Bimal Kar | |
---|---|
Born | 19 September 1921 Bengal, British India |
Died | 26 August 2003 West Bengal, India |
Occupation | Novelist |
Notable awards | Sahitya Akademi |
Bimal Kar (Bengali: বিমল কর)(19 September 1921 — 26 August 2003) was an eminent Bengali writer and novelist.
He received 1975 Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali, by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, for his novel Asamay.
Bimal Kar was born in Taki, North 24-Parganas, on September 19, 1921. Bimal Kar spent his early youth in Asansol and parts of Bihar like Jabalpur, Hazaribagh, Gomoh and Dhanbad. He died on 26 August 2003.
Bimal Kar has written many Bengali classics. He also wrote dramas depicting society.
The special ability of Kar was that he had many completely different narration styles. For example, he has written superb stories without any dialogue, and he has also written noteworthy ones almost entirely comprising dialogue. His mastery of the Western Bengal and Chhota Nagpur locales matched well his in-depth association with modern Calcutta. Another special strength was his willingness to think when necessary like a woman.
He was involved in myriad professions that later helped him write on varied subjects. His writings reflect a modern mind and have inspired many young writers whom he also supported at the start of their literary careers.
For children, He created the retired magician Kinkar Kishore Ray, alias Kikira who solved mysteries with his two assistants. He created another detective character called Victor.
After moving to Kolkata, Bimal Kar worked as a journalist with Parag, Paschimbanga and Satyajug.
From 1954 to 1982, he was associated with Desh where his novel Grahan was published in 1964. Asamay, also published in Desh, won him the Sahitya Akademi award in 1975. Kar won the Ananda Puraskar in 1967 and the Saratchandra Award from Calcutta University in 1981, among other honours.
Apart from Desh, the other magazines he was associated with were Shiladitya and Galpapatro.
Kar’s other works include novels like Dewal, Purna Apurna, Jadubansa and Balika Badhu. He introduced a new trend in Bengali short stories with his lucid language. He could win over the heart of the average reader of Bengali literature with his ability to craft characters and the fine art of storytelling. Many of his novels were made into films.
He also has to his credit several novels that were successfully adapted for the screen. These include the classic comedy, Basanta-Bilap, the evergreen Balika Badhu (1967) aka The Young Wife (International: English title), later remade in Hindi as Balika Badhu (1976), Jadubangsha and Chhuti (1967) (based on his novel, Khar-Kuto), Dillagi (1978) aka Mischief (International: English title), Bonobhumi.