Buddhadeva Bose's Birth Centenary Year: 2007 - Announcements (Parabaas

Buddhadeva Bose's Birth Centenary Year

November 30, 2007- 2008

An Announcement

The Buddhadeva Bose Centenary Committee (BBCC) wishes to call upon the admirers of Buddhadeva Bose residing abroad and outside Kolkata to observe his Birth Centenary year, by organizing commemorative activities in their own areas, in any manner they can. We will be happy to lend our support any way we can if individuals, or groups, or Bengali associations, across the continents, organize events like reading sessions, performances of his plays, seminars/symposiums, commemorative lectures, or even informal gatherings in remembrance, celebrating the occasion of the 100th year of the poet's birth. This is the time for us to remember and acknowledge his vast contribution to Bengali literature, not only through his own works, but also through his magazine "Kavita", which nourished and nurtured poetic talents of Bengal for 25 long years, starting from Jibanananda Das to Binoy Majumdar. This is the time to salute him for making modern European poetry part of our everyday life and literary culture through his amazing translations of Baudelaire, Hoelderlin and Rilke. This is the time to recognize how he changed the character of literature studies in Indian Universities forever by founding the dept. of Comparative Literature at Jadavpur University half a century back in 1956. This is the time to say 'thank you' without reservation to the versatile genius who stands second only to Rabindranath Tagore in creative energy.

We invite interested people/groups representing different parts of the world to join BBCC as members, and work as coordinators in their respective areas on behalf of the committee. Please write to BBCC or Parabaas if you would like to be one of us and serve as a member. We also want you to communicate your thoughts and ideas beyond what we could think for the committee to consider. Let's work together in making Buddhadeva Bose Centenary Year a grand success.

BBCC seeks your participation and support.

The following is a list of actions/events proposed by the Committee and other organizations in the Centenary year.

1. To approach the appropriate Ministry of the Govt. of India for releasing a first day cover and a commemorative stamp in Buddhadeva Bose's name during the Centenary Celebration year. This work is already underway.

2. To seek to rename a Kolkata road after Buddhadeva Bose. The Mayor of Kolkata has already been contacted.

3. To set up an editorial board to look after all publications of, and on, Buddhadeva Bose including a Commemorative Volume to honour him. This project has already made considerable headway.

4. To lend support to magazines which plan to bring out special issues on BB during the year.

5. Many organizations, groups and Educational Institutes to arrange Memorial lectures, Seminars and Symposiums.

6. A Documentary Film is to be produced.

7. A literary Award honouring his name to be instituted beginning 2008.

8. To release a CD of Buddhadeva Bose's own readings from his verse play "Anamni Angana" and other poems.

9. To found a Chair in his name in the Comparative Literature dept. of Jadavpur University.

10. To make available all his works, including English writings, by 2008. Genre-wise collected works are being published already, and writings not yet available in book form are being collected for publication.

11. To initiate the Centenary year with a week-long exhibition on Buddhadeva Bose, and to release the Commemorative Volume planned. Some function centering around BB will take place at the exhibition premises every evening.

12. To organize a Drama Festival, consisting of stage productions as well as play readings (Shruti Natya). It is expected that groups from Bangladesh and other parts of India will participate, apart from renowned Kolkata groups like Swapnasandhani, Nandikar, Theatron etc.

13. An exhibition to be arranged displaying the works of numerous renowned artists and sculptors of Bengal who have shown interest in creating Buddhadeva Bose's portraits and sculptures in celebration of the Centenary Year.

14. Throughout the year poetry reading sessions, recitation sessions, discussion sessions, book releases, play performances and other events will be arranged at different venues in India and abroad.

15. To call upon interested individuals/groups/associations from different cities of India, Bangladesh, U.K., U.S.A., Australia and Europe to become members of BBCC and represent the Committee in their own areas. Some people residing abroad are already coordinating with us and planning events to celebrate the occasion.

Published in Parabaas April 16, 2007.