Prez honours eminent Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh

President Pranab Mukherjee today conferred the Jnanpith award on eminent Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh here.

Speaking on the occasion, the president said that Ghosh, a poet and critique par excellence, a teacher of reputation, a Sahitya Akademi (1977) and Padma Bhushan awardee, was the most deserving recipient of this award.

A professor of Bengali and an authority in his own right on the works of Rabindranath Tagore, he represents the fluid brilliance that characterises India's multifarious literary genius.

"It is indeed an example of his brilliant fluidity that an author who strove to master Bengali academically, expressed himself in perhaps the most difficult literary genre of poetry," Mukherjee said.
 

The president said that in conferring the award on Ghosh the selection board noted that his poetic idiom and experiments with various poetic forms mark his greatness as a creative talent, a press release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

They also observed that Ghosh's poetry, while conveying messages, have remained free from polemics.

"One look at his works, be it Adim Lata-Gulmomay, Murkho Baro Samajik Noy or Baborer Prarthana, to name a few, and one would be left in no doubt about every word of the observations mentioned by the selection board to be to the point and correct," it said.

The president said an ardent writer of Bengali poetry, his literary works reflect a rare poetic style that encompasses not only a lyrical style but also a deep reflection of the social milieu.

"His poetry often takes on superficiality in our society and are indeed a candid commentary on contemporary issues," Mukherjee said.

The president said that he was sure that as a teacher, Ghosh would have positively influenced the impressionable minds of his students as much as enriching the readers of his literary works.

The award, by Bharatiya Jnanpith, recognises Indian litterateurs who write in one of the 22 Indian languages listed in schedule eight of the Constitution.