List of people from West Bengal
Encyclopedia
This is a list of famous and notable people from West Bengal
, India
. It includes those who are known to a large number of people and is not based on the extent of their popularity. Neither is the list viewed from the context of the present. Their fame could be brief. What matters is that they were well-known during the peak of their popularity. This list does not include the significant number of prominent East Bengali Refugees
from East Bengal
who settled in West Bengal after the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947.
Physics
Also see List of Bengali actresses
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It includes those who are known to a large number of people and is not based on the extent of their popularity. Neither is the list viewed from the context of the present. Their fame could be brief. What matters is that they were well-known during the peak of their popularity. This list does not include the significant number of prominent East Bengali Refugees
East Bengali Refugees
East Bengali Refugees are people that left East Bengal following the partition of Bengal, which was part of the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947.-History:...
from East Bengal
East Bengal
East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly corresponded to the modern state of Bangladesh. Both instances involved a violent partition of Bengal....
who settled in West Bengal after the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947.
Founding Fathers and Major Figures
- Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
, Nobel Prize in Literature, 1913 - Sarat Chandra Chatterjee
- Pramatha ChaudhuriPramatha ChaudhuriPramathanath Chaudhuri , known as Pramatha Chaudhuri, alias Birbal, is an exceptionally illuminating persona in modern Bengali literature. It is astounding how he kept hold of his uniqueness in all-pervasive era of Rabindranath Tagore...
- Rajsekhar Basu
- Bibhutibhushan Banerjee
- Tarashankar Banerjee
- Amiya ChakravartyAmiya ChakravartyAmiya Chandra Chakravarty was a literary critic, academic, and Bengali Poet. He was a close associate of Rabindrath Tagore, and edited several books of his poetry. He was also an associate of Gandhi, and an expert on the American catholic writer and monk, Thomas Merton. Dr. Chakravarty was...
- Sudhindranath Datta
- Annadashankar RoyAnnadashankar RoyAnnadashankar Roy , was a renowned Bengali author. He was born in Dhenkanal in Orissa, India.-Life:Passed B.A. in English from Ravenshaw College, Cuttack, Orissa. Started his literary career in Oriya. He was a poet of Sabuja Yuga in Oriya Literature. Later he shifted his writing to Bengali...
- Premendra MitraPremendra MitraPremendra Mitra was a renowned Bengali poet, novelist, short story writer and film director. He was also an author of Bangla science fiction and thrillers.-Life:...
- Bishnu DeyBishnu DeyBishnu Dey was a prominent Bengali poet, prose writer, translator, academic and art critique in the era of modernism, post-modernism...
Children's story writers
- Sukumar RaySukumar RaySukumar Ray , , was a Bengali humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. As perhaps the most famous Indian practitioner of literary nonsense, he is often compared to Lewis Carroll...
- Lila Majumdar
- Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
- Shirshendu MukhopadhyayShirshendu MukhopadhyayShirshendu Mukhopadhyay is a Bengali author who writes Bengali books. He has written stories for both adults and children.-Life:Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay was born in Bikrampur , now in Bangladesh. He spent his childhood in Bihar and many places in Bengal and Assam accompanying his father, who worked...
- Adrish Bardhan
- Sunil GangopadhyaySunil GangopadhyaySunil Gangopadhyay , is a celebrated Indian poet and novelist.-Early life:...
- Premendra MitraPremendra MitraPremendra Mitra was a renowned Bengali poet, novelist, short story writer and film director. He was also an author of Bangla science fiction and thrillers.-Life:...
- Moti NandiMoti NandiMoti Nandi [10 July 1931 - 3 January 2010] was a Bengali writer based in Kolkata, India. He was born in Kolkata in 1931. He was an alumnus of the University of Calcutta. He died in 2010.-Career:...
- Anish Dev
- Narayan GangopadhyayNarayan GangopadhyayNarayan Gangopadhyay ,Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),(also known as Narayan Ganguly was a renowned South Asian author. He was born in Dinajpur in undivided Bengal, in what is now Bangladesh. His real name was Taraknath Gangopadhyay.-Life:...
- Samaresh MajumdarSamaresh MajumdarSamaresh Majumdar is a well known contemporary Bengali writer. He spent his childhood years in the tea gardens of Duars, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. He was a student of the Jalpaiguri Zilla School, Jalpaiguri. He completed his bachelors in Bengali from Scottish Church College, Kolkata. His...
- Shibram ChakrabortyShibram ChakrabortyShibram Chakrabarty was a popular Bengali writer, humorist and revolutionary who is best known for his humorous stories. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of pun, alliteration, play of words and ironic humor...
- Upendra Kishore RoychoudhuriUpendrakishore RayUpendrokishore Ray , also known as Upendrakishore Raychowdhury was a famous Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer. He was born on 10 May 1863 in a little village called Moshua in Mymensingh District in Bengal, now in Bangladesh...
- Mohammad Nasir Ali
- Ahsan Habib
- Mohammad Salahuddin
Medieval Bengal Literary Scene
- ChandidasChandidasChandidas refers to medieval poet of Bengal. Over 1250 poems related to the love of Radha and Krishna in Bengali with the bhanita of Chandidas are found with three different sobriquets along with his name, , Dvija and Dina as well as without any sobriquet also...
- VidyapatiVidyapatiVidyapati Thakur , also known by the sobriquet Maithil Kavi Kokil was a Maithili poet and a Sanskrit writer. He was born in the village of Bishphi in Madhubani district of Bihar state, India. He was son of Ganapati...
- Krittibas OjhaKrittibas OjhaKrittibas Ojha or Kirttibas Ojha was a medieval Bengali poet. His major contribution to Bangla literature and culture was the translation of the great Indian epic Ramayana to Bangla. His work, the Sri Ram Panchali, is popularly known as the Krittivasi Ramayan...
- Govindadas
- Jnanadas
- Kavikankan Mukundaram
- Kashiram Das
- Bharat Chandra
- Ramprasad
- Krishnadasa KavirajKrishnadasa KavirajaKrishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a hagiography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.-Early life:There is scant...
Other authors from Early Modern Period
- Madan Mohan TarkalankarMadan Mohan TarkalankarMadan Mohan Tarkalankar was a Bengali poet and Sanskrit scholar. He also developed Bengali text-books for children. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Akshay Kumar Datta and Tarkalankar were the first “to envisage texts that would build the character of the new generation without sacrificing literary...
- Iswar Gupta
- Peary Chand MitraPeary Chand MitraPeary Chand Mitra , was an Indian writer, journalist and a member of Derozio’s Young Bengal group, who played a leading role in the Bengal renaissance with the introduction of simple Bengali prose...
- Kaliprasanna SinhaKaliprasanna SinghaKaliprasanna Singha is remembered for his two immortal contributions to Bengali literature viz. translation of Mahabharata, the largest epic, and his book Hutom Pyanchar Naksha...
- Hemchandra Banerjee
- Akshay Kumar Baral
- Romesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder Dutt, CIE was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, writer, and translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata.- Formative years :...
- Jyotirindranath TagoreJyotirindranath TagoreJyotirindranath Tagore was a playwright, a musician, an editor and a painter. Endowed with an outstanding talent, he had the rare capability of spotting talent in others...
- Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
- Dwijendralal RayDwijendralal RayDwijendralal Ray , also known as D. L. Ray , was a Bengali poet, playwright, and musician. He was known for his Hindu mythological and Nationalist historical plays and songs known as Dwijendrageeti or the Songs of Dwijendralal, which number over 500, create a separate sub-genre of Bengali Music...
- Trailokyanath SanyalTrailokyanath SanyalTrailokyanath Sanyal was one of the Brahmo missionaries, who assisted in combining the ideals of traditional Vaishnavism with those of Brahmo Samaj. Through hundreds of devotional songs which he created, he developed Brahma Sangit, devotional songs of Brahmo Samaj, as an art form...
- B.M. Barua
Prominent Foreign Language Authors from Bengal
- Toru DuttToru DuttToru Dutt was an Indian poetess who wrote in English and French.-Childhood:Toru Dutt was the youngest girl of Govin Chunder Dutt, a retired Indian Officer. She was born on the fourth of March 1856...
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- Manomohan Ghose
- Sri AurobindoSri AurobindoSri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
- Ketaki Kushari Dyson
- Jhumpa LahiriJhumpa LahiriJhumpa Lahiri is a Bengali American author. Lahiri's debut short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies , won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and her first novel, The Namesake , was adapted into the popular film of the same name. She was born Nilanjana Sudeshna, which she says are both...
- Amitav GhoshAmitav GhoshAmitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
- Amit ChaudhuriAmit ChaudhuriAmit Chaudhuri is an internationally recognised Indian English author and academic. He is currently Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia.-Life:...
- Upamanyu ChatterjeeUpamanyu ChatterjeeUpamanyu Chatterjee is an Indian Bengali author and administrator, notable for his work set in the milieu of the Indian Administrative Service, especially his novel English, August. He was born in Patna, Bihar and was educated at St. Xavier's School and St. Stephen's College, in Delhi...
- Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniChitra Banerjee DivakaruniChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an Indian-American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program....
Other authors from early/mid twentieth century and some contemporary authors
- Jatindranath SenguptaJatindranath SenguptaJatindranath Sengupta was a Bengali poet and writer.-Life:By profession, Jatindranath was an engineer. He received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1911 from the Shibpur Engineering College and started working as an overseer...
- Kumud Ranjan MullickKumud Ranjan MullickKumud Ranjan Mullick was a Bengali writer and poet; one of the most eminent poets of the Tagore era of Bengali literature. He was an early mentor and coach to the famous poet Kazi Nazrul Islam.-Biography:...
- Jatindramohan BagchiJatindramohan BagchiJatindramohan Bagchi was a Bengali poet and editor.-Early life:He was born in Jamsherpur, in Nadia, in rural Bengal...
- Dilipkumar RoyDilipkumar RoyDilipkumar Roy was a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist.In 1965, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him its highest honour for lifetime achievement, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.-Background and...
- Bibhutibhushan MukhopadhyayBibhutibhushan MukhopadhyayBibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay was a renowned Bengali author. He was born in Darbhanga, Bihar, India.-Life:Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay was born on 24 October 1894 in a village of Mithila of Bihar....
- Subodh GhoshSubodh GhoshSubodh Ghosh was a noted Bengali author and journalist, with Kolkata-based daily newspaper Ananda Bazar Patrika. His best known work Bharat Premkatha, about the romances of epic Indian characters, has remained a sensation in bengali literature world...
- Sukanta BhattacharyaSukanta BhattacharyaSukanta Bhattacharya was a Bengali poet and playwright. Along with Rabindranath Tagore and Kazi Nazrul Islam, he was one of the key figures of modern Bengali poetry, despite the fact that most of his works had been in publication posthumously...
- Subhash Mukhopadhyay
- Bimal KarBimal KarBimal Kar 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.-Personal life and education:...
- Shakti ChattopadhyayShakti ChattopadhyayShakti Chattopadhay was a Bengali poet and writer, widely regarded as one of the greatest poet of 20th century Bengali literature. -External links:...
- Shankha GhoshShankha GhoshShankha Ghosh is a Bengali Indian poet and critic. Ghosh was born on February 6, 1932 at Chandpur of what is now Bangladesh...
- Purnendu PatriPurnendu PatriPurnendu Patri was an Indian poet of Bengali origin. He was born in Howrah in West Bengal. He was a noted short-story writer and a critic. One of his story collection is known as 'Staliner Raaa' and a book on Rabindranath is titled 'Amar Rabindranath'. Patri was also known as an illustrator and...
- Narendranath MitraNarendranath Mitra-Biography:He was born in Faridpur in modern day Bangladesh. He was based in Kolkata, now in India at the time of partition in 1947, and chose to remain in India when his birthplace fell to the share of Pakistan....
- Arun MitraArun MitraArun Mitra was a Bengali poet.He was born in Jessore, now in Bangladesh, Arun moved to Kolkata when he was a young boy and did most of his schooling there. In college he was very fascinated by the life sciences, although he was officially a student of English...
