{{short description|Indian Bengali writer (1876–1938)}} {{Use British English|date=January 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox writer | name = Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay | image = Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay portrait.jpg | image_size = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1876|09|15|df=y}} | birth_place = Debanandapur, Bengal, British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|1938|01|16|1876|09|17|df=y}} | death_place = Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India | occupation = Writer, novelist | language = Bengali | nationality = Indian | period = 19th century – 20th century | genre = | subject = | movement = Bengali Renaissance | notableworks = {{ubl|''Srikanta''|''Choritrohin''|''Devdas''|''Parineeta''|''Pother Dabi''}} | spouse = Shanti Devi (m. 1906–1908)<br />Hironmoyi Devi (m. 1910–1938) | partner = | children = | awards = Jagattarini Award<br />{{small|(by the Calcutta University)}}<br/>Doctor of Literature, Honoris Causa<br />{{small|(by the University of Dhaka)}} | signature = Signature of Sarat-Chandra-Chattopadhyay.svg | module = {{infobox person|embed=yes }} }} '''Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay''' (anglicised as '''Sarat Chandra Chatterjee'''; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century.<ref name=":2">{{Cite wikisource |last=Chatterji |first=Saratchandra |date=1922 |title=Srikanta (Part 1) |wslink=Srikanta_(Part_1)}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Chakrabarti |first=Kunal |title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Shubhra |date=2013 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=978-0-8108-5334-8 |series=Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and Cultures |location=Lanham |pages=128}}</ref> He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Dey |first=Biswanath |url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.265037 |title=Sharat Smriti |date=1960}}</ref> However, his keen powers of observation, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a deep understanding of human psychology (including the "ways and thoughts and languages of women and children"), an easy and natural writing style, and freedom from political biases and social prejudices enable his writing to transcend barriers and appeal to all Indians.<ref name=":3"/> He remains the most popular, translated, and adapted Indian author of all time.<ref>{{Cite book |title = A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy |publisher=South Asia Books |url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8172017987|access-date = 9 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-15|title=Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay — Vagabond Messiah|website=Film Critic's Circle|url=https://filmcriticscircle.com/journal/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-vagabond-messiah/|access-date=2020-10-26|language=en-GB|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028022835/https://filmcriticscircle.com/journal/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-vagabond-messiah/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Early life == Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876,<ref name="Sarker1977">{{cite journal|last=Sarker|first=Subhash Chandra|title=Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: The Great Humanist|date=January–February 1977|journal=Indian Literature|volume=20|issue=1|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi|page=50|jstor=24157548}}{{Subscription required}}</ref> in a Bengali Brahmin family in Debanandapur,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mohta |first=Nikita |date=2025-09-05 |title=Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and a novel that shook the British Empire |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/research/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-and-a-novel-that-shook-the-british-empire-10229792/ |access-date=2025-10-23 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> a small village in Hooghly, West Bengal, about 50 kilometres from Kolkata.<ref name="KMGeorge1997">{{cite book|editor-last=George|editor-first=K. M.|editor-link=K. M. George (writer)|title=Masterpieces of Indian literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dXFOAAAAYAAJ|year=1997|publisher=National Book Trust|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-237-1978-8|page=187}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Statesman News Service |first= |date=2023-12-22 |title=CM pushes for renovation of novelist Sarat Chandra's birthplace |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/bengal/cm-pushes-for-renovation-of-novelist-sarat-chandras-birthplace-1503252094.html |access-date=2025-10-23 |website=The Statesman |language=en}}</ref> He was his father Matilal and mother Bhubanmohini's eldest son and second child.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Chattopadhyay |first=Sarat Chandra |access-date= February 19, 2023 |title=Sarat Rachanabali (in Bengali, means "The Writings of Saratchandra" |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.266432/page/n5/mode/2up?view=theater |website=MIT Internet Archive}}</ref>
Debanandapur was the hometown of Baikuntha Chattopadhyay, the grandfather of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Sarat Chandra's grandmother relocated back to Debanandapur with Matilal after Baikuntha was murdered by his zamindar.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=11}} Matilal was given a piece of land by his mother's brothers. Some time later, he married Bhubanmohini, the daughter of Kedarnath Gangopadhyay,{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=11}} who lived in Bhagalpur, Bihar.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=16}} Matilal continued his studies in Bhagalpur, but his financial situation was precarious as he could not hold on to any jobs.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=12}}{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=15}} [[File:Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay birth place.jpg|thumb|Birthplace of Sarat Chandra in Debanandapur, Hooghly|298x298px]]
Sarat Chandra wrote in the English translation of his monumental book Srikanta:
"My childhood and youth were passed in great poverty. I received almost no education for want of means. From my father I inherited nothing except, as I believe, his restless spirit and his keen interest in literature. The first made me a tramp and sent me out tramping the whole of India quite early, and the second made me a dreamer all my life. Father was a great scholar, and he had tried his hand at stories and novels, dramas and poems, in short, every branch of literature, but never could finish anything. I have not his work now—somehow it got lost; but I remember poring over those incomplete messes, over and over again in my childhood, and many a night I kept awake regretting their incompleteness and thinking what might have been their conclusion if finished. Probably this led to my writing short stories when I was barely seventeen."<ref name=":2" />
