Sharat Chandra Chatterji

Sharat Chandra Chatterji (Bangla: শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় "Shôrotchôndro Chôţţopaddhae"), also known as Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay or Sharat Chandra Chatterjee (15 September, 1876 - 16 January, 1938) was an novelist from India. He was one of the most popular Bengali novelists of early part of the 20th century.

Background and writing

Swagato Ganguly (2005) and Sreejata Guha (2002) both note that Sarat Chandra was born into poverty in Debanandapur, Hooghly, India. Though his family was occasionally supported by other family members, Saratchandra's lack of financial stability would influence his writing in years to come. Although he began as a fine arts student, Chatterji left his studies due to his persistent state of poverty. He got his early education residing at his paternal uncle's (Pishemosai) house. 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 in general.

He died in Kolkata of liver cancer in 1938.

Works

* "Baradidi", 1907
* "Bindur Chhele", 1913
* "Parinita/Parineeta", 1914
* "Biraj Bou", 1914
* "Ramer Shumoti", 1914
* "Palli Shomaj", 1916
* "Arakhsanya", 1916
* "Debdas/Devdas", 1917 (written in 1901)
* "Choritrohin", 1917
* "Srikanto", (4 parts, 1917, 1918, 1927, 1933)
* "Datta", 1917-19
* "Grihodaho", 1919
* "Dena Paona", 1923
* "Pather Dabi", 1926
* "Ses Prasna", 1931.
* "Bipradas", 19??

Films

His works have been made into numerous films, particularly "Devdas" and "Parineeta".

elect Awards and Degrees

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

References

General

*Ganguly, Swagato. "Introduction." In "Parineeta" by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2005. (English translation)
*Guha, Sreejata. "Introduction." In "Devdas" by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002. (English translation)
*Roy, Gopalchandra. "Saratchandra", Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
*"Sarat Rachanabali", Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
*Prithwindra Mukherjee. "Introduction" in "Mahesh et autres nouvelles" by Saratchandra Chatterji. Paris: Unesco/Gallimard, 1978. (French translation of "Mahesh", "Bindur chhele" and "Mejdidi" by Prithwindra Mukherjee. Foreword by Jean Filliozat)

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.

External links

"Biographies":
* [http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/C_0153.htm Banglapedia biography]
* [http://bengalonline.sitemarvel.com/saratchandra.html Bengalonline biography]
* [http://www.calcuttaweb.com/people/sarat.shtml Calcuttaweb biography]
*
* [http://www.pustak.org/bs/home.php?author_name=Sharat%20Chandra%20Chattopadhyay भारतीय साहित्य संग्रह में शरत् साहित्य]

"Articles":
* " [http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/jun/20mspec.htm The man behind Devdas, Parineeta] "
* " [http://in.news.yahoo.com/050618/48/5z0fo.html Perfectly All Right?] "