Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 1

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

Born September 12, 1894

Ghoshpara-Muratipur village, Bengal, British India (now North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, India)

Died November 1, 1950 (aged 56)

Ghatshila, Bihar (now Jharkhand), India

Occupation Writer, novelist

Nationality Indian

Ethnicity Bengali

Notable award(s) Rabindra Puraskar (posthumous) (1951)

Spouse(s) Gouri Devi

Rama Chattopadhyay

Children Taradas Bandyopadhyay

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (Bengali: বিভূতিভূষণ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়) ( listen Wikipedia:Media

helpFile:Bibhutibhushan_Bandopadhyay_pronunciation.ogg) (September 12, 1894 – November 1, 1950) was an
Indian Bengali author and one of the leading writers of modern Bengali literature. His best known work is the
autobiographical novel, Pather Panchali (The Song of the Road), which was later adapted (along with Aparajito, the
sequel) into the Apu Trilogy films, directed by Satyajit Ray.
The 1951 Rabindra Puraskar, the most prestigious literary award in the West Bengal state of India, was
posthumously awarded to Bibhutibhushan for his novel, Ichhamati.

History

Early life
The Bandyopadhyay family originated in the Panitar village near Basirhat, located in the North 24 Parganas district
of modern-day Paschimbanga (West Bengal). Bibhutibhushan’s great-grandfather, who was an Ayurvedic physician,
eventually settled at Barakpur village, near Gopalnagar, Banagram, North 24 Parganas. However, Bibhutibhushan
was born in Muratipur near Kanchrapara-Halishahar, North 24 Parganas, at his maternal uncle’s house. His father,
Mahananda Bandyopadhyay, was a Sanskrit scholar and story-teller (Kathak) by profession. Mahananda and his wife
Mrinalini had five children, of whom Bibhutibhushan was the eldest.
Bibhutibhushan’s childhood home was at Barakpur village, near Gopalnagar Police Station in Bongaon, North 24
Parganas.
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 2

Education
The writer studied at Bongaon High School, one of the oldest institutions in British India and was considered a
consistently talented student. Following a first division placement in the Entrance and Intermediate Arts
examinations, Bibhutibhushan completed his undergraduate degree with Economics, History and Sanskrit at the
Surendranath College (then Ripon College), Kolkata. He was admitted to the master's degree (MA) and Law classes,
but could not afford to enroll for the postgraduate course at the University of Calcutta and joined teaching profession
in a school at Jangipara, Hooghli.[1][2]

Career
Prior to becoming a writer, Bibhutibhushan worked in a variety of jobs to support both himself and his family.
His first job was as a teacher, but Bibhutibhushan also served as a traveling publicist for Goraksini Sabha, and later
as a secretary for Khelatchandra Ghosh, a role that included the management of his Bhagalpur estate.
Bibhutibhushan became involved with Khelatchandra, a prominent name in music and charity, tutoring his family,
and also taught at the Khelatchandra Memorial School. Bibhutibhushan eventually returned to the geographic area
where he spent his childhood, accepting a job as teacher at the Gopalnagar School which he continued alongside his
until his death.

Writing
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's works are largely set in rural Bengal, with characters from that area. Many of his
novels are set in the city of Bongaon, including Pather Panchali, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Ichamati and Bipiner
Sansar.
In 1921, Bibhutibhushan's first published short story, "Upekshita," appeared in Probashi, at the time one of Bengal's
leading literary magazines. However, it was not until 1928, when his first novel Pather Panchali (also known in
English as Song of the Little Road) was published, that Bibhutibhushan received critical attention. Pather Panchali
brought Bibhutibhushan to prominence in Bengali literature and the novel and its sequel Aparajito, were
subsequently translated into numerous languages. Additionally, these two were made into films by Satyajit Ray and,
together with Apur Sansar, formed the highly successful Apu Trilogy.
Ray referred scriptwriting students to the author with the following line of praise for the author's skill with written
dialogue: "His lines fit the characters so well, they are so revealing that even when the author provides no physical
description, every character seems to present itself before us simply through the words it speaks."

Ichamati
Ichamati reflects and documents a period of caste stratified culture, the life of rural society along the banks of the
Ichamati River in undivided southern Bengal. The novel captures indigo planters, plantation life, and caste society in
Bengal during the early part of the previous century in vivid detail. Relationships are sensitively portrayed in the
narrative, with the author exploring the subtle nuances contained therein. Readers have praised the detailed
descriptions of nature and the unselfconscious, but poetic, portrayal of the flora and fauna on the banks of the
Ichamati River. Ichamati has also been described as a deeply spiritual piece of writing, with Advaita Vedanta
holding particular relevance to the contained dialogue. The hypocrisy of the Brahminical order is addressed in the
book through the portrayal of several characters, exposing readers to the social and religious life of rural Bengal
under a deeply stratified caste system.
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 3

