Mallika Sengupta (1960–2011) was a Bengali poet, feminist, and reader of Sociology from Kolkata, known for her "unapologetically political poetry".

Biography

Mallika Sengupta was the head of the Department of Sociology in Maharani Kasiswari College, an undergraduate college affiliated with the University of Calcutta in Kolkata. She was much better known for her literary activity. The author of more than 20 books including 14 volumes of poetry and two novels, she was widely translated and was a frequent invitee at international literary festivals. For twelve years in the 90s she was the poetry editor of Sananda, the largest circulated Bengali fortnightly (edited by Aparna Sen). Along with her husband, the noted poet Subodh Sarkar, she was the founder-editor of Bhashanagar, a culture magazine in Bengali. English translations of her work have appeared in various Indian and American anthologies. In addition to teaching, editing and writing, she was actively involved with the cause of gender justice and other social issues. She had undergone breast cancer treatment starting in October 2005 and died on 28 May 2011.

Activism and literary themes

Sengupta was also active in a number of protest and gender activism groups. Her fiery, combative tone is noticeable in many poems, e.g. "While teaching my son history": often dealing with women's marginalised role in history: Particularly evocative is her feminist rendition of the legend of Khana, a medieval female poet whose tongue was allegedly cut off by her jealous husband:

Awards and honours

Works

Poetry

Poetry in English translation

Novels

Books on sociology of gender

Translation

Bengali poetry anthology