Mohammad Shahidul Islam :
Manik Bandopadhyay is one of the most central and powerful novelists in Bengali literature. He was a jewel to Bengali literature and metaphorically kept the literal meaning of his first name Manik.
Manik Bandopadhyay was born on 19th May, 1908 in Santhal Pargana, West Bengal in a family, which had its root in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Being the fifth son of his parents, Harikar Bandopadhyay and Niroda Devi, he was well acquainted with the unforgiving realities of life, which can be well understood in his works that deal somewhat with the same unforgiving realities of human life. His real name is Prabodh Kumar Bandopadhyay, Manik being his nick name. Harikar had to travel all around undivided Bengal, as he was a government employee. Hence, Manik Bandopadhyay’s childhood was spent seeing and learning every arena of life in rural Bengal.
His acquaintance with the hardships of life and intricacies of relationships in society, made him only speak of them, rather than romantic and simple aspects of life. He didn’t pretend to put forward the wretchedness of the games destiny plays with mankind. If sentiments and emotions are the words, then his works are not to be looked into.
He had his own way of presenting the Bengal rural life. Contrary to his contemporary authors who only wrote about the scenic beauty and the simplicity of village life, Manik Bandopadhyay delved deep into the complicated human psyche and the truth of existence in the villages. His works also dealt with complicated human psychology, a mind without guard. Even today, the simplest of his novels leave the readers spell bound, finding themselves into an ‘identifiable position with the characters.’ Manik Bandyopadhay wrote 39 novels, over 260 short stories, some poems, essays, etc.
Although, not unlike every other Bengali youngsters, still in his teens, he had written (Hitherto unpublished and discovered later) some 100 odd poems, it is at the Presidency College, after wager with his classmates, that Manik started writing short stories.
In December that very year (1928) he won his bet and Atosi Maami (Aunt Atosi) was first published in the popular Bichitra magazine. Soon after, in 1929, two more short stories Neki (The Ignorant) and Byathar Puja (The Anguished Adoration) followed. Both readers and critics alike acclaimed his skills as a short story writer.
Thus encouraged, Bandyopadhyay, then commenced experimenting with the longer story formats. The result was his first ‘romantic’ (serial) novel Divaratrir Kabya (The Ode of the Day and Night) – a string of three apparently self-contained but continuing long stories (the author liked to call them allegories, instead of stories or novels. He wrote that the characters were metaphorical representations of people’s thoughts, rather than the people themselves). The stories first appeared in 1934 in the Bangoshree, some five years after they were written (and ‘collecting dust on the shelf’).
A contemporary of Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay — author of the Apu Trilogy (directed by the Oscar winning film director Satyajit Ray), Pather Panchali, Aparajto and Apur Sansar), and to a lesser extent that of Saratchandra Chatterjee, Manik Banduopandhaya’s first full-fledged novel Jononi (Mother) was published in 1935- his first, not serially published before. But it was not until his next two novels came out, would the reading public ever realize what treasure awaited them!
Classed among the best of world literature heritage of the twentieth century were Bandyopadhyay’s Putul Nacher Itikotha and Padma Nodir Majhi – both published in 1936.
Putul Nacher Itikotha (the Puppets’ Tale), first appeared serially in the celebrated Bharatbarsha in 1935. 1936 saw the publication of this, much debated and widely translated serial novel in book form along with his most popular and universally acclaimed Padma Nodir Majhi which, faithfully and lovingly depicted the rural life of his native East Bengal.
Partly serially published in the Purbasha magazine, this novel, too, was translated in many Indian, Asian and European languages.
In those days, income from publications could hardly support a household. Bandyopadhyay commenced employment in 1938 as the Headmaster of the Mymensingh Teachers’ Training School. That same year he married in Dhaka Vikrampur’s Chatterjee family. He became the Assistant Editor of the Bangoshree in 1937. He resigned from this position in 1939 to start his own (doomed) publishing business – in partnership with one of his brothers. He hardly knew that he couldn’t be a successful businessman.
During the Second World War, he joined the Indian National War Front, Provincial Organiser, Bengal as a Publicity Assistant. During this period he was associated with the Kolkata (Calcutta) station of All lndia Radio and took part in many programmes including those related with War propaganda, at least up to the end of 1943.
If one has to pick his best literary contributions, one must dwell on Bandyopadhyay’s early career. In the latter part of his career, he was dogged and tormented by nagging disease, revolting poverty and mental imbalance even though he continued to write until his death.
