Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was married twice. His first wife was Shanti Devi, whom he married in 1906 in Burma. They had a son the next year. Shanti Devi and their son were victims of the plague and both passed away in 1908.

The loss of his family shattered him and he turned to books for solace. He read voraciously on sociology, history, philosophy and psychology etc. But he had to slow down in 1909 due to health problems.

Among his many interests were homeopathy, singing, and painting. He also opened a primary school.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on September 15, 1876, in Debanandapur, Bengal Presidency, India. His childhood was mostly spent in his grandfather Kedarnath Gangopadhyay’s house, in Bihar, where his father was employed for a while.

Motilal Chattopadhyay, his father, held irregular jobs and thus, the family was mired in poverty. He was a writer who spent his days dreaming, idling, and never finishing any of his works. Sarat Chandra’s mother, Bhuvanmohini, took care of the family She passed away in 1895.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was one of the five children of his parents. After the death of their mother, the family was supported by various other family members during hard times. One of his brothers, Swami Vedananda, later became a disciple at Belur Math.

His education began at Pyari Pandit’s pathshala, an informal village school and later he joined Hooghly Branch High School. He was a good student who was also daring and adventurous. Though he enrolled in fine arts, he had to give it up due to the family’s miserable financial state.

He completed his early education while staying at a maternal uncle’s house in Bhagalpur. Once his education was complete, he engaged himself with acting in plays and in sports and games.

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s imagination and love for literature were an invaluable gift from his father. He began writing in his early teens. Two stories from this period to have survived are ‘Korel’ and ‘Kashinath’.

His family’s poverty forced him out of pursuing further studies and pushed him to look for work. In 1900, he worked at the Banali Estate in Bihar. He later was an assistant to the Settlement Officer in the Santhal district settlement.

In 1903, at the age of 27, he moved to Burma and worked as a clerk in a government office in Rangoon. He then secured a permanent job in the Accounts Department of Burma Railway. He lived there for nearly 13 years and returned to Baje Shibpur, Howrah, in 1916.

His first short story, ‘Mandir’ (1903) was written at the insistence of his uncle Girindrandra Nath. It won him the Kuntolin Puraskar in 1904 among hundreds of other entries.

He regularly contributed stories to the magazine Jamuna. He did so under three names, his own, Anila Devi (his sister), and Anupama. He would later go on to say that Jamuna was the catalyst in reviving his literary career while he was in Burma.

‘Swami’ was a reflection of his feminism and strong portrayal of female characters. The novel follows Saudamini, an ambitious and bright girl who is conflicted by her emotions towards her lover, Narendra and her husband Ghanshyam.

His most famous work was not critically acclaimed but it stands out as one of his most remembered works. ‘Devdas’ (written 1901, published 1917) was a love story that bowed down to societal norms and depicts the protagonist as a loser. It remains his most popular story, being adapted to the screen no less than eight times in various versions.

‘Parineeta’ (1914) was another of his forays into feminism. It explores themes of caste and religion prevalent at that time. It is set in the early part of the 20th century in Calcutta and is a novel of social protest that tends to break societal rules.

Iti Srikanta’ (1916), a four-part novel, was first published in 1916. It chronicled the life of Srikanta, a wanderlust, and various characters who influence him. It is often believed that Iti Srikanta was based on Chattopadhyay’s own life and travels. The four parts were published in 1916, 1918, 1927, and 1933.

‘Choritrohin’ (1917) [Characterless] is a tale of four women wronged by society. It follows their journey through rejection and ultimately redemption.