Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

One of Bengal’s most prolific and popular novelists, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, was born on September 15, 1876, in Hooghly, Bengal Presidency, India. He was the child of Motilal Chattopadhyay and Bhubanmohini. He engaged himself in writing at a tender age.

Even today, Korel and Kashinath, his earliest stories, are widely read.

His childhood Life:

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born at Devanandapur in Hoogly district of West Bengal in 1876. He was born to Motilal Chattopadhyay and Bhubanmohini.

His childhood and youth were spent in dire poverty, born into a poor family.

He spent most of his life in Hoogly and Bhagalpur. He went to Burma for a short period and later settled in West Bengal. Sarat Chandra received very meager education.

He received his education at Pyari Pandit’s Pathshala and then at Hoogly Branch High School.

Chattopadhyay was imaginative and had profound interest in literature since his youth. He started writing in his early teens. Sarat Chandra died of liver cancer in 1938 at Kolkata.

Early Life:

Sarat Chandra Chatterjee was born in the village of Devanandpur in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Coming from an extremely deprived and poor family, financial support was provided to him and his family members by other members. Until his father was employed in Bihar, Sarat and the rest of the family resided with his paternal uncle in Bhagalpur.However, the frequent changing financial conditions led to a number of school changes for Sarat. He received his formal education in Bhagalpur before clearing the entrance exam and attaining admission in Tejnarayan Jubilee College in 1894. It was here when he got in touch with English literature and read Charles Dickens’ novels “Tale of Two Cities” and “David Copperfield”, and Lord Litton’s “My Love”.

Literary Career:

The writings of Sarat Chandra were based on rural Bengali society. His writing also bore his opposition to superstition and social oppression.

He wrote for the cause of the womenfolk. Much of his writings bear the testimony of the turbulence in the society. Some of his writings were based on his experience in Bhagalpur where he stayed for 20 years.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was one of the most popular writers of novels and short stories. Some of his notable works include Mandir, Palli Samaj, Srikanta, Griha Daha, Ses Prasna, Sesher Parichay, Pather Dabi, Bordidi, Bindur Chhele, Parinata, Biraj Bou, Ramer Shumoti, Devdas, Choritrohin, Datta, Dhare Alo, Swami, Aalo o Chhaya, Nishkriti, Pandit Mashay etc.

The works of Sarat Chandra have been translated into many Indian languages.

Most of his works have also been dramatized on stage. Fifty films have been made based on Sarat Chandra’s works.

Eight versions have been made of his novel Devdas.

Films made on his writings are Parineeta, Majli Didi, Datta, Swami, Bindur Chhele into Chhoti Bahu, Nishkriti into Apne Paraye, Pandit Mashay into Khushboo, Aalo o Chhaya into Aalo Chhaya. Vishnu Prabhakar wrote the biography of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay received the Kuntolin Puraskar for Mandir.

The Sarat Mela, which was started in 1972, is held every year in West Bengal, portraying the lifetime and works of Sarat Chandra.

Conclusion:

Being a popular novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote more than 30 novels, novellas, and stories. He used his personal tragedies as the basis of his novels and added more personal touch to his works.

The themes used in his novels were influenced by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.

He passed away on January 16, 1938, in Kolkata from liver cancer.

‘Sarat Mela’, an annual week-long fair that showcases his works and life, is still being held in late January every year in Howrah, West Bengal.