Dinesh Chandra Sen

Dinesh Chandra Sen Biography

Dinesh Chandra Sen was a Bengali writer, educationist and researcher of Bengali folklore. He was a founding faculty member and the Ramtanu Lahiri Research Fellow of the Department of Bengali Language and Literature of the University of Calcutta. He was born on November 3, 1866 at Suapur Village of Dhakka. As a writer he has authored numerous books in English and Bengali which include novels, autobiography, short stories, tales from Hindu Puranas, non-fiction works and collection of essays. Gharer Katha O Yugasahitya is an autobiographical work published in 1922.

Dinesh was born in a village of Dhaka as the son of Ishwar Chandra Sen and Rupalata Devi. Hiralal Sen, one of the earliest Indian filmmakers was his cousin. In 1882, he passed his University Entrance examination from Jagannath School in Dhaka. He passed his F.A. examination from Dhaka College in 1885 followed by B.A. examination with Honours in English literature in 1889. In 1891, he became the headmaster of the Victoria School in Comilla.

Dinesh has contributed both English and Bengali books. His published English books include - History of Bengali Language and Literature (1911), Sati (1916), The Vaishnava Literature of Medieval Bengal (1917), Chaitanya and His Companions (1917), The Folk Literature of Bengal (1920), The Bengali Ramayana (1920), Bengali Prose Style, 1800-1857 (1921), Chaitanya and His Age (1922), Eastern Bengal Ballads in four volumes (1923–1932) and Glimpses of Bengal Life (1925).

Dinesh has contributed a few Hindu mythological books to Bengali of which a few need special mention - Ramayani Katha and Vaidik Bharat (stories from Veda). Other noted works include - Brihat Banga, Prachin Bangla Sahitye Musalmaner Avadan, Rakhaler Rajgi and Banglar Puranari. Dinesh’s greatest contribution was his attempt to collect popular Bengali folklore stories and publish them as books. Mymensingh Gitika is the collection of 21 ballets.

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Updated: February 21, 2014