Kar, Durgadas

Kar, Durgadas (?-1871) playwright and lyricist, born in Kolkata. A physician by profession, he taught at the calcutta medical college; the RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata was named after his son.

Durgadas Kar wrote the play Svarnashrbkhal in 1855. It was staged the next year at Barisal. The play was published from Dhaka in 1863 and staged again at Barisal that year Durgadas Kar also composed lyrics, one of which was used in the play Biye Pagla Budo by dinabandhu mitra. The lyric, especially written for the play, begins with the couplet: Elo chule bene bau alta diye pay/ Nolak nake kalsi kanke jal ante jay (With dishevelled hair and nose-pin adorning her nose, the merchant's wife, with a waterpot at her hip, walks on alta-dyed feet to fetch water). Durgadas introduced bhaktirasa (the devotional sentiment) in mythical plays. He also wrote books on Ayurveda, or the Vedic science of medicine, among them, Bhisagbandhu and Bhaisajyaratnavali. [Zillur Rahman John].