Bandyopadhyay, Karunanidhan

Bandyopadhyay, Karunanidhan (1877-1955) poet and patriot, was born on 19 November 1877 in Shantipur of the Nadia district. His father, Nrisingha Bandyopadhyay, was a school teacher.

Karunanidhan passed the Entrance examination in 1896 from Shantipur Municipal School and FA from Calcutta Metropolitan Institution in 1899. He studied for the BA at General Assembly's School, Kolkata, but failed to pass the examination. He then took to teaching. He taught at a number of schools: the Shantipur Municipal School, Gaibandha High School, Calcutta Sri Krishna Pathshala, Hughli Government Branch School and Uttarpara Government High School.

  Karunanidhan began writing while still a student. He wrote mainly patriotic poems, some of which were published in Bangamangal (1901). They were published anonymously to avoid political hassle. His other works include Prasadi (1904), Jharaphul (1911), Shantijal (1913), Dhandurva (1921), Shatanari (1930), Rabindra Arati (1947), Gitaranjan (1951), Gitayan (1959), etc. Karunanidhan Bandyopadhyay

Karunanidhan was influenced by rabindranath tagore. The themes of his poems include romantic love, the pleasures of conjugal life, love for nature and spiritualism. In recognition of his literary contributions, he was awarded the Jagattarini Medal by the university of calcutta in 1951. He died on 5 February 1955. [Sushanta Sarker]