Ananda Puraskar
1 appearances
Samaresh Basu
サマレシュ・バス
Samaresh Basu
Pen Names:
Kalkut（Pen name used for many novels and short stories）,
Bhromor（Alternate pen name used for some works）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1924-12-11 （Bikrampur, Dhaka (present-day Bangladesh)）
- Died
- 1988-03-12 （Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India） age 63
- Nationality
- Indian
- Languages
- Bengali
- Residence History
- Bikrampur (birthplace) → Ichapore (worked at a factory) → Calcutta/Kolkata (long-term residence, place of death)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer
- Active Years
- 1940-1988
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali) | Shambo | — | Sahitya Akademi | 受賞 |
| 1983 | Filmfare Award (Best Story) | Namkeen | Best Story | Filmfare | 受賞 |
Sahitya Akademi Award (Bengali)
1980
Work:
Shambo
Organization:
Sahitya Akademi
Result:
受賞
Filmfare Award (Best Story)
1983
Work:
Namkeen
Category:
Best Story
Organization:
Filmfare
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Sahitya Akademi Award to Bengali Writers
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (1980) Winner
Works
Major Works
Prajapati
1985 NovelA novel portraying middle-class life and inner conflicts; noted for its social context and characterisation.
middle-class lifesocial conflictindividual loneliness
Shambo
NovelWork that develops character studies against political and social themes. Awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980.
politicssocial critique
Ganga
1974 NovelA work set against the social backdrop of Bangladesh and India. Adapted into film.
river and communitysocial change
Adaptations
- [Film] Ganga / Rajen Tarafdar (1960)
Bibar
1965 Novel / later adaptedOne of the works that sparked controversy over obscenity bans. Later adapted into a film.
censorshipsexuality
Adaptations
- [Film] Bibar / Subrata Sen (2006)
Dekhi Nai Phire
Novel / Short story collectionPart of a body of work depicting varied characters and everyday details through short and medium-length stories.
everyday lifecharacter study
Bibliography
- Aam Mahato
- Aboseshe
- Apadartho
- Aparichita
- Baghini
- Bibar
- Dekhi Nai Phire
- Ganga
- Prajapati
- Shambo
Adaptations
- Ganga (film, 1960)
- Nirjan Saikate (film, 1963)
- Teen Bhubaner Pare (film, 1969)
- Aparichita (film, 1969)
- Kitaab (film, 1977)
- Namkeen (film, 1982)
- Bibar (film, 2006)
- Goyenda Gogol (film, 2013)
Translations of Works
- B.T. Roader Dhare → The Hollow (translated by Saugata Ghosh)
- Mahakaler Rother Ghora → Fever (English translation)
- Amrita Kumbher Sandhaney → In Search of the Pitcher of Nectar (1954)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Realistic style crossing multiple genresBlend of social critique and popular narrative
- Recurring Motifs
- politics and labor movementsmiddle-class everyday lifesexuality and censorshipchild detective Gogol
Legacy
Samaresh Basu was a prolific 20th-century Bengali writer whose works range from social novels to children's detective stories. Many of his works were adapted for film and he had a significant influence on Indian literature and cinema.
In Popular Culture
- Numerous film adaptations (Ganga, Namkeen, Bibar, etc.)
- Popularity of the child detective character 'Gogol'
Trivia
- Published under pen names Kalkut and Bhromor.
- Imprisoned in the 1940s for trade union and Communist activities; wrote his first published novel Uttaranga in prison.
- Prolific author with over 200 short stories and over 100 novels.
- Some works were temporarily banned over obscenity charges.
- Notable works include Prajapati, Shambo, Ganga, Dekhi Nai Phire, Bibar.