JASHORE, Jan 24, 2023 (BSS) - The 199th birth anniversary of Michael Madhusudan Dutt, the legendary Bengali poet and father of the Bengali sonnet, will be observed tomorrow on the bank of the river Kapataksha at Sagardari, the birth place of the poet.

On January 25 in 1824, Madhusudan Dutt was born to landlord Raj Narayan Dutt and Janhabi Devi at Sagardari village under Keshabpur upazila in Jashore district.

Legendary poet Madhusudan, who is called Mahakobi (epic poet) for his tragic epic 'Meghnad Badh Kavya', earned name and fame in the arena of literature for his extraordinary creative works.

Madhusudan Dutt is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature and the father of the Bengali sonnet.

He pioneered what came to be called 'Amitrakshar Chhanda' (blank verse).
His first attempt at blank verse was 'Sharmistha' in Bengali literature.
"Always, o river, you peep in my mind/ Always I think you in this
loneliness/ Always I soothe my ears with the murmur/ Of your waters in illusion, the way/ Men hear songs of illusion in a dream," are a few lines of his extraordinary creation 'Kapatakkha Nad' in which he showed his deep love towards his country and the river.

Apart from his outstanding talent in authoring poems, Madhusudan Dutt showed prodigious skills as a playwright as he was the first to write Bengali plays in the English style, segregating the play into acts and scenes.

He was also the pioneer of the first satirical plays in Bengali literature. 'Buro Shaliker Ghare Ron' and 'Ekei Ki Boley Sabhyota' are among his famous satirical plays.

Kaliprasanna Singha, who is famous for his translation of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata into Bengali, organised a felicitation ceremony to Madhusudan Dutt to mark the introduction of blank verse in Bengali poetry.

His most famous literary work is sonnet "Kapatakkha Nad". Kapatakkha Nad (river) flows through Jashore, the poet's ancestral home.

Madhusudan was a gifted linguist and polyglot as he studied Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Tamil, Telugu, and Sanskrit.

Madhusudan passed away at Kolkata on June 29 in 1873 at the age of 49, only three days after his wife Henrietta breathed her last. The poet was buried in Kolkata.
 
Keshavpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) M.M. Arafat Hossain said all the preparations for Madhu Mela have already been completed.

 On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the great poet Michael Madhusudan Dutt in Sagradandi, State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid will be attend the opening ceremony of the week-long Madhu Mela tomorrow at 3 pm as the chief guest at Madhu Manch on the banks of Kapatakkha Nad (river).
 
Jashore district administration and Keshabpur upazila administration jointly organised the Madhu Mela.

Famous poets and writers will be present in the discussion of life and work on Madhusudan Dutt at Madhu Manch.

A large number of stalls including rural cottage industry products have set up in the madhu mela.