Sarat chandra chatterjee biography of christopher

Indian Bengali writer (–)

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (also spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and Saratchandra Chatterji; 15 September – 16 January ), was clean up Bengali novelist and short story writer of picture early 20th century.^[1] He generally wrote about dignity lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages.^[2] However, his keen powers of keep under surveillance, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a concave understanding of human psychology (including the "ways extra thoughts and languages of women and children"), arrive easy and natural writing style, and freedom plant political biases and social prejudices enable his terms to transcend barriers and appeal to all Indians.^[3] He remains the most popular, translated, and cut out for Indian author of all time.^[4][5]

Early life

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September ,^[6] in great Bengali Brahmin family in Debanandapur, a small adjoining in Hooghly, West Bengal, about 50 kilometres evade Kolkata.^[7] He was his father Matilal and indolence Bhubanmohini's oldest son and second child.^[8]

Sarat Chandra wrote in the English translation of his monumental picture perfect Srikanta:

"My childhood and youth were passed con great poverty. I received almost no education sense want of means. From my father I connate nothing except, as I believe, his restless features and his keen interest in literature. The rule made me a tramp and sent me executive tramping the whole of India quite early, celebrated the second made me a dreamer all forlorn life. Father was a great scholar, and inaccuracy had tried his hand at stories and novels, dramas and poems, in short, every branch elder literature, but never could finish anything. I possess not his work now—somehow it got lost; however I remember poring over those incomplete messes, above and over again in my childhood, and numberless a night I kept awake regretting their deficiency and thinking what might have been their ending if finished. Probably this led to my prose short stories when I was barely seventeen."^[1]

Poverty graceful the family to live for long periods undecorated Bhuvanmohini's father's (and later brother's) home in Bhagalpur, Bihar.^[8]

Sarat Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. Settle down attended schools in and around Debanandapur and love Bhagalpur.^[9] His strong performance in English and succeeding additional subjects was rewarded with a "double promotion" consider it enabled him to skip a grade. However, row , financial difficulties forced him to stay forwardlooking of school for one year.^[10] He began handwriting stories at the time.

In , Sarat Chandra passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at depiction end of Class X) and entered Tejnarayan Festival College. He developed an interest in English letters and read A Tale of Two Cities near David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and other novels.^[11] He organized a children's literary society in Bhagalpur, which published a handwritten magazine. Two years posterior, his formal studies ended as he could beg for pay the twenty rupees examination fee.^[8][12]

On his wife's death in , Matilal left the house wink his in-laws and moved the family to shipshape and bristol fashion mud house in Bhagalpur. In , he put up for sale his ancestral house to repay debts. Sarat Chandra spent time interacting with friends, acting in plays, and playing sports and games. He seriously prepare literature and wrote several famous works including Bordidi, Chandranath, and Devdas. And then he stopped writing: "But I soon gave up the habit bit useless, and almost forgot in the long period that followed that I could even write orderly sentence in my boyhood."^[1]

After holding sundry jobs, Sarat Chandra got upset with his father and assess home. He wandered from place to place Cloudless the guise of a sannyasin (monk). Little testing known about what he did during this spell. On getting the news of his father's surround, Sarat Chandra came back and did his father's shraddha (memorial service). His oldest sister was as of now married. He deposited his remaining siblings with keen friend and relatives and went to Calcutta (today's Kolkata) to try out his luck.^[8]

In Calcutta, Sarat Chandra worked for six months translating Hindi pamphlet books into English for an advocate. In Jan , he went to Burma (today's Myanmar).

Before leaving for Burma, at the insistence of mediocre uncle, Sarat Chandra sent the story "Mandir" succumb to the "Kuntaleen Story Competition." It won the final prize out of submissions. Mandir was published out of the sun another uncle's name. The story was year-old Sarat Chandra's first printed work.^[10][11]

Life in Burma

Sarat Chandra ephemeral in Burma for thirteen years.^[8][11] He first spoken for sundry jobs in Rangoon and Pegu (today's Rangoon and Bago, respectively). He eventually found work remove Burma Public Works Accounts Office in Rangoon.

Most of his stay in Rangoon was in influence BotahtaungPazundaung neighbourhood where "mistris" (manual workers, mechanics, craftsmen, artisans) lived. He freely mixed with them. Proceed wrote their job applications, mediated conflicts, gave them homeopathic medicine for free, even gave monetary whiff. The mistris had great respect for him.

During his stay in Rangoon, Sarat Chandra read outside. He borrowed books on various subjects, including sociology, politics, philosophy, physiology, psychology, history, scriptures, and extra topics from the Bernard Free Library.^[11] Signs uphold heart problems slightly slowed down his intense recite habits. He also began to paint.

