Bankim Chandra Chatterji

Bankim Chandra Chatterji Biography

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was a Bengali writer, poet and journalist most known for writing and composing Vande Mataram, National song of India. It was originally a Bengali and Sanskrit stotra written by Bankim Chandra personifying India as Mother Goddess and during India’s freedom struggle movement, this poem addressing India as Mother has inspired a lot, the youth as well as the activists at that time. Bankim Chandra has written 13 novels in Bengali and all of those have been translated to different languages including English. He is widely regarded as a key figure in literary renaissance of Bengal as well as India.  Still now disputes are going on if Vande Mataram or Jana Gana Mana is to be regarded as the National anthem of India. His first Novel, Durgeshnondini, was the first novel ever published in Bengali and he published this romantic novel in the year 1865.

Bankim Chandra was born to an orthodox Brahmin family at Kanthalpara of Bengal on 27 June 1838. He was graduated from Hoogly College and Presidency College, Calcutta and one of the first graduates of Calcutta University. He served as a deputy magistrate and deputy collector in the Government of British India during the period – 1858 to 1891.

Bankim Chandra regarded Ishwarchandra Gupta as his role model to begin his literary career. His first attempt was for a competition though he couldn’t win it. So it was never published. His first fiction work published was Rajmohan's Wife, written in English. Actually it was a translation of his Bengali novelette that he has first written for the competition. In 1865 he published the first ever novel of Bengali language – Durgeshnondini. Kapalkundala (1866) is Chattopadhyay's first major publication. The heroine of the novel was partially portrayed from Shakunthala of Kalidasa and partly after Shakespeare's Miranda though similarities are not clearly visible.

His other major works include - Mrinalini (1869), Vishabriksha (The Poison Tree, 1873), Chandrasekhar (1877), Rajani (1877), Krishnakanter Will (1878), Rajsimha (1881) and Anandamath (The Abbey of Bliss, 1882). Anandamath was also the source of the song Vande Mataram. 

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Updated: October 18, 2013