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay started working from an early age, his father not having any source of income. His education was not properly completed because of the lack of money. Chattopadhyay took an interest in literature from Motilal.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=13}}{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=15}} Much of Chattopadhyay's early life is disputed. According to Narasingha Prosad Sil, Chattopadhyay was taken to Bhagalpur from Debanandapur when he was two or three years old. He enrolled there in school and stayed till fifth or sixth year. Chattopadhyay came back to Debanandapur, where he studied in a pathashala for two years. In the rural areas, he often went fishing or rafting in water bodies and exploring places.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=13}}
In 1886, Chattopadhyay went to travel in Dehri-on-Sone. After this travel, Matilal sent him to Durgacharan Middle English School in Bhagalpur for a getting a scholarship.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=17}} For meeting the eligibility, he took tutoring lessons from his classmate Manindranath's tutor. They passed their exams and got scholarship. The next year, Chattopadhyay enrolled in the Bhagalpur District School where he studied till 1889.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=14}}{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=17}}
In 1889, Matilal lost his job. Chattopadhyay and his whole family shifted into Debanandapur, where he enrolled into the Hooghly District School. His father arranged a room for Sarat Chandra to stay, at the house of a landlord. He stayed in the residence for a few years and returned to Debanandapur. Matilal was unable to further pay for Chattopadhyay's education than what he paid earlier. They traveled to Bhagalpur in 1893 and Chattopadhyay got enrolled in Tejnarayan Jubilee Collegiate School.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=17}} A teacher in the school helped Chattopadhyay to complete his homework to encourage his studies. Kedarnath died in 1892. His death caused turmoil in the family.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=18}} His son Thakurdas Gangopadhyay spent money on lawyers for a financial lawsuit. To pay for Chattopadhyay's education, Kedarnath's son Bipradas borrowed money. Chattopadhyay completed his entrance exams in 1894.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=14}} Sarat Chandra Chatterjee being unable to pay for college education was approached by the mother of his classmate's tutor, Kusumkamini, who offered to pay Chattopadhyay's college fees for tutoring her two sons.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=15}} During his college years, Chattopadhyay began writing books; he took his inspiration from the novels of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and from his enduring interest in narrating stories and the theaters.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=19}}
Sarat Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. He attended schools in and around Debanandapur, one being Hooghly Branch Government School and in Bhagalpur.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Suresh|editor-first1=Sushama|title=Who's who on Indian stamps|date=1999|publisher=Mohan B. Daryanani|location=Santa Cruz de Tenerife |isbn=84-931101-0-8|page=73 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZPtAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> His strong performance in English and other subjects was rewarded with a "double promotion" that enabled him to skip a grade. However, in 1892, financial difficulties forced him to stay out of school for one year.<ref name="sarat-rachanabali.nltr.org">{{Cite web|title = শরৎ রচনাবলী |website=Sarat Rachanabali|url = http://www.sarat-rachanabali.nltr.org/lifehistory.jsp |access-date = 30 October 2015}}</ref> He began writing stories at the time.
Matilal sold his paternal house on November 9, 1896 to Kedarnath's brother Aghornath.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=12}} After November 1896, Matilal rented a house owned by Chandrashekhar Sarkar, in the slums of Bhagalpur. Chattopadhyay studied in college using borrowed books from his classmate he met in primary school. Chattopadhyay did not have enough money ({{INR}}20) to pay for the final college exams, after studying there for two years, he ended his formal education.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=15}}
Poverty forced the family to live for long periods in Bhuvanmohini's father's (and later brother's) home in Bhagalpur, Bihar.<ref name=":1" />
In 1894, Sarat Chandra passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at the end of Class X) and entered Tejnarayan Jubilee College. He developed an interest in English literature and read ''A Tale of Two Cities'' and ''David Copperfield'' by Charles Dickens and other novels.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Chatterjee |first=Sarat Chandra |title="Sarat Sahitya Samagra" ("Complete Literary Works of Sarat," in Bengali), later renamed "Sulabh Sarat Samagra" ("Affordable Complete Works of Sarat") |url=https://www.anandapub.in/#/book-detail/1449 |url-status=dead |access-date=September 18, 2023 |website=Ananda (Website of Ananda Publishers Private Limited, Kolkata, India)}}</ref> Looking at Western authors such as Marie Corelli and Ellen Prince, Chatterjee adopted the psuedonym St. C. Lara.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-02-01 |title=An early feminist from Bengal: Recalling Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay |url=https://researchoutreach.org/community-content/early-feminist-chattopadhyay/ |access-date=2025-10-23 |website=Research Outreach |language=en-GB}}</ref> He was inspired by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=19}} He organized a children's literary society in Bhagalpur, which published a handwritten magazine. Two years later, his formal studies ended as he could not pay the twenty rupees examination fee.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = The mortals of Devdas|url = http://www.frontline.in/arts-and-culture/the-mortals-of-devdas/article6719027.ece|date = 9 January 2015|first = BY J. N.|last = Sinha}}</ref>
On his wife's death in 1895, Matilal left the house of his in-laws and moved the family to a mud house in Bhagalpur. In 1896, he sold his ancestral house to repay debts. Sarat Chandra spent time interacting with friends, acting in plays, and playing sports and games. He seriously read literature and wrote several famous works including Bordidi, Chandranath, and Devdas. And then he stopped writing: "But I soon gave up the habit as useless, and almost forgot in the long years that followed that I could even write a sentence in my boyhood."<ref name=":2" />
After holding sundry jobs, Sarat Chandra got upset with his father and left home. He wandered from place to place in the guise of a sannyasi (monk). Little is known about what he did during this period. On getting the news of his father's death, Sarat Chandra came back and did his father's shraddha (memorial service). His oldest sister was already married. He deposited his remaining siblings with a friend and relatives and went to Calcutta (today's Kolkata) to try out his luck.<ref name=":1" />
In Calcutta, Sarat Chandra worked for six months translating Hindi paper books into English for an advocate. In January 1903, he went to Burma (today's Myanmar).