- Nirendranath Chakraborty
- Alokranjan DasguptaAlokranjan DasguptaAlokranjan Dasgupta is a renowned Indian poet of Bengali literature and a German scholar who manages his time by shuttling between Kolkata, India and Germany....
- Ramapada Chaudhuri
- Santosh Kumar GhoshSantosh Kumar GhoshSantosh Kumar Ghosh was an eminent Bengali litterateur and a journalist of repute.-Early life:Born in Faridpur district of what is now Bangladesh, Santosh Kumar had his ancestral house at Barishal district...
- Mahasweta DeviMahasweta DeviMahasweta Devi is an Indian social activist and writer.- Biography :Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Dhaka, to literary parents in a Hindu Brahmin family. Her father Manish Ghatak was a well known poet and novelist of the Kallol era, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa...
- Sanjeev ChattopadhyaySanjeev ChattopadhyaySanjeev Chattopadhyay is a fiction writer. His style is characterized by use of short satirical sentences mixed with very lively language.-Childhood and education:...
- Shibram ChakrabortyShibram ChakrabortyShibram Chakrabarty was a popular Bengali writer, humorist and revolutionary who is best known for his humorous stories. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of pun, alliteration, play of words and ironic humor...
- Narayan GangopadhyayNarayan GangopadhyayNarayan Gangopadhyay ,Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),Narayan Gangopadhyay (1918–1970),(also known as Narayan Ganguly was a renowned South Asian author. He was born in Dinajpur in undivided Bengal, in what is now Bangladesh. His real name was Taraknath Gangopadhyay.-Life:...
- Narayan SanyalNarayan SanyalNarayan Sanyal was a well-known & versatile writer of modern Bengali literature as well as a civil engineer.-Biography:Narayan Sanyal was born to Chittasukh Sanyal and Basantalata Devi...
- Buddhadeb GuhaBuddhadeb GuhaBuddhadeb Guha is a popular Bengali fiction writer. He studied at the well-known St Xavier's College of the University of Calcutta....
- Samaresh MajumdarSamaresh MajumdarSamaresh Majumdar is a well known contemporary Bengali writer. He spent his childhood years in the tea gardens of Duars, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India. He was a student of the Jalpaiguri Zilla School, Jalpaiguri. He completed his bachelors in Bengali from Scottish Church College, Kolkata. His...
- ShankarMani Shankar MukherjeeShankar, real name Mani Shankar Mukherjee, and generally known in English-language literature as Sankar is a very popular writer in the Bengali language...
- Moti NandiMoti NandiMoti Nandi [10 July 1931 - 3 January 2010] was a Bengali writer based in Kolkata, India. He was born in Kolkata in 1931. He was an alumnus of the University of Calcutta. He died in 2010.-Career:...
- Syed Mustafa SirajSyed Mustafa SirajSyed Mustafa Siraj সৈয়দ মুস্তাফা সিরাজ is an eminent Bengali writer. In 1994, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel Aleek Manush অলীক মানুষ...
- Kazi Abdul Wadud
- S Wajid Ali
- Showkat Osman
- Shahadat HossainShahadat HossainKazi Shahadat Hossain is a Bangladeshi cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2005 during Bangladesh's first tour of England. When he came onto the international scnene he was cited by then coach Dav Whatmore as the fastest bowler in the team. The following year, Hossain made his One Day...
- Sandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan ChattopadhyaySandipan Chattopadhyay was a Bengali writer. In 1961 he wrote the book "Kritadas Kritadasi" it changed the landscape of Bengali fiction and created a niche for himself...
- Samir RoychoudhurySamir RoychoudhurySamir Roychowdhury , one of the founding fathers of the Hungry Generation 1961-1965 ,was born at Panihati, West Bengal, India in a family of artists, sculptors, photographers and musicians...
- Buddhadev Dasgupta
- Salil Choudhury
- Prabir GhoshPrabir GhoshPrabir Ghosh is the head of the Science and Rationalists’ Association of India, and president of the Humanists' Association based in Kolkata. He was once referred to in the media as being from the "Rationalist Association of India"...
- Malay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy ChoudhuryMalay Roy Choudhury is a Bengali poet and novelist who founded the "Hungryalist Movement" in the 1960s. His literary works have been reviewed by sixty critics in HAOWA 49, a quarterly magazine which devoted its January 2001 special issue to Roy Choudhury's life and works...
- Adrish Bardhan
- Dipak Majumdar
- Utpal Kumar Basu
- Tridib Mitra
- Subimal BasakSubimal BasakSubimal Basak, is an Indian fiction writer. He is a member of the Hungry generation, with Samir Roychoudhury, Falguni Roy, Shakti Chattopadhyay and the movement's creator Malay Roy Choudhury....
- Binoy MajumdarBinoy MajumdarBinoy Majumdar was a Bengali poet. Binoy received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005.-Biography:Late Binoy Majumdar was born in Myanmar on the 17th of September 1934. His family later moved to what is now West Bengal in India. Binoy loved mathematics from his early youth...
- Pranabkumar Chattopadhayahttp://www.calcuttayellowpages.com/adver/107778.html
- Joy GoswamiJoy GoswamiJoy Goswami is an Indian poet. Goswami writes in Bangla and is widely considered as one of the most important Bengali poets of his generation.-Biography:...
- Rudrasankar
- Subodh SarkarSubodh SarkarSubodh Sarkar, a major Bengali poet, writer and editor, and a Reader in English literature at City College, Kolkata, was born in 1958 at Krishnanagar...
- Falguni Ray
- Masuduzzaman
- Sujit Sarkar
- Bitashoke Bhattacharya
- Gautam Basu
- Mallika SenguptaMallika SenguptaMallika Sengupta is a Bengali poet, feminist, and reader of Sociology from Kolkata, known for her "unapologetically political poetry".- Biography :...
- Jahar Sen Mazumdar
- Sanjukta Bandopadhyay
- Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
- SrijatoSrijatoSrijato Bandopadhyay , is a popular poet of the Bengali younger generation. He won the Ananda Puroskar in 2004 for his book Udanta Sawb Joker: All Those Flying Jokers...
Journalism
- Harish Chandra MukherjeeHarish Chandra MukherjeeHarish Chandra Mukherjee , was an Indian journalist and patriot, who fought tooth and nail for the indigo cultivators and forced the government to bring about changes.-Early life:...
- Dwarkanath VidyabhusanDwarkanath VidyabhusanDwarkanath Vidyabhusan was an Indian scholar, editor and publisher of the trend-setting weekly Bengali newspaper Somprakash.-Father:His father, Harachandra Bhattacharya was a scholar...
- Shishir Kumar Ghosh
- Tushar Kanti GhoshTushar Kanti GhoshTushar Kanti Ghosh was a very prominent Bengali author and journalist who penned several novels and short stories. He was closely associated with Amrita Bazar Patrika publications in Kolkata.He studied at the Bangabasi College of the University of Calcutta....
- Sukumar RaySukumar RaySukumar Ray , , was a Bengali humorous poet, story writer and playwright who mainly wrote for children. As perhaps the most famous Indian practitioner of literary nonsense, he is often compared to Lewis Carroll...
, Editor, Sandesh - Sharmistha Chakraborty,News Anchor, Etv Bangla
- Gourav Lal,Copy editor/reporter,Etv Bangla
- Subhranshu chatterjee, sr.copy editor/ buletine producer/reporter, etv bangla
- Moti NandiMoti NandiMoti Nandi [10 July 1931 - 3 January 2010] was a Bengali writer based in Kolkata, India. He was born in Kolkata in 1931. He was an alumnus of the University of Calcutta. He died in 2010.-Career:...
- Barun SenguptaBarun SenguptaBarun Sengupta , the founder-editor of Bartaman newspaper, was a Bengali journalist and popular political critic...
- Chandan MitraChandan MitraChandan Mitra is an Indian journalist, presently editor and managing director of The Pioneer newspaper in Delhi, India. He was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha during August 2003 to August 2009...
- Sunanda K. Datta-RaySunanda K. Datta-RaySunanda K. Datta-Ray has been a leading Indian newspaperman and journalist for half a century. He has been Editor of The Statesman and has also written for the International Herald Tribune and Time Magazine. He was Editor-in-Residence at the East-West Center in Honolulu. He was Editorial...
- Bibekananda Mukhopadhyay
- Kalyan Kumar DasGupta, Director of All-India Radio and later, of Doordarshan, Kolkata (retired c.1988)
- Sourendra Kumar DasSourendra Kumar DasSourendra Kumar Das is a fashion editor with FashionFad.In who writes in English and a gay activist who fights for attaining equal rights of the LGBTI community. He has been writing on gender, sexuality, fashion, lifestyle and various diverse topics since 2004...
, Fashion Editor, FashionFad.In, International Fashion Portal
Language/Linguistics, Anthropology, History, and other Social Sciences
- Ishwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
, Creator of Standard Bengali Prose (sadhu bhasha) - Shashi Bhusan Chatterjee, Famous Geographer
- Rajendralal MitraRajendralal MitraRajendralal Mitra was the first modern Indologist of Indian origin, and was a key figure in the Bengal Renaissance. He was pioneer in scientific study of history and contributed substantially in the field of archaeology. Eminent Historian Professor R.S...
, First Indian to work with Indologists - Haraprasad ShastriHaraprasad ShastriHaraprasad Shastri , also known as Haraprasad Bhattacharya, was an Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature...
, Historian of Bengali language and culture - Dinesh Chandra SenDinesh Chandra SenRai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen was an Indian writer in Bengali, educationist and researcher of Bengali folklore...
, Historian of Bengali literature and folklorist - Pramatha ChaudhuriPramatha ChaudhuriPramathanath Chaudhuri , known as Pramatha Chaudhuri, alias Birbal, is an exceptionally illuminating persona in modern Bengali literature. It is astounding how he kept hold of his uniqueness in all-pervasive era of Rabindranath Tagore...
, Creator of Modern Bengali Prose (chalit bhasha) along with Tagore - Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Historian
- Rajsekhar BoseRajsekhar BoseRajshekhar Basu , better known by the pen name Parashuram was a Bengali writer, chemist and lexicographer. He was chiefly known for his comic and satirical short stories, and is considered the greatest Bangla humorist of the twentieth century...
, Major contributor for scientific terms in Bengali and lexicographer - Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Historian
- Girindrasekhar BoseGirindrasekhar BoseGirindrasekhar Bose was an early 20th century South Asian psychoanalyst.Bose was the first president of the Indian Psychoanalytic Society.He carried on a twenty-year dialogue with Sigmund Freud...
, First non-European correspondent of Freud - Suniti Kumar Chatterjee, Linguist
- Biraja Sankar GuhaBiraja Sankar GuhaBiraja Sankar Guha was an Indian physical anthropologist, who classified Indian people into races around the early part of the 20th century. He was the first Director of the Anthropological Survey of India ....
, Anthropologist - Sukumar SenSukumar SenProf. Sukumar Sen was a Bengali linguist. He had also vast knowledge in Pāli, Prakrit and Sanskrit. He wrote the book History of Bengali literature.-Work:...
, Linguist - Susobhan SarkarSusobhan Sarkar-Background and education:Sarkar was born into a Brahmo family of Dhaka. After attending Dhaka Collegiate School and then studying history at Presidency College, Calcutta, he continued his studies at Jesus College, Oxford from 1923 to 1925. His daughter was Sipra Sarkar, a brilliant student of...
, Historian - Nirmal Kumar BoseNirmal Kumar BoseNirmal Kumar Bose was a leading Indian anthropologist, whoplayed a formative role in "building an Indian Tradition in Anthropology". A humanist scholar with a broad range of interests, he was also a leading sociologist, urbanist, Gandhian, and educationist...
, Anthropologist, Associate of Gandhi - Niharranjan RayNiharranjan RayNiharranjan Ray was an Indian historian, well-known for his works on history of art and Buddhism. he was born at Kayetgram village of Mymensingh District in Bengal province of British India . He completed his initial studies from the Mrityunjaya School and Anandamohan College in Mymensingh. In...
