প্রাক-আধুনিক বাংলা সাহিত্য-সংস্কৃতির অনন্য এক পণ্ডিত টনি কে. স্টুয়ার Tony K. Stewart, Eminent Scholar of Pre-Modern Bengali Literature and Culture

Abstract

Professor Tony K. Stewart (February 16, 1954 – October 6, 2024) was a towering figure in the study of pre-modern Bengali literature and culture–widely regarded as the rightful successor to Edward C. Dimock, who first integrated classical and modern Bengali literature into American academia. While many scholars explored specific literary epochs or traditions, Stewart distinguished himself by illuminating the syncretic spiritual and vernacular literary heritage of Bengal, particularly the domains of folk religion, Sufism, and Vaishnavism. His seminal works, including The Final Word : The Caitānya Caritamrta and the Grammar of Religious Tradition (Oxford, 2010) and Witness to Marvels : Sufism and Literary Imagination (California, 2019), reflect a lifelong commitment to understanding how sacred narratives and religious imagination shape Bengali texts. His editorial stewardship of Dimock’s translation of the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krsndasa Kaviraja: A Translation and commentary and his own masterful translations—Needle at the Bottom of the Sea : Classic Bengali Tales from the Sundarbans (2023), Fabulous Females and Peerless Pīrs : Tales of Mad A dventure in Old Bengal (2004), among others—have rendered Bengali voices audible to the wider world. Stewart’s devotion to Bangladesh extended far beyond scholarship. In 2006, he established the Bengali Language Institute in Dhaka, launching a U.S. State Department-funded CLS program that brought American students to immerse themselves in the language and culture of Bangladesh. Many of these students later pursued careers in academia or diplomacy, informed by their deep engagement with Bengali society. Stewart believed that while Bangladesh may be small in geography, it is vast in literary, cultural, and ecological wealth. His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy endures – in every text he translated, every student he mentored, and every bridge he built between worlds.