Shankha Ghosh (1932-2021): A poet who could not be compared with any of his contemporaries Poet K Satchidandan re-reads Shankha Ghosh’s poetry in tribute. Shankha Ghosh (1932-2021). | Artwork based on photograph by Biswarup Ganguly / CC BY 3.0 Shankha Ghosh was a poet of suggestions and subtleties, seldom strident or flamboyant like the “Hungry Poets”, who were his contemporaries. His poems are essentially lyrical, poems of moods and feelings, though always filtered and moderated by his sharp intellect, which distinguished him from the romantic crowd. He was not a narrative poet either, though at times his poems tend to have narrative contexts, questions, conversations and colloquial expressions. It is difficult to compare him with any of his contemporaries, or those who lived and wrote before or after him. He modernised Tagore’s legacy by distilling his style; he could be imagistic like Jibanananda Das, but was rarely nostalgic like him; he could surprise like Shakti Chattopadhyay, but was more moderate.