Editor's Profile

Chiranjib Sur, Editor-Printer-Publisher of Alochona Chakra is a multi-faceted personality with creative/innovative gesture in every aspect of his activities all along.

He started writing poetry in early seventies and bringing out a poetry magazine (Sumerio) with the capital from earning out of private tutions. Gradually during professional life , for distinct reasons , the role of organizing publication of magazine was more convenient than that of pursuing writing. Writing poetry went on becoming a rare opportunity in course of professional engagement. From 1974 to 1986 several magazines (collectively Rhombus – individually Sumerio – collectively Rik – jointly Shilper Sakshar) were brought out by him. The journey started from Poetry and gradually shifted to Criticism. Finally in 1987, Alochona Chakra started with critical essays exclusively. The thin anthologies of verses were brought out as Joltaranga (1987), Shreni o Sngslesh (1991) , Path Samhita (1996) , Bhramankatha Shramanbani (1997) , Somoy ek Bhuban ( 2002) and a selective collection Nirbachito (O-) Kobita (2015) . But, at present, he is mostly known as a critic. Though any collection of essays written by him has not yet been published, he has been writing critical essays regularly on contemporary Bengali poetry, literary theory, new physics, philosophy of science, cultural studies etc.

He was an actor and director in Group Theatre collective namely Rhombus, Neel Balerina and lately in Office Recreation Club. He had also written scripts of Dance-Drama for a group of local children. These were during college days onward.

He was also a social worker all along. He initiated many new associations and took part in many voluntary organizations working on Society and Culture. Starting from Free Coaching Centre under the banner of ASCUD (Association for Social and Cultural Dynamics) parallely with organizing cultural programmes through local clubs like Belgharia Aikatan Club . He convened Belgharia Book Fair in 1990. Uttar Sahartoli Little Magazine Fair in 2003.

Professionally, he was Manager – HR in amanufacturing unit in Howrah of a multinational company which was later amalgamated with Aditya Birla Group. He started as a Welfare Officer in a factory of 1400 workforce and at the end of his professional career he had to oversee CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) as one of his responsibilities by virtue of which he was associated with Ramakrishna Mission Headquarters.

After retirement from his professional engagement, he had engaged himself as a part-time faculty in the disciplines of Human Resources Management and Social Work. After three years of teaching , to give more time in publications and reading & writing , he has discontinued others except that with Ramakrishna Mission Samaj Sikshan Mandira at Belurmath.

In the literaryfield, he had been associated with Kolkata Little Magazine Library o Gobeshana Kendra for about ten years. Presently he is the Vice-president of the organization.

Over and above the awards obtained from both Government and non-Government organizations on behalf of the magazine, he had also been felicitated by some cultural organizations like Prachya Theatrical Group of Kolkata, Little Magazines Kathabayan and Ushar Alo of Raiganj. Baisakhi Mela of Belgharia.

As a Speaker, he had delivered speeches on scheduled topics in the international seminar organized by Bengali department of Assam University, State-level seminars organized by Bengali department of Jadavpur University, Sahitya Akademi (Eastern Region) , several Book Fair and Little Magazine Fairs at Purulia , Burdwan, Bolpur , Maldah etc. He himself had organized three National-level seminars sponsored by ICSSR under the banner of Alochona Chakra at Jadavpur University during 2017-19. In social programmes, may it be environmental or literary, broadly social or cultural he is a favourite speaker to the young generation.

As an editor/publisher, he has possessed a long voluntary career with a track record of continuous improvement. He has been acknowledged as a trend-setter of publishing critical introductions of latest doctrines of leading disciplines of the contemporary world in Bengali. One reader from a Science Club of Kolkata suburban once told him, ‘Sir, you guide us what we should think upon at this point of time.” Prof. Sitangshu Chakraborty, son of late Chintaharan Chakraborty blessed him from Canada over phone, “You are the lone torch-bearer of intellectual tradition of Bengal in this era of decadence. Keep it up.”

But, according to him, the challenge regarding his magazine is to balance between maintaining openness of Little Magazine and controlling the invisible pressure towards becoming an academic journal. He initiated the move thirty years back to take out the practice of knowledge from the universities to the common field of voluntary interests , among the rare species of readers with inherent thirst for knowledge – expanding both horizontally and vertically.