- Suresh Biswas
Col. Suresh Biswas was a famous 19th century adventurer from
India .Life
Suresh Biswas was born in undivided
Bengal inEast India (Latter half of 1800s). He ran away from home when he was very young and joined acircus , where he mastered the art of controlling animals, and was one of the first Indians to be a ring-master in a circus withtigers andlions .After that, he migrated to
Brazil (probably one of the first Indians to do so), and fought for theindependence struggle of Brazil (late 1800s). He was made aLieutenant in the army (and a Colonel too, later).In spite of showing remarkable courage during the upsurge of rebellion he was not properly felicitated simply because of racial discrimination(he was after all a non white Hindu Asiatic in the white dominated catholic Brazil).One more instance of the white arrogance.Colonel Biswas however settled down in Brazil as he was enchanted by the natural beauty of the country and breathed his last there itself.
Trivia
Not too many written records remain of the legendary adventurer, but he was mentioned in
Satyajit Ray 's novel "Chhinnamastar Abhishap " (Trans: The Curse of the Goddess), featuring the famous fictional detective,Feluda .References
"The Self-Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal" by John Rosselli, "Past and Present", No. 86 (Feb., 1980)
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