Jump to content

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromSharat Chandra Chatterji)

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Native name
শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়
Born(1876-09-15)15 September 1876
Debanandapur,Bengal,British India
Died16 January 1938(1938-01-16)(aged 61)
Calcutta,Bengal, British India
OccupationWriter, novelist
LanguageBengali
NationalityBritish Indian
Period19th century – 20th century
Literary movementBengali Renaissance
Notable works
Notable awardsJagattarini Award
(by theCalcutta University)
Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa
(by theUniversity of Dhaka)
SpouseShanti Devi (m. 1906–1908)
Hironmoyi Devi (m. 1910–1938)
Signature

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay(also spelt asSarat Chandra ChatterjeeandSaratchandra Chatterji;15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938), was aBengalinovelist and short story writer of the early 20th century.[1]He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages.[2]However, his keen powers of observation, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a deep understanding of human psychology (including the "ways and thoughts and languages of women and children" ), an easy and natural writing style, and freedom from political biases and social prejudices enable his writing to transcend barriers and appeal to all Indians.[3]He remains the most popular, translated, and adapted Indian author of all time.[4][5]

Early life

[edit]

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876,[6]in aBengali Brahminfamily inDebanandapur,a small village inHooghly,West Bengal,about 50 kilometres fromKolkata.[7]He was his father Matilal and mother Bhubanmohini's oldest son and second child.[8]

Birthplace of Sarat Chandra inDebanandapur,Hooghly

Sarat Chandra wrote in the English translation of his monumental bookSrikanta:

"My childhood and youth were passed in great poverty. I received almost no education for want of means. From my father I inherited nothing except, as I believe, his restless spirit and his keen interest in literature. The first made me a tramp and sent me out tramping the whole of India quite early, and the second made me a dreamer all my life. Father was a great scholar, and he had tried his hand at stories and novels, dramas and poems, in short, every branch of literature, but never could finish anything. I have not his work now—somehow it got lost; but I remember poring over those incomplete messes, over and over again in my childhood, and many a night I kept awake regretting their incompleteness and thinking what might have been their conclusion if finished. Probably this led to my writing short stories when I was barely seventeen."[1]

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

Sarat Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. He attended schools in and around Debanandapur and in Bhagalpur.[9]His strong performance in English and other subjects was rewarded with a "double promotion" that enabled him to skip a grade. However, in 1892, financial difficulties forced him to stay out of school for one year.[10]He began writing stories at the time.

In 1894, Sarat Chandra passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at the end of Class X) and enteredTejnarayan Jubilee College.He developed an interest in English literature and readA Tale of Two CitiesandDavid CopperfieldbyCharles Dickensand other novels.[11]He organized a children's literary society in Bhagalpur, which published a handwritten magazine. Two years later, his formal studies ended as he could not pay the twenty rupees examination fee.[8][12]

On his wife's death in 1895, Matilal left the house of his in-laws and moved the family to a mud house in Bhagalpur. In 1896, he sold his ancestral house to repay debts. Sarat Chandra spent time interacting with friends, acting in plays, and playing sports and games. He seriously read literature and wrote several famous works including Bordidi, Chandranath, andDevdas.And then he stopped writing: "But I soon gave up the habit as useless, and almost forgot in the long years that followed that I could even write a sentence in my boyhood."[1]

After holding sundry jobs, Sarat Chandra got upset with his father and left home. He wandered from place to place In the guise of a sannyasin (monk). Little is known about what he did during this period. On getting the news of his father's death, Sarat Chandra came back and did his father's shraddha (memorial service). His oldest sister was already married. He deposited his remaining siblings with a friend and relatives and went toCalcutta(today's Kolkata) to try out his luck.[8]

In Calcutta, Sarat Chandra worked for six months translating Hindi paper books into English for an advocate. In January 1903, he went toBurma(today's Myanmar).

