Dutta, Sudhindranath

Dutta, Sudhindranath (1901-1960) post-modern poet, essayist and journalist, was born on 30 October 1901 at Hatibagan in Kolkata. His father, Hirendranath Dutta, was a philosopher while his second wife, Rajeswari Basudev, was a noted singer.

Sudhindranath studied at the Theosophical High School in Benares from 1914 to 1917 and at the Oriental Seminary in Kolkata from where he matriculated (1918). After passing Intermediate Arts (1920) and Bachelor of Arts (1922) from the Scottish Church College, he enrolled in the MA in English at Calcutta University, but dropped out shortly afterwards. He also attended the Law College for a year, but did not sit for the examinations. He started working in his father's law firm, but then switched briefly to an insurance company. He edited a magazine called Parichay for twelve years from 1931. He also worked with the Statesman from 1984 to 1949 and was associated with the sabujpatra of pramatha chowdhury. He taught literature at the University of Chicago from 1957 to 1959. Returning to Calcutta, he taught comparative literature at Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

Sudhindranath published several volumes of poetry, among them Tanvi (1930), Orchestra (1935), Krandasi (1937), Uttar Falguni (1940), Sangvarta (1950), Pratidhvani (1954), Daxhami (1956). He also wrote essays, some of which were published in Svagata (1938) and Kulay O Kalpurus (1957). He also published a volume of his translations called Pratidhvani.

Sudhindranath was among the poets of the 1930's, such as jibanananda das and buddhadev bose, who broke away from the romantic tradition of rabindranath tagore. His poetry was profoundly influenced by the French symbolists such as Mallarme and is marked by a distinct urban outlook and ambience. He died on 25 June 1960 in Kolkata. [Bimal Guha]