, Historian - Dineshchandra SircarDineshchandra SircarDineshchandra Sircar , also known as D. C. Sircar, was a epigraphist, historian, numismatist and folklorist, known particularly for his work deciphering inscriptions in India and Bangladesh...
, Epigraphist - Debiprasad ChattopadhyayaDebiprasad ChattopadhyayaDebiprasad Chattopadhyaya was an eminent Bengali Marxist philosopher from India. He made extensive contributions to the exploration of the materialist current in ancient Indian Philosophy...
, Social Philosopher - Surajit Chandra SinhaSurajit Chandra SinhaSurajit Chandra Sinha was an Indian anthropologist and a former Maharajkumar of Susang in undivided Bengal.-Background:He was born in Mymensingh District in 1926...
, Anthropologist - Tapan RaychaudhuriTapan RaychaudhuriTapan Raychaudhuri is an Indian historian specialising in British Indian history, Indian economic history and the History of Bengal.-Background:...
, Professor of History at Oxford University - Amartya SenAmartya SenAmartya Sen, CH is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members...
, Nobel Prize Awardee in Economics - Ranajit GuhaRanajit GuhaRanajit Guha is a historian of South Asia who was greatly influential in the Subaltern Studies group, and was the editor of several of the group's early anthologies. He migrated from India to the UK in the 1960s, and currently lives in Vienna, Austria.His Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency...
, Subaltern Theorist - Sumit SarkarSumit Sarkar-Background:He belongs to one of Bengal's most enlightened and progressive Brahmo families. His father was Professor Susobhan Chandra Sarkar, a Head of Department of History at Presidency College, Calcutta and the founder Head of Department of the Department of History, []...
, Historian - Kirti Narayan Chaudhuri, Historian
- Gayatri Spivak, Feminist
- Vina MazumdarVina MazumdarDr. Vina Mazumdar is an Indian academic, feminist, a pioneer in Women studies in India and a leading figure of the women’s movement in post-independence India. She was secretary of the first Committee on Status of Women in India that brought out the first report on condition of women in the...
, Women studies Academic - Hem Chandra RaychaudhuriHem Chandra RaychaudhuriHem Chandra Raychaudhuri was an Indian historian, known for his studies on ancient India.-Early life and education:...
, Indian Historian (1892–1957), Charmichael Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, University of Calcutta
Renowned Scholars and Polymaths
- Raja Radhakanta DebRadhakanta DebRadhakanta Deb , a scholar and a leader of the Calcutta conservative Hindu society, was the son of Gopimohan Deb, the adopted son and heir of Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb. Nabakrishna, a man of obscure origin, was well versed in Persian language and with him actually the prosperity of the family began...
, Brought out two lexicons in Sanskrit - Sourindramohan Tagore, Scholar on Indian Music as well as World Music
- Dwijendranath TagoreDwijendranath TagoreSee Tagore for disambiguationDwijendranath Tagore was an Indian poet, song composer, philosopher, mathematician, and a pioneer in Bengali shorthand and musical notations.-Formative years:...
, Scholar on Philosophy, Religion, Poetry - Aghore Nath GuptaAghore Nath GuptaAghore Nath Gupta was a great scholar of Buddhism and a preacher of the Brahmo Samaj. He was designated Sadhu after his premature death in recognition of his pious life...
, Scholar on Buddhism, Associate of Keshab Sen - Ramendra Sundar TribediRamendra Sundar Tribedi-Life:He was born at Jemo situated at Kandi subdivision of Murshidabad. From the very first class, Ramendra Sundar Tribedi stood first. After obtaining his B.Sc...
, Amongst the first Indian Researchers in Science - Krishnadhan Banerjee, First musicologist and creator of musical notation for Hindostani Classical Music
- Amlan Datta, Economist, Vice Chancellor of Visva Bharati
- Prithwindra MukherjeePrithwindra MukherjeePrithwindra Mukherjee retired in 2003 from a career as a researcher in the Human and Social Sciences Department of the French National Centre of Scientific Research in Paris...
, Scholar on Indian History, Philosophy, Religion and Culture, French Government Awardee
Post Independence
- Sudhi Ranjan DasSudhi Ranjan DasSudhi Ranjan Das was the Chief Justice of India from 1955 to 1955 and then again 1 December 1955 to 31 January 1959. He retired from the Supreme Court 30 September 1959.-Background and education:...
, Chief Justice of India, Vice-chancellor of Visva Bharati
Others
- Mahamahopadhyay Pandit Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, C.I.E.
- Debashis ChatterjeeDebashis ChatterjeeDebashis Chatterjee has been a professor for about fifteen years in IIM, Lucknow and IIM, Calcutta. He pioneered and founded the global Center for Leadership and Human Values at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow . Chatterjee's professional career included experiences in India, the United...
Pre Modern Period
- Chaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
(Achintya Bhedabheda Vedanta) - Madhusudana Saraswati (Advaita Vedanta)
- Raghunatha SiromaniRaghunatha SiromaniRaghunatha Shiromani was an Indian philosopher and logician. He was born at Navadvipa in present day Nadia district of West Bengal state. He was the grandson of , a noted writer on from his mother's side. He was a pupil of...
(Navya Nyaya)
Modern Age
- Keshub Chunder Sen
- Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
- Brajendranath Seal
- Surendranath DasguptaSurendranath DasguptaSurendranath Dasgupta was a scholar of Sanskrit and philosophy.-Family and Education:Dasgupta was born in Kushtia, Bengal . His ancestral home was in the village Goila in Barisal District. He studied in Ripon College Calcutta and graduated with honours in Sanskrit. Later, he received his Masters...
- Krishna Chandra BhattacharyaKrishna Chandra BhattacharyaKrishna Chandra Bhattacharya was a philosopher at Calcutta University who studied one of the central questions of Hindu philosophy, which is how mind, life or consciousness creates an apparently material universe....
- Bimal Krishna MatilalBimal Krishna MatilalBimal Krishna Matilal was an Indian philosopher whose influential writings present the Indian philosophical tradition as being concerned with the same issues as have been the theme in Western philosophy...
Science
- Satyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath BoseSatyendra Nath Bose FRS was an Indian mathematician and physicist noted for his collaboration with Albert Einstein in developing a theory regarding the gaslike qualities of electromagnetic radiation. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, providing the foundation...
- Upendranath BrahmachariUpendranath BrahmachariSir Upendranath Brahmachari, KIH was a noted Indian scientist and a leading medical practitioner of his time...
- P.C. Mahalanobis
- Basantidulal Nagchaudhuri, Physics
- Amal Kumar RaychaudhuriAmal Kumar RaychaudhuriAmal Kumar Raychaudhuri was a leading physicist well known for his contributions to relativistic cosmology, particularly Raychaudhuri's equation, which is a key ingredient in proving the Penrose-Hawking singularity theorems of general relativity...
, - Probudha Bishayee,
Physics
- Ashoke SenAshoke SenAshoke Sen , FRS, is an Indian theoretical physicist. He has made a number of major original contributions to the subject of string theory, including his landmark paper on strong-weak coupling duality or S-duality, which was influential in changing the course of research in the field...
, String Theory, Physics - Debabrata GoswamiDebabrata GoswamiDebabrata Goswami is an Indian spectroscopist, winner of the Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow Award , Swarnajayanti Award , presently Professor of the Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.-Career:...
- Manilal Bhaumik
- Subhash MukhopadhyaySubhash Mukhopadhyay (physician)Subhash Mukhopadhyay was a physician from Kolkata, India.-Early life:He was born on January 16, 1931 in Hazaribag, Bihar , India. He studied and graduated with an honours degree in physiology from the Calcutta National Medical College, which was then affiliated with the prestigious University...
, Physician - Sisir Kumar MitraSisir Kumar MitraSisir Kumar Mitra [or Shishirkumar Mitra] was an Indian physicist.He was born and raised in Calcutta. His parents were the doctor Saratkumari and the school teacher Jaykrishna. At the age of nine he witnessed a hot air balloon and became intrigued in the phenomenon, so he began studying science...
- Ashesh Prosad Mitra
- Arun K. Ghosh, after whom is named DarunavirDarunavirDarunavir is a drug used to treat HIV infection. It is in the protease inhibitor class. Prezista is an OARAC recommended treatment option for treatment-naïve and treatment-experienced adults and adolescents. Developed by pharmaceutical company Tibotec, darunavir is named after Arun K...
- Amartya SenAmartya SenAmartya Sen, CH is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society's poorest members...
Nobel Laureate , economist, Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred NobelAlfred NobelAlfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...
, 1998 - Ram Brahma SanyalRam Brahma SanyalRam Brahma Sanyal was the first superintendent of the Alipore Zoological Gardens in Kolkata . He was a pioneer in captive breeding, and was one of the first zookeepers with a training as a biologist...
, Zoology
Pre-modern period
- Chaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya MahaprabhuChaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
- NityanandaNityanandaImage:Panca-tattva Altar.jpg|thumb|This is interactive image-map. Click! on lotus feet. Sri Krishna Chaitanya , Sri Nityananda Prabhu , Sri Advaita Acharya , Sri Gadadhara Pandit , Sri Srivas Pandit...
- Six Goswamis of VrindavanaSix Goswamis of VrindavanaThe Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were a group of devotional teachers from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Vedic Religion who lived in India during the 15th and 16th C...
- Ramprasad SenRamprasad Sen' was a Shakta poet of eighteenth century Bengal. His bhakti poems, known as Ramprasadi, are still popular in Bengal—they are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali...
The Brahmo Samaj
- Raja Ram Mohan Roy
- Ram Chandra VidyabagishRam Chandra VidyabagishRamchandra Vidyabagish was an Indian lexicographer and Sanskrit scholar. He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. He taught at the Vedanta College established by Raja Rammohun Roy, and later at Sanskrit College from 1827-37...
- Maharshi Debendranath TagoreDebendranath TagoreDebendranath Tagore was one of the founders in 1848 of the Brahmo Religion which today is synonymous with Brahmoism the youngest religion of India and Bangladesh....
- Keshab Chandra Sen
- Sivanath SastriSivanath SastriSivanath Sastri was a scholar, religious reformer, educator, writer and historian...
- Bandiram Chakraborty
Neo Hinduism
- Sri Ramakrishna ParamahamsaRamakrishnaRamakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
- Sarada DeviSarada DeviSarada Devi , born Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya , was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth century mystic of Bengal. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Ramakrishna monastic order...
- Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
- Sri AurobindoSri AurobindoSri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
Mid-twentieth century religious figures
- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- Baba Lokenath BrahmachariBaba Lokenath BrahmachariBaba Lokenath Brahmachari or simply Baba Lokenath was an 18th Century Hindu saint and philosopher in Bengal.- Life and Death :Baba Lokenath Brahmachari was born on Janmastami, the 18th day of Bhadra,1137 Bengali Era to a Brahmin family in the village of Chaurasi Chakla, named as Kochua, in...
Major Figures
- Raja Rammohan Roy
- Ishwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra VidyasagarIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
- Keshab Chandra Sen
- Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
- Sivanath SastriSivanath SastriSivanath Sastri was a scholar, religious reformer, educator, writer and historian...
- Vijay Krishna Goswami
- Protap Chunder MozoomdarProtap Chunder MozoomdarProtap Chunder Mozoomdar was a member of the Hindu reform movement the Brahmo Samaj, and a close associate of Keshub Chandra Sen. He is best known for his research into the "oriental" aspects of the teachings of Jesus....
- Nibaran Chandra MukherjeeNibaran Chandra Mukherjee- Life with the Brahmo Samaj :Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee joined the Brahmo Samaj at an early age and was ostracised by his family for this decision. He left his ancestral home in Hughli and settled down in Bhagalpur...
- Umesh Chandra DuttaUmesh Chandra DuttaUmesh Chandra Dutta was one of the pioneer Brahmos who firmly established the Brahmo Samaj at Harinavi in the face of severe opposition from local people. He was one of the founders of Sadharan Brahmo Samaj and contributed substantially to the cause of education, particularly women’s education...
- Ashwini Kumar Datta
Derozians
- Ramtanu LahiriRamtanu LahiriRamtanu Lahiri was a Young Bengal leader, a renowned teacher and a social reformer. Peary Chand Mitra wrote about him, “There are few persons in whom the milk of kindness flows so abundantly...
