Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

A carefree storyteller

In Bangla literature, if anyone is near as popular to readers as Rabindranath Tagore or Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, then no doubt that writer is Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.

Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) and Aparajito (The Unvanquished) are his most famous novels. Bibhutibhushan made his name in the literary world with Pather Panchali, which reflects on the ups and downs and social superstitions in our society.

Bandyopadhyay created his own field in Bangla novel by implementing a very poetic and metrical language. The riddles and tangles of human life, pain and pleasure, all are portrayed exquisitely in his writings. His works are deemed as original creations that include pleasing language, fluent presentation of characters, momentous and dulcet rhythms, and depiction of rural beauty and inquisitive facts of human life. Not only that, he paints the images of the socio-economic life of the lower middleclass in his writings, like a deft artist.

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, son of Sanskrit scholar Mahananda Bandyopadhyay and Mrinalini Devi, was born on September 12, 1894 at his maternal uncle’s house in Muratipur village under North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. He was the eldest among five children. His ancestral home was in Barakpur village near Gopalnagar in Banagram (now Bongaon) of the same district.

Bandyopadhyay’s childhood was spent in hardship. His education began with his father, who died abruptly when Bibhutibhushan was in class 8. Following a first division placement in the Entrance exams in 1914 and Intermediate exams in 1916, Bibhutibhushan received his undergraduate degree in Economics, History and Sanskrit from Surendranath College (formerly Ripon College) in Kolkata. He then got admitted for a master’s degree and law studies, but he could not afford to complete his postgraduate studies at the University of Calcutta. Instead, he got a teaching job at a school in Hooghly in 1919.

At the age of 23, he was married to Gouri Devi, daughter of Mukter Kalibhushan Mukhopadhyay of Basirhat. But after a year of marriage, Devi died of cholera.  Nearly two decades after his first wife’s death, he married Rama Chattopadhyay at the age of 46. The couple had a son, Taradas Bandyopadhyay, who was born in 1947. The marriage had a profound effect on his literary career.

At the beginning of his professional life, Bandyopadhyay was assistant head teacher at Jangipara Minor School of Hooghly. Then he taught at Sonarpur Harinawi School for some time. He later worked as a secretary for Khelatchandra Ghosh, a philanthropist and patron of music. His job included managing Ghosh’s estate at Bhagalpur in Bihar, and tutoring members of the family. Bibhutibhushan returned to teaching in his hometown and joined Gopalnagar School, where he continued to work until his death.

Experiences from his personal life are greatly present in Bandyopadhyay’s writings. His works are profoundly influenced and enriched by the sagacity he achieved in his life. Although he wandered in both novels and short stories, he mainly managed to win fans through his classic novels.

He took his first step in Bangla literature with a story named Upekshita in 1921, which was published in Probashi, a leading literary magazine at the time.

Besides being his first novel, Pather Panchali was his first printed work, too. He later wrote a sequel, Aparajito. Resemblance to his personal life can be noticed in both the novels. It seems the writer wanted to tell the dreadful truth about seeing life with apathy through his exoteric novels. “The book is standing by the power of its own truth,” Rabindranath wrote about Pather Panchali.

Ichhamati is another famous novel by Bandyopadhyay. Basically, in this novel, a rustic society and circumstantial events gushing from the mid-British colonial period have been presented. For Ichhamati, Bibhutibhushan received the Rabindra Award, the highest literary award of West Bengal, posthumously in 1951.

Over a period of almost 28 years, Bibhutibhushan composed some 20 storybooks, some adolescent novels and travel stories and diaries. Some of his notable works are Meghamallar (1931), Mauriphool (1932), Jatrabadol (1934), Chander Pahar (1937), Kinnardal (1938), Aranyak (1939), Adarsha Hindu Hotel (1940), Maroner Danka Baje (1940), Sritir Rekha (1941), Debjan (1944), Hire Manik Jale (1946), He Aranya, Kotha Kou (1948) and Ashani Sangket (1949).

Famous Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray made films based on his novels Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Ashani Sangket, which were extolled in different circles.

Besides writing, Bandyopadhyay was also editor of Chitralekha (1930), a cinema magazine, and jointly edited Dipak (1932) with Humantakumar Gupta.

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the carefree storyteller, died at the age of 56 on November 1, 1950 at Ghatshila in southern Bihar (now in Jharkhand state). n

The writer is a student of Sociology at Shahajalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet.

Photos: Internet.

