Mohammad Daniul Huq and Aminur Rahman :
Although Fort William College helped develop Bangla prose through the preparation of Bangla textbooks, later textbooks were written at the initiative of Calcutta school-book society (established 1817). Some of its main writers were Ramkamal Sen (1783-1844), Radhakanta Dev (1783-1867), and Tarinicharan Mitra (1772-1837). Most of their books were didactic. Other textbooks were written by teachers of serampore college, including Felix Carey (1786-1822), John Clark Marshman, and John Mack. Some Bangla writers of the time such as Krishna Mohan Banerji (1813-1885) also wrote textbooks.
While these textbooks were concerned with subject matter rather than with the literary quality of writing, they form a valuable addition to Bangla prose writing. By constructing a language that could communicate modern ideas to Bengali readers, they helped develop Bangla prose, often by acquiring words and terms from other languages.
Raja Rammohan Roy (1772/4-1833) also contributed to the further development of Bangla prose. Some of his well-known books are translations: Vedanta Grantha (1815), Vedantasar (1815), Kenopanisad (1816) and Ixopanisad (1816). His original books include Bhattacharyer Sahit Vichar (1817), Gosvamir Sahit Vichar (1817), Sahamaran Virodhi Pustika, Sahamaran Visay (1828), Gaudiya Vyakaran (1833) etc. The main themes of these books are religious and didactic.
Many of Rammohan’s attempts at reform were opposed by people such as Mrityunjay Vidyalankar, Radhakanta Dev, Ramkamal Sen, Kashinath Tarkapanchanan, Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhyay (1787-1848), and primarily the Christian missionaries of Serampore. Rammohan’s supporters included Ramchandra Vidyavagish, Prince Dwarakanath Tagore (1794-1846), Prasannakumar Thakur, Tarachand Chakravarti (1806-1857), Chandrashekhar Dev, Gourikanta Bhattacharya, Gouramohan Vidyalankar, and Rev. Krishna Mohan Banerji. The propaganda war between Rammohan’s supporters and opponents generated writings, later nicknamed ‘Dvairath Dvandva’ or combat between two charioteers, which fed the periodical journals and the newspapers, at the time the most important medium of Bangla prose.
The appearance of Bangla periodicals and newspapers in the second decade of the 19th century helped create and develop Bangla prose. The missionaries of Serampore published the first Bangla journal, Masik Digdarxan (April 1818). Other well-known regular and irregular periodicals published between 1818 and 1831 include sumachardurpun (1818), edited by John Clark Marshman; Sambadkaumudi (1821), edited by Tarachand Dutta and Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhyay; Sumachar Chandrika (1822), by Bhabanicharan Bandyopadhyay; and Babgadut (1829) by Neelmoni Halder. An important role was also played by the mouthpiece of the Brahmo Samaj, Tattvbodhini Patrika, which appeared in 1843 and which was edited by Akshay Kumar Datta for 12 years. Other who contributed to it were Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar (1820-1891), Debendranath Tagore (1817-1905), Rajnarayan Basu (1826-1899), Dwijendranath Tagore (1840-1926). The journal significantly furthered the literary efforts of Bengalis.
Peary Chand Mitra (1814-1883) and Kali Prasanna Singh (1840-1870) were the first Bangla novelists. Peary Chand Mitra was a fine essayist, writing on a variety of varied subjects. However, he also wrote the first Bangla novel, Alaler Gharer Dulal (1858). Using the pen name of ‘Tekchand Thakur,’ he used chalita bhasa or colloquial language to narrate his story of Bengal society. His language, the common people’s language with its mixture of Arabic, Persian and Hindustani vocabulary, was fondly called ‘Alali prose.’
Kali Prasanna Singh brought Bangla even closer to people by using the colloquial language of Kolkata and its surrounding areas in his writings. The language used by him in his novel Hutom Pyanchar Nakxa (1862), depicting the social life of Kolkata, was more refined than that used by Peary Chand. His language, called ‘Hutomi,’ considerably influenced Bangla prose during the next century.