Critical reception
Bibhutibhushan wrote 16 novels, and over two hundred short stories; his style as a Bengali novelist has been
compared to Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay.
Pather Panchali is considered Bibhutibhushan's masterpiece and is included in the CBSE syllabus for students
choosing to study Bengali. Author Humayun Azad opined that the novel form of Pather Panchali is superior to its
cinematic rendition. Azad's view is not necessarily a commonly held one in the West, though, as the Apu Trilogy is
considered among the finest films in the history of cinema — the unavailability of a complete English translation of
the novel means that English-speaking audiences have difficulty engaging with the debate (the available translation
by T. W. Clark and Tarapada Mukherji is a truncated version). However, in the Bengali-speaking world, the stature
of the novel is not contested.
Amit Chaudhuri has translated a few excerpts from the novel for inclusion in the anthology, The Picador Book of
Modern Indian Literature. In his introduction to these excerpts, Chaudhuri writes: "Unique for its tenderness and
poetry ... Pather Panchali rejects both nineteenth-century realism and social realism (the social milieu described in it
would have logically lent itself to the latter) for an inquiry into perception and memory."[3] The complete text of
Aparajito has been translated into English by Gopa Majumdar.
Martin Seymour-Smith, in his Guide to Modern World Literature (1973), describes Bibhutibhushan (he uses the
form Banerji) as "perhaps the best of all modern Indian novelists", going on to write that "probably nothing in
twentieth-century Indian literature, in prose or poetry, comes to the level of Pather Panchali".[4] he is a grate Bengali
writer.

Personal life
Bibhutibhushan's early days were spent in abject poverty and he subsequently supported his family financially,
though the extent of his support is unknown.
Bibhutibhushan had a stout constitution and walked miles in the woods every day, usually taking his notebook for
the purpose of writing whilst surrounded by the wilderness.
Gouri Devi was the writer's first wife, but she died in cholera a year after their marriage. Gouri's death and
Bibhutibhushan's consequent loneliness led to a theme of tragedy that became a recurrent motif in his early writings.
At the age of 46, Bibhutibhushan married Rama Chattopadhyay and the couple raised a son, Taradas, who was born
in 1947.

Death
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay died on November 1, 1950, with the cause of death identified as a heart attack. Death
occurred whilst the author was staying in Ghatshila.

Bibliography
Complete list of novels:
• Pather Panchali (Bengali: পথের পাঁচালি) (Song of the Road)
• Aparajito (Bengali: অপরাজিত) (Unvanquished; sequel to Pather Panchali)
• Aranyak (Bengali: আরণ্যক) (In the Forest)
• Adarsha Hindu Hotel (Bengali: আদর্শ হিন্দু হোটেল)
• Ichhamati (Rabindra Purashkar 1950-51) (Bengali: ইছামতি)
• Dristi Pradeep (Bengali: দৃষ্টি প্রদীপ)
• Chander Pahar (Bengali: চাঁদের পাহাড়)
• Heera Manik Jale (Bengali: হীরা মানিক জ্বলে)
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 4

• Debjan (Bengali: দেবযান)

• Bipiner Sangsar
• Anubartan
• Ashani Sanket
• Kedar Raja
• Dampati
• Sundarbane Sat Batsar-Not completed by him
• Dui Bari
• Kajol--Sequel of Aparajito -Completed By His Son Taradas
• Maroner Danka Baje
• Mismider Kabach
• Kosi Pranganeyer Chitthi
• Aam Aatir Bhenpu (Bengali: আম আঁটির ভেঁপু)

Partial short story collections

• MeghaMallar
• Mauriphool
• Jatrabadol
• Jonmo o mrittu
• Kinnardal
• Benigir fulbari
• Nabagata

Films based on his works

• Pather Panchali (1955)
• Aparajito (1956)
• Apur Sansar (1959)
• Baksa Badal(1970) [5]
• Nishi Padma (1970), Amar Prem (1971) based on short story Hinger Kochuri
• Nimantran(1971) [6]
• Ashani Sanket (1973)
• Fuleswari(1974) [7]
• Alo (2003)
• * Chander Pahar (2013)

References
[1] Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay (http:/ / www. iloveindia. com/ indian-heroes/ bibhutibhushan-bandopadhyay-biography. html)
iloveindia.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013
[2] Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay: Renowned Novelist of Bengal (http:/ / www. bengalspider. com/ resources/
3175-Bibhutibhushan-Bandopadhyay-Renowned-Novelist. aspx) bengalspider.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013
[3] The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature, edited by Amit Chaudhuri, (p. 66)
[4] Guide to Modern World Literature,Martin Seymour-Smith (p. 712)
[5] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0457554/
[6] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0237499/
[7] http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0237254/
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay 5

External links
• Banglapedia on Bibhutibhushan Banerjee (http://banglapedia.org/HT/B_0104.htm)
Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and Contributors

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=611673318 Contributors: Aniruddha Sen, Anubhab91, Asim1957, Auk.sl28, BD2412, BengaliHindu,
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

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