Before leaving for Burma, at the insistence of an uncle, Sarat Chandra sent the story "Mandir" to the "Kuntaleen Story Competition." It won the first prize out of 150 submissions. Mandir was published under another uncle's name. The story was 27-year-old Sarat Chandra's first printed work.<ref name="sarat-rachanabali.nltr.org" /><ref name=":5" />
== Life in Burma == Sarat Chandra lived in Burma for thirteen years.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> He first held sundry jobs in Rangoon and Pegu (today's Yangon and Bago, respectively). He eventually found work in Burma Public Works Accounts Office in Rangoon.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=33}}
Most of his stay in Rangoon was in the Botahtaung Pazundaung neighbourhood where "mistris" (manual workers, mechanics, craftsmen, artisans) lived. He freely mixed with them. He wrote their job applications, mediated conflicts, gave them homeopathic medicine for free, even gave monetary help. The mistris had great respect for him.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=22}}
During his stay in Rangoon, Sarat Chandra read widely. He borrowed books on various subjects, including sociology, politics, philosophy, physiology, psychology, history, scriptures, and other topics from the Bernard Free Library. Signs of heart problems slightly slowed down his intense study habits. He also began to paint.<ref name=":5"/>
In 1912, the wooden house where he lived on Lansdowne Road got burnt down. He lost his belongings including his paintings, and the manuscript of his novel Choritrohin, which he rewrote.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=46}} thumb|Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1914 He resumed writing after a gap of many years: "Some of my old acquaintances started a little magazine, but no one of note would condescend to contribute to it, as it was so small and insignificant. When almost hopeless, some of them suddenly remembered me, and after much persuasion they succeeded in extracting from me a promise to write for it. This was in the year 1913. I agreed most unwillingly—perhaps only to put them off until I returned to Rangoon and could forget the matter entirely. But sheer volume and force of their letters and telegrams compelled me at last to think seriously about writing again. I sent them a short story, for their magazine ''Jamuna''. This became at once extremely popular, and made me famous in one day. Since then I have been writing regularly. In Bengal perhaps I am the only fortunate writer who has not had to struggle."<ref name=":2" />
In 1916, he resigned from his job due to ill health and moved to Calcutta.<ref name=":1" />
== Later life ==
In 1916, a forty-year-old Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay moved to Howrah, the twin city of Calcutta. He became a full-time writer.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Parthasarathi |first=Dr. B.N.V. |date=2024-07-24 |title=Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay |url=https://hindupost.in/history/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay |access-date=2025-10-23 |website=Hindu Post}}</ref>
His stories and serialized novels were published in magazines such as ''Jamuna'', ''Bharatvarsha'', and ''Narayan''. Later, his novels and story collections would get published as books. He either got nothing or took nothing from the publisher for his first novel, ''Bardidi'' (appeared as a serial in Bharati magazine in 1907, and in the book form in 1913)''.''<ref name=":5" /> He sold the rights to his second published novel, ''Biraj Bou'', for two hundred rupees. His works became immensely popular. Royalties from his published works enabled him to escape lifelong poverty for the first time.<ref name=":8" />
In 1918, the novel ''Biraj Bou'' was adapted for the stage and performed in the famous Star Theatre.<ref name=":5" /> James Drummond Anderson in 1918 wrote an article entitled "A New Bengali Writer" in the ''Times Literary Supplement'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iconic writer Sarat Chandra continues to influence Indian literature and films |url=https://www.siasat.com/iconic-writer-sarat-chandra-continues-to-influence-indian-literature-and-films-3271667/ |last=Abhijit |first=Sen Gupta |date=2025-09-15 |access-date=2026-03-20}}</ref> which introduced Sarat Chandra to the Western world.<ref name=":8"/>
In 1919, Chandrashekhar Pathak translated the novel ''Biraj Bou'' into Hindi. This was the first translation of Sarat Chandra's work in another Indian language. More of his works were translated in the following years into Marathi, Gujarati, and other Indian languages.<ref name=":8"/> [[File:Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sir John Anderson , Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy, Sir A F Rahman.jpg|thumb|(From left) Historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Governor of Bengal Sir John Anderson, chemist Sir Prafulla Chandra Roy, and Vice Chancellor historian Sir Ahmad Fazlur Rahman. The first four were recipients of honorary doctorates from the University of Dacca in 1936. Other recipients not pictured here are Sir Abdur Rahim, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Sir Muhammad Iqbal, and Rabindranath Tagore.]]
