Unique presentation: SNU celebrates life & works of poet Jibanananda Das

Kolkata: Poetry was his life. For poetry, he endured sorrow, pain and humiliation. He even lost his college job because he chose to remain devoted to his art.

The 127th birth anniversary of Bengal’s legendary poet Jibanananda Das was celebrated through a unique and immersive presentation at Sister Nivedita University (SNU) on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also paid tribute to the Bengal poet on social media. The occasion turned evocative with a deeply moving audio-visual presentation that traced different phases of the poet’s life and his literary realisations. Titled ‘Klant Pran Ek’, the production was staged by Anandi Communication Centre. The Multimedia Department of SNU crafted various chapters from Jibanananda’s life, weaving them into a compelling visual narrative. As a collage of images unfolded on screen, the narration lent emotional depth and brought the scenes vividly to life.

Techno India Group Managing Director and SNU Chancellor Satyam Roychowdhury portrayed Jibanananda in the narration. Indrani Bhattacharya played the role of the poet’s wife, Labanya. The narration was delivered by Snehasish Shur. Depicting his life remains an immensely challenging task, as very few photographs and contextual records from that era are available. In this presentation, AI technology was used to recreate characters and bring them to life. Each participant rendered their role with eloquence and sensitivity. The play was written and directed by Shankarlal Bhattacharya, with background music composed by Shantanu Bandyopadhyay. On the occasion, Roychowdhury announced that February 17 would henceforth be observed every year as Jibanananda Day at the university.