Swapan Ghosh hails from Raigaon, Jessore, where his ancestral home is located. He pursued his education in Howrah and Kolkata. Recognized for his contributions to Pattachitra and theater, he received a senior fellowship from the Central Government’s Department of Information and Culture. He also collaborated with Raghunath Goswami on shadow puppetry.
In 1978, with the support of Biplab Chattopadhyay, Swapan Ghosh founded the Research Institute of Mime and Exploration (RIME). From 1981 to 1999, he published the theater magazine Natoker Class. Trained in various martial arts, including Kalaripayattu and Thang-Ta, he worked closely with Kanhaiya Lal of Manipur and the renowned theater director Eugenio Barba. He was also actively involved with Theatre in Education (TIE).
Throughout his career, Swapan Ghosh collaborated with several distinguished figures, including Anubhuti Basu, an eminent educator for the hearing-impaired, as well as internationally acclaimed theater practitioners Richard Schechner and Augusto Boal. RIME’s primary project, Health Theatre, is guided by a manifesto published in one of his books.
Among his literary works, Manusher Baccha Fotas holds significance in the field of prose. As a key commentator on Pure Theatre and Third Theatre, he regularly conducted theater workshops in various educational institutions. He attended workshops with Badal Sircar and participated in joint productions with him. Additionally, he worked alongside the legendary theater personality Habib Tanvir.
One of his most notable theater productions is Beraler Dolna (The Cat’s Cradle), which remains an important contribution to the world of theater.
Sekhar Basu completed his M.A. from the University of Calcutta. Throughout his career, he was associated with the editorial departments of Anandabazar Patrika, Business Standard, Anandamela, and Prabasi Anandabazar at different times. Currently, he is fully dedicated to writing and has published over fifty books.
At one point, he actively contributed to the short story movement. Over the years, he has written several books, including essays, travelogues, and translations. Some of his notable works include Ekushoti Golpo of Modern Rabindranath, Shastrabirodhi Golposankalan, Panchashti Golpo, Sat Ghoda Mohor, Rahasya Upanyas, Dubojahaje Netaji, and Lekha O Lekhok.
Hiranmoy Gangopadhyay is from Shialdanga in Manihara village, Purulia and now lives in Asansol. He studied at Manihara High School, Bankura Christian College and Burdwan University.
He is a leading researcher in Bengali literature, focusing on Kamalkumar Majumdar. In 1990, he conducted the first institutional research on Kamalkumar’s life and works. For over 30 years, he has deeply studied Kamalkumar’s writings, collecting his rare and scattered works from little magazines. His efforts helped publish Kamalkumar’s complete works and renewed academic interest in his forgotten contributions to literature and art.
Hiranmoy started his literary journey as a poet but later focused on fiction. At just 13, he was an associate editor for the magazine Ketaki. He later worked as an associate editor for well-known literary magazines like Chaturanga, Pratikshan and Pratikar.
One of his most important works is a detailed biography of Kamalkumar Majumdar. His book Kamalkumar Majumdar: Mukh O Mukhosher Dwandwa (The Conflict of Face and Mask) has received attention from Bengali readers in India and abroad.
Chanda Biswas was born in Ranaghat, a town in the Nadia district. She completed her graduation from Ranaghat College and earned a master’s degree in Bengali literature from the University of Calcutta.
For more than fifteen years, she has been making a mark in Bengali literature. Her stories, novels, essays, and travelogues have been published in well-known magazines and newspapers like Desh, Sananda, Anandamela, Unish Kuri, Kishore Bharati, Sandesh, Shuktara, Naba Kallol, Anandabazar Patrika, Kathasahitya Patrika, Dainik Bartaman, and Saptahik Bartaman. Her works have also appeared in many web magazines, as well as in Kali O Kolom and Shobdoghar, two monthly magazines published from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Her published books include Incarnation, Bristibelar Golpo, Kuasha Jatok, Debigarh-er Bagdebi Rahasya, Agent Garb O Nekre Dera, and Char Godhulir Upakhyan.
Biswajit Sarkar, also known as Bisu Da, was born in Kolkata and grew up under the care of his parents, the late Shri Nikhil Kumar Sarkar and Smt. Pompa Sarkar. He studied at Jadavpur Nabakrishna Pal Adarsha Shikshayatan and later earned a B.Tech in Computer Science from the Dream Institute of Technology, Thakurpukur. Currently, he serves as a Group-B (Gazetted) Officer in the Central Secretariat.
Despite his science background, his passion for Bengali literature led him to start writing at thirty, inspired by his wife, Smt. Nabanita Dasgupta. He loves traveling to mountains and remote places, observing diverse cultures, and has a deep interest in music.
Saswati Das was born and raised in Kolkata. She earned a bachelor’s degree in bioscience and later obtained an MBA diploma from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Subsequently, she pursued private studies in Bengali literature, earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. She loves to keep herself engaged in artistic pursuits, which is also reflected in her professional life. Her journey in writing began out of passion during her school days. Apart from writing, she enjoys reciting poetry, listening to music, and traveling to different countries. Her one true passion is reading storybooks.
Ranjan Dasgupta was born in 1976. His father was an officer at ECL, which led to his upbringing in the coal mining areas of Raniganj. That region had—and to some extent still has—forests, rivers, abandoned temples, and settlements of people from various parts of India. Naturally, his writings reflect nature and the extraordinary mysteries and lives of people who grow up beyond the familiar world we know.
Ranjan Dasgupta’s first story was published in Shuktara magazine. Since then, his works have appeared in almost every leading children’s magazine, including Anandamela and Kishore Bharati. Among them are both short stories and novels, some of which have been highly appreciated by readers.
Srijit Sarkar was born and raised in the suburban town of Basirhat. From a young age, he had a deep passion for literature, which led him to start writing. His first story was published in Anandamela magazine in 2016. Since then, he has been consistently writing for Anandamela, Anandabazar, Desh, Kalpabiswa, Antarip, and various other well-received anthologies. His writing seamlessly traverses multiple genres, from social to horror, speculative fiction to serious essays. As a promising young writer, he was awarded the Kalisadhan Mukhopadhyay Memorial Award 2023. He has already published eight solo books.
Mrigendranath Sarkar was born in 1961. A graduate in science. As soon as he stepped into fiction from the world of poetry and essays, he gained recognition with his first short story, ‘Jabajjiban’ (Life Sentence). His remarkable short stories, depicting people from various social strata, have captivated readers. He moves effortlessly between realism and magical realism. His writings have been published in Aajkal, Banglar Chokh, Jugasangbad Darpan, Bodhan Swar, Nagarik, Sharad Patra, and many other magazines and journals. He has also edited short story anthologies and essay collections on folk and marginal cultures. Additionally, he has adapted several short stories into plays. His first novel is ‘Ja Kichu Mati O Buker Kachakachi Chhilo’ (Whatever Was Close to the Soil and the Heart).
Born on 03-02-1954 in Basantapur, Murshidabad, WB, India, he is a MBA from Jadavpur University and Ph D and D Litt from Calcutta University and a retired IPS Officer. About 100 of his books have been published. His books include ‘Bakul’, ‘Bhumiputra’, ‘Son of the Soil’, ‘Islam 9/11 & Global Terrorism’, ‘Reforming the UN’, ‘How secular is Indian Politics?’, ‘The history of the Bengali’, ‘How can Bengali take lead in Business’, ‘Bakul’, ‘After a prolonged wait’, ‘Talent’. recipient of ‘Ananda Puraskar’, Sarat Puraskar’, ‘Susila Devi Birla Smriti Puraskar’.
