Kamini Roy – Google honors the great Bengali poet on her 155th birthday

Google today honors the 155^th birthday of Kamini Roy, the great Bengali poet, social worker and feminist in British India. She was the first woman honours graduate in British India.

Kamini Roy was born on October 12, 1864 in the village of Basanda, then in Bakergunj district of Bengal Presidency, which now lies in in Barisal District of Bangladesh. She hailed from an elite Bengali Baidya family. Her father was a dad and writer named Chandi Charan Sen. He was a leading member of the Brahmo Samaj.

The great Bengali poet Kamini Roy leading member of the Brahmo Samaj. Her writing is simple and elegant. She published her first collection of verses Alo Chhaya in 1889. Her two more books were published later. She picked up the cue for feminism from a fellow student of Bethune School, Abala Bose.

“The male desire to rule is the primary, if not the only, stumbling block to women's enlightenment ... They are extremely suspicious of women’s emancipation. Why? The same old fear – 'Lest they become like us” Kamini Roy wrote her Bengali essay titled The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.

After completing graduation, Kamini Roy became a teacher at Bethune and published Alo O Chhaya, the first of her many books of poems, in 1889. By forming organizations to champion causes she believed in, she helped advance feminism on the Indian subcontinent. She also worked to help Bengali women win the right to vote in 1926. For her literary accomplishments, Kamini Roy was awarded the Jagattarini medal by Calcutta University in 1929.

Among her notable literary contributions were – Nirmalya, Pouraniki, Ashok Sangeet, Gunjan, Dwip O Dhup, Mahasweta, Pundorik, Balika Sikkhar Adarsha, Jibon Pathey and Malya O Nirmalya.

She went out of her way to encourage other writers and poets. She also became the president of the Bengali Literary Conference in 1930 and continued to work as the vice-president of the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad in 1932-33. She was highly influenced by the great poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Calcutta University honoured her with the Jagattarini Gold Medal.

Google today honors Kamini Roy with a beautiful doodle on her 155^th birthday.