Bankimchandra Chattapadhyay

Attended the University of Calcutta and was one of the two candidates who passed the final exam to become the school's first graduates

Bankimchandra Chattapadhyay
Native name	বঙ্কিমচন্দ্র চট্টোধ্যায়
Born	27 June 1838 Naihati, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	8 April 1894 (aged 55) Kolkata, Bengal Presidency, British India
Occupation	Writer, poet, novelist, essayist, journalist, lecturer and politician
Language	Bengali, English
Alma mater	University of Calcutta
Subject	Literature
Literary movement	Bengal Renaissance
Notable works	Durgeshnandini kuttaala Devi Chaud anda math Vandemataram

Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the one who wrote Vande Mataram (the national song of India) is no more with us. But till today, we make mistakes with the basic questions of who wrote this song or what is the national song of India? Isn't it?

So let's remember Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, the pioneer of the revival of Bengali literature, on his 125th death anniversary:

• Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on June 27, 1838, in Naihati in West Bengal to an orthodox Bengali Brahmin family
• He wrote the national song 'Vande Mataram', which was a part of his novel Anandamath(1882). It is a political novel depicting a Sanyasi army fighting the British soldiers. The tune of 'Vande Mataram' was, however, later composed by Rabindranath Tagore
• His earliest publications came out in the weekly newspaper Sangbad Prabhakar
• Durgeshnandini (1865) and Kapalkundala (1866) were his first major publications. Both the novels were well received and translated into other languages as well
• Bankim was critical of the British rule and often used to criticize the government in his writings and publications
• Bankim Chandra died on April 8, 1894. In his lifetime, he wrote numerous novels, stories and essays and his works were translated into several languages

Five films that were adapted from his stories

• Kapalkundala: In Bengali cinema, there have been four films made on Kapalkundala - 1929 & 1933 both starring Durgadas Banerjee, then 1952 and in 1981
• Durgesh Nandini: In Bengali, the first film was released in 1927 starring Durgadas Bannerjee, Kanu Bannerjee, Ahindra Choudhury and Indira Devi. Again it was in 1951 Manoranjan Bhattacharya, Chhabi Biswas, Bharati Devi, Chandrabati Devi and Kamal Mitra
• Anandamath: This story was made into a Bengali film in 1951 by Satish Dasgupta and then into a Hindi film in 1952 directed by Hemen Gupta
• Rajani: It was made into a film in 1978 starring Ranjit Mullick, Sumitra Mukherjee, Dipankar Dey, Sonali Gupta, Kajal Gupta, Geeta Dey and Chhaya Debi
• Krishnakanter Will: It was first adapted as a successful film in 1932 starring Ahindra Choudhury, Santi Gupta, Nirmalendu Lahiri and Shishubala. Another film adaptation was made in 2007 staring Soumitra Chatterjee

Rest in peace, Bankim Chandra!

Vande Mataram (The National Song of India): Facts at a Glance

Mr. Bankimchandra wrote the song ‘Vande Mataram’ on 7th November, 1875. This song had been published in the novel ‘Anandmath’ by Bankimchandra. The vocabulary used in this song is influenced by Sanskrit. The said book contains information about the violent revolt of Sanyasis against injustice inflicted by Muslims and the British in Bengal in the year 1772. It was adopted on january 24, 1950, providing it equal status with national anthem. It was sung for the first time at the congress session of 1896.

Mr. Bankimchandra wrote the song ‘Vande Mataram’ on 7th November, 1875. This song had been published in the novel ‘Anandmath’ by Bankimchandra. The vocabulary used in this song is influenced by Sanskrit. ‘Anandmath’ conveys the information about the violent revolt of Sanyasis against injustice inflicted by Muslims and the British in Bengal in the 1772. It was adopted as national song on January 24, 1950, providing it equal status with national anthem. For the first time it was sung at the congress session of Calcutta in 1896.

Facts at a Glance:

1. Vande Matram is the national song of India, which was composed by the Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, originally in Sanskrit & Bengali.
2.  He wrote Vande Mataram at Chinsurah, near river Hooghly (near Mallik Ghat).
3. It is assumed that the concept of Vande Mataram clicked to Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay when he was serving as a government official (a District Collector), around 1876.
4. Jadunath Bhattacharya was asked to set a tune for this poem just after it was written
5. It was adopted on January 24, 1950 by providing it equal status with national anthem Jana Gana Mana.
6. It is taken from the novel Anand Math published in 1882.
7. It was sung for the first time at the congress session at Calcutta in 1896.
8. It is formed for the proclamation of Mother Land. It played a vital role in the Indian independence movement.
9. The original Vande Mataram comprises of 6 stanzas
10. It was translated in prose by Shri Aurobindo in Karmayogin on 20 November 1909