JAFMargie385530: creating first data needs work

2026-03-14T16:27:50Z

creating first data needs work

New page

{{orphan|date=August 2025}}
{{Short description|Bengali poet (1838–1903)}}{{Infobox person
| name = Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay
| native_name = হেমচন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়
| native_name_lang = bn
| image = Hem Chandra Banerji.jpg
| image_size = 220px
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1838|04|17}}
| birth_place = Gulita Village, [[Hooghly district|Hooghly]], [[British India]] (now Gulita Village, [[West Bengal]], India)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1903|05|24|1838|04|17}}
| death_place = [[Kidderpore]], [[Calcutta]], [[British India]] (now [[Khidirpur]], [[West Bengal]], India)
| occupation = Poet, clerk, teacher, lawyer
}}
'''Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay''' ({{Langx|bn|হেমচন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়|Hēmacandra bandyōpādhyāẏa}}, April 17, 1838 – May 24, 1903), also known as '''Hemchandra Banerjee''', was a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] poet and lawyer.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rahman |first1=Aminur |title=Banerjee, Hemachandra |url=https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Banerjee,_Hemchandra |publisher=Banglapedia}}</ref>

Educated at [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Hindu College]] and the [[University of Calcutta]], he worked in various roles including clerk, headmaster, and lawyer, and also served as a government pleader. His literary career began with the poetry collection ''Chintatarangini'' (1861). He is noted for the [[Epic poetry|epic poem]] ''Vrittasamhara'' (1875–1877). Influenced by [[Michael Madhusudan Dutt]], Bandyopadhyay addressed themes such as national identity in works including ''Bharat Sangeet''.

== Early life ==
Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay was born on April 17, 1838, in Gulita Village, near [[Rajbalhat]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা - হাওয়াবদল{{!}} Anandabazar Patrika - Travelogue, Photography, Recipe, Cuisine, Travel News |url=https://archives.anandabazar.com/travel/2013/april/apnar-chithi.html |access-date=2024-11-19 |website=archives.anandabazar.com}}</ref> the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. His father, Kailashchandra Bandyopadhyay, faced financial difficulties. He was married to Anandamayi, the daughter of Rajchandra Chakraborty, a [[solicitor]] in the [[Kolkata]] court. Following the death of his grandfather, the family's situation worsened, leading to an interruption in his education at Khidirpur Bangla School in Kolkata. In 1853, Prasannakumar Sarvadhikari, principal of Kolkata Sanskrit College, helped him gain admission to the senior school division of [[Presidency University, Kolkata|Hindu College]], where he was enrolled in the second standard. In 1855, he placed second in the Junior Scholarship Examination. That same year, he married Kamini Devi. In 1857, he placed fourth in the Senior Scholarship Examination. When the scholarship ended during his fourth year, he had to discontinue his studies.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[Bangla Academy]] |editor-last=Hossain |editor-first=Selina |publication-date=February 1997 |pages=442–443 |language=bn |script-title=bn:বাংলা একাডেমী চরিতাভিধান |trans-title=[[Bangla Academy Biographical Dictionary]] |editor-last2=Islam |editor-first2=Nurul}}</ref>

== Career ==
In 1859, Hemchandra began working as a clerk in the Military Audit Office. He later became headmaster of the Calcutta Training Academy. After earning his LLB degree in 1861, he began practicing law at the [[Calcutta High Court]]. In 1862, he was appointed a ''Munsif'' (junior judicial officer), but returned to the High Court after a few months. He completed his Bachelor of Laws (B.L.) in 1866 and in April 1890 was appointed as a government pleader.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |publisher=Sahitya Sangsad |isbn=978-81-7955-135-6 |editor-last=Sengupta |editor-first=Subodh |volume=1 |publication-date=November 2013 |pages=873–874 |language=bn |script-title=bn:সংসদ বাঙালি চরিতাভিধান |trans-title=Sangsad Bengali Biographical Dictionary |editor-last2=Basu |editor-first2=Anjali}}</ref>

== Poetry and literature ==
Hemchandra's first poetry collection, ''Chintatarangini'', was published in 1861. He is particularly known for ''Vrittasamhara'' (''The Slaying of Vritra''), issued in two volumes between 1875 and 1877.

In July 1872, his poem ''Bharat Sangeet'' (''The Song of India'') appeared in the ''Education Gazette''. Other works addressed subjects such as national identity, including ''Bharatbilap'' (''The Lament for India''), ''Kalachakra'' (''The Wheel of Time''), ''Ripan Utsav'' (''The Ripon Festival''), ''Bharater Nidravanga'' (''India's Awakening''), ''Ganga'' (''The Ganges''), and ''Janmabhumi'' (''The Motherland'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |publisher=Saptrishi Prakashan |isbn=978-93-8270-654-0 |editor-last=Chattopadhyay |editor-first=Abhik |location=[[Kolkata]] |publication-date=2019 |page=91 |language=bn |script-title=bn:হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায় -আনন্দধারা |trans-title=Hemanta Mukhopadhyay - Anandadhara}}</ref>

His other works include:
* ''Birbahu'' (1864)
* ''Ashakanan'' (1876)
* ''Sangarupaka Kabya''
* ''Chhayamayi'' (1880)
* ''Bibidha Kavita'' (''Various Poems'', 1300 Bangla Year)
* ''Dash Mahavidya'' (''The Ten Great Wisdoms'', 1882)<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=[[University of Dhaka]] |editor-last=Islam |editor-first=Rafiqul |publication-date=July 1990 |pages=451–452 |language=bn |script-title=bn:কবিতা সংগ্রহ |trans-title=Poetry Collection |editor-last2=Zafar |editor-first2=Mohammad Abu |editor-last3=Haque |editor-first3=Abul Kashem Fazlul |editor-link3=Abul Kashem Fazlul Haq}}</ref>

=== Short poems ===
* ''Jiban Sangeet'' (''The Song of Life'') – an adaptation of [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow|Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's]] ''[[A Psalm of Life]]''
* ''Bharat Sangeet'' (''The Song of India'')
* ''Bharat Bilap'' (''The Lament for India'')
* ''Gangar Utpatti'' (''The Origin of the Ganges'')
* ''Padmer Mrinal'' (''The Lotus Stem'')
* ''Bharat Kahini'' (''The Tale of India'')
* ''Ashoktaru''
* ''Kulin Kanyaganer Akhep'' (''The Lament of Aristocratic Daughters'')

== Death ==
In his later years, Hemchandra lived in poverty and suffered from near blindness.<ref name=":1" /> He died on May 24, 1903, in [[Kidderpore|Khidirpur]], Kolkata.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandopadhyay, Hemchandra}}
[[Category:1838 births]]
[[Category:1903 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Bengali poets]]
[[Category:People from Hooghly district]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali lawyers]]

Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay - Revision history

JAFMargie385530: creating first data needs work