakravarty(1901–1986) was an Indian literary critic, academic, and Bengali poet. He was a close associate ofRabindranath Tagore,and edited several books of his poetry. He was also an associate of Gandhi, and an expert on the American catholic writer and monk,Thomas Merton.Chakravarty was honoured for his own poetry with theSahitya Akademi Awardin 1963. He taught literature andcomparative religionin India for nearly a decade and then for more than two decades at universities in England and the U.S. In 1970, he was honoured by the Government of India with thePadma Bhushanaward.[1]
Education and career
[edit]He studied inHare School,Calcuttaand graduated fromSt. Columba's College, Hazaribagh,which was then underPatna University.[2]He joinedVisva-Bharati Universityin 1921 as a student. Later, he became a teacher there.[citation needed]
He was literary secretary to Rabindranath Tagore from 1924 to 1933. During this time, he was a close associate of the poet. He was Tagore's travel companion during his tours toEuropeandAmericain 1930 and toIranandIraqin 1932.[3]
He was also a close associate ofMahatma Gandhi,walking with Gandhi in theSalt Marchof 1930.[4]
Following his 1933 journey with Tagore, he left India to study atOxford University,and in 1937 earned aD.Phil.He worked at Oxford as a senior research fellow from 1937 to 1940. During this time, he also taught inSelly Oak CollegeinBirminghamas a lecturer. He moved back to India in 1940 to become a professor of English at theUniversity of Calcutta.[3]
In 1948, Chakravarty moved to the US to join the Department of English inHoward University.He was a visiting fellow in English atYale University,and a fellow of theInstitute for Advanced StudyinPrincetonduring 1950–51.[5]In 1953, he became a professor of Comparative Oriental Religions and Literature,Boston University.[6][7]He also held professorships atSmith Collegeand later theState University of New Yorkat New Paltz.[citation needed]
He wrote both poetry and prose and a number of articles in journals of India,Englandand the United States. He wrote many verse collections in Bengali, most notable among these areChalo JaiandGhare Pherar Din.[8]His poetry reflects idealism, humanism and a great love of nature and beauty.[8]He was awarded theUnesco Prizefor his book,Chalo Jai.In 1963, he received theSahitya Akademi AwardforGhare Pherar Din.He authored the bookDynasts and the Post-war Age in Poetry,which is a critical work onThomas Hardy's poetry.[2][9]
Chakravarty met with many of the notable figures of his time, including Jawaharlal Nehru,Albert Schweitzer,Boris Pasternak,Albert Einstein and Thomas Merton.[citation needed]
He visited Merton in November 1966 at theAbbey of GethsemaniinKentucky.Merton later dedicated his book,Zen and the Birds of Appetite(1968), to Chakravarty.[citation needed]
He served as a delegate to the United Nations for India[10]
Chakaravarty edited a number of English translations of Tagore's works. Most well known among these are:A Tagore Reader(1961) andThe Housewarming and other Selected Writings(1965). He was also a consulting editor forThe Asian journal of Thomas MertonbyThomas Merton.[11]
Recognition
[edit]- Padma Bhushanfrom the Govt. of India (1970)[12]
- TheDeshikottamafrom Visva-Bharati
- Sahitya Akademi Award(1963)[13]
References
[edit]- ^"Padma Awards"(PDF).Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 15 October 2015.Retrieved21 July2015.
- ^abp247, Religious Faith and World Culture, Amandus William Loos,ISBN0-8369-1976-9,from Google books result
- ^abA document from peacecouncil.netArchived6 January 2009 at theWayback Machine
- ^A speech by Richard HughesArchived3 January 2009 at theWayback Machine
- ^"entry from Institute for Advanced Study's Community of Scholars database".Archived fromthe originalon 25 November 2015.Retrieved15 January2013.
- ^Boston University Article on Theological EducationArchived21 March 2005 at theWayback Machine
- ^An introduction from a page in gospelink.com[permanent dead link]
- ^abp 510, Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Volume I, K. M. George, Sahitya Akademi,ISBN81-7201-324-8,from Google books result
- ^List of Early Criticism on Thomas Hardy's worksArchived15 May 2008 at theWayback Machine
- ^Thomas Merton(1985).The Hidden Ground of Love
- ^"ISBNDB page for Thomas Merton's books".Archived fromthe originalon 4 June 2011.Retrieved21 April2008.
- ^"Padma Awards Directory (1954–2009)"(PDF).Ministry of Home Affairs.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 May 2013.
- ^List of Sahitya Akademi Award recIpients (Bengali)Archived10 April 2008 at theWayback Machine
External links
[edit]- 1901 births
- 1986 deaths
- Bengali male poets
- Bengali-language poets
- Visva-Bharati University alumni
- Alumni of the University of Oxford
- Academic staff of the University of Calcutta
- Howard University faculty
- Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars
- Boston University faculty
- Rabindranath Tagore
- Indian literary critics
- Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education
- Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali
- 20th-century Indian poets
- Poets from West Bengal