Archive · 13 Sep 2026
India-Born Bengali Writer and Tagore Scholar Dyson Dies at 86
Ketaki Kushari Dyson was a writer and scholar who cared deeply about the Bengali language.
She was born in Kushtia, which is now in Bangladesh.
She studied English literature at Presidency College and later earned a doctorate from Oxford University.
She researched Rabindranath Tagore and translated some of his writing into English.
This helped more people discover Tagore’s work.
Dyson also wrote Bengali poems, plays and novels.
She died in England at age 86 after suffering from age-related health problems.
She is survived by her husband and two sons.
Ketaki Kushari Dyson, an India-born Bengali writer and poet, died in England at age 86.
She died around 9 p.m. Friday at a hospital in an Oxford suburb after suffering from age-related ailments.
Dyson helped bring Rabindranath Tagore’s work to wider audiences through English translations and research.
Born in Kushtia on June 26, 1940, she graduated from Presidency College and earned a PhD from Oxford University in 1975.
Her Bengali works included poems, plays and novels, and she received the Ananda Purashkar in 1986.
- Who
- Ketaki Kushari Dyson, an India-born Bengali writer, poet, translator and Tagore scholar.
- What
- She died at age 86 after suffering from age-related ailments.
- When
- Around 9 p.m. on Friday; the reports say she had been admitted to hospital on August 31.
- Where
- A hospital in an Oxford suburb in England.
- Why
- A close family friend said she had suffered from age-related ailments for a long time.
- Age at death
- 86
- Birth
- June 26, 1940, in Kushtia, then part of undivided Bengal and now in Bangladesh
- Education
- Graduated in English literature from Presidency College in 1958 and earned a PhD from Oxford University in 1975
- Literary work
- Wrote Bengali poems, plays and novels, including Balkal, Nari, Nagari and Jal Phunre Agun
- Tagore scholarship
- Researched Rabindranath Tagore, including his paintings, and translated his works into English
- Notable study
- Rabindranath O Victoria Ocampo-r Sandhane, about Tagore’s association with Victoria Ocampo
- Award
- Received the Ananda Purashkar in 1986
- Survivors
- Her husband Robert Dyson and sons Virgil Pujari Dyson and Igor Niladri Dyson
