Joy Goswami (b.1954)
In one of his recent interviews Joy Goswami describes himself as a searching
soul. He strongly feels that he could not quite find his language or style
to date and hence continues approaching the same horizon from different
paths. However, his search opens up new windows of surprises and
illustrative expressions to us as his readers. The sheer unpredictability
of Goswami’s writings introduces new heights of emotions and takes us to
worlds never discovered before.
His books Ghumiyecho Jhaupata and Jara BrishhTite Bhijechchhilo are both
winners of the prestigious Ananda Purashkar (1990,1998), in 1997 he won the
West Bengal Academy Award for Bojro Bidyut Bharti Khata. He has also
received the Sahitya Akademi award for his book Paagli Tomar Shonge.
Born in Calcutta (now Kolkata) on 10th November, 1954 Goswami lost his father at an early
age. His mother worked as a school teacher. While growing up, he has
witnessed the sacrifices his mother made and the strengh she carried herself
with as she struggled to make ends meet as a female head of the family in
India during the mid 60’s. His observations and emotions of those days are
reflected in many of his literary work.
Goswami believes that poetry is one of many instruments life has blessed a
selected few with in revealing some of its mysteries that surround it. In
this respect, he essentially follows the late Jibanananda Das’s famous
ideology “Not all but some are poets”. According to Goswami, poetry creates
itself and a poet’s duty is to patiently let the colorful vibrations seep
through him and repaint them in words.
Joy Goswami, in his own words feels “inconfident” about his creations. He
expresses without hesitation that often after writing a piece, he muses over
whether it can really be called poetry.
Aside from poetry Goswami has also contributed to Bengali literature through
many of his novels and collections of prose such as Monoromer Ghor,
Bhramma Rakshas, Hridoy Premer Shirshe etc. He creates a surreal,
almost dreamlike environment mixed with a misty melancholic feel which
immediately draws the reader into the world of his characters.
His novel Shanjhbaatir Rupkathara is now made into a major film directed by
Anjan Das and presented by Columbia Tristar.
Goswami is greatly inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, Jibanananda Das and
Sankha Ghosh. After for a while as an editor for the Desh, a publication
by
Anandabazaar Patrikaa Ltd., Kolkata, he joined Sangbad Pratidin, another newspaper.
He has since published many more books of poems, novels, and personal essays on other literary figures.
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