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{{Short description|Indian Bengali author (1894–1950)}}
{{Other people|Bibhutibhushan|Bibhutibhushan (disambiguation)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
| image = Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay.jpg
| imagesize = 200px
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1894|9|12|df=y}}
| birth_place = Barakpur, [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1950|11|1|1894|9|12|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Ghatshila]], [[Bihar]], India
| nationality = [[India]]n
| citizenship = [[India]]
| occupation = Writer, novelist, songwriter
| alma_mater =[[Surendranath College]]
| notableworks = {{Unbulleted list|''[[Pather Panchali (novel)|Pather Panchali]]''|''[[Aranyak]]''|''[[Adarsha Hindu Hotel]]''|''[[Debjan]]''|''[[Hire Manik Jale]]''|''[[Chander Pahar]]''}}
| parents = {{Unbulleted list|Mahananda Bandyopadhyay|Mrinalini Devi}}
| spouse = {{Unbulleted list|Gouri Devi|Rama Chattopadhyay}}
| children = [[Taradas Bandyopadhyay]]
| awards = [[Rabindra Puraskar]] (posthumous) (1951)
| signature =
| website = {{url|https://bibhutibhushan.in}}
}}
'''Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay''' ({{audio|Bibhutibhushan_Bandopadhyay_pronunciation.ogg|listen|''Bibhutibhushon Bôndopaddhae''}}; 12 September 1894 – 1 November 1950)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wbpublibnet.gov.in/scl/html/departed_writers.php|title=State Central Library Kolkata|access-date=September 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927074438/http://www.wbpublibnet.gov.in/scl/html/departed_writers.php|archive-date=27 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an Indian novelist and short story writer in the [[Bengali language]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Chakrabarti |first=Kunal |title=Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis |last2=Chakrabarti |first2=Shubhra |date=2013 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-0-8108-5334-8 |series=Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and Cultures |location=Lanham |pages=61}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/remembering-the-evergreen-genius-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay-1567762454521.html|title=Remembering the evergreen genius of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay|first=Somak|last=Ghoshal|date=6 September 2019|website=mint|access-date=29 March 2020|archive-date=29 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329085847/https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/remembering-the-evergreen-genius-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay-1567762454521.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/ballad-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyays-last-abode-beckons/cid/1742938 Ballad of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's Last Abode Beckons] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122051344/https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/ballad-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyays-last-abode-beckons/cid/1742938 |date=22 January 2023 }}. [[Telegraph India]].</ref> His best known works are the autobiographical novel ''[[Pather Panchali (novel)|Pather Panchali]]'' (''Song of the Little Road''), ''[[Aparajito (novel)|Aparajito]]'' (''Undefeated''), ''[[Chander Pahar]]'' (''Mountain of the Moon'') and ''[[Aranyak]]'' (''of the forest'').

==Early life and education==
[[File:House of Bibhutibhuasan.jpg|left|thumb|Bibhutibhusan's House Gouri Kunja at Ghatshila]]
The Bandyopadhyay family originated in the Panitar village near [[Basirhat]], located in the [[North 24 Parganas district]] of modern-day [[West Bengal]]. Bandyopadhyay's great-grandfather, who was an [[Ayurveda|Ayurvedic]] physician, eventually settled in Barrackpore village, near [[Gopalnagar, North 24 Parganas|Gopalnagar]], [[Bongaon|Banagram]] (now Bangaon), North 24 Parganas.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chattopadhyay |first1= Sunil Kumar |title= Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay |edition= 1st|series=Makers of Indian Literature |year= 1994 |publisher= Sahitya Akademi|location=New Delhi |isbn= 81-7201-578-X |page= 1}}</ref> However, Bandyopadhyay was born in Muratipur village, near [[Kalyani, West Bengal|Kalyani]] in [[Nadia district|Nadia]], at his maternal uncle's house. His father, Mahananda Bandyopadhyay, was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar and story-teller by profession. Bandyopadhyay was the eldest of the five children of Mahananda and his wife Mrinalini. His childhood home was at Barrackpore village, near [[Gopalnagar, North 24 Parganas|Gopalnagar]], [[Bongaon|Banagram]] (now Bangaon), North 24 Parganas. of [[West Bengal]].

From the fifth grade, Bandyopadhyay studied at [[Bongaon High School]], one of the oldest institutions in [[Presidencies and provinces of British India#Administration under the Crown (1858–1947)|British India]], and was considered as a talented student. Following a first division placement in the Entrance and Intermediate Arts examinations, Bandyopadhyay completed his undergraduate degree in economics, history, and [[sanskrit]] at the [[Surendranath College]] (then Ripon College) in [[Kolkata]]. He was admitted to the [[Master's degree#Titles|master's degree (MA)]] and Law classes, but could not afford to enroll for the postgraduate course at the [[University of Calcutta]], and joined as a teacher in a school in [[Jangipara]], [[Jangipara D N High School]], [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]].<ref name=Sekhar /><ref>[http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/bibhutibhushan-bandopadhyay-biography.html Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507014504/http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/bibhutibhushan-bandopadhyay-biography.html |date=7 May 2013 }} ''iloveindia.com''. Retrieved 19 May 2013</ref>
[[File:বিভূতিভূষণ বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়ের পৈতৃক নিবাস.jpg|thumb|Bibhutibhushan Bandhopadhyay's ancestral home is in Barakpur village near [[Bangaon]] in North 24 Parganas district.]]

