Sukanta Bhattacharya (Bengali: [ʃukant̪o bʱɔʈːat͡ʃaɾd͡ʒo] ; 15 August 1926 – 13 May 1947) was a Bengali poet and revolutionary. He was known as "Young Nazrul" and "Kishore Bidrohi Kobi" (lit. 'Teenage Rebel Poet'), for his rebellious stance and opposition against the British Raj, Empire of Japan, other Axis powers, Second World War, and the social elites through the work of poetry. While his poetry was not much studied during his career, he became one of the most popular poets of the 20th century and Bengali literature after his death, primarily because all of his poetry collection books were published after his death. These published books founded way for inspiration of social change in the community with their liberation themes. He became an official member of the Communist Party of India, as a Marxist poet, in 1944. He was known as a "Teen poet" for his works as a teen. His writing career spanned about 6 years. His main work was poetry, but he also wrote songs, stories, essays and plays.
Bhattacharya was born to a joint family in Kalighat, Calcutta. Deriving poetic interest from his sister Ranidi, writer Rabindranath Tagore and epic poems, he showed his first written poem in 1935 while on a tour in Jasidih, Santhal Parganas. With the deaths of his sister Ranidi and his mother Suniti Devi, he became highly despaired and reflected his feelings by writing in his notebook. Bhattacharya was enrolled in the Kamala Vidya Mandir, where his first literary works, including short stories, biographies and plays were written. Also in the school, his short biography of Vivekananda was published for his first time in the magazine Sikha. Throughout his life, starting from his admission to school, Bhattacharya showed a lack of interest in school, and instead focused more on writing, listening to the radio and playing, his early writings were contained in his own notebook.
His collaboration with Arunachal Basu in class seven marked a major impact on his poetry career. In the same Deshbandhu Beliaghata high school, he worked with several of his teachers and friends who helped him organize his poetry and bring out his works. Through Arunachal Basu, Bhattacharya came to know of his mother Sarala Devi having a girls' school in Beliaghata. Sarala Devi was a significant person in his life, helping him work on composing new poems and loving him. At this time, before he actively engaged with politics, he made appearances on radio by reciting live poems and making songs.
From 1939, World War II started; making a lasting mark and on his poetry. Events of the World War II, such as Hitler's invasion of Poland and casualties of the War set him back in his writing career. Starting from 1941, his works of his career are considered to be the most significant, describing events and liberative themes. During the War, he associated with literary and political movements. Becoming a Marxist poet and joining the Communist Party of India, he was a founder of the Kishore Bahini, partaking in writing and reporting for the Party and political newspapers. He also took matriculation exams from his school. Irregular eating worsened his health. He stayed in Narkeldanga and then at his aunt's house in Shyambazar. His visit to Benaras in late 1944 contracted him with malaria. He was bedridden several times and sent to different hospitals. With his last poems dating to his final years in the Jadavpur T. B. Hospital, he died in 1947; his body being taken by a truck and cremated. Bhattacharya's first poetry book Chharpatra was taken to printers after he died, and he only saw the file copy of one of those books.
Sukanta Bhattacharya was born on 15 August 1926 in 42, Mahim Haldar Street in Kalighat, Calcutta. He was the second son of Suniti Devi and Nibaran Chandra Bhattacharya. The house was owned by Satish Chandra Bhattacharya, who was the grandfather of Sukanta Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya was named by his sister Ranidi, from a character in the story "Sukanta" by Manilal Gangopadhyay. Sukanta's ancestral home was in Kotalipara in Faridpur, where his father Nibaran Chandra initially lived. He left the house at the age of thirteen following his father Jagachandra's death. He came to Calcutta and worked for Agroj, and they established the book publishing house Saraswat Library. Because of his business, Nibaran Chandra became a book dealer, as a result Sukanta and his family stayed in Calcutta, for the business. His father Nibaran Chandra rented a house in Baghbazar and provided accommodation to persons who came into Calcutta for jobs. Bhattacharya spent his early life in the Kalighat house; he was accompanied by either his grandmother or his sister Ranidi.
According to Jagannath Chakravorty, Sukanta Bhattacharya took his first interest in poetry from Ranidi, who could recite poems written by Rabindranath Tagore. And from his mother, who would read aloud pages from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata in Bengali. His father's brother Supandi was the leader of a Sanskrit literary circle and hosted meetings with Sanskrit scholars at the house. It was organized by Rakhal Bhattacharya, his uncle. He started writing from about the age of eight or nine.
He had five brothers: Sushil, Prashanta, Bibhas, Ashok and Amiya. His half-brother Manomohan Bhattacharya married when he was six-years-old. Manomohan's wife Sorju Devi introduced him to letters and the alphabet. She brought "Khukumonir Chora" by Jogindranath Sarkar and recited rhymes to him. He heard Rabindranath Thakur's poems from his uncle Saroj Bhattacharya, his grandfather Gopalchandra Bhattacharya, and from Rakhal Chandra Bhattacharya. Nibaran Chandra felt sad that his financial income was less than his brother Krishna Chandra Bhattacharya. In the environment Sukanta grew up, he was subject to education and poverty. He was introduced to literature and learning from childhood, but also felt the effects of poverty. He became sensitive and introverted. He became happy when someone showed him sympathy.
One day, his mother found a cloth bag tied around her sari. When she opened it, she saw the writings of Sukanta saying he only loves Sushil and not him. According to Nandalal Bhattacharya, his uncle Krishna Chandra loved him even more than his parents and called him as "Sona." His sister Ranidi did many things for him from his childhood. His brother Manomohan and his uncles Gopal, Rakhal and Manoj also showed affection to him. He had not then learned to read. He would tell Sorju Devi to shout the words loudly and he would listen. He memorized them and later would recite them to others. Engaged in her work, she told him to learn to read. Bhattacharya got upset with her words and stopped coming near her; he wandered and had messy hair. She would pull him and bath him, feed him and comb his hair.
First works: Beginning of literary career and inspirations
Sukanta's family shifted from the rented house in Baghbazar to their own house in 34 Haramohan Ghosh Lane, Beliaghata. In this house, Bhattacharya wrote a verse on his younger brother Prasanta which he showed to his family. Prasanta did not like the two-line poem and complained to the elders. Shorty after he wrote, his sister Ranidi died. Bhattacharya's family moved to a rented house in College Street, but they later returned to a rented house in Haramohan Ghosh Lane six months later. Bhattacharya became a reciter of children's poems and also wrote poems, particularly from inspiration by the ones written by Jogindranath Sarkar and Sunirmal Basu. His step brother Manomohan Bhattacharya owned a book shop on College Street, from where children's books were accumulated in his house and read by Sukanta. He also wrote songs. Afterwards, he was enrolled in the school Kamala Vidya Mandir, by his neighborhood teacher Ahinbabu, where he became a bright student. His classmate Shailen Sarkar described the life of Bhattacharya in one of his articles. In the school, he got a role to play in the drama Dhruba. Outside school, he read books such as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's. While in school, Bhattacharya wrote a short story in a magazine manuscript with other boys named Sanchay. He wrote essays on the lives of Rabindranath and Vivekananda, and the latter was published in the magazine Sikha, under the name of "Vivekanander Jiboni," edited by Bijon Bhattacharya. In this magazine, he published several of his poems and stories as a child. After the works of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's, he started reading those of Rabindranath Tagore's.