Akhil Niyogi

Akhil Niyogi, also known as Swapanburo, is a Bengali writer and editor who mainly writes children's books. Akhil Niyogi was born on 25 October 1902 in the Sankrail-Tangail village of Mymensingh, East Bengal, British India. He passed his class 10 from Scottish Church Collegiate School and ISC from City College. After his schooling, he got enrolled in the Government College of Art & Craft. While studying at the Government College, Akhil Niyogi was the founder and editor of the artist welfare society of his college under which he published a magazine called 'Chitra.’ Later, his novel 'Beporoya' was published in Shisusathi Magazine. After completing college, he started his career as a commercial artist. He worked as a screenwriter for the documentary on Sriniketan produced by the government of West Bengal during Rabindranath's lifetime.

Besides working as a writer, Akhil Niyogi also worked as a director, lyricist, editor, etc. He directed the film 'Muktir Bandhan.’ From 1945 onwards, he served as a regular contributor and director of the Jugantar Magazine, a Bengali revolutionary newspaper founded in 1906 in Calcutta. In the later years of his life, he started writing songs for children under the pseudonym 'Swapnaburo.’ Soon people started recognizing him by the name of ‘Swapnaburo’ gradually became popular by this name. In 1952, he went to Vienna after receiving an invitation from the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1988, Akhil Niyogi was honored by the Government of West Bengal with the Vidyasagar Award. He has written several books, such as Dhanni Chele, Kishore Abhijan, Pala Parban Chara-Chanda, Bhuture Desh, and many more. Akhil Niyogi died in Calcutta on 21 February 1993.