==Career==
Bandyopadhyay worked in a variety of jobs to support both himself and his family before becoming a writer. His first job was as a teacher, but he also served as a travelling publicist for [[Cow protection movement#1800s|Goraksini Sabha]], and later as a secretary for [[Pathuriaghata#The Ghosh family|Khelatchandra Ghosh]], a role that included the management of his [[Bhagalpur]] estate. He became involved with Khelatchandra, a prominent name in music and charity, while tutoring his family. He also taught at the Khelatchandra Memorial School.<ref name=Sekhar /> Eventually, Bandyopadhyay returned to his native place. He started working as a teacher in the Gopalnagar Haripada Institution, which he continued alongside his literary work, until his death. He wrote and published ''Pather Panchali w''hile staying at [[Ghatshila]], a town in [[Jharkhand]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=WTJ |first=Team |date=28 November 2025 |title=Gouri Kunj, Ghatshila – The Historic Home of Author Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay |url=https://welcometojamshedpur.in/gourikunja-home-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay/ |access-date=29 November 2025 |website=Welcome to Jamshedpur}}</ref>

==Works==
Bandyopadhyay's works are largely set in rural Bengal, with characters from that area. Several of his novels are set in [[Bangaon|Bongaon]], including ''Pather Panchali'', ''Adarsha Hindu Hotel'', ''Ichamati,'' and ''Bipiner Sansar'' while his ''Aranyak'' is set in a forest in Bhagalpur.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-05-06|title=Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay|url=https://www.purplepencilproject.com/book-review-aranyak-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay/|access-date=2020-06-29|website=Purple Pencil Project|language=en-US|archive-date=30 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630003120/https://www.purplepencilproject.com/book-review-aranyak-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1921, Bandyopadhyay's first published short story, "Upekshita" appeared in ''[[Prabasi]]'', at the time one of Bengal's leading literary magazines. However, he did not receive any critical attention until 1928, when his first novel ''Pather Panchali'' (also known in English as ''Song of the Little Road'') was published (initially as a serial, then as a book in 1929). ''Pather Panchali'' brought Bandyopadhyay to prominence in Bengali literature, and the novel and its sequel ''Aparajito'', were subsequently translated into numerous languages.<ref name="Sekhar" /> Additionally, these two were made into films by [[Satyajit Ray]], and together with ''[[The World of Apu|Apur Sansar]]'', formed the highly successful ''[[Apu Trilogy]]''.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} Ray referred aspiring scriptwriters to the works of Bandyopadhyay, and praised him by saying, "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".{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} His creation [[Taranath Tantrik]] was popular for the Bengali reader and the series was extended by his son Taradas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficeindia.co.in/qs-taranath-tantrik-start-streaming-today-hoichoi|title=Q's Taranath Tantrik to start streaming today on Hoichoi|access-date=January 21, 2019|archive-date=21 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121232625/https://boxofficeindia.co.in/qs-taranath-tantrik-start-streaming-today-hoichoi|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Critical reception===
[[Amit Chaudhuri]] has translated a few excerpts from the novel for inclusion in the anthology, ''The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature''. In his introduction to these excerpts, Chaudhuri wrote, "Unique for its tenderness and poetry ... ''Pather Panchali'' rejects both nineteenth-century [[Literary realism|realism]] and [[social realism]] (the social milieu described in it would have logically lent itself to the latter) for an inquiry into perception and memory."<ref>The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature, edited by Amit Chaudhuri, (p. 66)</ref> The complete text of ''Aparajito'' has been translated into English by Gopa Majumdar. The novel ''Aranyak'' has been translated into English in January 2017 by Suchismita Banerjee Rai, and it has been published by Mitra and Ghosh Publishers based in [[Kolkata]]. His novels ''Ashani Sanket'' and ''Ichhamati'' have been translated into English respectively as ''Distant Thunder'' and ''Ichhamoti'' by Chhanda Chattopadhyay Bewtra and published by Parabaas.