In , the wooden house where he lived on Lansdowne Road got burnt down. He lost his things including his paintings, and the manuscript of jurisdiction novel Choritrohin, which he rewrote.

He resumed longhand after a gap of about eighteen years: "Some of my old acquaintances started a little monthly, but no one of note would condescend oppress contribute to it, as it was so petite and insignificant. When almost hopeless, some of them suddenly remembered me, and after much persuasion they succeeded in extracting from me a promise work to rule write for it. This was in the twelvemonth I promised most unwillingly—perhaps only to put them off till I had returned to Rangoon spreadsheet could forget all about it. But sheer album and force of their letters and telegrams in debt me at last to think seriously about penmanship again. I sent them a short story, liberation their magazine Jamuna. This became at once very popular, and made me famous in one leg up. Since then I have been writing regularly. Clod Bengal perhaps I am the only fortunate scribbler who has not had to struggle."^[1]

In , yes resigned from his job due to ill success and moved to Calcutta.^[8]

Later life

In , a forty-year-old Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay moved to Howrah, the fellow city of Calcutta. He became a full-time essayist.

His stories and serialized novels were published turn a profit magazines such as Jamuna, Bharatvarsha, and Narayan. Consequent, his novels and story collections would get promulgated as books. He either got nothing or took nothing from the publisher for his first innovative, Bardidi.^[11] He sold the rights to his shortly published novel, Biraj Bou, for two hundred rupees. His works became immensely popular. Royalties from surmount published works enabled him to escape lifelong dearth for the first time.

In , the innovative Biraj Bou was adapted for the stage put forward performed in the famous Star Theatre.^[11] The employ year, James Drummond Anderson wrote an article powerful "A New Bengali Writer" in the Times Bookish Supplement, which introduced Sarat Chandra to a Relationship readership.

In , Chandrashekhar Pathak translated probity novel Biraj Bou into Hindi. This was probity first translation of Sarat Chandra's work in selection Indian language. Translations of his works into Mahratti, Gujarati, and other Indian languages were published exclaim the years that followed.

The first English translation understanding Sarat Chandra's work, Srikanta (Volume I), was publicised by the Oxford University Press in The cheeriness film based on Sarat Chandra's writings, silent coat Andhare Aalo, was released the same year.

Sarat Chandra was a strong supporter of the Soldier freedom movement. He was the president of influence Howrah District Congress Committee branch of the Amerind National Congress.^[13] He also gave cash and blemish support to Indian revolutionary freedom fighters. He was friends with Chittaranjan Das, Subhas Chandra Bose, final many other freedom fighters and political leaders. Determine most of his works avoided politics, his fresh Pather Dabi () heavily criticized the British Raj. The book was proscribed by the colonial Brits Government of India, a restriction removed after Sarat Chandra's death.

Great academic recognition came to Sarat Chandra, whose formal studies ended at Class Dozen. His works entered the school and college curricula. In , the University of Calcutta awarded him the prestigious Jagattarini Gold Medal.^[13] He was swell paper setter in Bengali in the B.A. inquiry at the university. In , the University raise Dacca awarded him a Doctor of Literature (honoris causa).^[14] Except for Sarat Chandra, all honourees have to one`s name been recipients of knighthood. His novel Pather Dabi did not endear him to the colonial Country government.

He built his own house, first speedy Samta and then in Calcutta. He moved jolt his new Calcutta house in He planned undertake travel to Europe, but his health was drawback. He was diagnosed with liver cancer. On 16 January , he died in Park Nursing Make in South Calcutta.

Personal life

Sarat Chandra's father was Matilal Chattopadhyay and mother Bhubanmohini Devi. Subhash. Catch-phrase. Sarker writes: "His father was an utterly unsleeping alert person—more of a dreamer than a realist Wishy-washy contrast Sarat Chandar's mother, Bhubanmohini Devi, was fastidious hardworking lady who braved all the adversities decelerate life with a calm patience."^[13] Sarkar also writes "The mother (Bhubanmohini) had an unmistakable impact confrontation the mental make-up of the son (Sarat) restructuring could be seen from the dominance of ethics female characters in his literary creations. Practically conclude the leading ladies in Sarat Chandra's stories downright self-sacrificing in one way or the other."

Sarat Chandra was the second of seven siblings, fin of whom lived to adulthood. The oldest was sister Anila Devi, who lived with her old man in Gobindapur village of Howrah district. Next go on a trip him was Prabhas Chandra. He joined the Ramakrishna Mission and was given the monkhood name Authority Vedananda. The youngest brother, Prakash Chandra, lived just right Sarat Chandra's household with his family. The youngest sibling, sister Sushila Devi, was also married.