Before leaving for Burma, at the insistence of an uncle, Sarat Chandra sent the story "Mandir" to the "Kuntaleen Story Competition." It won the first prize out of 150 submissions. Mandir was published under another uncle's name. The story was 27-year-old Sarat Chandra's first printed work.[10][11]

Life in Burma

[edit]

Sarat Chandra lived in Burma for thirteen years.[8][11]He first held sundry jobs in Rangoon and Pegu (today'sYangonandBago,respectively). He eventually found work in Burma Public Works Accounts Office in Rangoon.

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

During his stay in Rangoon, Sarat Chandra read widely. He borrowed books on various subjects, including sociology, politics, philosophy, physiology, psychology, history, scriptures, and other topics from theBernard Free Library.[11]Signs of heart problems slightly slowed down his intense study habits. He also began to paint.

In 1912, the wooden house where he lived on Lansdowne Road got burnt down. He lost his belongings including his paintings, and the manuscript of his novelChoritrohin,which he rewrote.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1914

He resumed writing after a gap of about eighteen years: "Some of my old acquaintances started a little magazine, but no one of note would condescend to contribute to it, as it was so small and insignificant. When almost hopeless, some of them suddenly remembered me, and after much persuasion they succeeded in extracting from me a promise to write for it. This was in the year 1913. I promised most unwillingly—perhaps only to put them off till I had returned to Rangoon and could forget all about it. But sheer volume and force of their letters and telegrams compelled me at last to think seriously about writing again. I sent them a short story, for their magazineJamuna.This became at once extremely popular, and made me famous in one day. Since then I have been writing regularly. In Bengal perhaps I am the only fortunate writer who has not had to struggle. "[1]

In 1916, he resigned from his job due to ill health and moved to Calcutta.[8]

Later life

[edit]

In 1916, a forty-year-old Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay moved toHowrah,the twin city of Calcutta. He became a full-time writer.

His stories and serialized novels were published in magazines such asJamuna,Bharatvarsha,andNarayan.Later, his novels and story collections would get published as books. He either got nothing or took nothing from the publisher for his first novel,Bardidi.[11]He sold the rights to his second published novel,Biraj Bou,for two hundred rupees. His works became immensely popular. Royalties from his published works enabled him to escape lifelong poverty for the first time.

In 1918, the novelBiraj Bouwas adapted for the stage and performed in the famousStar Theatre.[11]The same year,James Drummond Andersonwrote an article entitled "A New Bengali Writer" in theTimes Literary Supplement,which introduced Sarat Chandra to a Western readership.

In 1919, Chandrashekhar Pathak translated the novelBiraj Bouinto Hindi. This was the first translation of Sarat Chandra's work in another Indian language. Translations of his works into Marathi, Gujarati, and other Indian languages were published in the years that followed.

(From left) HistorianSir Jadunath Sarkar,Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Governor of BengalSir John Anderson,chemistSir Prafulla Chandra Roy,and Vice Chancellor historianSir Ahmad Fazlur Rahman.The first four were recipients of honorary doctorates from theUniversity of Daccain 1936. Other recipients not pictured here areSir Abdur Rahim,Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose,Sir Muhammad Iqbal,andRabindranath Tagore.

The first English translation of Sarat Chandra's work,Srikanta(Volume I), was published by theOxford University Pressin 1922. The first film based on Sarat Chandra's writings, silent movie Andhare Aalo, was released the same year.

Sarat Chandra was a strong supporter of the Indian freedom movement. He was the president of the Howrah District Congress Committee branch of theIndian National Congress.[13]He also gave cash and other support to Indian revolutionary freedom fighters. He was friends withChittaranjan Das,Subhas Chandra Bose,and many other freedom fighters and political leaders. While most of his works avoided politics, his novelPather Dabi(1926) heavily criticized theBritish Raj.The book was proscribed by the colonial British Government of India, a restriction removed after Sarat Chandra's death.

Great academic recognition came to Sarat Chandra, whose formal studies ended at Class XII. His works entered the school and college curricula. In 1923, theUniversity of Calcuttaawarded him the prestigious Jagattarini Gold Medal.[13]He was a paper setter in Bengali in the B.A. examination at the university. In 1936, theUniversity of Daccaawarded him aDoctor of Literature(honoris causa).[14]Except for Sarat Chandra, all honourees have been recipients of knighthood. His novelPather Dabidid not endear him to the colonial British government.

