12-09-2003, 10:21 PM
Bankim Chandra Chatterji (1838 - 1894)
Through his writings, this man breathed a new passion and life into
an entire civilisation, particularly his native region of Bengal,
which became kindled with religious, nationalistic and artistic
fervour after being infused with the powerful visions contained in
his writings.
Born on 27 June 1838 in the Kantalpara district of Bengal, the first
striking event we have of his life was that he mastered the alphabet
as a child in a single sitting. This was an image and prophecy for
the rest of his life.
Apart from the breathtaking legacy of his literary works - his life
was quite "normal" and not in any way out of the ordinary. He was a
man who never clamoured for place or power, but did his work in
silence for the love of his work, even as nature does. And just
because he had no aim but to give out the best that was in him to his
people, he was able to create a language, a literature, a freedom
struggle, and steer the course of history.
Bankim was 19 years of age when India's First War of independence
(known in the west as the "Sepoy Mutiny") was waged. The following
year (1858) India had lost the war. Bankim was finishing his studies
at the time, and in that same year Graduated from the University of
Calcutta. The British authorities immediately appointed him to the
post of Deputy Magistrate.
Young Bankim had suffered a shock in seeing the failure of India's
War of Independence. He could not rest until he knew why the great
movement for liberation ended up being crushed in the manner in which
it was, and that too with the help of many Indian's themselves (most
notably the Sikhs). In his effort to discover the causes of that
failure he set his sharp intellect to the task of analysing the great
problems that India was facing. Influenced and inspired by three
great figures of that epoch, Raja Rammohan Roy, Iswarchandra
Vidyasagar and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (the Hindu queen who led her
soldiers against the British during the war) - he soon recognised the
existence of a number of startling facts.
Foremost among these was that the people of India were fast becoming
denationalised by English manners and customs, English fashions, and
English whiskies and wines - not to mention the Christian
missionaries (who had made Bengal their storm centre). The British
government used their educational system to further this agenda
(after abolishing and outlawing the traditional Indian education
systems). Chatterji's soul winced when he perceived that the Indian
who spoke good English was more honoured by his own people than the
man who spoke and wrote their own tongue exquisitely. Wherever he
looked, he saw educated Indians jumping frantically on the bandwagon
of British culture.
From the moment he had first learned to think for himself, Bankim
realised that there was a titanic struggle ahead to reverse the trend
and bring physical and cultural freedom to the sacred motherland. He
felt that he had his own divinely ordained effort to make in this
veritable battle - which he played silently and humbly. If India was
to be uplifted, her children must once again create literature and
language dynamic and inspiring to enlighten and inspire the entire
people of India.
Soon, the profound effect of Chatterji's novels and essays, with
their compelling beauty, subtle humour and inspiring themes could be
seen, firstly in Bengal and then spilling over into greater India.
Indians who were nurtured on Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley began to
read the works of Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Chandidas and Vidyapula. They
turned eagerly to the Puranas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
Whereas before, elite Indians took pride in their knowledge of the
Magna Carta strugle, the times of Oliver Cromwell and the tragedy of
Charles the First, they began to relish the ballads of Rajasthan and
Maharashtra. A new feeling was born. Millions began to hold their
heads high once again and talk in terms of "our language", "our
literature", "our history", "our country".
His Literary History
Bankim began his literary career with a desire to write in English,
and wrote a novel called Rammohan's Wife." He at once realised his
mistake with the realisation that the his work was much more natural
and powerful in his own mother tongue.
The major novels he wrote were: Chandrashekhar, Kishna Kanta's Will,
Debi Chaudhurani, Sitaram, Indira, Kamal Kanta and Anandamath.
The last of these, Anandamath deserves special mention here. It
wasn't necessarily the best of Bankim Chandra's works, though still
great in its own right. Yet because of its astonishing political
consequences, with no other of his works is Bankim so closely
identified.
The Anandamath story is set in 18th century India, when a group of
warrior sannyasis mounted a guerilla war against Muslim rule (based
on a true historical attempt by sannyasis to do precisely this). It
was a riveting story line with amazing characters and meaningful
dialogues. Yet more importantly, hundreds of thousands of Indians
(primarily Hindus) took the story as a metaphor for their own present
day situation, understanding it as a call to arms to drive the new
tyrants (the British) away from the sacred soil. Indeed, the main
revolutionary group in Bengal chose its name as that of the sannyasin
group from Anandamath. The most important and widely known section of
this book was the poem "Vande Mataram" which means "Hail to the Mother
(land)". The song became the battle cry for India's freedom struggle.
