Dr.
Purabi Basu

Purabi
Basu is a senior executive at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the world
famous drug company in New York. As its Quality Assurance Specialist,
she is perhaps the only Bangladeshi-American to have achieved that
position. A closer look at her academic and professional accomplishments
makes it amply clear why she has been vested with such critical
responsibility.
In
the 35 years since she arrived in the United States in 1970, after
earning a bachelors degree in Pharmacy from Dhaka University, Mrs.
Basu has worked her way up through persistence and hard work. All
through a brilliant student, she received a master's degree in
bio-chemistry from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1972
and did her Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of Missouri,
Columbia, in 1976. She also earned a postdoctoral fellowship in
pharmacology from the University of South Alabama.
Her
academic excellence led to several prestigious teaching and research
positions. She has taught at a number of universities and research
institutes across the United States including the Cornell University
Medical College and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,
the world famous cancer institute in New York.
Her
work on nutrition and pharmacology has also landed her an impressive
array of awards and scholarships from around the world including
the National Institute of Health and the American Institute of
Nutrition. In recognition of her professional
achievements, she has been made a member of numerous professional bodies including
the American Federation for Clinical Research and the American Association
for the Advancement of Science.
Despite
her stunning success in America, she has always nurtured a deep
love and passion for Bangladesh, which drove her back to the country
of her birth again and again. Between 1987 and 2000, she had gone
back four times with a burning desire to do something worthwhile
for the country. But family commitments and other circumstances
made her return, albeit reluctantly, to her adopted land. In the
intervening period, she worked for the Gono Shasthya Kendra, Beximco
Pharmaceuticals and the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
(BRAC).
Of
all the jobs she has had in America and Bangladesh "the Brac
job was most satisfying and I immensely enjoyed doing that",
Dr. Basu said with a tinge of delight in her voice.
As
director of the Health, Nutrition and Population Division at Brac,
she widely traveled across Bangladesh, criss-crossing the towns
and villages. That opportunity enabled her to rediscover the country
she had left behind a year before the liberation war.
"I'm
confidant we'll go back again and indulge in the kind of work I
love to do", she said. Indeed, the family still maintains
an apartment in Dhaka. Her husband, Jyoti Dutta, a former journalism
professor at the University of Louisiana, travels back and forth
to look after the house.
Here
some books on literature in Bengali
Purabi
Bosur Galpo, An anthology of short stories,
Sahitya Samabaya, Dhaka, March, 1989.
Bangali,
An anthology of essays on Bengali
culture and literature, (Co-editor Haroon Habib),
Bengali Foundation, Dhaka, July 1992.
Ajanma
Parabashi, An anthology of short stories,
Prateek Prakashani, Dhaka, September, 1992.
Nari
Tumi Nitya, An anthology of Bengali
translation of feminist short stories written by 16
renowned woman writers from all over the world,
Sahitya Prakash, February, 1993.
Ekhono
Gelo Na Andhar, Press response to 1992
communal violence in Indian sub-continent,
(Co-editor, Shafi Ahmed) Sahitya Samabaya, February
1993.
Name
Kee Ashe Jai, An anthology of columns
published in various newspapers, Ghash Ful Nadi,
Dhaka, February, 1993.
Se
Nahi Nahi, an anthology of short stories, Ghash
Phool Nadi, Dhaka, February 1995.
Niruddha
Samiran, an anthology of short stories,
Agami Prakashani, Dhaka, February 1996.
Bangladesher
Nari Andoloner Galpo, (co-editor, Safi
Ahmed), Anustup Prakashani, Calcutta, 1996
Ekoda
Ekhane Kanya Santan Janmo Nito, an anthology of
feminist short stories, Hakkani Publishers, Dhaka, To
be published in February 2000.
Nari
Bhabona, a compilation of columns and essays on
womens issues, Abasor Publishers, Dhaka, To be
published in February 2000.
Ekoda
Ekhane Kannya Santon Janmo Nito, an anthology
of feminist short stories, Paroma Publishers,
February, 2000.
Anityo
Aninda, an anthology of short stories,
Hakkani Pulications, Dhaka, February 2001
Josona
Korechhey Aari, an anthology of short stories,
Ankur Prokashani, Dhaka, February 2005
Galpo
Samagra, a collection of complete stories of
Purabi Basu, Dhaka, February 2005
In
addition, stories and articles (both original and translated in
English) have been included in a number of anthologies published
in both Dhaka, Bangladesh and Calcutta, India. Recently (2005),
a translated story has been included in an anthology, A
Matter of Taste, published by Penguin, India (New Delhi).
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