- Radhanath SikdarRadhanath SikdarRadhanath Sikdar was an Indian mathematician who, among many other things, calculated the height of Peak XV in the Himalaya and showed it to be the tallest mountain above sea level. Peak XV was later named Mount Everest.-Early life:Radhanath was born as youngest child of Tituram, a resident of...
- Rajnarayan BasuRajnarayan BasuRajnarayan Basu was a writer and intellectual of the Bengal Renaissance. He was born in Boral in 24 Parganas and studied at the Hare School and Hindu College, both premier institutions in Kolkata, Bengal at the time. A monotheist at heart, Rajnarayan Basu converted to Brahmoism at the age of...
- Sib Chandra DebSib Chandra DebSib Chandra Deb was one of the leading Derozians, virtually the first generation of English-knowing Indians. He had joined Hindu College in 1825 and was subsequently drawn towards Derozio...
- Peary Chand MitraPeary Chand MitraPeary Chand Mitra , was an Indian writer, journalist and a member of Derozio’s Young Bengal group, who played a leading role in the Bengal renaissance with the introduction of simple Bengali prose...
- Rasik Krishna MallickRasik Krishna MallickRasik Krishna Mallick was an Indian journalist, editor, reformer, educationist and a leading member of Young Bengal group. He had shocked the court in British India in the 1820s with the statement that he did not believe in the sacredness of the Ganges.-Early life:Son of Naba Kishore Mallick, he...
- Krishna Mohan BanerjeeKrishna Mohan BanerjeeKrishna Mohan Banerjee was a prominent member of Henry Louis Vivian Derozio’s Young Bengal group, educationist, linguist and Christian missionary.-Early life:...
- Dakshinaranjan MukherjeeDakshinaranjan MukherjeeRaja Dakshinaranjan Mukherjee Taluqdar of the formerly confiscated taluq of Shankarpur in the United Provinces was one of the leaders of the Young Bengal group in 19th-century India...
- Ramgopal GhoshRamgopal GhoshRamgopal Ghosh was an Indian businessman, social reformer, orator and one of the leaders of the Young Bengal group. He was called the Indian Demosthenes. Ghosh was one of the persons who helped John Elliot Drinkwater Bethune to establish his girls school.-Early life:The family hailed from Bagati,...
The First Indian Women to break social barriers
- Rani RashmoniRani RashmoniRani Rashmoni was the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata, and remained closely associated with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa after she appointed him as the priest of the temple...
, Confronted with the British, First non-upper caste founder of Hindu Temple, Promoter of Ramakrishna in his initial days - Rassundari Dasi, First Woman Author from Modern Bengal
- Kadambini GangulyKadambini GangulyKadambini Ganguly was one of the first female graduates of the British Empire along with Chandramukhi Basu. She was one of the first female physicians of South Asia to be trained in European medicine.-Early life:...
, First Woman Physician - Jnanadanandini Devi, First Hindu Woman from respectable family to go abroad
- Sarala Devi, First Woman Nationalist
- Other Women from the Tagore familyTagore familyThe Tagore family, with over three hundred years of history, has been one of the leading families of Kolkata, and is regarded as a key influence during the Bengal Renaissance...
who were pioneers in many areas - Abala BoseAbala BoseAbala, Lady Bose was a social worker well-known for her efforts in the field of women’s education and her contribution towards the alleviation of the condition of widows.-Family:...
, Social Worker - Amala Das, First woman from respectable Indian families to record songs on gramophone, among the foremost singers to sing in the Indian National Congress
- Roma Chaudhuri, First Bengali Woman to become a University Vice-Chancellor
- Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
Early Modern Period
- Abanindranath TagoreAbanindranath TagoreAbanindranath Tagore was the principal artist of the Bengal school and the first major exponent of swadeshi values in Indian art. He was also a noted writer, particularly for children...
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- Gaganendranath TagoreGaganendranath TagoreSee Tagore for disambiguationGaganendranath Tagore was an Indian painter and cartoonist of the Bengal school. He belongs to the Tagore family and was born at Jorasanko.-Early life:Gaganendranath Tagore was born in Calcutta...
- Sunayani Devi
- Nandalal BoseNandalal BoseNandalal Bose was a notable Indian painter of Bengal school of art. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for "Indian style" of painting. He became the principal of Kala Bhawan, Shanti Niketan in 1922...
- Binode Bihari Mukherjee
- Ramkinkar BaijRamkinkar BaijRamkinkar Baij was an Indian Santhal sculptor, known as the Pioneer of Modern Indian Sculpture. He was one of the first Indian Adivasi artists to understand the language of modern Western art and use it in his sculptures...
- Jamini RoyJamini Roy-Early life:Jamini Roy was born in 1887 into a middle-class family of land-owners in a village called Beliatore in the District of Bankura in Bengal .When he was sixteen he was sent to study at the Government School of Art in Calcutta...
- Hemen MajumdarHemen MajumdarThis is an article about 2 different persons!Hemendra Majumdar was an Indian painter. His popular painting is Lady with Lamp, depicting loneliness of a woman...
- Kshitindranath Majumdar
From mid-twentieth century
- Mukul DeyMukul DeyMukul Chandra Dey was a student of Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan. He is considered as a pioneer of drypoint-etching in India....
- Atul Bose
- Chintamani Kar
- Paresh MaityParesh MaityParesh Maity is an Indian painter. He is a prolific painter in a short career span.-Early life:Paresh Maity was born in Tamluk, Purba Medinipur...
- Paritosh SenParitosh SenParitosh Sen was a leading Indian artist. He was born in Dhaka , the present-day capital of Bangladesh...
- Jahar DasguptaJahar DasguptaJahar Dasgupta, is senior contemporary painter from India.-Biography:Jahar Dasgupta was born in Jamshedpur in the year 1942. He was admitted to Kalabhavan, Santiniketan in 1959 and took his primary lessons under legendary mentors like Nand Lal Bose, Ramkinkar Baiz and Benode Behari Mukherjee...
- Sarbari Roy Chowdhury
- Meera Mukherjee
- Hemen Ganguly
- Ganesh PyneGanesh PyneGanesh Pyne is a Calcutta-born Indian artist.- Biographical :Pyne was born in Calcutta in 1937. He was a student at the Government College of Arts & Craft, Calcutta between 1955 and 1959...
- Bikash BhattacharjeeBikash BhattacharjeeBikash Bhatacharjee was an Indian painter from Kolkata in West Bengal. Through his paintings, he depicted the life of the average middle-class Bengali - their aspirations, superstitions, hypocrisy and corruption, and even the violence that is endemic to Kolkata. He worked in oils, acrylics,...
- Anil KaranjaiAnil KaranjaiAnil Karanjai was an accomplished Indian artist. Born in East Bengal, he was educated in Benaras, where his family settled subsequent to the Partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947. As a small child he had spent long hours playing with clay to make toys and arrows. He also began very early...
- Anjolie ela Menon
- Subimal Kanti Dutta
- Somenath Hore
- Mrinal Kanti Ray
Photography, Publishing/Advertizing, Film Editing and other areas of Art
- Hemendramohan Bose, Originator of swadeshi brands of various products in early twentieth century
- Surendranath Kar, Architect, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan
- Dilip Kumar Gupta, a pioneer of Indian Advertising, who also modernized and professionalized publishing in Bengal,and helped many talented Bengali writers, poets, filmmakers and artists achieve their aspirations. First publisher of Jawarharlal Nehru's Discovery of India. A cultural icon and role model of his times.
- Shambhu Shaha, Photojournalist of Tagore's Santiniketan
- Dulal Dutta, Associate of Satyajit Ray
- Subrata MitraSubrata MitraSubrata Mitra was an Indian cinematographer. Acclaimed for his work in The Apu Trilogy , Mitra is often considered one of the greatest of Indian cinematographers....
, Cinematographer associated with Satyajit Ray - Nemai Ghosh, Celebrated Photographer
- Subroto Sengupta, Ad man of India; ex-CEO of Clarion Adv., Professor at IIM; Consultant to leading ad&mktg firms such as Contract advertising and TNS Mode; mentor to current luminaries in the field; beloved friend and colleague to radio, TV and film personalities such as Satyajit Ray; author of Brand Positioning - Strategies For Competitive Advantage - a unique text on advertising especially focusing on the theory and psychology behind advertising.
- Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri internationally known as Indrani, award-winning iconic Photographer, director, author, and TV personality, created defining images of most important celebrities from David Bowie to Beyonce and Lady Gaga, and first photographer to star in an American TV docu-series about her work "Double Exposure" airing in over 50 countries
Composers
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- Dwijendralal RayDwijendralal RayDwijendralal Ray , also known as D. L. Ray , was a Bengali poet, playwright, and musician. He was known for his Hindu mythological and Nationalist historical plays and songs known as Dwijendrageeti or the Songs of Dwijendralal, which number over 500, create a separate sub-genre of Bengali Music...
- Atulprasad SenAtulprasad SenAtulprasad Sen was an Bengali composer, lyricist and singer. He is principally remembered as a musician and composer. His songs centred around three broad subjects- patriotism, devotion and love...
- Rajanikanta SenRajanikanta SenRajanikanta Sen was a Bengali poet and composer, known for his devotional compositions, as well as his patriotic songs...
- Kazi Nazrul IslamKazi Nazrul IslamKazi Nazrul Islam , sobriquet Bidrohi Kobi, was a Bengali poet, musician and revolutionary who pioneered poetic works espousing intense spiritual rebellion against fascism and oppression. His poetry and nationalist activism earned him the popular title of Bidrohi Kobi...
- Dilipkumar RoyDilipkumar RoyDilipkumar Roy was a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist.In 1965, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him its highest honour for lifetime achievement, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.-Background and...
- Gouri Prasanna MajumdarGouri Prasanna MajumdarGouri Prasanna Majumdar was an eminent Bengali lyricist. He is most commonly associated with the golden age of Bengali cinema, namely the black and white era, when he penned several enduring classics for the evergreen movies like Anyay Abichar, Maqsad, Tinmurti, Aparupa, Anusandhan, and Aaj Ka...
- Himanshu Dutta
- Raichand BoralRaichand BoralRai Chand Boral was an Indian composer, considered by music conoisseurs to be the father of Bollywood film music.-Life and career:...
- Sachin Dev BurmanSachin Dev BurmanSachin Dev Burman , also credited as Burman da, Kumar Sachindra Dev Barman, Sachin karta or S. D. Burman, was one of the most famous music composers for Hindi movies and a Bengali singer and composer. His son Rahul Dev Burman also achieved great success as a Bollywood music director in his own...
- Kamal Dasgupta
- Salil ChowdhurySalil ChowdhurySalil Chowdhury was an Indian music composer. He mainly composed for Bengali, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He was also a poet and a playwright. He is affectionately called Salilda by all his admirers....
- Hemanta Mukherjee
- Sudhin Dasgupta
- Nachiketa GhoshNachiketa GhoshNachiketa Ghosh was one of the most powerful music director and composer of India. He mainly composed for Bengali, Hindi, and Oriya songs. He gave a new dimension to the Bengali music for both the arenas of Bengali modern song as well as Bengali film song...
- Rahul Dev BurmanRahul Dev BurmanRahul Dev Burman commonly known as R. D. Burman and nicknamed Pancham da or simply Pancham, was an influential Bollywood music composer. He was the only son of singer and Bollywood music composer Sachin Dev Burman and his wife Meera...
- Kabir Suman
- Anjan DuttaAnjan DuttaAnjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan . Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western folk music. His lyrics are simple and more natural...
- NachiketaNachiketaNachiketa is the child protagonist in an ancient Hindu fable about the nature of the soul and Brahman. The story is told in the Katha Upanishad , though the name has several earlier references. He was taught Self-knowledge, the separation of the human soul from the body, by the god of Death, Yama...
- PritamPritamPritam Chakraborty , better known as Pritam is a music director and composer from Kolkata who currently works in Bollywood, Mumbai.- Early life :...
