Suchitra Bhattacharya

Suchitra Bhattacharya (10 January 1950 – 2015) was an Indian novelist.[1]

Suchitra Bhattacharya
Born(1950-01-10)10 January 1950
Bhagalpur, India
OccupationWriter
Alma materCalcutta University
Notable worksHemanter Pakhi, Dahan, Kachher Manush

Early life and education

Suchitra Bhattacharya was in 1950 in Bhagalpur, Bihar. She was interested in writing from her childhood.

Bhattacharya graduated from the Jogamaya Devi College, an affiliated undergraduate women's college of the historic University of Calcutta, in Kolkata.[2]

Career

Having taken many odd jobs in her early youth, she finally joined the public service, leaving in 2004 to become a full-time writer. She started writing short stories in the late-1970s (1978–1979), and novels in the mid-1980s, finding early success with her novel Kacher Dewal (Glass Wall).

Her writing focuses on contemporary social issues. Her life experiences are reflected in many of her stories and novels. Bhattacharya was enthusiastic about fellow contemporary women authors Sangita Bandyopadhyay and Tilottama Majumdar, and was deeply influenced by Ashapurna Debi and Mahasweta Debi.[3]

Her novels and short stories have been translated into Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and English. She has also written novels and short stories for children.

Her novel Dahan was made into a movie (Crossfire, 1997) by Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh. The short story "Ichcher Gaach" was also made into a full-length feature film Icche, directed by Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy.[4] "Hemonter Pakhi" was also made into a feature film by Urmi Chakraborty.

Suchitra Bhattacharya also contributed to the Bengali adult crime fiction genre with her detective character Mitin Masi, one of the few female detectives in Bengali literature.[5] The first novel with Mitin Masi was Sarandai Saitan, followed by: Sarporahosya sundarbone, Jhau jhien hotyarorosya, Dussapno bar bar, Sander saheber Puthi and others. Other Mitin Masi novels were written for adults.

Suchitra Bhattacharya died on 12 May 2015, aged 65, due to a cardiac arrest at her home in Dhakuria, Kolkata.[6][7]

Awards and accolades

Suchitra received several awards, including the Bhuban Mohini Medal from Calcutta University in 2004, the Nanjanagudu Thirumalamba National Award from Bangalore in 1996, the Katha Award 1997 from Delhi, the Tarashankar Award in 2000 from Kolkata, the Dwijendralal Award in 2001 from Kalyani, the Sharat Puroshkar in 2002 from Bhagalpur, as well as the Bharat Nirman Award, Sahitya Setu Award and Shailajananda Smriti Puroshkar in 2004 and Dinesh Chandra Smriti Puroskar in 2015. She received the Mati Nandy award in 2012, and the Dinesh Chandra Smriti Award in 2015.

Selected novels
  • Kachher Manush (Close to Me)
  • Dahan (The Burning)
  • Kacher Dewal (The Wall of Glass)
  • Hemonter Pakhi (Bird of Autumn)
  • Neel Ghurni (Blue tornado)
  • Aleek Shukh (Heavenly bliss)
  • Gabhir Ashukh (A Grave Illness)
  • Uro Megh (Flying Cloud)
  • Chhera Taar (Broken string)
  • Alochhaya (Shadows of Light)
  • Anyo Basanto (Another Spring)
  • Parabas
  • Palabar Path Nei (No escape)
  • Aami Raikishori
  • Rangin Pritibi (Colourful world)
  • Jalchhobi (Watermark)
  • Mitin Masi book series
  • Dashti Upanyas (Ten novels)
  • German Ganesh
  • Ekaa (Alone)

References
  1. "Suchitra Bhattacharya, 1950". loc.gov. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  2. History of the College
  3. Bhattacharya, Suchitra (14 May 2015). "Five Suchitra Bhattacharya novels that redefined feminist writing in Bengal". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. Bhattacharya, Suchitra (14 May 2015). "Five Suchitra Bhattacharya novels that redefined feminist writing in Bengal". The Indian Express. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. Bhattacharya, Suchitra (16 May 2015). "Detective Mitin Mashi, not middle-class tales, might be Suchitra Bhattacharya's lasting legacy". Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. "Anandabazar Patrika". anandabazar.com/. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  7. "Ei Samay". Retrieved 13 May 2015.
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