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Jibanananda Das

Jibanananda Das, }} (17 February 1899 – 22 October 1954) was a Bengali poet, novelist and essayist. Often called the "Rupashi Banglar Kabi'' (), Das is the most well-known Bengali poet after Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, although he was not well recognised during his lifetime.

Born in Barisal to a Bengali Hindu family of Baidya caste, Das studied English literature at Presidency College, Kolkata and earned his MA from Calcutta University. He had often trouble finding a stable job and suffered financial hardship throughout his life. He taught at several colleges but was never granted tenure. Following the partition of India, he permanently settled in Kolkata. Das died on 22 October 1954, eight days after being hit by a tramcar. Witnesses had later recounted that the tramcar had blown its whistle, but Das did not stop, and got struck. Some have also speculated the accident as suicide.

Das was a rather unrecognised poet in his time; he wrote profusely, but as he was a recluse and introvert, he did not publish most of his writings during his lifetime. Most of his work were hidden, and only seven volumes of his poems were published. After his death, it was discovered that apart from poems, Das wrote 21 novels and 108 short stories. His notable works include ''Ruposhi Bangla'', ''Banalata Sen'', ''Mahaprithibi'', ''Shreshtha Kavita''. Das's early poems exhibit the influence of Kazi Nazrul Islam, but in the later half of the 20th century, Das's influence became one of the major catalysts in the making of Bengali poetry.

Das received Rabindra-Memorial Award for ''Banalata Sen'' in 1953 at All Bengal Rabindra Literature Convention. Das's ''Shrestha Kavita'' won the Sahitya Academy Award in 1955. A film inspired by Das' short story Jamrultola, named 'Sunder Jibon' directed by Sandeep Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee), produced by Satyajit Ray Film And Television Institute won the National Film Award for Best Short Fiction Film at the 50th National Film Awards with Shantanu Bose in the lead. Provided by Wikipedia