- V. Balsara
Performers (Instrumental)
- Birendrakishore Raychaudhuri, Surshringar
- Sitangshu Kanta Acharyya Chaudhuri, Veena
- Radhikamohan Maitra, Sarod, Surbahar
- Pandit Ravi Shankar, Sitar
- Ali Akbar KhanAli Akbar KhanAli Akbar Khan , often referred to as Khansahib or by the title Ustad , was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar gharana, known for his virtuosity in playing the sarod...
, Sarod - Annapurna Devi, Surbahar
- Nikhil BanerjeeNikhil BanerjeeNikhil Ranjan Banerjee was a Hindustani classical musician of the Maihar Gharana who played the stringed instrument sitar.-Early life and background:...
, Sitar - Hiru Ganguli, Tabla
- Ashesh Bandyopadhyay, Esraj
- Buddhadev Dasgupta, Sarod
- Pannalal GhoshPannalal GhoshPannalal Ghosh , also known as Amulya Jyoti Ghosh, was a Bengali Indian flute player and composer. He was a disciple of Allauddin Khan, and is credited with giving the flute its status in Hindustani classical music....
, Flute - Ranadhir Ray, Esraj
Classical
- Bishnupur GharanaBishnupur GharanaThe Bishnupur Gharana is a form of singing that follow the Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani music, one of the two Indian classical music forms. It originated in Bishnupur , West Bengal. The name of the town means "city of Vishnu" in Bengali...
- Jadu Bhatta
- Gopeshwar Banerjee
- Radhikaprasad Goswami
- Girijashankar Chakravarti
- Jnanendraprasad Goswami
- Bhishmadev Chatterjee
- Tarapada Chakravarti
- Dipali Nag
- Ajoy Chakrabarty
Songs of Tagore and his contemporaries
- Dinendranath TagoreDinendranath TagoreDinendranath Tagore was a Bengali musician and noted singer, a grandson of the eldest brother of Rabindranath Tagore who codified many of the tunes that would appear impetuously to Rabindranath...
- Amala Das
- Dilipkumar RoyDilipkumar RoyDilipkumar Roy was a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist.In 1965, the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama, awarded him its highest honour for lifetime achievement, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship.-Background and...
- Sahana DeviSahana DeviSahana Devi was an Indian singer, she was a widely listened to singer of Rabindra Sangeet.-Career:She was amongst the few singers to learn directly from Rabindranath Tagore and Dinendranath Tagore...
- Amiya TagoreAmiya TagoreAmiya Tagore née Roy was a Bengali singer, considered one of the most subtle singers of the songs of Rabindranath Tagore . She was amongst the few singers to learn directly from Rabindranath Tagore. She played the role of Pramada in Tagore's dance drama Mayar Khela which was directed by the...
- Renuka DasguptaRenuka Dasgupta- Renuka Dasgupta :Renuka Dasgupta née Sengupta was a Bengali singer, considered one of the best-known exponents of the songs of Atulprasad Sen...
- Malati Ghoshal
- Santosh Sengupta
- Santideb GhoshSantidev GhoshSantidev Ghose was an author, singer, actor, dancer and maestro of Rabindra Sangeet from Santiniketan, India...
- Debabrata BiswasDebabrata BiswasDebabrata Biswas , also known as George Biswas or George-da , was an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer.-Early life:...
- Rajeshwari Dutta
- Uma BasuUma BoseUma Bose ' was a musical prodigy. She was the daughter of Dharani Bose and Prabha Bose .She was a disciple of Dilipkumar Roy, with whom she composed several songs. Her popularity coincided with the increase in the popularity of Bengali songs in the 1920s and 1930s...
- Subinoy RoySubinoy RoySubinoy Roy was an Indian singer, considered one of the best-known exponents of the songs of Rabindranath Tagore: .-References:...
- Kanika BandyopadhyayKanika BandyopadhyayKanika Banerjee was an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer.-Early life:Born on October 12, 1924 at Sonamukhi in Bankura district, Kanika joined Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan in West Bengal, India. She was trained in both classical and Rabindrasangeet in Sangeet Bhavana at Santiniketan...
- Suchitra MitraSuchitra MitraSuchitra Mitra was an Indian singer and composer, as well as a well-respected exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore. As an academic she remained a Professor and the Head of 'Rabindra Sangeet Department' at the Rabindra Bharati University for many...
- Nilima SenNilima Sen-Early life:Nilima was born as Nilima Gupta in Kolkata, India on April 28, 1928. Her parents moved to Shantiniketan when she was six.She had her education there and completed diploma course in Classical Music & Rabindra Sangeet from Santiniketan.She also did her B.A from the Visva-Bharati...
- Manju Gupta
- Krishna Chatterjee
- Gita Ghatak
- Arghya Sen
- Ritu Guha
- Sarmila Roy Pommot
- Sarmila BoseSarmila BoseSarmila Bose is the Director of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University in 2006....
Recitation
- Kaji Shabyashachi
- Debdulal Bandopadhyay
- Probir Ghosh
- Partho Ghosh
- Gouri Ghosh
- Pranati Tagore
- Jagannath Bose
- Urmimala Bose
- Bratati Bandopadhyay
Bengali Modern
- K. C. DeyK. C. DeyKrishna Chandra De better known as K.C. Dey, was a Bengali actor, singer and music composer and teacher born in Calcutta . He was S.D. Burman's first musical teacher and mentor. He worked for New Theatres in Kolkata until 1940. He is best remembered for his Kirtan songs.Dey sang and composed...
- Sachin Dev BurmanSachin Dev BurmanSachin Dev Burman , also credited as Burman da, Kumar Sachindra Dev Barman, Sachin karta or S. D. Burman, was one of the most famous music composers for Hindi movies and a Bengali singer and composer. His son Rahul Dev Burman also achieved great success as a Bollywood music director in his own...
- Pankaj Kumar Mullick
- Kanan DeviKanan DeviKanan Devi was an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali Cinema...
- Hemanta Mukherjee
- Sandhya MukhopadhyaySandhya MukhopadhyaySandhya Mukhopadhyay is an Indian singer and musician, specialising in Bengali music. She was born in Kolkata, India. She is also known as Sandhya Mukherjee.She was very close friends with the late Alpana Banerjee...
- Amit KumarAmit KumarAmit Kumar is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father he too loved singing since childhood and used to sing in Kolkata during Durga Pooja functions...
- Abhijeet, full name Abhijeet Bhattacharya
- Arati Mukherjee
- Bappi LahiriBappi LahiriBappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early...
- Babul SupriyoBabul SupriyoBabul Supriyo is an Indian playback singer. He calls himself a clone of Kumar Sanu.He was born Supriya Baral, and spent his early childhood, and even graduated from university with that name. He would change his first name's spelling from Supriya to Supriyo as the former signified a female name,...
- Indraneel Sen
- Indrani SenIndrani SenIndrani Sen is a Bengali Indian exponent of Rabindra Sangeet and Bengali songs. She studied at the Bengal Music College, a music training college affiliated with the prestigious University of Calcutta....
- Kishore KumarKishore KumarKishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
- Kumar SanuKumar SanuKumar Sanu Kumar Sanu Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya , born in Kolkata, is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009....
- MadhushreeMadhushreeMadhushree is an Indian singer, who sings in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. A familiar voice in A. R. Rahman's compositions, Madhushree hails from a musically inclined family, having previously been trained in classical music...
- Manabendra Mukherjee
- Manna DeyManna DeyPrabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
- NachiketaNachiketaNachiketa is the child protagonist in an ancient Hindu fable about the nature of the soul and Brahman. The story is told in the Katha Upanishad , though the name has several earlier references. He was taught Self-knowledge, the separation of the human soul from the body, by the god of Death, Yama...
- Ruma Guha ThakurtaRuma Guha Thakurta-Early life:She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan...
- ShaanShaan (singer)Shaan , is an Indian playback singer, and television host. He hosted the shows Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L'il Champs, Star Voice of India and "Star Voice of India 2"...
, full name Shantanu Mukherjee - Shilajeet MajumdarShilajeet MajumdarShilajeet Majumdar , first name also credited as Shilajit, is an Indian Bengali male singer songwriter and actor. Singer Shilajeet Majumdar lives at Ruchira complex at bypass kolkata-Education:...
- Shyamal MitraShyamal MitraShyamal Mitra was one of the best known singers of Bengal in the 1950s to 70s. Along with Hemanta Mukherjee and Manna Dey he was the most notable singer of that period. With a good baritone his voice reflected a range of emotions...
- Shreya Ghoshal
- Sangeeta Bandyopadyay
- Antara ChowdhuryAntara ChowdhuryAntara Chowdhury is a singer and composer Bengali songs. She is a daughter of renowned composer and lyricist Salil Chowdhury and Sabita Chowdhury .Antara started her singing career at the early age of seven...
- Srikanta Acharya
- Anjan DuttaAnjan DuttaAnjan Dutta is a popular artist of the 1990s Bengali music scene defined by anyodharar gaan . Anjan Dutta's style of music is different from the others in the sense that it has simple tunes, one that is reminiscent of western folk music. His lyrics are simple and more natural...
- ChandrabindooChandrabindoo (band)Chandrabindoo , based in Kolkata, is a bangla band. Their name refers both to the last character in the Bengali alphabet and to a dialogue from the nonsense work HaJaBaRaLa by Sukumar Ray....
, Bengali Pop Band
Directors
- Satyajit RaySatyajit RaySatyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
- Ritwik Ghatak
- Mrinal SenMrinal SenMrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
- Tapan SinhaTapan SinhaTapan Sinha , was a Indian film director. He was arguably the most uncompromising filmmaker outside the orbit of Parallel Cinema.-Personal life and background:...
- Debaki BoseDebaki BoseDebaki Bose , also known as Debaki Kumar Bose, was a top director, writer, actor of Bengali cinema/Indian cinema. He was born on 25 November 1898 in Akalpoush, Burdwan, Bengal, British India. He died on 17 November 1971 in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. He is known for his innovative use of sound...
- Bimal RoyBimal RoyBimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Indian film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema...
- Hrishikesh MukherjeeHrishikesh MukherjeeHrishikesh Mukherjee ) was a famous Indian film director known for a number of films, including Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, and Namak Haraam.Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades,...
- Basu ChatterjeeBasu ChatterjeeBasu Chatterjee is an Indian film director. His films are very similar to those of Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Like Mukherjee, he built his plots on middle-class lives.He was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India....
- Basu BhattacharyaBasu BhattacharyaBasu Bhattacharya was a Hindi film director , most famous for his 1966 film Teesri Kasam, starring Raj Kapoor and Waheeda Rehman , which won the National Film Award for Best Film in 1967; he also produced Sparsh in 1985 starring Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah, which won the Filmfare Best Movie...
- Chidananda DasguptaChidananda DasguptaChidananda Das Gupta , , was a Bengali Indian filmmaker, a leading film critic, a film historian and one of the founders of Calcutta Film Society with Satyajit Ray in 1947...
- Harisadhan Dasgupta
- Aparna SenAparna SenAparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.-Biography:...
- Gautam GhoseGautam GhoseGoutam Ghose is one of the most acclaimed film directors of modern India. Born in Calcutta. Graduated from Calcutta University....
- Rituparno GhoshRituparno GhoshRituparno Ghosh is a Bengali film director. He has won 8 National Film Awards in India and several awards at international film festivals abroad.- Early life and background :...
- Budhdhadeb Dasgupta
- Suman MukhopadhyaySuman MukhopadhyaySuman Mukhopadhyay or Suman Mukherjee is a prominent contemporary Indian filmmaker and a theatre director.-Career:He has done theatre productions ranging from European drama to major adaptations of Bengali masterpieces. Among which are Teesta Paarer Brittanto and Samay Asamayer Brittanto,...
- Arin PaulArin PaulArin Paul is a Bengali film director, writer and researcher on film history.-Early life:Paul was born in Belur, West Bengal and raised in Shillong, Meghalaya and Calcutta. He attended St. Edmund's School, Shillong, Andrews High School, the Scottish Church Collegiate School, and Shyamaprasad...