Bandyopadhyay died a poor death after suffering from a long bout of bacillary dysentery at the age 48 in 1956. n
Manik Bandopadhyay is one of the most central and powerful novelists in Bengali literature. He was a jewel to Bengali literature and metaphorically kept the literal meaning of his first name Manik.
Manik Bandopadhyay was born on 19th May, 1908 in Santhal Pargana, West Bengal in a family, which had its root in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Being the fifth son of his parents, Harikar Bandopadhyay and Niroda Devi, he was well acquainted with the unforgiving realities of life, which can be well understood in his works that deal somewhat with the same unforgiving realities of human life. His real name is Prabodh Kumar Bandopadhyay, Manik being his nick name. Harikar had to travel all around undivided Bengal, as he was a government employee. Hence, Manik Bandopadhyay’s childhood was spent seeing and learning every arena of life in rural Bengal.
His acquaintance with the hardships of life and intricacies of relationships in society, made him only speak of them, rather than romantic and simple aspects of life. He didn’t pretend to put forward the wretchedness of the games destiny plays with mankind. If sentiments and emotions are the words, then his works are not to be looked into.
He had his own way of presenting the Bengal rural life. Contrary to his contemporary authors who only wrote about the scenic beauty and the simplicity of village life, Manik Bandopadhyay delved deep into the complicated human psyche and the truth of existence in the villages. His works also dealt with complicated human psychology, a mind without guard. Even today, the simplest of his novels leave the readers spell bound, finding themselves into an ‘identifiable position with the characters.’ Manik Bandyopadhay wrote 39 novels, over 260 short stories, some poems, essays, etc.
Although, not unlike every other Bengali youngsters, still in his teens, he had written (Hitherto unpublished and discovered later) some 100 odd poems, it is at the Presidency College, after wager with his classmates, that Manik started writing short stories.
In December that very year (1928) he won his bet and Atosi Maami (Aunt Atosi) was first published in the popular Bichitra magazine. Soon after, in 1929, two more short stories Neki (The Ignorant) and Byathar Puja (The Anguished Adoration) followed. Both readers and critics alike acclaimed his skills as a short story writer.
Thus encouraged, Bandyopadhyay, then commenced experimenting with the longer story formats. The result was his first ‘romantic’ (serial) novel Divaratrir Kabya (The Ode of the Day and Night) – a string of three apparently self-contained but continuing long stories (the author liked to call them allegories, instead of stories or novels. He wrote that the characters were metaphorical representations of people’s thoughts, rather than the people themselves). The stories first appeared in 1934 in the Bangoshree, some five years after they were written (and ‘collecting dust on the shelf’).
A contemporary of Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay — author of the Apu Trilogy (directed by the Oscar winning film director Satyajit Ray), Pather Panchali, Aparajto and Apur Sansar), and to a lesser extent that of Saratchandra Chatterjee, Manik Banduopandhaya’s first full-fledged novel Jononi (Mother) was published in 1935- his first, not serially published before. But it was not until his next two novels came out, would the reading public ever realize what treasure awaited them!
Classed among the best of world literature heritage of the twentieth century were Bandyopadhyay’s Putul Nacher Itikotha and Padma Nodir Majhi – both published in 1936.
Putul Nacher Itikotha (the Puppets’ Tale), first appeared serially in the celebrated Bharatbarsha in 1935. 1936 saw the publication of this, much debated and widely translated serial novel in book form along with his most popular and universally acclaimed Padma Nodir Majhi which, faithfully and lovingly depicted the rural life of his native East Bengal.
Partly serially published in the Purbasha magazine, this novel, too, was translated in many Indian, Asian and European languages.
In those days, income from publications could hardly support a household. Bandyopadhyay commenced employment in 1938 as the Headmaster of the Mymensingh Teachers’ Training School. That same year he married in Dhaka Vikrampur’s Chatterjee family. He became the Assistant Editor of the Bangoshree in 1937. He resigned from this position in 1939 to start his own (doomed) publishing business – in partnership with one of his brothers. He hardly knew that he couldn’t be a successful businessman.
During the Second World War, he joined the Indian National War Front, Provincial Organiser, Bengal as a Publicity Assistant. During this period he was associated with the Kolkata (Calcutta) station of All lndia Radio and took part in many programmes including those related with War propaganda, at least up to the end of 1943.
If one has to pick his best literary contributions, one must dwell on Bandyopadhyay’s early career. In the latter part of his career, he was dogged and tormented by nagging disease, revolting poverty and mental imbalance even though he continued to write until his death.
Bandyopadhyay died a poor death after suffering from a long bout of bacillary dysentery at the age 48 in 1956. n
