Eminent Tagore researcher and litterateur Ketaki Kushari Dyson no more

Ketaki Kushari Dyson, an expatriate Indian poet, translator and essayist known for her important research on Rabindranath Tagore's literature and paintings on the international stage, is no more. She died at the age of 86 while undergoing treatment in the United Kingdom.

After suffering from various age-related complications for a long time, Ketaki Kushari breathed her last at a hospital in Oxford around 9pm local time on Friday. She is survived by her husband Robert Dyson, two sons and numerous admirers.

Ketaki Kushari was born on June 26, 1940, in Kushtia in undivided Bengal, present-day Bangladesh. In 1958, she completed her graduation in English literature with record marks from Presidency College in Kolkata. She later went to Oxford University for higher studies and obtained her PhD from there in 1975. During her studies at Oxford, she met physics student Robert Dyson. Ketaki Kushari later married him and began living permanently in Britain.

She was equally proficient in both Bangla and English. However, her role in bringing Rabindranath Tagore to the world stage was particularly notable. Her research work 'Rabindranath and Victoria Ocampo: In Search of a Relationship', based on Rabindranath's paintings and the poet's relationship with Argentine litterateur Victoria Ocampo, is considered an important addition to Bangla literature. She also made commendable contributions in translating Rabindranath's poems and various works into English.

Although highly educated in English literature, her love for the Bangla language never diminished. She had promised eminent poet and litterateur Buddhadeb Bose that she would write in Bangla all her life. She kept that promise. She created a distinct position for herself in the Bangla literary scene from the 1960s by writing several poetry collections, novels and plays, including 'Bolkol', 'Nari, Nagari' and 'Jol Fure Agun'.

In recognition of her extraordinary contribution to literature, Ketaki Kushari Dyson received the prestigious Ananda Puraskar in 1986, along with numerous honours at home and abroad.