Amiya Chakravarty (1901-86)

Amiya Ckakravarty, one of the greatest of literary critics of the post-Tagorean period, was also well-known as a poet. After graduating from St. Columbus College in Hazaribagh, Amiya Chakravarty joined Visva- Bharati in 1921, first as a student and then as a teacher. He was literary secretary to Rabindranath from 1924 to 1933. He was a close associate of the Poet during this period and shared his thoughts and feelings regarding national and international political events. He was Rabindranath' s travel companion during his tours to Europe and America in 1930 and to Iran and Iraq in 1932.

He was awarded a D.Phil in 1937 and during the years 1937 to 1940, he was a Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University. He wrote both poetry and prose, being awarded the Unesco prize for his book, Chalo Jai and the Sahitya Akademi award for Ghare Pherar Din. He also received the Padmabhushan from the Govt. of India and the Desikottama from Visva-Bharati.