The principal architect of 19th century Bangla prose was Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. Writing textbooks and articles, Vidyasagar developed a form of sadhu bhasa or formal prose that influenced future writers.
Among other writers who contributed to the development of prose was Bhudev Mukhopadhyay (1827-94), who wrote on society, education, history, science, and religion. One of the prominent scholars of the time, Rajendralal Mitra (1822-1891), used to write mostly in english but also contributed in Bangla to the monthly journals Vividhartha Samgraha (1851), Rahasyasandarva (1851) and Vividhartha Samgraha Sandarva (1863). In 1852 Rangalal Banerjee (1827-1887) published the first Bangla book of literary criticism. Rajnarayan Basu wrote on a variety of subjects in Sekal Ar Ekal (1874), Hindu College Athaba Presidency College-er Brttanta (1876), Babgala Bhasa O Sahitya Bisayak Baktrta (1878) and Atmacharita. Ramgati Nyayaratna (1831-1894) wrote the first detailed history of Bangla literature (1872, 1873) in Babgala Bhasa O Babgala Sahitya Bisayak Prastab.
The era of development (1860-1900) The first modern Bangla novelist was Bankimchandra Chat topadhyay whose fourteen novels include Durgexnandini, Kapalkundala, Krishnakanter Will, Bisbrksa and Ananadamath. Drawing upon history as well as contemporary life, Bankimchandra wrote novels with well-developed plots and characters that continue to be eminently readable. He also edited a literary monthy, Bangadarshan (1872).
Other significant writers of the time include Bankimchandra’s elder brother Sanjeeb Chunder Chattopadhyay (1834-1889) who also was well known for his novels as well as Palamau, an excellent travel story. Another writer of merit was Romesh Chunder Dutt (1848-1909), who wrote historical novels. Rabindranath’s elder sister Swarnakumari Devi (1855-1932) wrote novels as well as poems and plays. Her social novels reflect the moral conflicts of contemporary society. She also edited Bharati. Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay (1847-1919) wrote a wide range of entertaining stories for both young and old. He wrote four novels and four books of short stories. Indranath Bandyopadhyay (1849-1922) wrote satirical sketches and novels. Some other established prose writers of the time were Pratapchandra Ghosh (1845-1921), Shibnath Shastri, Chandrashekhor Mukhopadhyay (1849-1911), Haraprasad Sastri (1853-1931), Damodar Mukhopadhyay, Shrishchandra Majumdar and Nagendranath Gupta (1861-1940).
This genre was initiated by Bhudev Mukhopadhyay and reached its zenith at the hands of Bankimchandra. It was enriched by Bhudev Mukhopadhyay’s thoughtful essays on a variety of subjects. Some of his works in this genre include Bijvan Rahasya (1875), Vividha Samalochana (1876) and Krishnacharitra (1886). Other essayists include Bankim’s elder brother Sanjeeb Chunder who wrote Jatra-Samalochana (1875) and Balyabibaha (1882) and Dwijendranath Tagore who wrote on linguistics. Other essayists include Troilokyanath Sanyal (1840-1916), Bandhab (1874), Kaliprasanna Ghosh (1843-1910), Chandranath Basu (1844-1910), Ramdas Sen (1845-1887) Shibnath Shastri, Purnachandra Basu, Chandrashekhor Mukhopadhyay (1849-1922) and Haraprasad Sastri.
Bengali Muslim writers For a considerable period, Bengali Muslim poets had made no significant contribution to literature. They accepted neither Company rule nor the modern ways of the British. While the ‘Young Bengalis’ were emulating western ways, the Muslims were agitating against the British.