It was set to become India's National Anthem, but was rejected
because a section of Muslims considered the song as idolatrous due to
its metaphor comparing India to the tiger-borne Goddess Durga "with
instruments of punishment in each of her ten hands". To placate the
Muslims (and Jawahalal Nehru) the constituent assembly rejected it as
the National Anthem. Incidentally, Rabindranath Tagore, the great
poet whose "Jana Gana" eventually became India's National Anthem had
stated on several occasions that he desired very much that Bankim
Chandra's "Vande Mataram" should become the National Anthem of free
India. For example, in 1928, he said in an interview with Mulk Raj
Ananda "I share his ideas of inheriting the past - if made relevant
for the present! Bankim Chandra is our master in this respect. In our
school here, students sing "Bande Mataram" every morning.....I hope
it becomes the national anthem of free India!"
Bankim Chandra's Anandamath demonstrated the most powerful example in
modern history of how art can affect real life to a tremendous
extent - especially in an artistically orientated civilisation like
that of the Hindus.
Towards the end of his life, Bankim Chandra turned his attention to
write about spirituality - the very essence of Hindu civilisation. A
Life of Krishna and a book on the Essence of Religion, a rendering of
the Bhagavad Gita and a commentary on the Vedas were his aims to give
to his fellow countrymen. The first two he managed to complete, and
the rendering of the Bhagavad Gita was three parts finished, but the
commentary on the Vedas, which should have been a priceless
possession, never got into the stage of execution. Death, in whose
shadow he had so long dwelt, with his ailing health, took the pen
from his hand before he could accomplish this feat. Yet his
contributions to literature are enough to immortalise his memory.
Vande Mataram!
Bibliography -
1. Preface to an English translation of Bankim Chandra's Anandamath -
Basanta Kumar Roy, 1992
2. Decolonizing the Hindu Mind: Ideological Development of Hindu
Revivalism - Koenraad Elst, 2001
3. Bankim Chandra Chatterji - Essays by Sri Aurobindo, published in
the "Indu Prakash" between 16 July and 27 August 1894
Through his writings, this man breathed a new passion and life into
an entire civilisation, particularly his native region of Bengal,
which became kindled with religious, nationalistic and artistic
fervour after being infused with the powerful visions contained in
his writings.
Born on 27 June 1838 in the Kantalpara district of Bengal, the first
striking event we have of his life was that he mastered the alphabet
as a child in a single sitting. This was an image and prophecy for
the rest of his life.
Apart from the breathtaking legacy of his literary works - his life
was quite "normal" and not in any way out of the ordinary. He was a
man who never clamoured for place or power, but did his work in
silence for the love of his work, even as nature does. And just
because he had no aim but to give out the best that was in him to his
people, he was able to create a language, a literature, a freedom
struggle, and steer the course of history.
Bankim was 19 years of age when India's First War of independence
(known in the west as the "Sepoy Mutiny") was waged. The following
year (1858) India had lost the war. Bankim was finishing his studies
at the time, and in that same year Graduated from the University of
Calcutta. The British authorities immediately appointed him to the
post of Deputy Magistrate.
Young Bankim had suffered a shock in seeing the failure of India's
War of Independence. He could not rest until he knew why the great
movement for liberation ended up being crushed in the manner in which
it was, and that too with the help of many Indian's themselves (most
notably the Sikhs). In his effort to discover the causes of that
failure he set his sharp intellect to the task of analysing the great
problems that India was facing. Influenced and inspired by three
great figures of that epoch, Raja Rammohan Roy, Iswarchandra
Vidyasagar and Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi (the Hindu queen who led her
soldiers against the British during the war) - he soon recognised the
existence of a number of startling facts.
Foremost among these was that the people of India were fast becoming
denationalised by English manners and customs, English fashions, and
English whiskies and wines - not to mention the Christian
missionaries (who had made Bengal their storm centre). The British
government used their educational system to further this agenda
(after abolishing and outlawing the traditional Indian education
systems). Chatterji's soul winced when he perceived that the Indian
who spoke good English was more honoured by his own people than the
man who spoke and wrote their own tongue exquisitely. Wherever he
looked, he saw educated Indians jumping frantically on the bandwagon
of British culture.