He built his own house, first in Samta and then in Calcutta. He moved into his new Calcutta house in 1935. He planned to travel to Europe, but his health was failing. He was diagnosed with liver cancer. On 16 January 1938, he died in Park Nursing Home in South Calcutta.

Personal life

[edit]

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

Sarat Chandra was the second of seven siblings, five of whom lived to adulthood. The oldest was sister Anila Devi, who lived with her husband in Gobindapur village of Howrah district. Next to him was Prabhas Chandra. He joined theRamakrishna Missionand was given the monkhood name Swami Vedananda. The youngest brother, Prakash Chandra, lived in 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 Bengali "mistri" (a blue-collar worker) who had arranged his daughter's marriage to an alcoholic. The daughter Shanti Chakrabarty begged him to rescue her. Sarat Chandra married her in 1906. Two years later, he was devastated when his wife and one-year old son died from plague.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

A Bengali mistri friend, Krishna Das Adhikari, requested him to marry his 14-year-old widow daughter, Mokshada. Sarat Chandra was initially reluctant, but he eventually agreed. He renamed his wife Hironmoyee and taught her to read and write. She outlived him by 23 years. They did not have any children.

House of Chattopadhyay

[edit]
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 village ofSamta,in 1923, where he spent the later twelve years of his life as a novelist. His house is known asSarat Chandra Kuthi.The two-storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda. His and his brother'ssamadhiare within the house's compound. Trees like bamboo and guava planted by the renowned author still stand tall in the gardens of the house.[15]

Impact and legacy

[edit]

J. D. Anderson's Views

James Drummond Anderson,who was a member of the prestigiousIndian Civil Serviceof British India and a leading authority on several Indian languages, was an early admirer of Sarat Chandra. In an article entitled "A New Bengali Writer" in London's prestigiousTimes Literary Supplementdated 11 July 1918, Anderson writes:[3]"His knowledge of the ways and thoughts and language of women and children, his power of transferring these vividly to the printed page, are such as are rare indeed in any country. In India, and especially in the great" joint family "residences of Bengal, swarming with women of all ages and babies of all sizes, there is a form of speech appropriated to women's needs, which Mr. [Rudyard] Kipling somewhere describes aschoti boli,the "little language." Of this Mr. Chatterjee is an admirable master, to an extent indeed not yet attained, we believe, by any other Indian writer.

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

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

About the difficulties of translating his work, Anderson opines: "It may be doubted whether Mr. Chatterjee's tales can be adequately rendered into English, and therefore, perhaps, some apology is due to English readers who may never come across any of the work of this talented young Bengali." Anderson planned to translate his works. But he died in 1920 and the translations never happened.

Anderson's article was both prophetic and one of the best assessments of Sarat Chandra.

Views of Indian Writers and Academics

The phenomenal popularity of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been attested by some of the most prominent writers as well as literary critics across India in their writings.[16]Most of the authors inAssamandOdisha,at least before the Independence, read him admiringly in original Bengali; rest of India read him in translations in varying quality.

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

Malayalam poet and lyricistO. N. V. Kurup[16]writes "...Sarat Chandra's name is cherished as dearly as the names of eminentMalayalamnovelists. His name has been a household word ".

Dr Mirajkar[17]informs "the translations of Sarat Chandra created a stir amongst the readers and writers all overMaharashtra.He has become a known literary personality inMaharashtrain the rank of any popularMarathiwriters including H. N. Apte, V. S. Khandekar, N. S. Phadke and G. T. Madkholkar ".

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay on Indian postage stamp.