The first English translation of Sarat Chandra's work, Srikanta (Volume I), was published by the Oxford University Press in 1922.<ref>{{Cite web |title=With Tagore biography, OUP marks 100 years in India |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/with-tagore-biography-oup-marks-100-years-in-india/story-Xt2cfNT4nmrZa6C5MJGLOM.html |date=2012-02-24 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Hindustan Times |agency=IANS}}</ref> The first film based on Sarat Chandra's writings, silent movie Andhare Aalo, was released the same year. It was an adaptation of Chatterjee's story by the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Five classic silent films to watch after you finish 'Gandhi Talks' on ZEE5 |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/entertainment/five-classic-silent-films-to-watch-after-you-finish-gandhi-talks-on-zee5-1503566803.html |date=2026-03-06 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Statesman (India) |agency=Statesman News Service}}</ref>
Sarat Chandra was a strong supporter of the Indian freedom movement. He was the president of the Howrah District Congress Committee branch of the Indian National Congress<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Sarker |first=Subhash Chandra |date=1977 |title=Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: The Great Humanist |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24157548 |journal=Indian Literature |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=49–77 |jstor=24157548 |issn=0019-5804}}</ref> from 1921 to 1936.<ref name=":9" /> He also gave cash and other support to Indian revolutionary freedom fighters. He was friends with Chittaranjan Das, Subhas Chandra Bose, and many other freedom fighters and political leaders. While most of his works avoided politics, his novel ''Pather Dabi'' (1926) heavily criticized the British Raj.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yesterdate: This day from Kolkata’s past, January 4, 1927 |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/yesterdate-this-day-from-kolkatas-past-january-4-1927/cid/1907655 |last=Chandrima S. |first=Bhattacharya |date=2023-01-04 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Telegraph}}</ref> The book was proscribed by the colonial British Government of India on 4 January, 1927. The restriction (ban) was removed in 1939, 1 year after Sarat Chandra's death.<ref>{{Cite web |title=বাজেয়াপ্ত হল ‘পথের দাবী’, পাশে দাঁড়ালেন না রবীন্দ্রনাথ |url=https://www.anandabazar.com/rabibashoriyo/the-interesting-history-related-to-sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-s-novel-pather-dabi-1.1100376 |last=প্রলয় |first=চক্রবর্তী |date=2020-01-26 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Anandabazar}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=When a Bengali Novel became a threat to the British Empire |url=https://sabrangindia.in/when-bengali-novel-became-threat-british-empire/ |date=2016-01-05 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Sabrang}}</ref>
Great academic recognition came to Sarat Chandra, whose formal studies ended at Class XII. His works entered the school and college curricula. In 1923, the University of Calcutta awarded him the prestigious Jagattarini Gold Medal.<ref name=":6" /> He was a paper setter in Bengali in the B.A. examination at the university. In 1936, the University of Dacca awarded him a Doctor of Literature (honoris causa).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honoris-Causa |url=https://www.du.ac.bd/du_post_details/Honoris-Causa/6 |access-date=2023-10-03 |website=www.du.ac.bd |language=en}}</ref> Except for Sarat Chandra, all honourees had been recipients of knighthood. His novel ''Pather Dabi'' did not endear him to the colonial British government.<ref>{{Cite web |title='British used Tagore novel to weaken freedom struggle' |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/british-used-tagore-novel-to-weaken-freedom-struggle/articleshow/1426419677.cms |date=2002-01-13 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Times of India |agency=Press Trust of India}}</ref>
He built his own house, first in Samta in 1923,{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=51}} and his second house in Calcutta. He moved into his new Calcutta house in 1935.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|pp=54–55}} He planned to travel to Europe, but his health was failing. He was diagnosed with liver cancer.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=56}} On 16 January 1938, he died in Park Nursing Home in South Calcutta.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=57}}{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=29}}
==Personal life== Subhash. C. Sarker writes: "His father was an utterly restless person—more of a dreamer than a realist ... By contrast Sarat Chandar's mother, Bhubanmohini Devi, was a hardworking lady who braved all the adversities of life with a calm patience."<ref name=":6" /> Sarkar also writes "The mother (Bhubanmohini) had an unmistakable impact on the mental make-up of the son (Sarat) as could be seen from the dominance of the female characters in his literary creations. Practically all the leading ladies in Sarat Chandra's stories are self-sacrificing in one way or the other."<ref name=":6" />
Sarat Chandra was the second of seven siblings, five of them lived to adulthood.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=15}} The oldest was sister Anila Devi, who lived with her husband in Gobindapur village of Howrah district.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=27}} Next to him was Prabhas Chandra.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=21}} He joined the Ramakrishna Mission and became a sannyasi (monk).{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|p=27}} The youngest brother, Prakash Chandra, lived in Sarat Chandra's household with his family. The youngest sibling, sister Sushila Devi, was also married.{{Sfn|Naravane|1976|pp=84–85}}
In Rangoon, Sarat Chandra's neighbour downstairs was a Bengali "mistri" (a blue-collar worker) who had arranged his daughter's marriage to an alcoholic. The daughter Shanti Chakrabarty begged him to rescue her. Sarat Chandra married her in 1906.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=37}} One year later in 1907, he was devastated when his wife and one-year old son died from plague in an epidemic. To make his mind away from the loss, he involved himself in studies of various subjects.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=38}} thumb|Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay A Bengali mistri friend, Krishna Das Adhikari, requested him to marry his 14-year-old widow daughter, Mokshada. Sarat Chandra was initially reluctant, but he eventually agreed. He renamed his wife Hironmoyee and taught her to read and write. They did not have any children.{{Sfn|Sil|2012|p=38}}
