Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (Chattopadhyay) (1838-1894): Author Profile
Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (Chattopadhyay) (1838–1894) is widely considered the father of the modern Bengali novel. His seminal 1882 novel Anandamath popularized the song "Vande Mataram," which served as a major rallying cry during the independence movement. [Note: Chatterjee is an Anglicized form of the surname "Chattopadhyay." We are using the spelling that was most common in the author's own lifetime.]
Chatterjee was educated at Presidency College in Calcutta (Kolkata), and graduated with a degree in Arts in 1859. He also attended the University of Calcutta, and was among the school's first graduates. He later obtained a degree in law. Like Rammohun Roy, he served as an administrator in the British colonial government (1858-1891).
Chatterjee's first published novel was Rajmohan's Wife, written in English. However, most of his output was in Bengali, starting with Durgesa Nandini (1865). While Bankim's first three novels were historical romances, he took a turn to contemporary realism with The Poison Tree, published in 1872-3 in Bengali and translated into English in 1884. The Poison Tree is essentially a melodramatic love triangle type narrative, but it points to social problems in Indian life -- issues such as polygamy and widow-remarriage (though Bankim appears to be opposed to widow-remarriage as leading to immorality).
- Our version of the translation of The Poison Tree is here; a detailed summary of the novel is here.
- Bankim's novel Anandamath was a work of historical fiction, first published in Bengali in 1882, and originally translated as The Abbey of Bliss. Our version of the text is here.
- Our version of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's first Bengali-language novel, Durgesa Nandini, translated into English in 1880, and published in Calcutta. Detailed summary here.
- Our version of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's Kopal-Kundala, another in his series of historical romances, translated into English in 1885. Detailed summary here.
- Our version of Krishnakanta's Will (1878), translated into English in 1917. This is a "realist" novel set in the author's present day (to be sure, Bankim's form of realism contains many melodramatic elements). There is a detailed summary of the novel here. As with The Poison Tree, there are some allusions to a key social reform question of the day in the novel, specifically the question of widow remarriage.
- Our version of Chandra Shekhar (1875), translated into English 1905. This is a historical romance in the vein of Bankim's novels from the 1860s. It features an East India Company officer, Lawrence Foster as a villain -- but also shows his point of view. It also foregrounds the declining Mughal Empire, and has a subplot involving Mughal officials and a woman thought to be dishonored by her connection to the East India Company officer. Full text here; detailed summary here.
Contents of this path:
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Rajmohan's Wife" (1864) (Full text)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Chandra Sekhar" (1875 in Bengali; 1904 English) (Full Text)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Kopal-Kundala" (1866 Bengali/1885 Translation) (Full Text)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Anandamath" ("Dawn Over India") (1882 / 1906 / 1941)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Durgesa Nandini, or The Chieftan's Daughter" (1865/ 1880) (Full Text)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "Krishnakanta's Will" (1878 / 1917)
- Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, "The Poison Tree: A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal" (1884) (full text)
- "Dawn Over India" Novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterji (1940)
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "Chandra Shekhar" (1875/1904)
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "Durgesa Nandini, or The Chieftan's Daughter" (1865)
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "Kopal-Kundala"
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "Krishna Kanta's Will" (1878)
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "Rajmohan's Wife" (1864)
- Summary of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's "The Poison Tree"