Saratchandra Chattopadhyay

About Saratchandra Chattopadhyay

• Saratchandra Chattopadhyay was a highly acclaimed Bengali writer of the 20th century.
• Birth: He was born on September 15, 1876, in Debanandapur, West Bengal.
• Early life: He grew up in financial hardship, but his interest in literature developed under the influence of his father, who wrote short stories, novels, plays and poems. 
  • He began writing stories at the age of 17.
  • His mother greatly influenced his personality through her strength, patience and self-sacrifice, qualities that were later reflected in many of his female characters.
  • Due to financial difficulties, his family moved to Bhagalpur, Bihar.
  • Although he passed the entrance examination in 1894, he could not continue his education because his family could not afford the required fees.
• Later life: In 1900, he started working with the Banaili Estate in Bihar and later worked as an assistant to a settlement officer.
  • In 1903, he moved to Burma (Myanmar) in search of employment. He worked in Pegu and later joined the Burma Public Works Accounts Office in Rangoon, where he worked for nearly ten years.
  • His personal life was marked by tragedy. His first wife, Shanti Chakravarty, and their infant son died of plague in 1908. 
  • In 1910, he married Mokshada, a young widow, whom he later renamed Hiranmoyee and taught to read and write.
  • He returned to Howrah near Calcutta in 1916 and began writing and publishing extensively.
• Literary journey: He was strongly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. 
  • He wrote his first story, “Kashinath,” while still at school.
  • In 1903, he wrote “Mandir”, which won the Kuntalin Puraskar literary prize in 1904. He submitted it under his uncle’s name.
  • His novel Barodidi (1907) was published without his knowledge or authorship credit. Its portrayal of a widow’s forbidden love attracted considerable attention in Bengali literary circles.
  • He was associated with the literary magazine Jamuna which helped him gain wider recognition.
  • He contributed works such as Ramer Sumati and “Narir Lekha” to the magazine.
  • He sometimes wrote under pseudonyms, including St. C. Lara, Anupama and Anila Devi.
  • His novel Biraj Bou (1914) was later adapted for the stage and performed at Star Theatre, Calcutta, in 1918.
• Contribution: His writings became popular beyond Bengal and were translated into several languages, including Hindi, Gujarati, Kannada, French and Italian.
  • The first English translation of his Srikanta (Part I) was published by Oxford University Press in 1922.
  • Novels: He is known for novels such as Parineeta, Devdas, Charitraheen, Srikanta, Pather Dabi, and Sesh Prashna.
  • His literary popularity also reached cinema. 
    • The silent film Andhare Alo (1922) became the first film adaptation of one of his works, beginning a long tradition of films based on his stories.
• Recognition: He was awarded the Jagattarini Gold Medal by the University of Calcutta in 1923 and an honorary doctorate by University of Dacca (now in Bangladesh) in 1936.