Laughing Buddha of work and culture

Kolkata, May 18 (UNI) He wants work culture to soar in West Bengal, and will root for another cultural renaissance any day.

Such is the eclectic mix in the new generation Communist leader and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee.

A new and improved West Bengal, under his stewardship is rollicking on the path of economic growth and is tipped to be the new stop-over for foreign investment in the country.

"A model state of progress" by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's own admission, Bhattacherjee wants the arts and culture to flourish along with the new 'capitalist mantra' he has breathed into his socialist structure.

Bhattacherjee gave the 'Do it now' slogan to improve work culture in the state. He also dreams of a revival of group theatre and a cultural churning that will restablish the state as the Vatican of cultural revolution.

His hard work for industrial rejuvenation of the state by inviting capital from home and abroad and pro-reform policies paid off in this election.

But now the man is out to win the hearts too. "More multiplexes would come up in the state. More theatres would have to be patronised. Group Theatre will be revitalised," said Bhattacharjee.

Held in high esteem by the city's intelligentsia for his love for art and culture, Mr Bhattacherjee often spends his evenings at the state-run auditorium 'Nandan' watching his favourite films and holding absorbing discussions.

An honours graduate in Bengali from the prestigious Presidency College, Kolkata, Bhattacherjee, often quotes from the works of Tagore to contemporary poets and has authored a collection of poems and plays and translated foreign literary pieces into Bengali.

Significant that he holds the Information and Cultural Affairs portfolio, he wants to make the urban Left Front culture-oriented too.

An avid reader of Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus and Franz Kafka and a student of existentialism, he is also a lover of contemporary poets like Shakti Chattopadhyay and Subhas Mukherjee.

A known playwright and poet, he is also a fan of Bertolt Brecht and Henrik Ibsen. Of the new breed of authors he likes H Garcia Lorka, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Pablo Neruda and Milan Kundera.

UNI BA PL RN1505