Following a change in their political attitude, middle-class Bengali Muslim writers emerged in the 19th century. Prominent among them were Mir Mosharraf Hossain (1847-1912), Moulvi Mohammad Naimuddin (1832-1907), Dad Ali (1852-1936), Kaikobad (1857-1951), Sheikh Abdur Rahim, Reazuddin Ahmad Mashadi, Mozammel Huq, Munshi Muhammad Reazuddin Ahmad (1862-1933), Moulvi Mearajuddin Ahmad (1852-1929), Munshi Muhammad Zamiruddin (1870-1930), Abdul Hamid Khan Yusufzai (1864-1924) and Maulana Mohammad Moniruzzaman Islamabadi (1875-1950). Mir Mosharraf Hossain wrote nearly 30 books including novels, plays, satire, poetry, musical plays, and essays. His best known writing is, however, Bisad-Sindhu, based on the incidents at Karbala.
Mozammel Huq wrote both prose and poetry. His poetry was inspired by the idea of a Muslim renaissance. However, he excelled in writing prose, including biographies and novels. He also translated Persian works into Bangla, including the first part of Shahnama. The first Bangla biography of Prophet Muhammad (Sm) was written by Sheikh Abdur Rahim. Pandit Reazuddin Ahmad Mashhadi wrote Samaj Samskarak, which was, however, banned by the government soon after publication for its revolutionary content.
Michael Madhusudan Dutt (1824-1873) began writing in English but soon moved to writing in Bangla. Influenced by his English readings, he used blank verse and the sonnet form to write his poems. His epic, Meghnadbadh Kavya (1861), combines an eastern subject with western techniques and style. Sometime after writing Meghnadbadh, Madhusudan left for Europe where he started writing sonnets. These were published in 1866 as’ ‘Chaturddaxpadi Kavitavali.’ He is also credited with having written the first true tragedy in Bangla.
Madhusudan was followed by Hemchandra banerjee (1838-1903) and Nabinchandra Sen (1847-1909), who were inspired by nationalism and Hinduism. Hemchandra’s epic Brittrasamhar (1875), based on the Mahabharata, and Nabinchandra’s book of poems Palashir Yuddha (1875), reflect their nationalistic feelings. Kaikobad was a Muslim poet who wrote Mahaxmaxan in the tradition of Hemchandra and Nabinchandra. The misery of the Muslims of the time made him sad, prompting him to write poems on their past glory. The 870-page Mahasmasan was written on the events of the third Panipath war.
The new trend of lyric poetry was manifested in Kavigan and Jatra. tappa (a light classical variety of amorous songs), especially the songs of Nidhu Gupta also known as Nidhubabu became popular during this period. These songs were composed and presented purely for entertainment and therefore were not intended to be of high literary value. These were however somewhat refined later by composers such as gonjla guin. Kavigan also became popular among the urban people. Some famous poets of this period include Bhola Moira, Anthony Firingi, and Thakur Singh.
The setter of this trend, Biharilal Chakravarty (1835-1894), became famous for his poetic work Saradamabgal (1879). Biharilal’s language was simple and spontaneous. Among other poets of the time, Surendranath Majumder (1838-1878) became famous for his poem Mahila. Other poets included Dineshcharan Basu, Debendranath Sen, Akshay Kumar Baral (1860-1919), Rajanikanta Sen (1865-1910), Govindadas (1854-1918), Girindamohini Das (1857-1924), Kamini Roy (1864-1933), Mankumari Basu, Anandachandra Mitra, Govindachandra Roy, Barodacharan Mitra and Dwijendra Lal Roy.
Madhusudan Dutt established modernism in Bangla plays as he did in Bangla poetry. He began writing Bangla plays after noticing the paucity of good plays in Bangla. Madhusudan’s first play, Xarmistha (1859), was based on the Mahabharata story of Xarmistha-Devayani-Yayati. His second play, Padmavati (1860), was based on a Greek classical story. In this play he also used blank verse for the first time.
Madhusudan also wrote two farces, Ekei Ki Bole Sabhyata and Bura Saliker Ghare Roun (1860), in which he used colloquial language and dialect as well as English and Persian words. But Madhusudan’s best play was Krishnakumari (1861), which has been described as the first successful tragedy in Bangla. In writing Krishnakumari, Madhusudan ignored eastern dramatic rules and used western ones.
