Today is the 68th death anniversary of poet Jibanananda Das

 

Today (October 22, 2022) is the death anniversary of poet Jibanananda Das. On October 14, 1954, he was injured in a tram accident at Ballygunge, Kolkata. His body got stuck in the catcher of the tram. Collar, thigh and rib bones were broken.

The place where Kabir’s tram accident took place.

Chunilal, the owner of a nearby tea shop, and others rushed to the rescue of Jibanananda, who was seriously injured. He was admitted to Shambhunath Pandit Hospital. At that time, many young poets including Dr. Bhumendra Guha tried hard for Jibanananda’s recovery. Poet-writer Sajnikant Das took special initiative in this regard. It was on his request that the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, Dr. Bidhanchandra Roy visited the poet and ordered the injured poet’s medical treatment, although the treatment did not improve much. However, the condition of poet Jibanananda became increasingly complicated. In the end, the poet was infected with pneumonia. Rupsi Bengali poet Jibanananda Das died on October 22, 1954 at 11:35 PM at Shambhunath Pandit Hospital in Kolkata after all the efforts of doctors and nurses failed.

Poet Jibanananda Das in the final resting place.

 

‘শরীর রয়েছে, তবু মরে গেছে আমাদের মন/
হেমন্ত আসেনি মাঠে/ হলুদ পাতায় ভরে গেছে হৃদয়ের বন’

‘The body is there, but our mind is dead /
Hemant has not come to the field / The forest of the heart is filled with yellow leaves’
in the poem, who else can exorcise such language, form-juice-smell life and joy?

Born in 1899 in Barisal. MA in English Literature from Presidency College, Kolkata in 1921. Later joined teaching. He settled in Kolkata a few days before the partition of India.

Jibanananda Das edited Bengali poetry with utmost care. The nature of Bengal, women, love and loneliness have come up again and again throughout his poems. He rested his head on the pillow of poetry and listened to the sighs of the endangered people. Where love is counted as the dead noon or the dying yellow grass.

Jibanananda Das has portrayed the picture of endangered humanity in his literature. Decay, depression, loneliness, skepticism of modern city life are manifested in his writing. Surrealism is back. 

His world of thought is more than life. Looking at the appearance of Bengal, I did not want to seek the wealth of the world.

The poet’s mother, Kusum Kumari Devi, may have seen the light of his dream awakening in her son. That’s why he wrote ‘When will that boy in our country, grow up in deeds instead of words.’

This world gets a wire once, it gets no more.
Chirantan A Kabir died in a tram accident in Kolkata on 22 October. He is lost like his own poetry. But he is alive in impeccable poetry. 

“নক্ষত্রেরও একদিন মরে যেতে হয়”… 

“Even a star must die one day”… 

Humble tribute to the poet on his 68th death anniversary.