==House of Chattopadhyay== {{Main|Sarat Chandra Kuthi}} After returning from Burma, Sarat Chandra stayed for 11 years in Baje Shibpur, Howrah. Then he made a house in the village of Samta, in 1923, where he spent the later twelve years of his life as a novelist. His house is known as Sarat Chandra Kuthi. The two-storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda. His and his brother's ''samadhi'' are within the house's compound. Trees like bamboo and guava planted by the author still stand tall in the gardens of the house.<ref>[http://www.howrah.gov.in/Templates/tourist.html House of Sarat Chandra] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823221452/http://www.howrah.gov.in/Templates/tourist.html |date=23 August 2011 }}</ref>
==Impact and legacy==
=== J. D. Anderson's Views ===
James Drummond Anderson, who was a member of the prestigious Indian Civil Service of British India and a leading authority on several Indian languages, was an early admirer of Sarat Chandra. In an article entitled "A New Bengali Writer" in London's prestigious ''Times Literary Supplement'' dated 11 July 1918, Anderson writes:<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=James Drummond |date=July 11, 1918 |title=A New Bengali Writer |url=https://www.gale.com/c/the-times-literary-supplement-historical-archive |website=Gale: The Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive, 1902-2019}}</ref> "His knowledge of the ways and thoughts and language of women and children, his power of transferring these vividly to the printed page, are such as are rare indeed in any country. In India, and especially in the great "joint family" residences of Bengal, swarming with women of all ages and babies of all sizes, there is a form of speech appropriated to women's needs, which Mr. [Rudyard] Kipling somewhere describes as ''choti boli'', the "little language." Of this Mr. Chatterjee is an admirable master, to an extent indeed not yet attained, we believe, by any other Indian writer.<ref name=":3"/>
Anderson comments about Sarat Chandra's fondness for the past: "Mr. Chatterjee is much too true an artist to allow his gift of kindly yet scrupulously accurate observation to be distracted by social or political prejudice. He is, we gather, on the whole inclined towards a sane conservatism: he remains a Hindu at heart in a country whose whole civilization is based on Hindu culture. He has, we dimly suspect, his doubts as to the wisdom and working of Europeanized versions of the old religion and the old customs. But he is so keen and amused a spectator of the life about him, whether in cosmopolitan Calcutta or in somnolent little villages buried in dense verdure among the sunny ricefields, that it is not without doubts and diffidence that we attribute to him a tendency to praise past times and comfortable old conventions."<ref name=":3"/>
Regarding Sarat Chandra's popularity, he noted: "It is of excellent omen that Mr. Chatterjee's art has received such instant and wide appreciation in his own country Let us hope that in other Indian provinces there are rising authors as keenly observant and gifted with a like faculty of easy and natural expression."<ref name=":3"/>
About the difficulties of translating his work, Anderson opines: "It may be doubted whether Mr. Chatterjee's tales can be adequately rendered into English, and therefore, perhaps, some apology is due to English readers who may never come across any of the work of this talented young Bengali." Anderson planned to translate his works. But he died in 1920 and the translations never happened.<ref name=":3"/>
Anderson's article was both prophetic and one of the best assessments of Sarat Chandra.<ref name=":3"/>
=== Views of Indian writers and academics ===
The phenomenal popularity of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been attested by some of the most prominent writers as well as literary critics across India in their writings. Most of the authors in Assam and Odisha, at least before the Independence, read him admiringly in original Bengali; rest of India read him in translations in varying quality.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy |publisher=South Asia Books |url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8172017987|access-date = 9 April 2015}}</ref>
Publishers were never tired of reprinting his works; he remains the most translated, the most adapted and the most plagiarized author.<ref name=":0" /> His novels also reached a number of people through the medium of film and he is still an important force in Indian cinema.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Birth Anniversary: 5 Movies Based on Works of the Great Bengali Author |url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-birth-anniversary-5-movies-based-on-works-of-the-great-bengali-author-2309707.html |date=2019-09-15 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=News18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Films That Prove Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Was Bengal’s Greatest Gift To Literature & Films |url=https://www.scoopwhoop.com/entertainment/sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-famous-works/ |last=Tatsam |first=Mukherjee |date=2017-07-12 |access-date=2026-03-20}}</ref>
Malayalam poet and lyricist O. N. V. Kurup writes "...Sarat Chandra's name is cherished as dearly as the names of eminent Malayalam novelists. His name has been a household word".<ref name=":0" />
Dr Mirajkar informs "the translations of Sarat Chandra created a stir amongst the readers and writers all over Maharashtra. He has become a known literary personality in Maharashtra in the rank of any popular Marathi writers including H. N. Apte, V. S. Khandekar, N. S. Phadke and G. T. Madkholkar".<ref>{{Cite web|title = A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy |publisher=South Asia Books |url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=8172017987|access-date = 9 April 2015}}</ref> thumb|Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay on Indian postage stamp.
