The 194th birth anniversary of legendary Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt will be observed on Jan 25 with pomp and grandeur. Shagordari, ancestral home of the great poet, in Jessore district, has been witnessing a week-long mirth and merriment since Jan 20 marking the birth anniversary of Madhusudan, who is called Mohakobi (great poet) for his tragic epic 'Meghnadbodh Kabbo'.
A fair titled "Madhu Mela", featuring staging of drama, recitation of poems, setting up of small shops and cultural functions, are among the programmes chalked out to celebrate the birth anniversary of the celebrated son of this soil.
The Madhu Mela has been drawing hundreds of curious visitors at the fair venue at Sagordari under Keshabpur upazila. Jessore district administration is organizing the fair under the patronization of Bangladesh Cultural Affairs Ministry.
On Jan 25, 1824 Madhusudan Dutt was born to land lord Raj Narayan Dutt and Janhabi Devi at Shagordari under Keshabpur upazila in Jessore. His famous literary work is sonnet "Kapatakkha Nad". Kapatakkha Nad (river) is flows through Jessore, the poet's ancestral home.
Madhusudan Dutt is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature and the father of the Bengali sonnet. He pioneered what came to be called 'Amitrakkhor Chhanda' (blank verse). Madhusudan's first attempt at blank verse was 'Shormistha' in Bangla literature.
Apart from his outstanding talent in authoring poems, Madhusudan showed prodigious skills as a playwright. He was also the pioneer of the first farce in Bangla literature. 'Buro Shaliker Ghare Row' and 'Ekei Ki Boley Shabhyota' are among his famous farces. His other famous literary works include Padmabati (1860), Tilottoma Shambhab Kabbo(1860), Krishnokumari (1861), Hectar Badh (1871), Mayakanon (1874), The Captive Lady (1849), Birangona and among others.
Madhusudan died in Calcutta on Jun 29, 1873.
