Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

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Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay bigraphy, stories - Indian writer

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay : biography

15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee (15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of early 20th century.

Awards and degrees

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay is known as Oporajoy Kothashilpi in Bangla literature

  • Kuntolin puraskar (For Mandir)
  • D-Lit (Given by University of Dhaka, now in Bangladesh)

Textbooks

  • Golpo Songroho (Collected Stories), the national text book of B.A. (pass and subsidiary) course of Bangladesh, published by University of Dhaka in 1979 (reprint in 1986).
  • Bangla Sahitya (Bengali Literature), the national text book of intermediate (college) level of Bangladesh published in 1996 by all educational boards.

House of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

After returning from Burma, Chattopadhyay stayed for 11 years in Baje Shibpur, Howrah. Then he made a house in the village of Samtabere. He spent the later years of his lifetime as a novelist in Samtabere and in another house in Kolkata. His house in Samtaber is often called by and shown as Sarat Chandra Kuthi (Bengali: শরত্চন্দ্র কুঠী) in the map of Samtaber or Samta, in the Howrah district of West Bengal.

The Rupnarayan River then used to flow right outside the window of Sarat Chandra’s ground floor study. Now, the river has changed its route and has moved far away. The two storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra’s brother, Swami Vedananda, who was a disciple of Belur Math. His along with his brother Swami Vedananda’s samadhi can still be seen there. Swami Vedananda was a disciple in Belur Math. The trees like that of bamboo, galoncho and the guava trees planted by the renowned author are still tourist attractions.

Parts of the house-like the mud-walled kitchen-collapsed and the house was damaged in the 1978 floods, the Zilla Parishad undertook its repair spending 77000. After it was declared as a Heritage or Historical Site by the Clause 2 of the West Bengal Heritage Commission Act 2001 (Act IX of 2001) Act IX of 2001 in 2009 the whole house was renovated and the belongings of Sarat Chandra like his furniture, walking stick, shoes etc. were polished and are restored in showcases. The tree which was almost going to fall down and die was given proper care and support. The house’s boundary has been extended until the Samadhis, surrounding them which earlier used to lie on the road. Except these trees have been planted around the house which add to its beauty.

Personal life

Background

Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, West Bengal, India. His family was occasionally supported by other family members and Chattopadhyay’s lack of financial stability would influence his writing in years to come. He started his education at "Pyari Pandit"s" pathshala and then he took admission at Hooghly Branch High School. Although he began as a fine arts student, Chattopadhyay left his studies due to his persistent state of poverty. He received his early education while residing at his maternal uncle’s house in Bhagalpur. He spent 20 years of his life in Bhagalpur and a significant portion of his novels were either written in Bhagalpur or based on his experience in Bhagalpur.

His work represented rural Bengali society and he often wrote against social superstitions and oppression. For a short period he was a sannyasi, a Hindu ascetic who abandons the material and social worlds. His first published story was "Mandir". He was particularly sensitive to the cause of women.

After the death of his parents, Chattopadhyay left his college education midway and went to Burma in 1903. There he found employment with a Government Office as clerk. He did not remain at his job in Burma for long and decided to return to his homeland but before his departure he submitted a short story for a prize competition under his uncle’s name, Surendranath Ganguli. It won first prize in 1904.