Jainendra Kumar,[16]who considers that his contribution towards the creation and preservation of cultural India is second, perhaps, only to that ofGandhi,asks a rhetorical question summing up Sarat Chandra's position and presumably the role of translation and inter-literary relationship: "Sarat Chandra was a writer inBengali;but where is thatIndianlanguage in which he did not become the most popular when he reached it? "

Screen Adaptations

[edit]
Further information:Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay filmography

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

Devdas

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

Multiple Screen Adaptations

His romantic drama novelDattawas adapted into the Bengali film asDattain 1951 directed by Saumyen Mukhopadhyay starring Sunanda Banerjee and Manoranjan Bhattacharyya withAhindra Choudhuryas Rashbehari,[19][20]The 1961 Telugu filmVagdanambyAcharya Aatreyawas loosely based on the novel. The 1976 Bengali film starringSuchitra SenandSoumitra Chatterjeeand a 2023 film starringRituparna Senguptawere based onDatta.

Apne Paraye(1980) byBasu Chatterjee,starring Amol Palekar, was based onNishkriti.[21]The Telugu filmThodi Kodallu(1957) was also based on this novel.

In 1957Bardidi(translate: oldest sister) was made by directorAjoy Karbased on the novel with the same name. Two more films on the novel followed. In 1961,Batasari(translation: Wayfarer) was made in Telugu language, produced and directed byRamakrishnaofBharani Pictures.It was simultaneously made in Tamil asKaanal Neer(translation: Mirage).

Rajlakshmi O Srikanta(1958) andIndranath Srikanta O Annadadidi(1959), based onSrikanta,were made by Haridas Bhattacharya, Kamallata (1969),Rajlakshmi Srikanta(1987),Iti Srikanta(2004) were also based on Srikanta.

Parineetahas also been made several times in both Bengali and Hindi.

Chandranath (1957),starringUttam KumarandSuchitra Sen,was based on Sarat Chandra's novellaChandranath.The 1966 Kannada movieThoogudeepawas also based on the same novel.Chandranath(1984) won four awards in the 1984National Film Awardsof Bangladesh.

Other Movies

Majhli Didi(1967) byHrishikesh MukherjeeandSwami(1977), for which he was awarded theFilmfare Award for Best Story,are other adaptations.

Chhoti Bahu(1971) is based on his novelBindur Chhele.

Gulzar's 1975 film,Khushboois majorly inspired by his workPandit Mashay.

The 2011 filmAalo Chhayais based on his short story,Aalo O Chhaya.

Sabyasachi(film)was released in 1977 based on his workPather Dabi.

Award

Sarat Chandra posthumously won the 1978Filmfare Award for Best StoryforSwami(1977).

Works

[edit]

Sarat Chandra primarily wrote novels, novellas, and stories.[22]In 1903, his first printed work, Mandir, was published. His first novel,Bardidi,was serialized in theBharatimagazine and made him famous.[8]

Novels and Novellas

  • Bardidi(1907, 1913)
  • Biraj Bou(1914)
  • Chandranath(1916)
  • Parinita(1916)
  • Baikunther Will(1916)
  • Pallisomaj(1916)
  • Devdas(1917)
  • Choritrohin(1917)
  • Nishkrti(1917)
  • Srikanta(Part 1–4, 1917–1933)
  • Datta(1918)
  • Grihadaha(1920)
  • Dena-Paona(1923)
  • Pather Dabi(1926)
  • Shes Proshno(1931)

He also wrote essays, which were anthologized inNarir Mulya(1923) andSvadesh O Sahitya(1932).Shrikanta,Charitrahin,Devdas,Grihadaha,Dena-PaonaandPather Dabiare among his most popular works.Pather Dabiwas banned by the British Government because of its revolutionary theme. His posthumous publications includeChhelebelar Galpa,Shubhada(1938),Sheser Parichay(1939),Sharat Chandrer Granthabali(1948) andSharat Chandrer Aprakashita Rachanabali(1951).

He wrote some essays includingNarir Itihas(The History of Women) andNarir Mulya(The Value of Women).Narir Itihas,which was lost in a house fire, contained a history of women on the lines of Spencer's Descriptive Sociology. While the second,Narir Mulyagives a theory of women's rights in the context ofMill's andSpencer's arguments.[23]

Stories

  • Aalo O Chhaya
  • Abhagir Swargo
  • Anupamar Prem
  • Anuradha
  • Andhare Aalo
  • Balya Smriti
  • Bilashi
  • Bindur Chhele,(Bindu's Son) 1913
  • 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) 1914
  • Sati
  • Swami(The Husband)

Plays Sarat Chandra converted three of his works into plays.