Actors
- Mithun ChakrabortyMithun ChakrabortyMithun Chakraborty is an Indian film actor, social activist, and entrepreneur, who has won three National Film Awards. He made his acting debut with the arthouse drama Mrigaya , for which he won his first National Film Award for Best Actor....
- Biswajit
- Joy MukherjeeJoy Mukherjee- Family Background :Main article: Mukherjee-Samarth familyJoy Mukherjee is the son of Sashadhar Mukherjee and Sati Devi. His father was a successful producer and a co-founder of Filmalaya Studios. His paternal uncle is director Subodh Mukherjee, whilst his maternal uncles were Ashok Kumar and...
- Pradeep KumarPradeep KumarPradeep Kumar was an Indian actor in Bengali and Hindi films.-Career:When Kumar was 17 years old, he decided to take up acting. His started his film career in Bengali films...
- Ashok KumarAshok KumarAshok Kumar also fondly called Dadamoni was an Indian film actor. Born Kumudlal Ganguly in Bhagalpur, Bengal Presidency he attained iconic status in Indian cinema...
- Kishore KumarKishore KumarKishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
- Anup Kumar Ganguly
- Prasenjit
- Rahul BoseRahul BoseRahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
- Rahul RoyRahul RoyRahul Roy Kapoor is an Indian film actor, who works in Bollywood films. He debuted in the hit Mahesh Bhatt production Aashiqui for which he is famous. His popularity increased with the 1992 film Sapne Saajan Ke, in which he was helped by having the music of Nadeem Shravan, with Kumar Sanu's...
- Rohan Dey
- Soumitra ChatterjeeSoumitra ChatterjeeSoumitra Chatterjee or Soumitra Chattopadhyay is an iconic Bengali actor from India, known among other things for his frequent collaborations with the great Bengali film director Satyajit Ray and his constant comparison with the Bengali screen idol Uttam Kumar.-Background:Soumitra graduated from...
- Uttam KumarUttam KumarUttam Kumar is one of the most famous names of Indian Bengali Cinema.Born Arun Kumar Chatterjee in 1926 at Ahiritola, North Calcutta he is widely known as Uttam Kumar and Mahanayak . He remains as much of a cultural icon as he had been in his lifetime...
- Ranjit Kumar Chatterjee
- Victor BanerjeeVictor BanerjeeVictor Banerjee is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi, Bengali and English language films. He has also appeared on a number of TV series on Indian television...
- Ranjit MullickRanjit MullickRanjit Mullick is a prominent Bengali film actor. He studied at the Asutosh College and later at the Shyamaprasad College of the University of Calcutta.He started his career with acclaimed Bengali director Mrinal Sen's film Interview...
- Gyanesh Mukherjee
- Chhabi BiswasChhabi BiswasChhabi Biswas was a much revered Bengali character actor, primarily known for his performances in Tapan Sinha's Kabuliwala and Satyajit Ray's films Jalshaghar , Devi and Kanchenjungha .He is the best remembered for his numerous roles as the quintessential aristocratic patriarch, was himself the...
- Pahari SanyalPahari SanyalPahari Sanyal, born Nagendranath Sanyal, was a stalwart Bengali character actor whose status was as towering as that of others such as Chhabi Biswas and Kamal Mitra....
- Radhamohan Bhattacharya
- Basanta Chaudhuri
- Tulsi Chakraborty
- Ajitesh Banerjee
- Asit Bandopadhyay
- Kali BanerjeeKali BanerjeeKali Banerjee was an Indian film actor, who worked in the 1950s-70s in Bengali cinema. Most known for his work with film directors like Satyajit Ray's Parash Pathar and Ritwik Ghatak's Nagarik and Ajantrik ....
- Rabi GhoshRabi GhoshRabi Ghosh was an actor from India. He is best known for his comic roles in Bengali movies, though his versatile acting talent has stunned viewers and critics alike in various kind of roles. He was a regular in Satyajit Ray cinemas...
- Chinmoy Roy
- Bhanu Banerjee
- Jahar Roy
- Jahar Gangully
- Dhritiman ChaterjiDhritiman ChaterjiDhritiman Chaterji is an Indian actor. He began his acting career in 1970 as the protagonist of Satyajit Ray's Pratidwandi . Most of his acting work has been in the India's "parallel", or independent, cinema with filmmakers such as Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Aparna Sen, among others...
- Tapas PalTapas PalTapas Pal born in 1960 in a remote village in Jalpaiguri district is a Bengali actor from Calcutta, the son of Dr. Ganash Pal of Chandannagar. He is a Member of Parliament having won in the 2009 Indian General Eelections on a Trinamool Congress ticket from Krishnanagar . His mother hails from a...
- Chiranjit
- Shantu Mukherjee
- Arun MukherjeeArun MukherjeeArun Mukherjee is a noted Bangla playwright and thespian. He is associated with the theater group Chetana both as actor-director and playwright. He is the author of many plays including the classicMārīch Sangbād, which has been translated into English , by Utkal Mohanty...
- Abdur RazzakAbdur Razzak (actor)Abdur Razzaq , popularly called Razzak, is a thespian Bangla movie actor. He became famous as a film hero in the mid 1960s...
- Keshto MukherjeeKeshto MukherjeeKeshto Mukherjee was an Indian actor. He specialised in comic drunkard roles in the Hindi films. Though he was famous for his drunkard typecast role in Hindi films, he used to share a very good relation with the iconic Ritwik Ghatak and had very tiny but important roles in the maestro's films...
- Anil ChatterjeeAnil ChatterjeeAnil Chatterjee was a Bengali actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through to the late eighties and was mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted in about 45 movies, both as a character actor and in leading roles with the limited opportunities he received during his time...
- Asit Sen
- Harindranath ChattopadhyayHarindranath ChattopadhyayHarindranath Chattopadhyay was an Indian English poet, an actor, and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu.-Life:...
Actresses
(Alphabetical)Also see List of Bengali actresses
- Aparna SenAparna SenAparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Bengali Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards.-Biography:...
- Arpita Paul
- Arundhati DeviArundhati DeviArundhati Devi was an Indian actress, film director and writer. She was also known as Arundhati Debi, as Arundhati Mukherjee and as Arundhati Mukhopadhyay.-Personal life:...
- Bipasha BasuBipasha BasuBipasha Basu is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Bollywood films. A former model, she was the winner of the Ford's Godrej Cinthol Supermodel contest in 1996.-Early life:...
- Chhaya DeviChhaya DeviChhaya Devi or Chhaya Debi was an Indian film actress. She has acted in hundreds of Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi language movies for over five decades and played many character roles...
- Debasree Roy
- Devika RaniDevika RaniDevika Rani Chaudhuri Roerich was an early Indian movie star.- Career :Born in Waltair , Devika Rani came from a distinguished background: she was the great-grandniece of the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore and her father, Col. M. N. Chaudhuri, was the first Indian Surgeon-General of Madras...
, first winner of Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1970 - Indrani HaldarIndrani HaldarIndrani Haldar is a Bengali actress. Indrani, also known as Mamoni, was born in Kolkata on January 6, 1971. Her father is Sanjoy Haldar. She finished her schooling from the Multipurpose Girl’s School and graduated from Jogamaya Devi College, an affiliated women's college of the prestigious...
- Jaya BachchanJaya BachchanJaya Bhaduri Bachchan is an Indian actress and politician. She is an alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Bachchan is the wife of Amitabh Bachchan, and is the mother of Shweta Bachchan-Nanda and Abhishek Bachchan...
(born in Bhaduri) - June Malia
- KajolKajolKajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
- Kananbala
- Kanan DeviKanan DeviKanan Devi was an Indian actress and singer. She was among the early singing stars of Indian cinema, and is credited popularly as the first star of Bengali Cinema...
Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1977 - Kheyali Dastidar
- Koena MitraKoena MitraKoena Mitra is an Indian actress and model who appears in Bollywood films.-Early life:Mitra was born in Kolkata, West Bengal to a Bengali Hindu family. She attended South Point High School and Lady Brabourne College of the University of Calcutta. She has a major in psychology. Mitra was trained...
- Lili Chakroborty
- Madhabi MukherjeeMadhabi MukherjeeMadhabi Mukherjee née Chakraborty is a reputed Bengali actress who has acted in some of the most critically acclaimed films in Bengali cinema.Her major role was the title role of Charu in Satyajit Ray's masterpiece Charulata...
- Mamata ShankarMamata ShankarMamata Shankar is an actress in the Bengali language film industry of India. She has acted in films by renowned film directors including, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Rituparno Ghosh, Buddhadev Dasgupta and Gautam Ghosh...
- Moon Moon Sen
- Mohua Roy Choudhury
- Moushmi ChatterjiMoushmi ChatterjiMoushumi Chatterjee is a Bollywood actress, who has also acted in Bengali cinema. She worked with actors like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra and Vinod Mehra.-Personal life and education:...
- Nandini Malia
- Raakhee GulzarRaakhee GulzarRaakhee is an Indian film actress, who has primarily appeared in Hindi films, as well as several Bengali films. She is popularly known as Raakhee Gulzar after her marriage with lyricist-director Gulzar ....
- Rachna Banerjee
- Raima SenRaima Sen-Early life:She is the daughter of Moon Moon Sen and the granddaughter of legendary actress Suchitra Sen. Her sister, Riya Sen, is also in the Bollywood industry. Their father Bharat Dev Varma is a member of the royal family of Tripura. Her paternal grandmother, Ila Devi, was the princess of Cooch...
- Rani Mukherjee
- Rimi SenRimi SenRimi Sen is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood films.-Biography:Sen was born as Shubhomitra Sen in Kolkata, West Bengal. She completed her schooling from Bidya Bharati Girls' High School in the year 1998. She completed her graduation in Commerce from Kolkata University.-Career:Since...
- Rina Choudhury
- Rituparna SenguptaRituparna SenguptaRituparna Sengupta is an Indian actress. She is the leading actress in Bengali Cinema for the last decade in India, and is also currently performing in critically acclaimed Hindi Cinema.- Early life and education :...
- Riya SenRiya SenRiya Sen is an Indian film actress and model. Riya, who hails from a family of actors including her grandmother Suchitra Sen, mother Moon Moon Sen and sister Raima Sen, began her acting career in 1991 as a child artiste in the film Vishkanya. Her first commercial success in her film career was...
- Ruma Guha ThakurtaRuma Guha Thakurta-Early life:She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan...
- Sabitri ChatterjeeSabitri ChatterjeeSabitri Chatterjee is an Indian Bengali female actor whose career as an actor spans more than 50 years. She was born in Comilla, in British India .-Early life:...
- Sarajubala Devi
- Shandhya Roy
- Sharmila TagoreSharmila TagoreSharmila Tagore is an Indian film actress. She has won National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards for her performances.She has led the Indian Film Censor Board from October 2004 till March 2011...
- Subrata Chatterjee
- Suchitra SenSuchitra SenSuchitra Sen ; or Rama Dasgupta , is an Indian actress who acted in several Bengali films. In particular, the movies in which she paired opposite another legend in Bengali films, Uttam Kumar, became classics in the history of Bengali cinema. She now lives a life of a recluse rarely making any...
- Sulochana Chatterjee
- Sumita SanyalSumita SanyalSumita Sanyal is an actress in the Bengali language film industry in India, also known as Tollywood. Sumita Sanyal was born Manjula Sanyal on 9 October 1945 in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, British India. Her father was Girija Golkunda Sanyal....
- Supriya DeviSupriya DeviSupriya Devi , also known as Supriya Choudhury , is an Indian Bengali female actor, acting in Bengali cinemas for more than 50 years. Her real name was Krishna and nickname is Benu. She received Banga-Vibhushan, the highest civilian honour in West Bengal in 2011.-Early life:Supriya Devi was born...
- Sushmita SenSushmita SenSushmita Sen is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood films. A former model, Sen was crowned Miss Universe in 1994. She was the first Indian woman to win the contest.-Personal life:Sen was born on 19 November 1975....
- Tanushree DuttaTanushree DuttaTanushree Dutta is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood films. A former beauty queen, she won the Femina Miss India universe title in 2004.- Biography :...
