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Nabaneeta Dev Sen

ナバニータ・デブ・セン

Nabaneeta Dev Sen

Pen Names: Aparajita Devi (mother's pen name)（Pen name used by her mother Radharani Devi (context: family background)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1938-01-13 （Calcutta (now Kolkata), British India）
Died
2019-11-07 （Kolkata, India） age 81
Nationality
India
Languages
Bengali, English, Hindi, Oriya, Assamese, French, German, Greek, Sanskrit, Hebrew
Residence History
Calcutta (Kolkata) → United Kingdom (study/stay) → United States (study/stay) → New Delhi (research/academic engagements)

Career

Occupations
Novelist, Poet, Children's author, Translator, Comparative literature scholar, University professor
Active Years
1959-2019
Affiliations
Jadavpur University (Professor of Comparative Literature), Bangiya Sahitya Parishad (Vice-president), West Bengal Women Writers' Association (Founder & President), Royal Asiatic Society (Fellow)
Memberships
International Comparative Literature Association (executive positions), International Association of Semiotic and Structural Studies, Bharatiya Jnanpith Award Language Advisory Committee (member/convener)
Influenced By
Rabindranath Tagore (gave her name; cultural influence)

Education

University of Calcutta
English
Degree: BA
Country: India
BA in English. Exact graduation year not specified; set to 0.
Jadavpur University
Department of Comparative Literature / Comparative Literature
Degree: MA
Year of Graduation: 1958
Country: India
Member of the inaugural batch of the Department of Comparative Literature.
Harvard University
Comparative Literature
Degree: MA
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: United States
MA in Comparative Literature (with distinction).
Indiana University Bloomington
Comparative/English Literature
Degree: PhD
Year of Graduation: 1964
Country: United States
PhD; followed by postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and Newnham College, Cambridge.

Awards

Padma Shri
2000
Organization: Government of India
Result: 受賞
Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali)
1999
Organization: Sahitya Akademi (India)
Result: 受賞
Kamal Kumari National Award
2004
Organization: Kamal Kumari Foundation (award body)
Result: 受賞
Mahadevi Verma Award
1992
Organization: Organization (unspecified)
Result: 受賞
Celli Award (Rockefeller Foundation)
1993
Organization: Rockefeller Foundation
Result: 受賞
Mystic Kalinga Literary Award
2017
Organization: Awarding body (unspecified)
Result: 受賞
Big Little Book Award (children's literature)
2017
Organization: Awarding body (unspecified)
Result: 受賞
Rabindra Puraskar
Organization: Awarding body (unspecified)
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Pratham Pratyay (First Confidence)

1959 Poetry collection

Her first collection of poems, presenting the confidence and early voice of a young poet.

selfyouthfamily and society

Ami Anupam (I, Anupam)

1976 Novel

A novel about urban middle-class intellectuals and their contradictions during the Naxalite movement.

politicsresponsibility of intellectualssocial movements

Karuna Tomar Kon Path Diye (The Path of Thy Grace)

1978 Essay / Travelogue

A bestselling account of a woman's solitary pilgrimage to the Kumbh Mela, written from a female perspective.

women's journeysreligious experienceself-discovery

Truck Bahoney Mac Mahoney

1977 Travelogue

A travelogue recounting her ride across Northeast India and Tibet on a ration truck.

travelfrontier regionsencounters

Monsieur Hulor Holiday

1980 Short story collection

One of her early short story collections, containing social themes and psychological depth.

everyday discordfemale perspectivesocial critique

Bibliography

  • Pratham Pratyay (1959)
  • Swagato Debdoot (1971)
  • Ami Anupam (1976)
  • Karuna Tomar Kon Path Diye (1978)
  • Truck Bahoney Mac Mahoney (1977)
  • Monsieur Hulor Holiday (1980)
  • Sita theke suru

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Feminist reinterpretation of classical textsLyricism combined with narrative versatilityClear and imaginative style in children's literature
Recurring Motifs
Sita (reimagined epic woman)women's journeys and autonomyuprootedness and exilememory and mobility

Health

  • cancer
    2019（診断・闘病の具体的期間は不明）
    Died in 2019 in Kolkata following cancer; impacted the final period of her life and activity.

Legacy

Nabaneeta Dev Sen authored over 80 books in Bengali across poetry, novels, children's literature, translations and essays. She is noted for feminist reinterpretations, depiction of girls as protagonists in children's books, and wide-ranging contributions to Bengali letters, recognized by many national and international awards.

Academic Societies

  • Bangiya Sahitya Parishad
  • Royal Asiatic Society

Quotes

  • “I try to make my fairy tales positive.”
    Source: Business Standard (interview) (2018)

Trivia

  • She was named by Rabindranath Tagore.
  • Authored more than 80 books in Bengali.
  • Married Amartya Sen in 1958; divorced in 1976.
  • Known for children's stories featuring girls as protagonists.
  • Could read many languages including Bengali, English, Hindi, Oriya, Assamese, French, German, Greek, Sanskrit and Hebrew.