Binoy Mazumdar (January 10, 1906 - October 22, 2002)

Binoy Mazumdar (January 10, 1906 - October 22, 2002) was a prominent Indian Bengali writer, journalist, and essayist. In his career, his book 'Drishtipat', written under the pseudonym 'Jayabar', caused a stir among Bengali readers in the fifties.

Birth and early life

Binoy Mukherjee was born on January 10, 1906 in the village of Fagunamar in Dhaka, present day Bangladesh, British India. Father's name is Phanibhushan Mukherjee and mother's name is Manorama Devi. Binoy Kumar passed Matriculation from Jubilee High School in Chandpur, IA from St. Paul's College and BA from Bangabasi College, Kolkata. He composed a number of songs during his student days and these were published as a record under the tune of composer Himanshu Dutt. The list of records of such songs is six. Notable songs are - Sachin Devvarman's "Natun Faguner Din" and Uma Basu's "Jharano Patar Pathe". However, the untimely demise of composer Himanshu Dutt ended the life of his humble lyricist.

Career and literary work

He started his career as a journalist in the daily Jugantar. There he used to write in political pen under the pseudonym "Sripathchari". He then went to Delhi as a senior official in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and after a long career, retired as Secretary of the Press Council. During his career, he came in contact with many leading personalities and wrote literature under the pseudonym "Nomad". During his career, he was entrusted with the task of compiling Gandhiji's message on the occasion of Independence Day on 15th August, 1948. When he went to Gandhiji in Sodpur, he said that it was not possible for him to give a message - his mind was broken. Hearing such things from Gandhiji's work, he felt as if he was witnessing a historical tragedy. Jayabar became one of the best popular writers of Bengali literature in 1946, writing a humorous essay "Drishtipat". His collection of short stories, novels and essays is number six, and each one is well-composed and readable.

'Drishtipat' (1947)
'Janantike' (1952)
'On the banks of Jhilam river' (1954)
'Lightening' (1984)
'Short and long'
'Jhan Brishti Naam' (1973)

He also wrote two books on cricket in his own name in Bengali -

'Cricket is the king of the game'
'Funny game of cricket'
After working and retiring, he went to Europe and America with his wife. His wife Durgadevi was in Paris during her student days. He has painted many pictures in the style of Jamini Roy. His book 'Pushpapat' is the first published book on flower arrangement in Bangla language.

Honors

Considered to be the greatest book in contemporary Bengali literature, Vinay Mukherjee received the Narsingh Das Award from the University of Delhi in 1950 and the Vidyasagar Award from the Government of West Bengal in 1997 for his literary work.

End of life

Renowned writer Binoy Mukherjee passed away on 22nd October, 2002 in Delhi.