# Shibram Chakraborty > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shibram_Chakraborty > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Shibram_Chakraborty.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibram_Chakraborty > Source revision: 1332709121 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Indian writer and humorist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Use British English|date=October 2012}} {{Infobox writer | name = Shibram Chakraborty | image_size = 250px | caption = Shibram Chakraborty | native_name_lang = Bengali | birth_place = [Chanchal](/source/Chanchal), [Malda](/source/Malda_district), [Bengal Presidency](/source/Bengal_Presidency), [British India](/source/British_India)''Ishwar Prithibi Bhalobasa'', Chakraborty, Shibram, Biswas Publishing House, Calcutta, 1974, p. 15 | birth_date = 13 December 1903 | death_place = [Calcutta, West Bengal](/source/Calcutta%2C_West_Bengal), [India](/source/India) | death_date = {{death-date and age|28 August 1980|13 December 1903}} | occupation = Writer | language = Bengali | genre = Humour | notableworks = ''[Bari Theke Paliye](/source/Bari_Theke_Paliye)''
''[Harshabardhan - Gobardhan](/source/Harshabardhan_-_Gobardhan)'' }} '''Shibram Chakraborty''' (1903–1980) was an Indian writer and humorist. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of [pun](/source/pun), [alliteration](/source/alliteration), [play of words](/source/Play-on-words) and [ironic humour](/source/Irony).{{cite news |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Shibram-King-of-pun-and-adda-maestro/articleshow/23235676.cms |title=Shibram: King of pun and adda maestro |first=Debabrata |last=Chakrabarti |date=29 September 2013 |newspaper=[The Times of India](/source/The_Times_of_India)|accessdate=4 July 2017}} He was a prolific author who also wrote poems, plays, non-fiction and novels for mature audiences in his long career.{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6953928._ |title=Shibram Chakraborty |website=[Goodreads](/source/Goodreads) |accessdate=4 July 2017}} ==Personal life== Chakraborty was born into the well-known [Chanchal](/source/Chanchal) Rajbari (royal house of Chanchal) family, although his ancestral home was in [Malda](/source/English_Bazar). However the ancestral seat of the Chakrabarty family was at Choa in [Murshidabad District](/source/Murshidabad_District).''Ishwar Prithibi Bhalobasa'', Chakraborty, Shibram, Biswas Publishing House, Calcutta, 1974, p. 23 He was born at his maternal uncle's house at Nayan Chand Dutta Street, Darjipara in [Kolkata](/source/Kolkata), the capital of [British India](/source/British_India).''Ishwar Prithibi Bhalobasa'', Chakraborty, Shibram, Biswas Publishing House, Calcutta, 1974, p. 15 His father was Shibprashad Chakrabarty. A spiritualist by nature, Shibprashad would often speak of the road. Shibram inherited his wanderlust from his father. In school, he played an active role in the [Swadeshi](/source/Swadeshi) movement (struggle for [Indian independence](/source/Indian_independence_movement)) and as a result was jailed, which resulted in his inability to sit for the [matriculation](/source/matriculation) exam. Despite not progressing further with his education, Chakraborty studied on his own and was knowledgeable in a variety of subjects. He spent most of his life in the second-floor rented accommodation, only consisting of a bedstead & bedsheet at Muktaram Babu Street in [Kolkata](/source/Kolkata). He turned its walls into a hand-written calendar, documenting his time there. He never married and was known as a "free spirit" and was generous to his friends. He did not maintain proper records or preserve the manuscripts of some of his works. ==Work== His initial foray into literature was as a poet. His first book of poems was called Manush (Man). He worked as a feature writer in daily newspapers and magazines such as ''[Basumati](/source/Dainik_Basumati)'' (বসুমতী), ''[Ananda Bazar Patrika](/source/Ananda_Bazar_Patrika)'' (আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা) and ''[Desh](/source/Desh_(magazine))'' [দেশ]. These were tinged with humour and got him noticed in the public eye. Subsequently, he started writing stories and novels. His writing is noted for use of literary puns as a key story vehicle – speculated to be a first in Bengali literature. He is also noted for his self-deprecating humour. An example of this is the convoluted way in which he would spell his name in Bangla in his stories: শিব্রাম চকরবরতি (Shee-bram Cho-ko-ro-bo-ro-ty). He would often put himself into his stories amongst fictional characters. The most famous and recurring characters in his stories are the brothers Harshabardhan [হর্ষবর্ধন] and Gobardhan [গোবর্ধন] and his sister Bini. He also created a detective character named ''Kalke Kashi.'' Advertisements for his books often bill him as the King of Laughter.