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

A carefree storyteller

In Bangla literature, if anyone is near as popular to readers as Rabindranath Tagore or Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, then no doubt that writer is Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. Pather Panchali (Song of the Road) and Aparajito (The Unvanquished) are his most famous novels. Bibhutibhushan made his name in the literary world with Pather Panchali, which reflects on the ups and downs and social superstitions in our society. Bandyopadhyay created his own field in Bangla novel by implementing a very poetic and metrical language. The riddles and tangles of human life, pain and pleasure, all are portrayed exquisitely in his writings. His works are deemed as original creations that include pleasing language, fluent presentation of characters, momentous and dulcet rhythms, and depiction of rural beauty and inquisitive facts of human life. Not only that, he paints the images of the socio-economic life of the lower middleclass in his writings, like a deft artist. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, son of Sanskrit scholar Mahananda Bandyopadhyay and Mrinalini Devi, was born on September 12, 1894 at his maternal uncles house in Muratipur village under North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India. He was the eldest among five children. His ancestral home was in Barakpur village near Gopalnagar in Banagram (now Bongaon) of the same district. Bandyopadhyays childhood was spent in hardship. His education began with his father, who died abruptly when Bibhutibhushan was in class 8. Following a first division placement in the Entrance exams in 1914 and Intermediate exams in 1916, Bibhutibhushan received his undergraduate degree in Economics, History and Sanskrit from Surendranath College (formerly Ripon College) in Kolkata. He then got admitted for a masters degree and law studies, but he could not afford to complete his postgraduate studies at the University of Calcutta. Instead, he got a teaching job at a school in Hooghly in 1919. At the age of 23, he was married to Gouri Devi, daughter of Mukter Kalibhushan Mukhopadhyay of Basirhat. But after a year of marriage, Devi died of cholera. Nearly two decades after his first wifes death, he married Rama Chattopadhyay at the age of 46. The couple had a son, Taradas Bandyopadhyay, who was born in 1947. The marriage had a profound effect on his literary career. At the beginning of his professional life, Bandyopadhyay was assistant head teacher at Jangipara Minor School of Hooghly. Then he taught at Sonarpur Harinawi School for some time. He later worked as a secretary for Khelatchandra Ghosh, a philanthropist and patron of music. His job included managing Ghoshs estate at Bhagalpur in Bihar, and tutoring members of the family. Bibhutibhushan returned to teaching in his hometown and joined Gopalnagar School, where he continued to work until his death. Experiences from his personal life are greatly present in Bandyopadhyays writings. His works are profoundly influenced and enriched by the sagacity he achieved in his life. Although he wandered in both novels and short stories, he mainly managed to win fans through his classic novels. He took his first step in Bangla literature with a story named Upekshita in 1921, which was published in Probashi, a leading literary magazine at the time. Besides being his first novel, Pather Panchali was his first printed work, too. He later wrote a sequel, Aparajito. Resemblance to his personal life can be noticed in both the novels. It seems the writer wanted to tell the dreadful truth about seeing life with apathy through his exoteric novels. The book is standing by the power of its own truth, Rabindranath wrote about Pather Panchali. Ichhamati is another famous novel by Bandyopadhyay. Basically, in this novel, a rustic society and circumstantial events gushing from the mid-British colonial period have been presented. For Ichhamati, Bibhutibhushan received the Rabindra Award, the highest literary award of West Bengal, posthumously in 1951. Over a period of almost 28 years, Bibhutibhushan composed some 20 storybooks, some adolescent novels and travel stories and diaries. Some of his notable works are Meghamallar (1931), Mauriphool (1932), Jatrabadol (1934), Chander Pahar (1937), Kinnardal (1938), Aranyak (1939), Adarsha Hindu Hotel (1940), Maroner Danka Baje (1940), Sritir Rekha (1941), Debjan (1944), Hire Manik Jale (1946), He Aranya, Kotha Kou (1948) and Ashani Sangket (1949). Famous Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray made films based on his novels Pather Panchali, Aparajito and Ashani Sangket, which were extolled in different circles. Besides writing, Bandyopadhyay was also editor of Chitralekha (1930), a cinema magazine, and jointly edited Dipak (1932) with Humantakumar Gupta. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, the carefree storyteller, died at the age of 56 on November 1, 1950 at Ghatshila in southern Bihar (now in Jharkhand state). n The writer is a student of Sociology at Shahajalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet. Photos: Internet.