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Ramapada Chowdhury

Ramapada Chowdhury (Bengali pronunciation: [/ˈrɑːmɔˌpɔd̪ɔ ˈtʃɔʊd̪ʱuːɾi/] RAH-maw-paw-daw) (28 December 1922 – 29 July 2018)[1] was a Bengali-language novelist and short story writer in India.[2][3] He was the longtime editor of Rabibashoriyo, the Sunday supplement of Anandabazar Patrika.[4] His works are often seen as "sham-naturalistic" reflections on society.[5] In 1988, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Bari Badle Jay.[6]

He was also honoured with the Rabindra Puraskar and several other literary awards, including the inaugural Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize.[7] Many of his works have been adapted into films, most notably Kharij, directed by Mrinal Sen, and Ek Doctor Ki Maut, directed by Tapan Sinha—both of which earned critical acclaim.[8]

Chowdhury began writing during World War II and remained closely associated with Anandabazar Patrika for many years. His writing style is marked by brevity and precision. He is regarded as one of the most significant short story writers in modern Bengali literature.[9]

In a 2005 interview with Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, he announced his retirement from writing, saying he no longer understood today's world and had nothing more to say.[10]

Early life

Ramapada's birthplace at Kharagpur, Paschim Medinipur

Ramapada Chowdhury was born on 28 December 1922 in Kharagpur, Bengal Presidency, British India (now in the Indian state of West Bengal). His father, Maheshchandra Chowdhury, worked in the raiways, and the family often moved from one place to another. Thus young Ramapada was exposed to life in several different parts of India.[4] Ranchi, Raipur, Bilaspur, Guwahati and Dibrugarh were some of the towns he lived in. All of these places figure in his early works of fiction.[11] His Mother was Durgasundari Devi. He completed his schooling from Kharagpur. Subsequently, he studied at Presidency College, Calcutta, and obtained his master's degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta.[12]

Career

Chowdhury wrote his first short story as a student, in response to a challenge from his friends. It was written sitting in a restaurant near his college, and was published in the newspaper Jugantar.[4] After completing his Master's, he got a job with Anandabazar Patrika. Later he became Associate Editor of the newspaper, and edited its Sunday supplement Rabibasariya for many years.

Chowdhury started writing short stories on a regular basis from the age of twenty-five. He published two collections of stories before the publication of his first novel Pratham Prahar (1954).[13] Although an established writer in the 1950s, Chowdhury received wider recognition with his 1960 novel Banpalashir Padabali, which appeared in serial form in the well-known literary magazine Desh. He was awarded the Rabindra Puraskar in 1971 for his novel Ekhoni and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988 for Bari Badle Jay. In all, he wrote around fifty novels and over one hundred short stories. He also edited an anthology of stories originally published in Desh. According to Shamik Ghosh, Chowdhury was among the few Bengali authors who preferred quality to quantity.

In 2011, the Indian Institute of Planning and Management instituted the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize. Ramapada Chowdhury won the award in its inaugural year, for his novel Banpalashir Padabali. According to writer and scholar Surajit Dasgupta,

"Banpalashir Padabali is a stunningly vibrant and intensely human work that serves to reaffirm his reputation as a master story-teller in the Bengali language."[14]

The Sahitya Akademi, in its series of films on eminent Indian writers, has produced a film on Ramapada Chowdhury, directed by Raja Mitra.[15]

Legacy

Writing for Desh, Bani Basu described him as "sharp and witty," noting his experimentation with different storytelling forms while preserving traditional styles and exploring the "criticism of life" in his writings. Krishna Basu saw him as a "distant personality" and counted him among his favorite novelists, alongside the three Bandopadhyays: Tarasankar, Manik, and Bibhutibhushan. Dibyendu Palit remembered him as an editor who encouraged young writers, unafraid to both praise and critique their work, while Nirendranath Chakraborty reflected on their long friendship, before and after joining ABP, and how he quit smoking after Ramapada did. Chakraborty later died the same year on 25th December. Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri remembered him as an editor with a keen ability to draw out quality writing, praising his craftsmanship in novels, short stories, and even the brief, starkly radical notes he occasionally sent to fellow writers—each word, he said, was "irreplaceable."[5]

