| Italic Title: | (see above) --> |
| Ruposhi Bangla (Bengal the beautiful or The Beauteous Bengal) | |
| Author: | Jibanananda Das |
| Translator: | Joe Winter, A K Basu Majumdar |
| Cover Artist: | Signet Press 1957 edition cover by Satyajit Ray |
| Language: | Bengali |
| Genre: | Poetry, Sonnet |
| Publisher: | First edition in Bengali by Signet Press, Joe Winter's English translation by Anvil Press Poetry, A K Basu Majumdar's English translation by Mittal Publication, etc. |
| Pub Date: | 1957 |
| English Pub Date: | 1987, 2006 |
| Pages: | 79 in English (Anvil Press Poetry 2006 edition), 101 (The Beauteous Bengal published by Mittal) |
| Isbn: | 978-0-85646-390-7 |
| Isbn Note: | (of Bengal the beautiful), 978-0836422399 (of The Beauteous Bengal) |
| Oclc: | 76907525 |
| Preceded By: | Bela Obela Kaalbela |
Ruposhi Bangla (Bengali: রূপসী বাংলা, Beautiful Bengal) is the most popular collection of poems by Jibanananda Das, the great modern Bengali poet.[1] [2] Written in 1934, the sixty-two sonnets - discovered in an exercise-book twenty years after Das wrote them - achieved instant popularity on their posthumous publication in 1957,[3] becoming a totemic symbol of freedom in Bangladesh's 1971 War of Independence. In Ruposhi Bangla, Das seamlessly blends in both real and mythical historical figures, as well as mythical creatures such as the shuk bird, weaving a tapestry of a beautiful, dreamlike Bengal[4] The poems celebrate the beauty of Barishal.[5] In these poems infused with a scent of unrequited love, Jibanananda Das captured his country's soul through evocations of village life and natural beauty. Satyajit Ray designed the cover of 1957 edition.