Jainendra Kumar, who considers that his contribution towards the creation and preservation of cultural India is second, perhaps, only to that of Gandhi, asks a rhetorical question summing up Sarat Chandra's position and presumably the role of translation and inter-literary relationship: "Sarat Chandra was a writer in Bengali; but where is that Indian language in which he did not become the most popular when he reached it?"<ref name=":0"/>
==Screen adaptations== {{Further|Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay filmography}} Nearly 90 screen adaptations have been made in the Indian subcontinent based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's works.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay {{!}} Writer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0154158/ |access-date=2023-10-20 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Devdas ===
More than twenty films and television series have been based on his novel ''Devdas''. They have been made in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan; in languages Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Devdas never dies, even when he does |url=https://scroll.in/reel/403/why-devdas-never-dies-even-when-he-does |last=Gaekwad |first=Manish |date=2015-09-24 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Scroll.in}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=One hundred years later, ‘Devdas’ is still celebrated as the anti-masculine hero |url=https://scroll.in/article/839120/one-hundred-years-later-devdas-is-still-celebrated-as-the-anti-masculine-hero |last=Govind |first=Nikhil |date=2017-06-04 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Scroll.in}}</ref>
=== Selected screen adaptations ===
His romantic drama novel ''Datta'' was adapted into the Bengali film as Datta in 1951 directed by Saumyen Mukhopadhyay starring Sunanda Banerjee and Manoranjan Bhattacharyya with Ahindra Choudhury as Rashbehari.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New movie based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali cult classic 'Datta' to release on June 16 |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/new-movie-based-on-sarat-chandra-chattopadhyays-bengali-cult-classic-datta-to-release-on-june-16/articleshow/100753063.cms?from=mdr |date=2023-06-05 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Economic Times |agency=PTI}}</ref> The 1961 Telugu film ''Vagdanam'' by Acharya Aatreya was loosely based on the novel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sri |date=25 May 2005 |title=Articles : Movie Retrospect : vAgdAnam (1961) |url=http://www.telugucinema.com/c/publish/movieretrospect/vAgdAnam1961.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418213929/http://www.telugucinema.com/c/publish/movieretrospect/vAgdAnam1961.php |archive-date=18 April 2010 |access-date=20 May 2010 |website=Telugucinema.com}}</ref> The 1976 Bengali film starring Suchitra Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee and a 2023 film starring Rituparna Sengupta were based on ''Datta''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New movie based on Sarat Chandra's cult classic 'Datta' to release soon |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/new-movie-based-on-sarat-chandras-cult-classic-datta-to-release-soon/articleshow/100742456.cms |date=2023-06-04 |access-date=2026-03-20 |agency=Press Trust of India}}</ref>
''Apne Paraye'' (1980) by Basu Chatterjee, starring Amol Palekar, was based on ''Nishkriti''.<ref>{{cite book |author=Gulzar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC |title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema |author2=Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=2003 |isbn=81-7991-066-0 |page=337 |author-link=Gulzar}}</ref> The Telugu film ''Thodi Kodallu'' (1957) was also based on this novel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blast from the past: Todikodallu (1957) |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/blast-from-the-past-todikodallu/article6912892.ece |date=2015-02-19 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Hindu}}</ref>
In 1957 ''Bardidi'' (translate: oldest sister) was made by director Ajoy Kar based on the novel with the same name. Two more films on the novel followed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/24655213-sandhyarani-uttam-kumar-bardidi-1957-old-bengali-classic-film|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302124513/http://www.washingtonbanglaradio.com/content/24655213-sandhyarani-uttam-kumar-bardidi-1957-old-bengali-classic-film|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2 March 2013|title=বড়দিদি {{!}} Sandhyarani - Uttam Kumar in BARDIDI (1957) Old Bengali Classic Film|date=26 February 2013|publisher=Washington Bangla Radio|access-date=15 March 2019}}</ref> In 1961, ''Batasari'' (<abbr>translation:</abbr> Wayfarer) was made in Telugu language, produced and directed by Ramakrishna of Bharani Pictures. It was simultaneously made in Tamil as ''Kaanal Neer'' (<abbr>translation:</abbr> Mirage).<ref>{{Cite web |title=BATASARI (1961) |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/batasari-1961/article8649926.ece |date=2016-05-26 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Hindu}}</ref>
