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Age: 79 Years Death Cause: Alzheimers Death Date: 09/01/2004
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession(s) | • Poet • Actor • Playwright • Editor • Art critic |
| Known as | Father of post-independence Indian poetry in English |
| Career | |
| Last Published work | Selected prose (1992) |
| Awards | • In 1988, he was honoured with the Padma Shri award by the President of India. • In 1983, he won the Sahitya Akademi cultural award. |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 16 December 1924 (Tuesday) |
| Place of Death | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Date of Death | 9 January 2004 |
| Death Cause | Alzheimer’s disease |
| Age (at the time of death) | 79 Years |
| Birthplace | Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) |
| Zodiac sign | Sagittarius |
| Signature | |
| Nationality | • Indian (1947-2004) • British Indian (1924-1947) |
| Hometown | Bombay ( now Mumbai) in Maharashtra |
| School | • Convent of Jesus and Mary • Antonio De Souza High School |
| College/University | • Wilson College, Bombay University (1947) • Birkbeck College, London (1948-1949) |
| Educational Qualification | • Bachelor of Arts in Literature at Wilson College, Bombay University • Philosophy at Birkbeck College, London [1]GradeSaver |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Political Inclination | Radical Democratic Party |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Divorced |
| Marriage Date | Year, 1952 |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Daizy Jacob Dandekarand |
| Children | Son– Elkana Daughter– Kalpana Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca |
| Parents | Father– Moses Ezekiel (Professor Wilson College, Mumbai) Mother– Diana Ezekiel (Principal at her own school) |
| Siblings | Brother– 2 brothers name not known Sister– 2 sisters Asha Bhende (Born Lily Ezekiel Talkar) |
| Other relatives | Nephew: Nandu Bhende (Lily’s son) (actor) |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Nissim Ezekiel
- Nissim Ezekiel was an Indian poet, dramatist, actor, editor, and art critic who lived from 1924 until 2004. Known as the founder of English-language post-independence Indian poetry, his works are taught in NCERT high school curricula. In addition, he worked as a broadcaster and social analyst. He has won both the Sahitya Akademi and the Padma Shri cultural awards. He passed away in Mumbai on January 9, 2004.
- Nissim Ezekiel belonged to the Marathi-speaking Jewish community, known as the Bene Israel, in Mumbai.
- Nissim attended the Antonio De Souza High School after beginning his education at the Convent of Jesus and Mary. In 1947, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Literature at Wilson College at Bombay University. Following graduation, he worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications, for M. N. Roy’s Radical Democratic Party, and as a teacher at Khalsa College in Mumbai for a year.
- In November 1948, he moved to England and enrolled at Birkbeck College in London to pursue his philosophy studies. In addition to philosophy, Nissim took evening classes at the City Literary Institute in Chinese, Western Philosophy, and Art Appreciation. After spending three and a half years there, he returned home by working as a deck scrubber on a ship transporting weapons to China and India.
- In the late 1940s, Nissim began his writing career. “A Time to Change,” his debut book, was released in 1952. He released The Deadly Man, a collection of poems, in 1960.
- He served as general manager and advertising copywriter at a picture frame manufacturer from 1954 to 1959. He was a co-founder of the literary journal Jumpo in 1961. Ezekiel’s three plays, Nalini (which includes Nalini, Marriage Poem, and The Sleep-walkers), were published in 1969 at the Writers Workshop.
- In 1961, he became the head of the English Department at Mithibai College, Bombay. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Leeds in 1964 and the University of Pondicherry in 1967. He remained the Head of the English department until 1972.
Nissim Ezekiel (sitting in centre) at the USIS American Litt seminar, Bangalore
- He joined The Times of India as an art critic, where he worked for two years, 1964–1966. In 1966, he started working as an editor for Poetry India. He attended the University of Leeds in 1964 and the University of Pondicherry in 1967 as a visiting professor.
- In 1976, along with Vrinda Nabar, he translated Jawaharlal Nehru’s poetry from English to Marathi and co-edited an anthology of poetry and fiction. His writing primarily dealt with grief and despair. English textbooks for the ICSE and NCERT both utilize his poems.
- Nissim Ezekiel passed away in Mumbai on January 9, 2004, at the age of 79, following a prolonged fight with Alzheimer’s in a nursing facility in Bandra. He was buried at the Jewish Cemetery, Worli, Mumbai. His death year was regarded as the annus horribilis, a year of disaster or misfortune, of English-language Indian poetry.
- In 2000, R. Rao, an Indian writer and poet, wrote an authorised biography on Nissim Ezekiel titled Nissim Ezekiel: The Authorized Biography. [2]The Indian Express
References/Sources:[+]
| ↑1 | GradeSaver |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | The Indian Express |