Peary Chand Mitra

Peary Chand Mitra (1814 - 1883) was an Indian writer and a journalist. He was a member of derozio`s Young Bengal group. He was born as the son of Ram Narayan Mitra on 22July 1984. While working in the Public library, he wrote extensively in magazines then being published - Bengal Spectator, Bengal Harkara, Englishman, Hindu Patriot, and Calcutta Review. He also edited the Jnananeswan.

In 1857, he and Radhanath Sikdar started a small magazine, Masik Patrika which was a major breakthrough in the use of Bengali language. He wrote the novel Alaler Gharer under the pseudonym Tek Chand Thakur. It was very popular that the language style came to be known as `Alali` and this set the trend for Bengali prose.

Writing style of Peary Chand Mitra
He was a realist as he made his characters speak in their own appropriate dialect. This enabled him to use coarse and vulgar expressions. However his style was not free from flaw. This was not because he used colloquial language but from the way he used it. He did not differentiate between spoken language and the written language. He uses dialect words thereby making it obscure. This method must have been unintelligible even in his day. Many of his passages are chaotic as it lacks minimum grammar and syntax sense which is inevitable for good writing. His book would be useful to foreigners who wish to acquire knowledge of colloquial Bengali. He often uses literary terms for which suitable colloquial equivalents were available. His work remains an experiment. His stark realism did not catch on. The development of Bengali prose style took place through the sensible mixture of Sadhu-bhasa and Chalit-bhasa. Alaler Gharer Dulal was a pioneer novel in Bengali language.

His interest in social reform is evident in the stories contained in the volume entitled Mad Khaoya Bara Day Jat Thakar hi Upay. He has also authored two allegorical novels, the Abhedi and Adhyatmika. The style bears evidence to the uncertainty that prevailed in Bengali prose style in the third quarter of the century.

He wrote a number of books -Abhedi, Jatkinchit, Bamatoshini, Ramaranjika, Adhyatika and Mad Khaoa Baro Daey.