''Rajlakshmi O Srikanta'' (1958),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Here’s everything you need to know about ‘Rajlokkhi O Srikanta’ |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/heres-everything-you-need-to-know-about-rajlokkhi-o-srikanta/articleshow/70816623.cms |last=Ghosh |first=Sankha}}</ref> and ''Indranath Srikanta O Annadadidi'' (1959), based on Srikanta, were made by Haridas Bhattacharya and Kamallata (1969).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ritwick Chakraborty to play Srikanta in Pradipta Bhattacharya’s ‘Rajlokkhi O Srikanta’ |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movies/news/ritwick-chakraborty-to-play-srikanta-in-pradipta-bhattacharyas-rajlokkhi-o-srikanta/articleshow/65351800.cms |date=2018-08-10 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Times of India}}</ref> ''Rajlakshmi Srikanta'' (1987),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bulbul Ahmed honoured in Mauritius |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bulbul-ahmed-honoured-in-mauritius |date=2013-07-11 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Daily Star (Bangladesh)}}</ref> ''Iti Srikanta'' (2004) were also based on Srikanta.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Soha Ali Khan Shares Inside Glimpse Of Birthday Party, Says ‘Couldn’t Ask For More’ |url=https://www.news18.com/movies/bollywood/soha-ali-khan-shares-inside-glimpse-of-birthday-party-says-couldnt-ask-for-more-ws-l-9615326.html |last=Anand |first=Akriti |date=2025-10-05 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=News18}}</ref>
Chandranath (1957), starring Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, was based on Sarat Chandra's novella ''Chandranath''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=‘ফ্লপমাস্টার’ থেকে ‘মহানায়ক’ |url=https://bangla.bdnews24.com/glitz/article826258.bdnews |last=শান্তা |first=মারিয়া |date=2014-07-24 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=Bdnews24.com}}</ref> The 1966 Kannada movie ''Thoogudeepa'' was also based on the same novel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Veteran film-maker K.S.L. Swamy passes away |url=https://www.mangaloretoday.com/headlines/Veteran-film-maker-K-S-L-Swamy-passes-away.html |date=2015-10-20 |access-date=2026-03-20 |agency=Mangalore Today News Network}}</ref>
=== Other movies ===
''Majhli Didi'' (1967) by Hrishikesh Mukherjee,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Majhli Didi |url=http://www.upperstall.com/films/1967/majhli-didi |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110909084711/http://www.upperstall.com/films/1967/majhli-didi |archive-date=2011-09-09 |access-date=2026-03-20}}</ref> and ''Swami'' (1977), for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Story, are other adaptations.<ref name="Swami">{{Cite web |title=Swami (1977) |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/swami-1977/article6267925.ece |date=2014-07-31 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=The Hindu}}</ref>
''Chhoti Bahu'' (1971) is based on his novel ''Bindur Chhele''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharmila Tagore’s Chhoti Bahu gave us a Bollywood rarity — a layered female protagonist |url=https://theprint.in/feature/sharmila-tagores-chhoti-bahu-gave-us-a-bollywood-rarity-a-layered-female-protagonist/290558/ |last=Pothukuchi |first=Madhavi |date=2019-09-15 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=ThePrint}}</ref>
Gulzar's 1975 film, ''Khushboo'' is majorly inspired by his work ''Pandit Moshai''.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Khushboo' — how Gulzar captured a strong woman who loves but won't be a pushover |url=https://theprint.in/feature/khushboo-how-gulzar-captured-a-strong-woman-who-loves-but-wont-be-a-pushover/731666/ |last=Unnati |first=Sharma |date=2021-09-12 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=ThePrint}}</ref>
''Sabyasachi (film)'' was released in 1977 based on his work ''Pather Dabi''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Have you seen these patriotic Bengali films yet? |url=https://www.getbengal.com/home/story_detail/have-you-seen-these-patriotic-bengali-films-yet |date=2022-08-15 |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=GetBengal}}</ref>
=== Award ===
Sarat Chandra posthumously won the 1978 Filmfare Award for Best Story for ''Swami'' (1977).<ref name="Swami"/>
== Works == Sarat Chandra primarily wrote novels, novellas, and stories.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title = Remembering Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the 'Awara Masiha'|url = http://indianexpress.com/article/india/remembering-sarat-chandra-chattopadhyay-the-awara-masiha-on-his-139th-birth-anniversary/|website = The Indian Express|date = 15 September 2015|access-date = 30 October 2015}}</ref> In 1903, his first printed work, Mandir, was published. His first novel, ''Bardidi'', was serialized in the ''Bharati'' magazine and made him famous.<ref name=":1" />
=== Novels and Novellas === *''Bardidi'' (1907, 1913) *''Biraj Bou'' (1914) *''Chandranath'' (1916) *''Parinita'' (1916) *''Baikunther Will'' (1916) *''Pallisomaj'' (1916) *''Devdas'' (1917) *''Choritrohin'' (1917) *''Nishkrti'' (1917) *''Srikanta'' (Part 1–4, 1917–1933) *''Datta'' (1918) *''Grihadaha'' (1920) *''Dena-Paona'' (1923) *''Pather Dabi'' (1926) *''Shes Proshno'' (1931) He also wrote essays, which were anthologized in ''Narir Mulya'' (1923) and ''Svadesh O Sahitya'' (1932). ''Shrikanta'', ''Charitrahin'', ''Devdas'', ''Grihadaha'', ''Dena-Paona'' and ''Pather Dabi'' are among his most popular works. ''Pather Dabi'' was banned by the British Government because of its revolutionary theme. His posthumous publications include ''Chhelebelar Galpa'', ''Shubhada'' (1938), ''Sheser Parichay'' (1939), ''Sharat Chandrer Granthabali'' (1948) and ''Sharat Chandrer Aprakashita Rachanabali'' (1951).<ref name="Shandilya2017"/>
