The new Bengal tigerHis other side
Bhattacharya is as wellknown in Bengal for his ideology as for his love of the written word. This is but expected of someone who is the nephew of Sukanta Bhattacharya , the radical Bengali poet who tragically died young.
During his college days, the future chief minister became addicted to the verse of Bengali poets Sudhin Datta and Jibanananda Das. His fondness for the maverick poets is evident and he is often heard quoting them even at press conferences.
Bhattacharya is also a writer and his published work include a play Dushyamay in which he (his handling the police department notwithstanding) takes a dig at the corruption that exists at the administrative level, a collection of poems and plays, translations in Bengali of literary work like the Russian Vladimir Mayakovsky.
He has also written critiques of Jibanananda Das' poems as well as of the stories of Bengali novelist Manik Bandyopadhyay.
A man who likes his cigarettes, the Marxist is reportedly fond of the rather un-Marxist 555 brand.
Photograph: Kamal Sikder
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