Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (12 September 1894 - 1 November 1950) was born in Nadia district of Bengal. Mahananda Bhattacharya was a Sanskrit scholar and narrated stories to eke out a living. He did his schooling from Bongaon High School. His novels like Pather Panchali, Adarsha Hindu Hotel, Icchamati, Bipiner Sansar and a few other compositions were set in Bongaon. He completed his graduation in History from Surendranath College, Kolkata. However he was unable to enrol for the postgraduate course at University of Calcutta. He was married to Gouri Devi. However she passed away after a year of the marriage. The loneliness due to this tragedy has been the subject of his earlier writings. At the age of forty six he married Rama Chattopadhyay. On 1st November 1950 he died of a heart attack.
Literary Career of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
Before becoming a writer he did various jobs to survive. He served as a secretary of Khelatchandra Ghosh as well as worked as the assistant manager of his Bhagalpur estate. He was also the tutor for Khelatchandra`s family and even worked as a teacher in Khelatchandra Memorial School. Thereafter he joined the Gopalnagar School where he continued to work until his death. In 1921 his first short story was published in Probashi magazine named "Upekshita". In 1928, his first novel was published Pather Panchali that received critical attention. Instantly with this novel he became a prominent writer in Bengali literature.
He started his career in writings novel and short-stories when there was a social humiliation and economic disparity. However he emphasized on simple life, human figures and environmental pleasure of rural Bengal as well as the struggle of those people. He writes in a simple manner, less certainty and straight forward. Realism is one of the major elements of his novels. He depicts a beautiful combination of human beings and nature. He always spoke of a peaceful life. The main components of his stories are human beings, animals, birds, rivers, jungle and so on. These things were made lively in his writings.
His other novels include: Aparajito, Aranyak, Dristi Pradeep, Chander pahar, Heera Manik Jale, Debjan, Bipiner Sangsar, Anubartan, Ashani Sanket, Kedar Raja, Dampati, Sundarbane Sat Batsar(uncompleted novel), Dui Bari, Kajol(Sequel of Aparajito& completed by son Taradas), Mismider Kabach, Kosi Pranganeyer Chitthi(short story collections),MeghaMallar, Mauriphool and Jatrabadol.
