Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhay Biography

Bibhuti bhushan Bandopadhay was born on the 12th September 1894, in Kalyani, Muratipur village in the Nadia of Bengal, British India. He was born at his maternal uncle's house in a Hindu Brahmin family. His father Mahananda Bandopadhyay, was a 'Kathak' - a person who recites stories for a living - and also a Sanskrit scholar. Bibhutibhushan finished his schooling in Bongaon High School, which happened to be one of the oldest institutions in British India. He also taught in the same school at the beginning of his work life. Bibhutibhushan's childhood and early life was shadowed by the clouds of poverty, but he nevertheless fought his way through to complete his undergraduate degree in History from the Surendranath College in Kolkata. However, since he was not financially strong to enrol for the postgraduate course at the University of Calcutta, he had to discontinue his studies. After this, the burden of his family's economic wellness came on to his shoulders.The writer studied at Bongaon High School, one of the oldest institutions in British India and was considered a consistently talented student. Following a first division placement in the Entrance and Intermediate Arts examinations, Bibhutibhushan completed his undergraduate degree in History at the Surendranath College, Kolkata. He was admitted to the master's degree (MA) and Law classes, but could not afford to enroll for the postgraduate course at the University of Calcutta, instead taking a Hughli teaching position.
The career of a writer did not come easy to Bandopadhyay. Due to the economic crisis of his family, he had to take up various odd jobs to make ends meet before taking up writing seriously. He taught at the school from where he completed his schooling, he also took up the job of a secretary and even managed an estate until finally, in 1921 he got an opportunity to publish his first short story "Upekshita" in a leading literary magazine of Bengal named 'Probashi'. But, it was not until 1928 that Bandopadhyay published his first novel, "Pather Panchali", for which he received critical attention and acclaim. It was with this novel that he became a prominent name in Bengali literature.
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's works are largely set in rural Bengal, with characters from that area. Many of his novels are set in the city of Bongaon, including Pather Panchali, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Ichamati and Bipiner Sansar.
In 1921, Bibhutibhushan's first published short story, "Upekshita," appeared in Probashi, at the time one of Bengal's leading literary magazines. However, it was not until 1928, when his first novel Pather Panchali (also known in English as Song of the Little Road) was published, that Bibhutibhushan received critical attention. Pather Panchali brought Bibhutibhushan to prominence in Bengali literature and the novel and its sequel Aparajito, were subsequently translated into numerous languages[1]. Additionally, these two were made into films by Satyajit Ray and, together with Apur Sansar, formed the highly successful Apu Trilogy[3].
Ray referred scriptwriting students to the author with the following line of praise for the author's skill with written dialogue: "His lines fit the characters so well, they are so revealing that even when the author provides no physical description, every character seems to present itself before us simply through the words it speaks
Bibhuti bhushan took up writing novels and short stories at a time when there was a lot of research going on regarding the social degradation and economic imbalance. However, his writings did not emphasize on these aspects of research, rather they focused on simple life, human figures and the environmental pleasure of rural Bengal and the people of Bengal. He wrote in simple language and in a way that his ideas reached the common man. Realism is another major aspect that his writings portrayed. His writings picturised the subtle relationship shared by human beings and nature and put across a peaceful picture of human beings, animals, birds, rivers and other aspects of nature. 

Bibhuti bhushan Bandopadhyay used to walk miles into the woods every day and carried a book along usually. He loved to put down his thoughts in writing amongst the peaceful environment of wilderness. His famous novel "Pather Panchali" was picked up by film-maker Satyajit Ray and converted into a movie of the same name as a part of the memorable 'Apu Trilogy'. Some of the famous works of Bandopadhyay apart from 'Pather Panchali' are 'Aparajito', 'Aranyak', 'Chander Pahar', 'Heera Manik Jwale', 'Adarsha Hindu Hotel', 'Ichhamati', 'Bipiner Sangsar', 'Anubartan', 'Kosi Pranganeyer Chitthi', 'Dristi Pradeep', 'Debjan', 'Ashani Sanket', 'Kedar Raja', 'Dampati', 'Sundarbane Sat Batsar' (which he couldn't complete), 'Dui Bari', 'Kajol' (Sequel of Aparajito, completed by his son Taradas), 'Mismider Kabach', 'Jatrabadol', 'MeghaMallar', 'Mauriphool' and 'Tal Nabami' etc.
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's first wife, Gouri Devi, died during childbirth one year after their marriage. This tragic occurrence and the loneliness that it brought about and shadowed his life became a prominent theme in his early writings. He remarried at the age of 46 to his second wife, Rama Chattopadhyay, from whom he had his only son, Taradas, in 1947.
Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay died on November 1, 1950, with the cause of death identified as a heart attack. Death occurred whilst the author was staying in Ghatshila.