Drama/Theatre
- Girish Chandra GhoshGirish Chandra GhoshGirish Chandra Ghosh was a Bengali musician, poet, playwright, novelist, theatre director and actor. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre. He can be referred to as the Father of Bengali Theatre...
- Dinabandhu MitraDinabandhu MitraDinabandhu Mitra the Bengali dramatist, was born in 1830 at village Chouberia in Gopalnagar P.S., 24 Parganas and was the son of Kalachand Mitra. His given name was Gandharva Narayan, but he changed it to Dinabandhu Mitra.-Early life:Dinabandhu Mitra's education started at a village pathshala...
- Nati Binodini
- P. C. Sorcar, Jr.P. C. Sorcar, Jr.P. C. Sorcar, Jr. is an Indian magician based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the second son of legendary Indian magician P. C. Sorcar, and is today considered the most prominent magician in India...
- Jyotirindranath TagoreJyotirindranath TagoreJyotirindranath Tagore was a playwright, a musician, an editor and a painter. Endowed with an outstanding talent, he had the rare capability of spotting talent in others...
- Dwijendralal RayDwijendralal RayDwijendralal Ray , also known as D. L. Ray , was a Bengali poet, playwright, and musician. He was known for his Hindu mythological and Nationalist historical plays and songs known as Dwijendrageeti or the Songs of Dwijendralal, which number over 500, create a separate sub-genre of Bengali Music...
- Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
- Sisir BhaduriSisir BhaduriShishir Kumar Bhaduri or Sisir Kumar Bhaduri stage actor and theatre founder, was born on at Ramrajatala in Howrah district in West Bengal. He passed the Entrance examination in 1905 from Bangabashi School, graduated in arts from Scottish Church College in 1910, and did his MA in English...
- Bijon BhattacharyaBijon BhattacharyaBijon Bhattacharya was a prominent Indian theatre and film personality from Bengal.Bijon was born in 1917 at Faridpur in a Hindu Brahmin family, and was early a witness to the destitution and penury of the peasantry of that land...
- Shambhu MitraSombhu MitraSombhu Mitra was an Indian film and stage actor, director, playwright and one of the pre-eminent Indian theatre personalities, especially Bengali theatre, where he is considered a pioneer. He remained associated with Indian People’s Theatre Association for a few years before founding Bohurupree...
- Ajitesh Bandopadhyay
- Utpal DuttUtpal DuttUtpal Dutt was an Indian actor, director, and writer-playwright. He was primarily an actor in Bengali Theatre, where he became a pioneering figure in Modern Indian theatre, when he founded the 'Little Theater Group' in 1947, which enacted many English, Shakespearean and Brecht plays, in a period...
- Rudraprasad SenguptaRudraprasad SenguptaRudraprasad Sengupta is a Bengali Indian actor, director and cultural critic.- Biography :He was born in East Bengal , the son of Anant Sengupta and Usha Prabha Sengupta. He studied at the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta where he earned his B.A. and M.A degrees in English...
- Badal SarkarBadal SarkarBadal Sarkar , also known as Badal Sircar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite movement in the 1970s and taking theatre out of the proscenium and into public arena, when he founded his own theatre company,...
- Usha GangulyUsha GangulyUsha Ganguly is an Indian theatre director-actor and activist, most known for her work in Hindi theatre in Kolkata in 1970s and 1980s. She founded Rangkarmee theatre group in 1976, known for its productions like Mahabhoj, Rudali, Court Martial, and Antaryatra. Apart from thespian Shyamanand...
- Manoj MitraManoj MitraManoj Mitra is a Bengali Indian actor, director and playwright.-Early life:He studied at the Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta where he earned his B.A. degree. During his final year at Scottish Church College, he formed a theater group called Sundaram with colleagues like...
- Asit Bandopadhyay
- Bibhas ChakrabortyBibhas ChakrabortyBibhas Chakraborty is a leading Bengali theatre personality. He is an actor, playwright, theatre director, and theatre organiser. He received Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1989...
PreModern Bengal
- ShashankaShashankaShashanka is often attributed with creating the first separate political entity in a unified Bengal called Gauda and as such is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in 7th century AD, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 AD and 625 AD. He is the contemporary of...
- Gopala
- DharmapalaDharmapalaIn Vajrayana Buddhism, a dharmapāla is a type of wrathful deity. The name means "Dharma-defender" in Sanskrit, and the dharmapālas are also known as the Defenders of the Law , or the Protectors of the Law, in English....
- DevapalaDevapalaDeva Pala , was a powerful emperor from the Pala Empire of Bengal region in the Indian Subcontinent. He was the third king in the line and had succeeded his father, emperor Dharamapala...
- MahipalaMahipalaMahipala I is considered the second founder of the Pala dynasty. Gopala I established the dynastic rule of the Palas in the middle of the 8th century CE. The Pala Dynasty ruled Bengal and Bihar for about four centuries from the middle of the 8th century CE...
- Ballal SenBallal SenaBallal Sen was the second ruler of the Sen dynasty of Bengal. Son and successor of Vijay Sen, Ballal Sen is known from the extant Kuljigranthas to have introduced social reforms in Bengal, especially the system of Kulinism.-See also:* Prithvi Raj Chauhan* List of rulers of Bengal* History of...
- Lakshman SenLakshman SenLakshman Sen was the fourth king of the Sen dynasty of Bengal, who ruled for about 28 years. Lakshman Sen succeeded his father Ballal Sen...
- Raja Ganesh
- Rulers of Bishnupur
- Alauddin Husain Shah
Colonial Period: Indian Civil Servants and Statesmen
- Satyendranath TagoreSatyendranath TagoreSatyendranath Tagore was the first Indian to join the Indian Civil Service. He was an author, song composer, linguist and made significant contribution towards the emancipation of women in Indian society during the British Raj.-Formative years:...
- Romesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder DuttRomesh Chunder Dutt, CIE was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, writer, and translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata.- Formative years :...
- K. G. Gupta
- Lord Satyendra Prasanna Sinha
Twentienth Century
- Bipin Chandra PalBipin Chandra PalBipin Chandra Pal was an Indian nationalist. He was among the triumvirate of Lal Bal Pal.-Early life and background:...
- Aurobindo GhoshSri AurobindoSri Aurobindo , born Aurobindo Ghosh or Ghose , was an Indian nationalist, freedom fighter, philosopher, yogi, guru, and poet. He joined the Indian movement for freedom from British rule and for a duration became one of its most important leaders, before developing his own vision of human progress...
- Barindra Kumar GhoshBarindra Kumar GhoshBarindra Ghosh or Barindranath Ghose, or, popularly, Barin Ghosh was an Indian revolutionary and journalist. He was one of the founding members of Jugantar, a revolutionary outfit in Bengal...
- Subodh Chandra MullickSubodh Chandra MullickSubodh Chandra Mullick, Raja, was a nationalist in Calcutta during the British rule of India. He is notable for the substantial monetary contribution for the cause of education...
- Khudiram BoseKhudiram BoseKhudiram Bose was a Bengali revolutionary, one of the youngest revolutionaries early in the Indian independence movement...
- Deshbandhu Chittaranjan DasChittaranjan DasChittaranjan Das was an eminent Bengali lawyer and a major figure in the Indian independence movement.-Personal life:...
- Jatindranath Mukherjee
- Rash Behari BoseRash Behari BoseRashbehari Bose was a revolutionary leader against the British Raj in India and was one of the key organisers of the Ghadar conspiracy and later, the Indian National Army.-Early life:...
- Jibanlal Chatterjee
- Sarat Chandra BoseSarat Chandra BoseSarat Chandra Bose was a barrister and Indian freedom fighter. He was the elder brother of Subhash Chandra Bose.-Early life:His forefathers had served the Afghan rulers of pre-Mughal Bengal with great distinction....
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
- Jatindra Nath DasJatindra Nath DasJatindra Nath Das , also known as Jatin Das, was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary. The death of Jatin Das in Lahore jail after 63 days of hunger strike shocked the whole of India. Jatin Das is the only person to fast to death before independence, Potti Sreeramulu fasted to death...
- Bina DasBina DasBina Das was an Indian revolutionary and nationalist from Bengal.She was the daughter of the well knownd Brahmo teacher, Beni Madhab Das and a social worker Sarala Devi....
- Matangini HazraMatangini HazraMatangini Hazra was an Indian revolutionary who participated in the Indian independence movement until she was shot dead by the British Indian police in front of the Tamluk Police Station on September 29, 1942...
- B. C. Roy
- Triguna Sen
- Panchanan ChakrabortyPanchanan ChakrabortyPanchanan Chakravarti was a Bengali Indian revolutionary, one of the creators of the Revolt group after the momentary unification of the Anushilan Samiti and the Jugantar in the 1920s...
- Batukeshwar Dutta
- Syama Prasad MookerjeeSyama Prasad MookerjeeDr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was a minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's Cabinet as a Minister for Industry and Supply....
- Basanta Kumar BiswasBasanta Kumar BiswasBasanta Kumar Biswas was a pro-independence activist involved in the Jugantar group who, in December 1912, is believed to have bombed the Viceroy's Parade in what came to be known as the Delhi-Lahore Conspiracy....
- Ambika ChakrobartyAmbika ChakrobartyAmbika Chakrabarty was a Bengali Indian independence movement activist and revolutionary. Later, he was a leader of the Communist Party of India and a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly.-Revolutionary activities:...
- Bipin Behari GanguliBipin Behari GanguliBipin Behari Ganguli was a member of Indian independence movement. He was born in Hoogli, now in West Bengal, in 1887.Bipin Behari Ganguli joined the Congress party during the Non-Cooperation Movement and became the secretary of Bengal Congress in 1923....
- Jogesh Chandra Chattopadhyay
- Narendra Mohan SenNarendra Mohan SenNarendra Mohan Sen was an Indian freedom fighter and revolutionary.-Short biography:Narendra joined Anushilan Samiti - a revolutionary outfit.He played a major role in unifying Jugantar and Anushilan Samiti in the 1920s, after both the parties suffered major setback as most of the senior leaders...
- Benoy Bhushan Roy
- Birendranath SasmalBirendranath SasmalBirendranath Sasmal was a lawyer and political leader. He was known as Deshparan because of his work for the country and for his efforts in the Swadeshi movement.-Early life:...
- Huseyn Shaheed SuhrawardyHuseyn Shaheed SuhrawardyHuseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani-Bengali politician and statesman who served as 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 till 1957, and a close associate of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan, first Prime minister of Pakistan...
- Jnananjan NiyogiJnananjan NiyogiJnananjan Niyogi was actively associated with the Indian independence movement and was a social reformer.-Early life:The son of Braja Gopal and Sumangala Niyogi, he was born at Gaya on 7 January 1891...
- Sudhamoy PramanickSudhamoy Pramanick__NOEDITSECTION__Sudhamoy Pramanick was a bengali advocate from Shantipur. He was the lifetime secretary of the Tili Samaj - in his time he was one of the fortunate Presidencians - a year senior to Rajendra Prasad...
- Ramkinkar Chattopadhyay
- Serajul Haque
- Khagendra Nath Chatterjee
- Khagendra Nath Banerjee
- Saroj Mukherjee
- Binoy Chowdhury
Post independence figures
- Ashok MitraAshok Mitra-Early life and Education:After completing his graduation from the University of Dacca, he came to India following the partition of India in 1947. Although he attended postgraduate classes in economics at the University of Calcutta, he was refused admission there. He moved to Banaras Hindu...
- Ajit Kumar PanjaAjit Kumar PanjaAjit Kumar Panja was a former Union minister of state in the Government of India. He was a member of Congress party but left it to join Trinamool Congress. He was born in Calcutta and studied law at the Scottish Church College, Calcutta and at the Lincoln's Inn. A lawyer by profession, he...
- Bidhan Chandra RoyBidhan Chandra RoyBidhan Chandra Roy, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as a Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter...
- Atulya GhoshAtulya GhoshAtulya Ghosh was a Bengali politician and an able political organiser who had become a legend in Indian political circles. He has been described as “a wise, scholarly and honest leader who was a superb political organizer.”...
