2017-01-16 Mon

Paying tribute to a great novelist from Bengal, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, on his death anniversary. Born on 15 September 1876, he was a prominent Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He mostly wrote on the contemporary topics like lifestyle, tragedy, struggle of the village people and the contemporary social practices that prevailed in Bengal.

His father was also a writer but could not complete any of his writings because of his irregular jobs. But he passed on this imagination and love of literature to his son Sarat Chandra.

Sarat Chandra wrote novels, novellas, and stories. He came to maturity at a time when the national movement was gaining momentum together with an awakening of social consciousness. His novel 'pather dabi' played an important role in the National Movement (jatio andolon). His best-known novels include Palli Samaj (1916), Choritrohin (1917), Devdas (1917), Nishkriti (1917), "Datta" (1918), Srikanta, Griha Daha (1920), Sesh Prasna (1929) and Sesher Parichay (1939). Also, few of his stories have been made into movies.

To commemorate such a great personality in 1979 India Post issued a stamp of 25 Paisa. It depicts the portrait of Sarat Chandra.