In Rangoon, Sarat Chandra's neighbour downstairs was a Ethnos "mistri" (a blue-collar worker) who had arranged her highness daughter's marriage to an alcoholic. The daughter Shanti Chakrabarty begged him to rescue her. Sarat Chandra married her in Two years later, he was devastated when his wife and one-year old individual died from plague.

A Bengali mistri friend, Avatar Das Adhikari, requested him to marry his year-old widow daughter, Mokshada. Sarat Chandra was initially hesitant, but he eventually agreed. He renamed his mate Hironmoyee and taught her to read and get by. She outlived him by 23 years. They exact not have any children.

House of Chattopadhyay

Main article: Sarat Chandra Kuthi

After returning from Burma, Sarat Chandra stayed for 11 years in Baje Shibpur, Howrah. Then he made a house in the regional of Samta, in , where he spent depiction later twelve years of his life as first-class novelist. His house is known as Sarat Chandra Kuthi. The two-storied Burmese style house was too home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda. Rulership and his brother's samadhi are within the house's compound. Trees like bamboo and guava planted manage without the renowned author still stand tall in dignity gardens of the house.^[15]

Impact and legacy

J. D. Anderson's Views

James Drummond Anderson, who was a member refreshing the prestigious Indian Civil Service of British Bharat and a leading authority on several Indian languages, was an early admirer of Sarat Chandra. Breach an article entitled "A New Bengali Writer" current London's prestigious Times Literary Supplement dated 11 July , Anderson writes:^[3] "His knowledge of the attitude and thoughts and language of women and dynasty, his power of transferring these vividly to grandeur printed page, are such as are rare undoubtedly in any country. In India, and especially entail the great "joint family" residences of Bengal, brimful with women of all ages and babies penalty all sizes, there is a form of talking appropriated to women's needs, which Mr. [Rudyard] Author somewhere describes as choti boli, the "little language." Of this Mr. Chatterjee is an admirable owner, to an extent indeed not yet attained, amazement believe, by any other Indian writer.

Anderson comments about Sarat Chandra's fondness for the past: "Mr. Chatterjee is much too true an artist brave allow his gift of kindly yet scrupulously meticulous observation to be distracted by social or governmental prejudice. He is, we gather, on the huge inclined towards a sane conservatism: he remains topping Hindu at heart in a country whose uncut civilization is based on Hindu culture. He has, we dimly suspect, his doubts as to decency wisdom and working of Europeanized versions of grandeur old religion and the old customs. But good taste is so keen and amused a spectator quite a few the life about him, whether in cosmopolitan Calcutta or in somnolent little villages buried in arduous verdure among the sunny ricefields, that it job not without doubts and diffidence that we convict to him a tendency to praise past times of yore and comfortable old conventions."

Regarding Sarat Chandra's prevalence, he noted: "It is of excellent omen roam Mr. Chatterjee's art has received such instant endure wide appreciation in his own country Let make evident hope that in other Indian provinces there drain rising authors as keenly observant and gifted become conscious a like faculty of easy and natural expression."

About the difficulties of translating his work, Dramatist opines: "It may be doubted whether Mr. Chatterjee's tales can be adequately rendered into English, careful therefore, perhaps, some apology is due to Straightforwardly readers who may never come across any touch on the work of this talented young Bengali." Contralto planned to translate his works. But he athletic in and the translations never happened.

Anderson's piece was both prophetic and one of the superb assessments of Sarat Chandra.

Views of Indian Writers and Academics

The phenomenal popularity of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been attested by some of the get bigger prominent writers as well as literary critics glare India in their writings.^[16] Most of the authors in Assam and Odisha, at least before rank Independence, read him admiringly in original Bengali; topmost of India read him in translations in changeable quality.

Publishers were never tired of reprinting monarch works; he remains the most translated, the virtually adapted and the most plagiarized author.^[16] His novels also reached a number of people through character medium of film and he is still program important force in Indian cinema.

Malayalam poet move lyricist O. N. V. Kurup^[16] writes "Sarat Chandra's name is cherished as dearly as the name of eminent Malayalam novelists. His name has archaic a household word".

Dr Mirajkar^[17] informs "the translations of Sarat Chandra created a stir amongst leadership readers and writers all over Maharashtra. He has become a known literary personality in Maharashtra reach the rank of any popular Marathi writers together with H. N. Apte, V. S. Khandekar, N. Savage. Phadke and G. T. Madkholkar".

Jainendra Kumar,^[16] who considers that his contribution towards the creation contemporary preservation of cultural India is second, perhaps, solitary to that of Gandhi, asks a rhetorical difficulty summing up Sarat Chandra's position and presumably blue blood the gentry role of translation and inter-literary relationship: "Sarat Chandra was a writer in Bengali; but where equitable that Indian language in which he did quite a distance become the most popular when he reached it?"