  • Bijoya
  • Rama
  • Shoroshi
  • Jai hind

Essays

  • Narir Mulya
  • Swadesh O Sahitya
  • Taruner Bidroho

Other works

  • Dehati Samaj,1920
  • Sharoda(published posthumously)

Biography

  • Awara Masiha(in Hindi) by Vishnu Prabhakar[24][25]
  • Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee[26]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdChatterji, Saratchandra (1922).Srikanta (Part 1)– viaWikisource.
  2. ^Dey, Biswanath (1960).Sharat Smriti.
  3. ^abAnderson, James Drummond (11 July 1918)."A New Bengali Writer".Gale: The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902-2019.
  4. ^A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy.South Asia Books.Retrieved9 April2015.
  5. ^"Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay — Vagabond Messiah".Film Critic's Circle.15 September 2020.Retrieved26 October2020.
  6. ^Sarker, Subhash Chandra (January–February 1977). "Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: The Great Humanist".Indian Literature.20(1). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi: 50.JSTOR24157548.(subscription required)
  7. ^George, K. M.,ed. (1997).Masterpieces of Indian literature.New Delhi:National Book Trust.p. 187.ISBN978-81-237-1978-8.
  8. ^abcdefgChattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra."Sarat Rachanabali (in Bengali, means" The Writings of Saratchandra "".MIT Internet Archive.Retrieved19 February2023.
  9. ^Suresh, Sushama, ed. (1999).Who's who on Indian stamps.Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Mohan B. Daryanani. p. 73.ISBN84-931101-0-8.
  10. ^ab"শরৎ রচনাবলী".Sarat Rachanabali.Retrieved30 October2015.
  11. ^abcdefChatterjee, Sarat Chandra.""Sarat Sahitya Samagra" ( "Complete Literary Works of Sarat," in Bengali), later renamed "Sulabh Sarat Samagra" ( "Affordable Complete Works of Sarat" ) ".Ananda (Website of Ananda Publishers Private Limited, Kolkata, India).Retrieved18 September2023.
  12. ^Sinha, BY J. N. (9 January 2015)."The mortals of Devdas".
  13. ^abcSarker, Subhash Chandra (1977)."Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: The Great Humanist".Indian Literature.20(1): 49–77.ISSN0019-5804.JSTOR24157548.
  14. ^"Honoris-Causa".du.ac.bd.Retrieved3 October2023.
  15. ^House of Sarat ChandraArchived23 August 2011 at theWayback Machine
  16. ^abcd"A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy".South Asia Books.Retrieved9 April2015.
  17. ^"A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy".South Asia Books.Retrieved9 April2015.
  18. ^"Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay | Writer".IMDb.Retrieved20 October2023.
  19. ^YouTube
  20. ^Moviebuff
  21. ^Gulzar;Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee (2003).Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema.Popular Prakashan. p. 337.ISBN81-7991-066-0.
  22. ^"Remembering Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the 'Awara Masiha'".The Indian Express.15 September 2015.Retrieved30 October2015.
  23. ^Shandilya, Krupa (2017).Intimate Relations: Social Reform and the Late Nineteenth-Century South Asian Novel.Northwestern University Press. p. 46.ISBN978-0-8101-3424-9– viaProject MUSE.(subscription required)
  24. ^"Hindi Belt: A glimpse into an unfamiliar world".The Hindu.23 January 2015.Retrieved30 October2016.
  25. ^"Remembering Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the 'Awara Masiha'".Indian Express. 15 September 2015.Retrieved2 November2016.
  26. ^Vishnu Prabhakar (1990).Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee.Translated by Jai Ratan. South Asia Books.

Notes

[edit]
[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related toSarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarat_Chandra_Chattopadhyay&oldid=1249011332"