Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay - Writers, Family and Childhood
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's Personal Details
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay/Chatterjee was a famous Bengali writer, poet and journalist
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | June 27, 1838 |
| Died on | April 8, 1894 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Famous | Writers, Poets, Novelists, Short Story Writers |
| Spouses | Rajlakshmi Devi |
| Universities |
|
| Birth Place | Kanthalpara, Bengal |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Gender | Male |
| Father | Yadav (or Jadab) Chandra Chattopadhyaya |
| Mother | Durgadebi |
| Sun Sign | Cancer |
| Born in | Kanthalpara, Bengal |
| Died at Age | 55 |
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Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's photo
Who is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a famous Bengali poet, writer and journalist. He was the author of Anandamath containing the National Song of India - Vande Mataram. He is credited with initiating the cultural resurgence of Bengal by giving its people intellectually refreshing material to read, through his literary campaign. He graduated from Presidency College in Arts and later obtained a degree in Law from the University of Calcutta and became Deputy Collector just like his father. He was into government service for thirty two years and was later made the Companion, Order of the Indian Empire (1894). His literary interest was always alive but he discovered it further when he started publishing his Bengali romantic novels. His famous novels include Kapalkundala (1866), Mrinalini (1869), Chandrasekhar (1877), Devi Chaudhurani (1884), Anandmath (1882), etc. He also published a monthly literary magazine called Bangadarshan in which he published novels, stories, humorous sketches, historical essays, informative articles, religious discourses, literary criticisms and reviews. Bankim inspired a number of prominent Indian personalities with his work and ideas—Bipin Chandra Pal decided to start a patriotic journal in 1906, by the name of Vande Mataram, after Bankim's song and Lala Lajpat Rai also published a journal of the same name.
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Childhood & Early Life
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born in 1838 in Kanthalpara, a small village of West Bengal, into an orthodox Brahmin family to Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyay and Durgadebi. His father was a notable Deputy Collector of Midnapur.
Bankim received the best of education from the Hooghly Mohsin College, which was founded by the famous humanitarian Muhammad Mohsin. He went on for his higher education at the Presidency College and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law in 1857.
Career
Bankim, after completing his studies in Law, was appointed as Deputy Collector just like his father. He served the British for almost thirty two years and became the Deputy Magistrate eventually, and retired from the government service in 1891.
He was fond of writing and began his literary journey as a verse writer, just like his idol Ishwarchandra Gupta. It was later when he discovered his potential for writing properly that he turned to fiction. His first ever writing was a novella that he wrote for a competition. As he did not win the competition and the novella was never published.
His first published work was a novella in English language called ‘Rajmohan’s Wife’. But since it was written in English, it failed to achieve much appreciation and he realized that if he wanted to write then he had to write in Bengali.
This led to the publication of his first Bengali fiction called ‘Durgeshnondini’ in 1865. This was a Bengali romance novel. This was followed by his first big publication—‘Kapalkundala’. The novel established him as a writer.
In 1869, Mrinalini came out, which was Bankim’s bold attempt at writing a novel that has its story set in a historical context. Later, he started publishing his monthly literary magazine called Bangadarshan. The magazine went out of circulation within 4 years.
Chandrasekhar was published in 1877. The novel had a different style than Bankim’s other works. In the same year, he also published ‘Rajani’ which is said to be autobiographical.
Bankim wrote ‘Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss)’ in 1882 which was a political novel. Its plot was in the theme of Hindu nationalism against the British rule. The book was the source of the song Vande Mataram, which later became the national song of India.
Others works that Bankim published in his lifetime were: ‘ Lok Rahasya (1874)’, ‘Bichitra Prabandha (1876)’, ‘Devi Chaudhurani (1884)’, ‘Kamalakanta (1885)’, ‘Sitaram (1887)’, ‘Muchiram Gurer Jivancharita’, ‘Krishna Charitra (1886)’, ‘Dharmatattva (1886)’, etc.
Major Works
Although Bankim is known for all of his novels and essays but he is known for ‘Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss) the most as it was from this novel that Rabindranath Tagore took the song ‘Vande Mataram’ and converted into the national song of India.
Personal Life & Legacy
Bankim was married when he was just eleven years old. His wife was only five years old then. He was twenty two when his wife died, which is why he got married again. His second wife was Rajlakshmi Devi. They had three daughters together.
He passed away on 8th April 1894.
Trivia
Bankim studied Sanskrit as a child and was very interested in the subject.
This famous poet and writer was almost always in conflict with the British rule during his government service days.
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Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Other | ||
| 0 | Companion | |
| 0 | Order of the Indian Empire (1894) | |
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay biography timelines
- // 27th Jun 1838Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born in 1838 in Kanthalpara, a small village of West Bengal, into an orthodox Brahmin family to Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyay and Durgadebi. His father was a notable Deputy Collector of Midnapur.
- // 1857Bankim received the best of education from the Hooghly Mohsin College, which was founded by the famous humanitarian Muhammad Mohsin. He went on for his higher education at the Presidency College and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law in 1857.
- // 1865This led to the publication of his first Bengali fiction called ‘Durgeshnondini’ in 1865. This was a Bengali romance novel. This was followed by his first big publication—‘Kapalkundala’. The novel established him as a writer.
- // 1869In 1869, Mrinalini came out, which was Bankim’s bold attempt at writing a novel that has its story set in a historical context. Later, he started publishing his monthly literary magazine called Bangadarshan. The magazine went out of circulation within 4 years.
- // 1874 To 1886Others works that Bankim published in his lifetime were: ‘ Lok Rahasya (1874)’, ‘Bichitra Prabandha (1876)’, ‘Devi Chaudhurani (1884)’, ‘Kamalakanta (1885)’, ‘Sitaram (1887)’, ‘Muchiram Gurer Jivancharita’, ‘Krishna Charitra (1886)’, ‘Dharmatattva (1886)’, etc.
- // 1877Chandrasekhar was published in 1877. The novel had a different style than Bankim’s other works. In the same year, he also published ‘Rajani’ which is said to be autobiographical.
- // 1882Bankim wrote ‘Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss)’ in 1882 which was a political novel. Its plot was in the theme of Hindu nationalism against the British rule. The book was the source of the song Vande Mataram, which later became the national song of India.
- // 1891Bankim, after completing his studies in Law, was appointed as Deputy Collector just like his father. He served the British for almost thirty two years and became the Deputy Magistrate eventually, and retired from the government service in 1891.
- // 8th Apr 1894He passed away on 8th April 1894.
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Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's FAQ
What is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay birthday?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born at 1838-06-27
When was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay died?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was died at 1894-04-08
Where was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay died?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was died in Kolkata, Bengal
Which age was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay died?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was died at age 55
Where is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's birth place?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born in Kanthalpara, Bengal
What is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay nationalities?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's nationalities is Indian
Who is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay spouses?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's spouses is Rajlakshmi Devi
What was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay universities?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay studied at BA, Law
What is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's religion?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's religion is Hinduism
Who is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's father?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's father is Yadav (or Jadab) Chandra Chattopadhyaya
Who is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's mother?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's mother is Durgadebi
What is Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay's sun sign?
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is Cancer