He wrote some essays including ''Narir Itihas'' (The History of Women) and ''Narir Mulya'' (The Value of Women). ''Narir Itihas'', which was lost in a house fire, contained a history of women on the lines of Spencer's Descriptive Sociology. While the second, ''Narir Mulya'' gives a theory of women's rights in the context of Mill's and Spencer's arguments.<ref name="Shandilya2017">{{cite book|last=Shandilya|first=Krupa|title=Intimate Relations: Social Reform and the Late Nineteenth-Century South Asian Novel|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/book/49217|year=2017|publisher=Northwestern University Press|isbn=978-0-8101-3424-9|page=46|via=Project MUSE}}{{Subscription required}}</ref>
=== Stories === * ''Aalo O Chhaya'' * ''Abhagir Swargo'' * ''Anupamar Prem'' * ''Anuradha'' * ''Andhare Aalo'' * ''Balya Smriti'' * ''Bilashi'' * ''Bindur Chhele'', (Bindu's Son) 1913 * ''Bojha'' * ''Cheledhora'' * ''Chobi'' * ''Darpochurno'' (Broken Pride) * ''Ekadoshi Bairagi'' * ''Kashinath'' * ''Haricharan'' * ''Harilakshmi'' * ''Lalu'' (parts 1, 2, and 3) * ''Mamlar Phol'' * ''Mandir'' * ''Mahesh'' (The Drought) * ''Mejdidi'' * ''Bochor Panchash Purber Ekti Kahini'' * ''Paresh'' * ''Path Nirdesh'' * ''Ramer Shumoti'', (Ram's Good Sense) 1914 * ''Sati'' * ''Swami'' (The Husband)
=== Plays === Sarat Chandra converted three of his works into plays. * ''Bijoya'' * ''Rama'' * ''Shoroshi'' * ''Jai hind''
==== Essays ==== * ''Narir Mulya'' * ''Swadesh O Sahitya'' * ''Taruner Bidroho''
==== Other works ==== * ''Dehati Samaj'', 1920 * ''Sharoda'' (published posthumously)
==== Biography ==== *''Awara Masiha'' (in Hindi) by Vishnu Prabhakar<ref name="Hindu Jan 2015">{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/hindi-belt-a-glimpse-into-an-unfamiliar-world/article6815242.ece |title=Hindi Belt: A glimpse into an unfamiliar world|work=The Hindu|date= 23 January 2015|access-date=30 October 2016}}</ref><ref name=":7" /> *''Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee''<ref>{{cite book|title=Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee|author=Vishnu Prabhakar |translator=Jai Ratan|publisher=South Asia Books|year=1990}}</ref>
==See also== * Films based on works by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay * Samtaber, the village where Sarat Chandra spent his life's early years as a novelist * Sarat Chandra Kuthi, the house of Sarat Chandra at Samtaber * List of Indian writers
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
=== Notes === {{Refbegin|40em}} * Ganguly, Swagato. "Introduction". In ''Parineeta'' by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2005. (English translation) * Guha, Sreejata. "Introduction". In ''Devdas'' by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002. (English translation) * Roy, Gopalchandra. ''Saratchandra'', Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata * ''Sarat Rachanabali'', Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata * Prithwindra Mukherjee. "Introduction" in ''Mahesh et autres nouvelles'' by Saratchandra Chatterji. Paris: Unesco/Gallimard, 1978. (French translation of ''Mahesh'', ''Bindur chhele'' and ''Mejdidi'' by Prithwindra Mukherjee. Foreword by Jean Filliozat) * Dutt, A. K. and Dhussa, R. "Novelist Sarat Chandra's perception of his Bengali home region: a literary geographic study". Springer Link * Sil, Narasingha Prasad. ''The life of Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay: drifter and dreamer''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2012. * Das, Sisir Kumar, "A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy", South Asia Books (1 September 1995), {{ISBN|81-7201-798-7}} {{Refend}}
== Cited works == {{Refbegin}} * {{Cite book |title=The Life of Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay: Drifter and Dreamer |last=Sil |first=Narasingha P. |publisher=Fairleigh Dickinson University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-61147-507-4 |author-link=Narasingha Sil |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/sJz0wG-w61gC?hl=en&newbks=1}} * {{Cite book |title=Sarat Chandra Chatterji |last=Naravane |first=Vishwanath S. |publisher=Macmillan Company of India |year=1976 |isbn=9780333901496 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/hUcKAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 |location=Meerut |language=en}} {{Refend}} == External links == {{Wikiquote}} * {{Internet Archive author}} * ''[http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/jun/20mspec.htm The man behind Devdas, Parineeta]'' * {{IMDb name|0154158}} *[https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-school/saratchandra-chattopadhyay-literary-giant-who-is-timeless/story-RdYItBkYFQvxrIuCVZLFKO.html Saratchandra Chattopadhyay: Literary Giant who is Timeless]
{{Bengal Renaissance}} {{FilmfareAwardBestStory}} {{Devdas}} {{Parineeta}} {{Portal bar|Biography|India|Literature}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chattopadhyay, Sharat Chandra}} Category:Writers from Kolkata Category:Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Category:1876 births Category:1938 deaths Category:20th-century Indian novelists Category:People from Howrah Category:Bengali writers Category:Bengali Hindus Category:Indian male novelists Category:Bengali-language writers Category:University of Calcutta alumni Category:Poets from West Bengal Category:Novelists from West Bengal Category:20th-century Indian short story writers Category:20th-century Indian male writers Category:Deaths from liver cancer in India Category:Writers from British India