Birendra Krishna Bhadra | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Birendra Krishna Bhadra | |
| Born | (1905-08-04)4 August 1905 |
| Died | 3 November 1991(1991-11-03) (aged 86) Kolkata,West Bengal, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Broadcaster, Playwright, Actor, Theater Director |
| Known for | Mahishasura Mardini (1931) |
| Parent(s) | Kali Krishna Bhadra Saralabala Devi |
Birendra Krishna Bhadra[1] (1905–1991) was aradiobroadcaster,playwright,actor, narrator and theatre director fromKolkata,India and a contemporary ofPankaj Mallick andKazi Nazrul Islam.He worked for theAll India Radio, India's National Radio broadcaster for several years during its early, starting 1930s, and during this period he produced and adapted several plays.[2]
Today, he is most known for his soaring Sanskrit recitation and India's oldest radio show,Mahishashura Mardini (1931),[3] a collection ofshlokas and songs broadcast byAll India RadioCalcutta (now Kolkata) at 4:00 am, in the dawn ofMahalaya.[4] He also acted and directed several plays inBengali theatre and even wrote the screenplay for the film,Nishiddha Phal (1955). A Bengali short film Birendra Krishna Bhadra - The Voice Since 1936 Was released In 2019 By Haalum Digital Media Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Birendra Krishna Bhadra was born on 4 August 1905, to Roy Bahadur Kalikrishna and Sarala Bala Devi at a rented house in Ahiritola his maternal home, in northCalcutta (nowKolkata).His original home is Uthali village inSatkhira district ofBangladesh. Later the family moved to 7, Ramdhan Mitra Lane, the house bought by his grandmother Yogo Maya Devi. His father, Kali Krishna Bhadra was a linguist, fluent in 14 languages, and employed as an interpreter in a lower court and later became a known figure in the Bengali literary circles of the time. Kali Krishna married Sarala Bala Devi the second child of the then famous Police Court lawyer Kalicharan Ghosh, and in 1927 was awarded the title ofRoy Bahadur. Roy Bahadur Kali Krishna had two sons, Bhupendra Krishna and Birendra Krishna. In 1926, Birendra Krishna Bhadra passed Intermediate, and in 1928 graduated fromScottish Church College, Kolkata.
He adapted and restructured several classics to produce notable radio plays. In the 1930sAll India Radio, Kolkata started broadcasting a two-hour program calledMahishashura Mardini which describes the epic battle of goddessDurga with the demon kingMahishashura. The script of this program was written byBani Kumar and the music was directed byPankaj Kumar Mallik. It was recited by Bhadra. It was first broadcast on theMahalaya of 1931. Since then,All India Radio have broadcast this programme on theMahalaya of every year except 1976.[5] The programme, which started off as a live-performance, has been broadcast in its pre-recorded format since 1952.[6][7]
Bhadra wrote some plays includingMess No. 49, and directed a theatre productionSahib Bibi Gulam, a stage adaptation of the celebrated novel of famous author, theBimal Mitra. In 1952, he dramatisedBankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's novelSubarna Golak which was filmed in thesame name in 1981. He also produced the famousradio dramaShahjahan, based on an eponymous historical play byDwijendralal Ray.Chhabi Biswas playedShahjahan in that radio drama. It became immensely popular among the masses and is still considered as a classic Bengali Radio-drama. He also adapted many well known plays likeChandragpta (written by Dwijendralal Ray) andPrafulla (written byGirish Chandra Ghosh) in radio drama format.[8]He reinstated the Durga temple in 1347 Bangabde in Uthali village of Tala upazila of Satkhira district of Bangladesh. Durga Puja is still going on in the temple.
His rendition, Mahisasura Mardini, is still played byAll India Radio, everyMahalaya, marking the beginning ofDurga Puja festivities.[9] So popular was his version of the recitation that when in 1976, the voice of noted Bengali actor,Uttam Kumar was employed for the programme, it didn't get a favorable response from the audience and it was shifted back to the original version of Birendra Krishna Bhadra.[10]
Subhasish Mukherjee portrayed him in his biopicMahalaya,[11] written and directed bySoumik Sen, highlighting the 1976 fiasco.[12]Jisshu Sengupta portrayed the role ofUttam Kumar.[13]
On the Mahalaya day in 2006, Sujata Bhadra, daughter of the late Birendra Krishna Bhadra, got a cheque for Rs 50,917 from music company,Saregama India Ltd as a royalty for her father's famous work.
•Garstin Place'er Saheb Bhoot (play)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