- Prafulla Chandra SenPrafulla Chandra SenPrafulla Chandra Sen was a Bengali Indian politician and freedom fighter. He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal during the period 1961–1967.-Background:...
- Kiran Shankar Ray
- Abdul Halim
- Mamata BanerjeeMamata BanerjeeMamata Banerjee is the 11th and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
- Buddhadeb BhattacharyaBuddhadeb BhattacharyaBuddhadeb Bhattacharjee is an Indian politician and a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of India . He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011...
- A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury
- Saugata RoySaugata RoyProf. Saugata Roy is an Indian politician of Trinamool Congress and currently the Union Minister of State for Urban Development in the Manmohan Singh government....
- Kamal GuhaKamal GuhaKamal Guha was an Indian politician. He was a All India Forward Bloc leader and member of the Left Front cabinet in the Indian state of West Bengal for over two decades.-Early life:...
- Tathagata RoyTathagata RoyTathagata Roy is an Indian politician, engineer and author. He was president of West Bengal state unit of Bhartiya Janata Party since 2006....
- Abha MaitiAbha MaitiAbha Maiti is a former minister of state of India. She was minister of state for Industry in the Morarji Desai government from 1977 to 1979.She was elected to Lok Sabha in 1977 from Panskura in West Bengal on Janata Party ticket....
- Pratap Chandra ChunderPratap Chandra ChunderPratap Chandra Chunder was a union minister of India, educationist and author. He served in Morarji Desai Ministry from 1977 to 1980 as a cabinet minister with education and social welfare portfolios.-Family and education:...
- Pranab MukherjeePranab MukherjeePranab Kumar Mukherjee is the current Finance Minister of India and leader of the current Lok Sabha.Mukherjee is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Prices, Security, Unique Identification Authority of India,...
- Jyoti BasuJyoti BasuJyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
- Somnath ChatterjeeSomnath ChatterjeeSomnath Chatterjee is an Indian politician who had been associated with the Communist Party of India for most of his life, though he is currently an independent...
- Syed Abul Mansur HabibullahSyed Abul Mansur HabibullahSyed Abul Mansur Habibullah was a communist peasant front leader, who had worked in West Bengal and East Pakistan.-Formative years:Mansur Habibullah was educated in Bardhaman Town School and the prestigious Scottish Church College in Kolkata. He did his post graduation in history from the...
- Amit MitraAmit MitraAmit Mitra is an Indian economist and politician representing All India Trinamool Congress and the current Finance Minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. He is the incumbent MLA in the West Bengal state assembly from the Khardaha state assembly constituency...
- Partha ChatterjeePartha Chatterjee (politician)Partha Chatterjee is an Indian politician of West Bengal. He represents Trinamool Congress.-Early life:Partha Chatterjee was born in Calcutta...
- Sovandeb ChattopadhyaySovandeb ChattopadhyaySovandeb Chattopadhyay is an Indian politician representing Trinamool Congress.He is the Chief Whip of his party in the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha....
Old Calcutta/ Bengal legends
- Raja Nabakrishna DebNabakrishna DebNabakrishna Deb , founder of the Shovabazar Raj family, was instrumental in a plot against Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula...
of Shovabazar - Raja Radhakanta DebRadhakanta DebRadhakanta Deb , a scholar and a leader of the Calcutta conservative Hindu society, was the son of Gopimohan Deb, the adopted son and heir of Maharaja Nabakrishna Deb. Nabakrishna, a man of obscure origin, was well versed in Persian language and with him actually the prosperity of the family began...
, brought out two large Sanskrit dictionaries used by Westerners as reference - Gouri Sen of lagey taka debey Gouri Sen fame
- Hari Ghosh of Hari Ghosher fame
- Banamali Sarkar
- Gobindram MitterGobindram MitterGobindram Mitter was one of the earliest Indian officials under the British rule and earned a reputation for his wealth and extravagance.- Early life :...
- Prasanna Coomar TagorePrasanna Coomar TagoreSee Tagore for disambiguationPrasanna Coomar Tagore was son of Gopi Mohan Tagore, one of the founders of Hindu College. He belonged to the Pathuriaghata branch of the Tagore family and was one of the leaders of the conservative branch of Hindu society...
- Ramanath TagoreRamanath TagoreSee Tagore for disambiguationRamanath Tagore was one of the leading social figures in 19th century Kolkata . The son of Rammani Tagore of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, he was younger brother of Dwarkanath Tagore and a cousin of Prasanna Coomar Tagore...
- Manindra Chandra Nandi
Sports
- Sourav GangulySourav GangulySourav Chandidas Ganguly is a former Indian cricketer, and captain of the Indian national team. Born into an affluent family, Ganguly was introduced into the world of cricket by his elder brother Snehasish. He is regarded as one of India's most successful captains in modern times. He started his...
, cricketer - Benu DasguptaBenu DasguptaAshok Kumar Dasgupta was an Indian cricketer. He was active during the 1950s and played for the Bengal and Bihar cricket teams....
,Cricketer http://wwwbenudasgupta.webstarts.com - Gostho Pal, Footballer
- Mihir SenMihir SenMihir Sen was an Indian lawyer more notable for his career as a record-setting swimmer.- English channel swim :...
, swimmer. First Indian to swim across the English Channel in 1958. - Arati SahaArati SahaAarti Gupta was born in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Aarti was initiated in swimming at the early age of four, and her talent was spotted by Sachin Nag. From 1945 to 1951 she won 22 State competitions including an all-India record in 1949...
, swimmer. First Asian woman to swim English Channel in 1959. - Bula Chowdhury, swimmer. First Indian woman to swim English Channel twice.
- Rashmi Sharma , Swimmer (IT Engineer passed from Techno India College,West-Bengal),First Indian Woman to crossed English Channel three times.
- Richa Sharma,Swimmer,Indian woman crossed English Channel
- Dibyendu BaruaDibyendu BaruaDibyendu Barua is a chess Grandmaster from the city of Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal. He is the second Indian to become a Grandmaster, after Viswanathan Anand. In 1978, Barua, as a 12-year-old, became the youngest participant in the Indian National Championship of chess...
, chess grandmaster - Suryasekhar Ganguly, chess grandmaster*
- Pankaj RoyPankaj RoyPankaj Roy was an Indian cricketer. A right-handed opening batsman, he is best known for establishing the world record opening partnership of 413 runs, together with Vinoo Mankad, against New Zealand at Chennai. The record stood until 2008. He was honoured with the Padma Shri...
,cricketer - Saba KarimSaba KarimSaba Karim is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper.Karim has a long history with professional cricket, having started his career in 1982–83 immediately after finishing his schooling from St. Xavier's High School, Patna...
,cricketer - Jhulan Goswami, cricketer
- Rumeli Dhar , Cricketer
- Priyanka Roy , Cricketer
- Sailen MannaSailen MannaSailendra Nath Manna , known popularly as Sailen Manna, is an Indian International Footballer and is considered to be one of the best defenders India has ever produced. He has represented and captained India in different international competitions including Olympics and Asian Games...
, footballer - P. K. Banerjee, footballer
- Subrata BhattacharyaSubrata BhattacharyaSubrata Bhattacharya is an Indian football Defender who played for India in the 1984 Asian Cup. He also played for Mohun Bagan. He is the present technical director of Mohun Bagan.-References:*...
, footballer - Krishanu DeyKrishanu DeyKrishanu Dey was an Indian football player from Kolkata, India. He was an attacking midfielder and was known as the "Indian Maradona" among his fans due to his footballing skills and playing style.-Club career:...
, footballer - Jyotirmoyee SikdarJyotirmoyee SikdarJyotirmoyee Sikdar is a Member of Parliament, India representing Krishnagar of West Bengal in the 14th Lok Sabha. She is affiliated to the Communist Party of India ....
, athletics. Double gold-medallist at Bangkok Asiad, 1996 - Leander PaesLeander PaesLeander Adrian Paes, pronounced pās, is an Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament...
, lawn tennis player. Former doubles world no. one with Mahesh Bhupathi and bronze-medallist at Atlanta Olympics, 1996 - Soumyadeep Roy, Table Tennis. Commonwealth games gold medalist
- Subhajit SahaSubhajit SahaSubhajit Saha is a professional table tennis player from West Bengal, India. He won the men's doubles gold in the 19th Commonwealth table tennis championship held at New Delhi in 2010....
, Table Tennis. Commonwealth games gold medalist - Mohammad Ali Qamar, Boxing . Commonwealth games gold medalist
- Arjun AtwalArjun AtwalArjun Singh Atwal is an Indian professional golfer who has played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour and is the first player born in India to become a member of, and later win on the U.S.-based PGA Tour.-Early life:...
, golfer. - Saurav Ghoshal, squash player, currently highest ranked Indian player.
- Ritwik BhattacharyaRitwik BhattacharyaThe flag bearer of Indian Squash on Professional Squash Association tour rock was the first of the accomplished junior players to spurn an education in the United States to follow his dreams in squash...
, squash player, currently second highest ranked Indian player.
Industry/Business
- Dwarakanath Tagore
- Sir Rajen MookerjeeRajen MookerjeeSir Rajen Mookerjee, KCIE, KCVO was a pioneering Indian industrialist.-Early life:...
- Sir Biren MookerjeeBiren MookerjeeSir Biren Mookerjee was a leading industrialist who established the IISCO steel plant at Burnpur and other industrial establishments...
- Rajat Kumar Gupta
- Purnendu ChatterjeePurnendu ChatterjeePurnendu Chatterjee is a Bengali industrialist and entrepreneur. He is the Founder and Chairman of The Chatterjee Group and also serves as Executive Director to Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.- Education :...
- Prashant Mukherjee
- Sadhan DuttSadhan DuttSadhan Dutt was a scientist-entrepreneur and founder-chairman of Development Consultants, a member of the Kuljian Group of Companies...
- Subir RahaSubir RahaSubir Raha a former Director of Indian Oil Corporation and ex chairman and MD of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation received global recognition as Energy Executive of the year 2005, from the Petroleum Economist, London,in September 2006.Born on August 28, 1948, Raha graduated in Electronics &...
a legendary business leader who left his mark in the corporate world.He was Dhirubhai AmbaniDhirubhai AmbaniDhirajlal Hirachand Ambani also known as Dhirubhai, was an Indian-Gujarati business magnate and entrepreneur who founded Reliance Industries, a petrochemicals, communications, power, and textiles conglomerate and the only privately owned Indian company in the Fortune 500. Ambani took his company...
of the Public Sector. - Sumantra GhoshalSumantra GhoshalSumantra Ghoshal was an academic and management guru. He was the founding Dean of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, which is jointly sponsored by the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and the London Business School....
a contemporary of Subir Raha in Indian Oil CorporationIndian Oil CorporationIndian Oil Corporation Limited, or IndianOil, is an Indian state-owned oil and gas corporation with its headquarters are in Mumbai, India. It is India’s largest commercial enterprise, ranked 98th on the Fortune Global 500 list for 2011...
who went on to become one of the leading Management Gurus of the world. - Alamohan DasAlamohan DasAlamohan Das was a pioneering industrialist.-Early life:Hailing from a poor peasant family in Howrah district, he had little education as a child. He started his business career when he was just 14 years old, selling small things, but gradually switched over to industrial items...
Other Areas
- Bimal Kanti Dey, Globe Trotter, Cyclist
- Ashis NandyAshis NandyAshis Nandy is an Indian political psychologist, a social theorist, and a contemporary cultural and political critic. A trained sociologist and clinical psychologist, his body of work covers a variety of topics, including public conscience, mass violence, and dialogues of civilizations.He was...
, Author, political psychologist - Air Marshal Subroto MukerjeeSubroto MukerjeeAir Marshal Subroto Mukerjee, OBE was the first Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force . Born in a Bengali family of repute, he was educated in India as well as England. He joined the Royal Air Force and later was one of the first recruits of the Indian Air Force...
- General Shankar RoychowdhuryShankar RoychowdhuryGeneral Shankar Roychowdhury served as 18th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 22 November 1994 to 30 September 1997.An alumnus of St...