From the moment he had first learned to think for himself, Bankim
realised that there was a titanic struggle ahead to reverse the trend
and bring physical and cultural freedom to the sacred motherland. He
felt that he had his own divinely ordained effort to make in this
veritable battle - which he played silently and humbly. If India was
to be uplifted, her children must once again create literature and
language dynamic and inspiring to enlighten and inspire the entire
people of India.
Soon, the profound effect of Chatterji's novels and essays, with
their compelling beauty, subtle humour and inspiring themes could be
seen, firstly in Bengal and then spilling over into greater India.
Indians who were nurtured on Shakespeare, Milton and Shelley began to
read the works of Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Chandidas and Vidyapula. They
turned eagerly to the Puranas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.
Whereas before, elite Indians took pride in their knowledge of the
Magna Carta strugle, the times of Oliver Cromwell and the tragedy of
Charles the First, they began to relish the ballads of Rajasthan and
Maharashtra. A new feeling was born. Millions began to hold their
heads high once again and talk in terms of "our language", "our
literature", "our history", "our country".
His Literary History
Bankim began his literary career with a desire to write in English,
and wrote a novel called Rammohan's Wife." He at once realised his
mistake with the realisation that the his work was much more natural
and powerful in his own mother tongue.
The major novels he wrote were: Chandrashekhar, Kishna Kanta's Will,
Debi Chaudhurani, Sitaram, Indira, Kamal Kanta and Anandamath.
The last of these, Anandamath deserves special mention here. It
wasn't necessarily the best of Bankim Chandra's works, though still
great in its own right. Yet because of its astonishing political
consequences, with no other of his works is Bankim so closely
identified.
The Anandamath story is set in 18th century India, when a group of
warrior sannyasis mounted a guerilla war against Muslim rule (based
on a true historical attempt by sannyasis to do precisely this). It
was a riveting story line with amazing characters and meaningful
dialogues. Yet more importantly, hundreds of thousands of Indians
(primarily Hindus) took the story as a metaphor for their own present
day situation, understanding it as a call to arms to drive the new
tyrants (the British) away from the sacred soil. Indeed, the main
revolutionary group in Bengal chose its name as that of the sannyasin
group from Anandamath. The most important and widely known section of
this book was the poem "Vande Mataram" which means "Hail to the Mother
(land)". The song became the battle cry for India's freedom struggle.
It was set to become India's National Anthem, but was rejected
because a section of Muslims considered the song as idolatrous due to
its metaphor comparing India to the tiger-borne Goddess Durga "with
instruments of punishment in each of her ten hands". To placate the
Muslims (and Jawahalal Nehru) the constituent assembly rejected it as
the National Anthem. Incidentally, Rabindranath Tagore, the great
poet whose "Jana Gana" eventually became India's National Anthem had
stated on several occasions that he desired very much that Bankim
Chandra's "Vande Mataram" should become the National Anthem of free
India. For example, in 1928, he said in an interview with Mulk Raj
Ananda "I share his ideas of inheriting the past - if made relevant
for the present! Bankim Chandra is our master in this respect. In our
school here, students sing "Bande Mataram" every morning.....I hope
it becomes the national anthem of free India!"
Bankim Chandra's Anandamath demonstrated the most powerful example in
modern history of how art can affect real life to a tremendous
extent - especially in an artistically orientated civilisation like
that of the Hindus.
Towards the end of his life, Bankim Chandra turned his attention to
write about spirituality - the very essence of Hindu civilisation. A
Life of Krishna and a book on the Essence of Religion, a rendering of
the Bhagavad Gita and a commentary on the Vedas were his aims to give
to his fellow countrymen. The first two he managed to complete, and
the rendering of the Bhagavad Gita was three parts finished, but the
commentary on the Vedas, which should have been a priceless
possession, never got into the stage of execution. Death, in whose
shadow he had so long dwelt, with his ailing health, took the pen
from his hand before he could accomplish this feat. Yet his
contributions to literature are enough to immortalise his memory.
Vande Mataram!
Bibliography -
1. Preface to an English translation of Bankim Chandra's Anandamath -
Basanta Kumar Roy, 1992
2. Decolonizing the Hindu Mind: Ideological Development of Hindu
Revivalism - Koenraad Elst, 2001
3. Bankim Chandra Chatterji - Essays by Sri Aurobindo, published in
the "Indu Prakash" between 16 July and 27 August 1894