Selected works

  • Pratham Prahar (1954)
  • Dwiper Nam Tia rang (1958)
  • Banpalashir Padabali (1960)
  • Parajit Samrat (1966)
  • Ekhoni (1969)
  • Picnic (1970)
  • Je Jekhane Danriye (1972)
  • Album-e Koyekti Chobi (1973)
  • Kharij (1974)[16]
  • Lajja (1975)
  • Hridoy (1976)
  • Beej (1977)
  • Swajan (1981)
  • Bari Badle Jay (1988)
  • Abhimanyu (1982)
  • Darbari
  • Lalbai
  • Harano Khata
  • Bahiri
  • Chhad
  • Shesher Seemana
  • Aakash Pradeep
  • Bhobishyot

English translations

  • Nothing but the Truth (original title Kharij), translated by Enakshi Chatterjee, Vikas, New Delhi, 1978. ISBN 0706906632.
  • Second Encounter (original title Je Jekhane Danriye), translated by Swapna Dutta, Niyogi Books, 2016. ISBN 9789385285448.
  • Dwellings Change (original title Badi Bodle Jay), translated by Tania Chakravertty, Sahitya Akademi, 2023. ISBN 978-93-5548-630-1.

Film adaptations

Awards and honours

  • Sahitya Akademi Award 1988[6]
  • Rabindra Puraskar 1971[12]
  • Ananda Puraskar 1963[12]
  • Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize 2011[19]

References

  1. ^ "'Ek doctor ki maut' writer Ramapada Chowdhury passes away at 95". The Indian Express. 29 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. ^ "শ্রীরমাপদ চৌধুরী (১৯২২-২০১৮)". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  3. ^ মজুমদার, তিলোত্তমা. "কলমের দেখানে পনা ছিল না". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Ghosh, Shamik (5 August 2018). "Ramapada Chowdhury (1922-2018) was one of the few Bengali writers who preferred quality to quantity". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  5. ^ a b Desh (in Bengali). 2 August 2018. pp. 16–24.
  6. ^ a b "Sahitya Akademi Awards". Sahitya Akademi. Government of India. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  7. ^ Staff, Scroll (30 July 2018). "Sahitya Akademi award winner Ramapada Chowdhury dies at 95". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  8. ^ IANS (30 July 2018). "'Bari Badle Jay' Author Ramapada Chowdhury Dead at 95". The Quint. Archived from the original on 22 July 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  9. ^ আচার্য, শ্যামলী (28 December 2024). "আমার না-দেখা দ্রোণাচার্য". ডাকবাংলা (in Bengali). Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  10. ^ মণ্ডল, মৌনী (8 June 2022). "শতবর্ষে রমাপদ চৌধুরী : 'বনপলাশির পদাবলী', 'বাড়ি বদলে যায়', 'খারিজ'-এর লেখক". Bongodorshon.com. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  11. ^ Jalal, Syed Hashmat (30 July 2018). "Obituary - Ramapada Chowdhury: End of a long literary era". The Statesman. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Dutt, Kartik Chandra (1999). Who's who of Indian writers: 1999 (End-century ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 239. ISBN 81-260-0873-3. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  13. ^ Chakrabarti, Kunal; Chakrabarti, Shubhra (22 August 2013). Historical Dictionary of the Bengalis. Scarecrow Press. p. 132. ISBN 978-0-8108-5334-8. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  14. ^ Dasgupta, Surajit. "Banpalashir Padabali by Ramapada Chaudhuri". blogspot.in. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Sahitya Akademi: Video Films on Eminent Indian Writers". Sahitya Akademi. Government of India. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  16. ^ Chowdhury, Ramapada. Kharij. Ananda Publishers Pvt. Limited. ISBN 9788170663935.
  17. ^ Kulkarni, Damini (11 February 2017). "'Ek Doctor Ki Maut' and the missing Indian scientist in the laboratory". Scroll.in. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  18. ^ S. Jayaraman, K. (6 October 2010). "Nobel to IVF pioneer revives feelings of loss". Nature India. doi:10.1038/nindia.2010.139.
  19. ^ "The 7cr. IIPM Rabindranath Tagore International Prize for Ramapada Chowdhuri and six others". iipm.edu. Indian Institute of Planning and Management. Retrieved 22 December 2017.