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Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

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Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Born12 September 1894
Muratipur village, Nadia District, West Bengal, India
Died1 November 1950 (aged 56)
Ghatshila, Bengal Presidency (now Jharkhand)
OccupationWriter, novelist, songwriter
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Notable works
Notable awardsRabindra Puraskar (posthumous) (1951)
Spouse
  • Gouri Devi
  • Rama Chattopadhyay
ChildrenTaradas Bandyopadhyay

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (listenⓘ) (12 September 1894 – 1 November 1950)[1] was an Indian writer in the Bengali language.[2][3][4][5] His best known work is the autobiographical novel, Pather Panchali (The Song of the Road), Chader Pahar, Aranyak.

Early life and education

The Bandyopadhyay family originated in the Panitar village near Basirhat, located in the North 24 Parganas district of modern-day West Bengal. Bandyopadhyay's great-grandfather, who was an Ayurvedic physician, eventually settled in Barakpur village, near Gopalnagar, Banagram (now Bangaon), North 24 Parganas.[6] However, Bandyopadhyay was born in Muratipur village, near Kalyani in Nadia, at his maternal uncle's house. His father, Mahananda Bandyopadhyay, was a Sanskrit scholar and story-teller by profession. Bandyopadhyay was the eldest of the five children of Mahananda and his wife Mrinalini. His childhood home was at Barakpur village (now Barakpur, West Bengal), near Gopalnagar.

Bandyopadhyay studied at Bongaon High School, one of the oldest institutions in British India, and was considered as a talented student. Following a first division placement in the Entrance and Intermediate Arts examinations, Bandyopadhyay completed his undergraduate degree in economics, history, and sanskrit at the Surendranath College (then Ripon College) in Kolkata. He was admitted to the master's degree (MA) and Law classes, but could not afford to enroll for the postgraduate course at the University of Calcutta, and joined as a teacher in a school in Jangipara, Hooghly.[7][8]

Career

Bandyopadhyay worked in a variety of jobs to support both himself and his family before becoming a writer. His first job was as a teacher, but he also served as a travelling publicist for Goraksini Sabha, and later as a secretary for Khelatchandra Ghosh, a role that included the management of his Bhagalpur estate. He became involved with Khelatchandra, a prominent name in music and charity, while tutoring his family. He also taught at the Khelatchandra Memorial School.[7] Eventually, Bandyopadhyay returned to his native place. He started working as a teacher in the Gopalnagar School, which he continued alongside his literary work, until his death. He wrote and published Pather Panchali while staying at Ghatshila, a town in Jharkhand.

Works

Bandyopadhyay's works are largely set in rural Bengal, with characters from that area. Several of his novels are set in Bongaon, including Pather Panchali, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Ichamati, and Bipiner Sansarm while his Aranyak is set in a forest in Bhagalpur [9]. In 1921, Bandyopadhyay's first published short story, "Upekshita" appeared in Prabasi, at the time one of Bengal's leading literary magazines. However, he did not receive any critical attention until 1928, when his first novel Pather Panchali (also known in English as Song of the Little Road) was published (initially as a serial, then as a book in 1929). Pather Panchali brought Bandyopadhyay to prominence in Bengali literature, and the novel and its sequel Aparajito, were subsequently translated into numerous languages.[7] Additionally, these two were made into films by Satyajit Ray, and together with Apur Sansar, formed the highly successful Apu Trilogy.[10] Ray referred aspiring scriptwriters to the works of Bandyopadhyay, and praised him by saying, "His lines fit the characters so well, they are so revealing that even when the author provides no physical description, every character seems to present itself before us simply through the words it speaks".[10] His creation Taranath Tantrik was popular for the Bengali reader and the series was extended by his son Taradas.[11]

Critical reception

Amit Chaudhuri has translated a few excerpts from the novel for inclusion in the anthology, The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature. In his introduction to these excerpts, Chaudhuri wrote, "Unique for its tenderness and poetry ... Pather Panchali rejects both nineteenth-century realism and social realism (the social milieu described in it would have logically lent itself to the latter) for an inquiry into perception and memory."[12] The complete text of Aparajito has been translated into English by Gopa Majumdar. The novel Aranyak has been translated into English in January 2017 by Suchismita Banerjee Rai, and it has been published by Mitra and Ghosh Publishers based in Kolkata.

Martin Seymour-Smith, in his Guide to Modern World Literature (1973), describes Bandyopadhyay (he uses the form Banerji) as "perhaps the best of all modern Indian novelists", going on to write that, "probably nothing in twentieth-century Indian literature, in prose or poetry, comes to the level of Pather Panchali".[13] He was posthumously awarded the Rabindra Puraskar in 1951, the most prestigious literary award in West Bengal, for his novel Ichhamati.[7]

Bibhutibhusan's House, Ghatshila.

Death

Bandopadhyay died on 1 November 1950, in Ghatshila. The cause of death was identified as a heart attack.[14]

Bibliography

Complete list of novels:

Partial list of short story collections:

  • MeghaMallar
  • Mauriphool
  • Jatrabadol
  • Jonmo o mrittu
  • Kinnardal
  • Benigir fulbari
  • Nabagata
  • " Taranath tantric"(jointly with his son taradas Bandyopadhyay)

Adaptations of novels and short stories in cinema

References

  1. ^ "State Central Library Kolkata". Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  2. ^ https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/remembering-the-evergreen-genius-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay-1567762454521.html
  3. ^ https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/jharkhand/ballad-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyays-last-abode-beckons/cid/1742938
  4. ^ https://bdebooks.com/books/ichamati-by-bibhutibhushan-bandopadhyay/
  5. ^ https://wbchse.nic.in/html/bibhutibhushan.html
  6. ^ Chattopadhyay, Sunil Kumar (1994). Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. Makers of Indian Literature (1st ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1. ISBN 81-7201-578-X.
  7. ^ a b c d Sekhar, Saumitra (2012). "Bandyopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.
  8. ^ Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay iloveindia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013
  9. ^ "Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay". Purple Pencil Project. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ a b Chandrahas (18 September 2005). "The world of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay" (Web page (blog)). The Middle Stage: Essays on Indian and world literature. Chandrahas. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Q's Taranath Tantrik to start streaming today on Hoichoi". Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  12. ^ The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature, edited by Amit Chaudhuri, (p. 66)
  13. ^ Guide to Modern World Literature, Martin Seymour-Smith (p. 712)
  14. ^ "Bandopadhyay's Death". Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  15. ^ "It's All About Love". Indian Express. 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
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