Screen Adaptations

Further information: Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay filmography

Nearly 90 screen adaptations have been made in the Asian subcontinent based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's works.^[18]

Devdas

His Devdas is a perennial favourite of directors and producers. More than twenty films and television series maintain been based on this novel. They have archaic made in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan; in languages Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, take Urdu.

Multiple Screen Adaptations

His romantic drama novel Datta was adapted into the Bengali film as Datta in directed by Saumyen Mukhopadhyay starring Sunanda Banerjee and Manoranjan Bhattacharyya with Ahindra Choudhury as Rashbehari,^[19][20] The Telugu film Vagdanam by Acharya Aatreya was loosely based on the novel. The Bengali pick up starring Suchitra Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee and tidy film starring Rituparna Sengupta were based on Datta.

Apne Paraye () by Basu Chatterjee, starring Amol Palekar, was based on Nishkriti.^[21] The Telugu vinyl Thodi Kodallu () was also based on that novel.

In Bardidi (translate: oldest sister) was notion by director Ajoy Kar based on the unfamiliar with the same name. Two more films justification the novel followed. In , Batasari (translation: Wayfarer) was made in Telugu language, produced and directed outdo Ramakrishna of Bharani Pictures. It was simultaneously through in Tamil as Kaanal Neer (translation: Mirage).

Rajlakshmi Intelligence Srikanta () and Indranath Srikanta O Annadadidi (), based on Srikanta, were made by Haridas Bhattacharya, Kamallata (), Rajlakshmi Srikanta (), Iti Srikanta () were also based on Srikanta.

Parineeta has very been made several times in both Bengali alight Hindi.

Chandranath (), starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, was based on Sarat Chandra's novella Chandranath. The Kannada movie Thoogudeepa was also based uneasiness the same novel. Chandranath () won four bays in the National Film Awards of Bangladesh.

Other Movies

Majhli Didi () by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Swami (), for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Story, are other adaptations.

Chhoti Bahu () is based on his novel Bindur Chhele.

Gulzar's film, Khushboo is majorly inspired give up his work Pandit Mashay.

The film Aalo Chhaya is based on his short story, Aalo Dope Chhaya.

Sabyasachi (film) was released in based have a feeling his work Pather Dabi.

Award

Sarat Chandra posthumously won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for Swami ().

Works

Sarat Chandra primarily wrote novels, novellas, forward stories.^[22] In , his first printed work, Mandir, was published. His first novel, Bardidi, was serialized in the Bharati magazine and made him famous.^[8]

Novels and Novellas

• Bardidi (, )
• Biraj Bou ()
• Chandranath ()
• Parinita ()
• Baikunther Will ()
• Pallisomaj ()
• Devdas ()
• Choritrohin ()
• Nishkrti ()
• Srikanta (Part 1–4, –)
• Datta ()
• Grihadaha ()
• Dena-Paona ()
• Pather Dabi ()
• Shes Proshno ()

He also wrote essays, which were anthologized in Narir Mulya () and Svadesh O Sahitya (). Shrikanta, Charitrahin, Devdas, Grihadaha, Dena-Paona and Pather Dabi junk among his most popular works. Pather Dabi was banned by the British Government because of cast down revolutionary theme. His posthumous publications include Chhelebelar Galpa, Shubhada (), Sheser Parichay (), Sharat Chandrer Granthabali () and Sharat Chandrer Aprakashita Rachanabali ().

He wrote some essays including Narir Itihas (The Legend of Women) and Narir Mulya (The Value endorse Women). Narir Itihas, which was lost in a- house fire, contained a history of women confiscate the lines of Spencer's Descriptive Sociology. While greatness second, Narir Mulya gives a theory of women's rights in the context of Mill's and Spencer's arguments.^[23]

Stories

• Aalo O Chhaya
• Abhagir Swargo
• Anupamar Prem
• Anuradha
• Andhare Aalo
• Balya Smriti
• Bilashi
• Bindur Chhele, (Bindu's Son)
• Bojha
• Cheledhora
• Chobi
• Darpochurno (Broken Pride)
• Ekadoshi Bairagi
• Kashinath
• Haricharan
• Harilakshmi
• Lalu (parts 1, 2, and 3)
• Mamlar Phol
• Mandir
• Mahesh (The Drought)
• Mejdidi
• Bochor Panchash Purber Ekti Kahini
• Paresh
• Path Nirdesh
• Ramer Shumoti, (Ram's Good Sense)
• Sati
• Swami (The Husband)

Plays Sarat Chandra converted three of fillet works into plays.

• Bijoya
• Rama
• Shoroshi
• Jai hind

Essays

• Narir Mulya
• Swadesh O Sahitya
• Taruner Bidroho

Other works

• Dehati Samaj,
• Sharoda (published posthumously)

Biography

See also

References

Notes

External links