[[Martin Seymour-Smith]], in his ''Guide to Modern World Literature'' (1973), describes Bandyopadhyay (he uses the form Banerji) as "perhaps the best of all modern Indian novelists", going on to write that, "probably nothing in twentieth-century Indian literature, in prose or poetry, comes to the level of ''Pather Panchali''".<ref>Guide to Modern World Literature, Martin Seymour-Smith (p. 712)</ref> He was posthumously awarded the [[Rabindra Puraskar]] in 1951, a literary award in [[West Bengal]], for his novel ''Ichhamati''.<ref name="Sekhar">{{cite book |last=Sekhar |first=Saumitra |year=2012 |chapter=Bandyopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bandyopadhyay,_Bibhutibhushan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]] |access-date=28 January 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193851/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bandyopadhyay,_Bibhutibhushan |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Author Bibhutibhusan Bandhopadhyay and his son Taradas Bandhopadhyay.jpg|thumb|Author Bibhutibhusan Bandhopadhyay and his son Taradas Bandhopadhyay]]

===Death===
Bandopadhyay died on 1 November 1950, in [[Ghatshila]]. The cause of death was identified as a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bandopadhyay's Death|url=http://www.bengalibooksonline.com/author-profile.php?author_id=542|access-date=2 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403133556/http://www.bengalibooksonline.com/author-profile.php?author_id=542|archive-date=3 April 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> His house in Ghatshila, named Gouri Kunj<ref>{{Cite web |last=WTJ |first=Team |date=28 November 2025 |title=Gaurikunja: The Literary Home of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay in Ghatsila |url=https://welcometojamshedpur.in/gourikunja-home-of-bibhutibhushan-bandyopadhyay/ |access-date=29 November 2025 |website=Welcome to Jamshedpur}}</ref> after his wife has been preserved by the [[Government of Jharkhand]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Bandopadhyay's House in Ghatshila|url=https://tourism.jharkhand.gov.in/destinationDetails/78|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-date=18 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918065259/https://tourism.jharkhand.gov.in/destinationDetails/78|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{div col}}
;Complete list of novels:
* ''[[Pather Panchali (novel)|Pather Panchali]]'' (Song of the Road)
* ''Aparajito''
* ''[[Aranyak]]'' (In the Forest)
* ''[[Adarsha Hindu Hotel]]''
* ''Ichhamati'' ([[Rabindra Puraskar]] 1950–51)
* ''Dristi Pradeep''
* ''[[Chander Pahar]]''
* ''[[Hire Manik Jale]]''
* ''[[Debjan]]''
* ''Bipiner Sangsar''
* ''Anubartan''
* ''Ashani Sanket''
* ''Kedar Raja''
* ''Dampati''
* ''Sundarbane Sat Batsar''
* ''Dui Bari''
* ''Maroner Danka Baje''
* ''Mismider Kabach''

;Partial list of short story collections:
* ''Megha Mallar''
* ''Mauriphool''
* ''Jatrabadol''
* ''Jonmo o Mrittu''
* ''Kinnardal''
* ''Taal Nabami''
* ''Benigir Fulbari''
* ''Nabagata''
{{div col end}}

== Filmography ==
;Filmography based on his Bibliography are :

* ''[[Pather Panchali (film)|Pather Panchali]]'' (1955)
* ''[[Aparajito]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Adarsha Hindu Hotel (film)|Adarsha Hindu Hotel]]'' (1957)
* ''[[Apur Sansar]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Baksa Badal]] ''(1970)
* ''[[Nishi Padma]]'' (1970) based on short story ''Hinger Kochuri''.
* ''[[Amar Prem]]'' (1972) based on short story ''Hinger Kochuri''.<ref>{{cite news|title=It's All About Love|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/it-s-all-about-love/953992/0|publisher=Indian Express|date=26 May 2012|access-date=4 May 2013|archive-date=26 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926205500/http://www.indianexpress.com/news/it-s-all-about-love/953992/0|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[Nimantran]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Ashani Sanket]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Alo (film)|Alo]]'' (2003)
*The Festival!Talnabami (Film) (2003)
*''[[Bhalobasar Onek Naam]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Chander Pahar (film)|Chander Pahar]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Amazon Obhijaan]] '' (2017) based on the characters of ''Chander pahar''.
* ''[[Colours of Innocence|Sahaj Paather Gappo (Colours of Innocence)]]'' (2017) based on the story ''Taal Nabami''.
* ''[[Avijatrik]] '' (2021) based on the concluding part of the novel Aparajito

==See also==
* [[List of Indian writers]]

==References==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay}}
{{Chander_Pahar}}
{{Bengal famine of 1943}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|India|Literature}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandyopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan}}
[[Category:Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay| ]]
[[Category:1894 births]]
[[Category:1950 deaths]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:20th-century Bengali people]]
[[Category:Bengali-language novelists]]
[[Category:Indian writers]]
[[Category:Indian novelists]]
[[Category:Indian travel writers]]
[[Category:Indian diarists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian memoirists]]
[[Category:Indian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Indian children's writers]]

[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]

[[Category:Surendranath College alumni]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Rabindra Puraskar]]
[[Category:People from North 24 Parganas district]]

[[Category:People from the Bengal Presidency]]
[[Category:Writers from British India]]

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay - Revision history

RenaldoParadis at 15:54, 1 January 2026