Portrait of a young Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824 - 1873)   c. 1844 Opaque watercolour and paper 9 1/2" x 8 1/2"   Michael Madhusudan Dutt was a famous 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in the Jessore District, Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He was an important pioneer in dramatic writing. He wrote Meghnadh Bodh Kabya, a grand heroic-tragic epic in nine cantos which is quite unique in the body of Bengali literature.   Madhusudan is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature. He died in Calcutta, India on 29 June 1873.