{{cite web |url=http://www.jayabhattacharjirose.com/shibram-chakraborty/ |first=Jaya Bhattacharji |last=Rose |title=Shibram Chakraborty |work=Confessions of an avid bibliophile |date=28 June 2014 |accessdate=4 July 2017}} Aside from funny stories, his other notable writings include the dramatisation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel Dena Paona (দেনা পাওনা) under the title Shoroshi [ষোড়শী] (Sixteen Year Old Girl), the political work Moscow bonam Pondicheri [মস্কো বনাম পন্ডিচেরি] (Moscow Versus Pondicheri;) and the play Jokhon Tara Kotha Bolbe [যখন তারা কথা বলবে] (When They Will Speak). His (so called) autobiography Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa (ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা) (God Earth Love) is also regarded as one of his best works. During his 60-year career he authored more than 150 books. Shibram spent his early days in [Paharpur](/source/Paharpur%2C_India) and [Chanchal](/source/Chanchal). In his boyhood days, he once ran away from home. This experience would later inspire his novel ''[Bari Theke Paliye](/source/Bari_Theke_Paliye)'' [বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Runaway), which was made into a film by [Ritwik Ghatak](/source/Ritwik_Ghatak).{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051399/ |title=Bari Theke Paliye (1958) |website=imdb.com |accessdate=4 July 2017}} ==Last phase of life and death== In the last phase of his life, he ran into serious financial difficulties and the [Government of West Bengal](/source/Government_of_West_Bengal) put him on a monthly allowance. He died in Kolkata in 1980. Very few people attended his cremation, including a few of his very close friends like [Shakti Chattopadhyay](/source/Shakti_Chattopadhyay) and [Sunil Ganguly](/source/Sunil_Ganguly). ==Bibliography== * ''[Bari Theke Paliye](/source/Bari_Theke_Paliye)'' [বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Runaway): A novel * ''Bari Theke Paliyer Por'' [বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ের পর] (After Runaway): A novel, sequel to ''Bari Theke Paliye''. * The Merry Adventures of Harshabardhan and Gobardhan. (Translated by Arunava Sinha. Hachette India, New Delhi, 2014) * ''Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa'' [ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা] (God Earth Love), 1974: (So called) [autobiography](/source/autobiography). * ''Valobasa Prithibee Eeshwar'' [ভালবাসা পৃথিবী ঈশ্বর] (Love Earth God), 1976: Another (so called) [autobiography](/source/autobiography). * ''Aaj O Agamikaal'' [আজ ও আগামীকাল] (Today & Tomorrow), 1929: A collection of short stories. * ''Ekti Swarnaghotita Apokeerti'' [একটি স্বর্ণঘটিত অপকীর্তি] (An Misdoing Due to Gold): Drama * ''Debotar Jonmo'' [দেবতার জন্ম] (Birth of God): Short story * ''Jakhan Tara Katha Bolbe'' [যখন তারা কথা বলবে], (When They Will Speak): A play. ==Quotations== {{citations needed|section|date=June 2025}} * "Though that may be not the ultimate goal, but the communists do have an extreme goal, and that is All for one and one for all." * "The history of human civilisation is sub-divided into two kinds of people. One who is selfishly screaming that all of this earth belongs to me. State – that's me! I will benefit—this happens to be the biggest thing of this world. The other is sacrificing himself by exiling into the forest or on the cross; they said, I have come for all; I have sacrificed myself to all. Both of them show the incompleteness of the civilisation." * "My respect for [Rabindranath](/source/Rabindranath_Tagore) is not because he is a so-called superman, but because he is a complete human being." * "The basis of a human being's completeness lies in the maturity of body, mind and intellect ... the bottom line of completeness is congruence, harmony." * "To earn the freedom of a nation, a freedom fighter has to sacrifice his own freedom." *"After years of hard contemplation I have reached the conclusion that all this excitement about "New Year" is meaningless, because in my experience, it has never lasted more than a year." (Paraphrased and translated from Bengali) ==References== {{reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Chakraborty, Shibram}} Category:1903 births Category:1980 deaths Category:20th-century Bengali poets Category:20th-century Indian poets Category:Poets from West Bengal Category:Indian independence activists from Bengal Category:Writers from Kolkata Category:Indian male novelists Category:People from Malda district Category:20th-century Indian male writers ==External links== * {{IMDb name|0149827}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shibram Chakraborty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibram_Chakraborty) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibram_Chakraborty?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.