Rajnarayan Basu - Revision history

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← Older revision		Revision as of 01:03, 28 January 2022
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	\| image = Rajnarain Bose.jpg		\| image = Rajnarain Bose.jpg
	\| image_size =		\| image_size =
	\| caption = ~~শ্রী রাজনারায়ণ বসু~~		\| caption = Rajnarayan Basu, {{Circa\|1899}}
	\| native_name = রাজনারায়ণ বসু		\| native_name = রাজনারায়ণ বসু
	\| native_name_lang = bn		\| native_name_lang = bn
	\| birth_date = 7 September 1826		\| birth_date = 7 September 1826
	\| birth_place = Boral, [[24 Parganas]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]] (now in [[South 24 Parganas]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]])<ref		\| birth_place = Boral ,
			[[Calcutta]], [[24 Parganas]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]] (now in [[South 24 Parganas]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]])<ref
	name="basu" >''Rajnarayan Basur Atmacharit'', Basu, Rajnarayan, Kuntaline Press, 1909, p. 1</ref>		name="basu" >''Rajnarayan Basur Atmacharit'', Basu, Rajnarayan, Kuntaline Press, 1909, p. 1</ref>
	\| death_date = 18 September 1899		\| death_date = 18 September 1899
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	}}		}}

	'''Rajnarayan Basu''' ({{lang-bn\|রাজনারায়ণ বসু}}~~) (~~1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. He was born in Boral in [[24 Parganas]] and studied at the [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata\|Hindu College]], in [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal]]. A [[monotheist]] at heart, Rajnarayan Basu converted to [[Brahmo Samaj\|Brahmoism]] at the age of twenty.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book \|last=Murshid \|first=Ghulam \|year=2012 \|chapter=Basu, Rajnarayan \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Basu,_Rajnarayan \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> After retiring, he was given the honorary title of ''Rishi'' or sage. As a writer, he was one of the best known prose writers in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]] in the nineteenth century, writing often for the ''[[Tattwabodhini Patrika]]'', a premier Brahmo journal.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Devnath \|first=Samaresh \|year=2012 \|chapter=Tattvabodhini Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tattvabodhini_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Due to his defence of Brahmoism, he was given the title "Grandfather of Indian Nationalism"<ref>"The Brahmo Samaj and the shaping of the modern Indian mind		'''Rajnarayan Basu''' ({{lang-bn\|রাজনারায়ণ বসু}}; 1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. He was born in Boral in [[24 Parganas]] and studied at the [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata\|Hindu College]], in [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal]]. A [[monotheist]] at heart, Rajnarayan Basu converted to [[Brahmo Samaj\|Brahmoism]] at the age of twenty.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book \|last=Murshid \|first=Ghulam \|year=2012 \|chapter=Basu, Rajnarayan \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Basu,_Rajnarayan \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> After retiring, he was given the honorary title of ''Rishi'' or sage. As a writer, he was one of the best known prose writers in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]] in the nineteenth century, writing often for the ''[[Tattwabodhini Patrika]]'', a premier Brahmo journal.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Devnath \|first=Samaresh \|year=2012 \|chapter=Tattvabodhini Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tattvabodhini_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Due to his defence of Brahmoism, he was given the title "Grandfather of Indian Nationalism"<ref>"The Brahmo Samaj and the shaping of the modern Indian mind
	By David Kopf", page 315, https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcY_IRKDHQC&pg=PA315</ref><ref>"Makers Of Indian Literature Prem Chand By Prakash Chandra Gupta", back cover, https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoHFioSmBoC&pg=PT1</ref>		By David Kopf", page 315, https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcY_IRKDHQC&pg=PA315</ref><ref>"Makers Of Indian Literature Prem Chand By Prakash Chandra Gupta", back cover, https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoHFioSmBoC&pg=PT1</ref>

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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rajnarayan Basu
| image = Rajnarain Bose.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = শ্রী রাজনারায়ণ বসু
| native_name = রাজনারায়ণ বসু
| native_name_lang = bn
| birth_date = 7 September 1826
| birth_place = Boral, [[24 Parganas]], [[Bengal]], [[British India]] (now in [[South 24 Parganas]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]])<ref
name="basu" >''Rajnarayan Basur Atmacharit'', Basu, Rajnarayan, Kuntaline Press, 1909, p. 1</ref>
| death_date = 18 September 1899
| death_place = [[Midnapore]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], British India
| education = Hare School
| occupation = Writer
| spouse = Prasannamoyee Basu (nee [[Mitra (surname)|Mitra]]), Nistarani Basu (nee [[Dutta]])
| children = Swarnalata [[Ghosh]]
| father = Nanda Kishore Basu
| nationality = Indian
| other_names = Rishi Rajnarayan Basu
}}

'''Rajnarayan Basu''' ({{lang-bn|রাজনারায়ণ বসু}}) (1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. He was born in Boral in [[24 Parganas]] and studied at the [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata|Hindu College]], in [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal]]. A [[monotheist]] at heart, Rajnarayan Basu converted to [[Brahmo Samaj|Brahmoism]] at the age of twenty.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book |last=Murshid |first=Ghulam |year=2012 |chapter=Basu, Rajnarayan |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Basu,_Rajnarayan |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> After retiring, he was given the honorary title of ''Rishi'' or sage. As a writer, he was one of the best known prose writers in [[Bengali language|Bengali]] in the nineteenth century, writing often for the ''[[Tattwabodhini Patrika]]'', a premier Brahmo journal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Devnath |first=Samaresh |year=2012 |chapter=Tattvabodhini Patrika |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tattvabodhini_Patrika |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Due to his defence of Brahmoism, he was given the title "Grandfather of Indian Nationalism"<ref>"The Brahmo Samaj and the shaping of the modern Indian mind
By David Kopf", page 315, https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcY_IRKDHQC&pg=PA315</ref><ref>"Makers Of Indian Literature Prem Chand By Prakash Chandra Gupta", back cover, https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoHFioSmBoC&pg=PT1</ref>

==Birth and early life==
Rajnarayan Basu was born on 7 September 1826 in the Boral village of [[South 24 Parganas]] of [[West Bengal]]. The ancestral seat of the Basu family was [[Gobindapur, Kolkata|Garh Gobindopur]], [[Kolkata]].<ref name="basu"/> His father Nanda Kishore Basu was a disciple of a Raja [[Ram Mohan Roy]] and later one of his secretaries. A bright student since childhood, Rajnarayan was brought to [[Calcutta]] (modern Kolkata) and was admitted to Hare School Society's School (later known as [[Hare School]]). He studied there till the age of 14, and was notified by the teachers for his brilliance and intellect.

He married Prasannamoyee Mitra in 1843. After the death of his first wife, he married Nistarini Dutta daughter of Shri Abhayacharan Dutta of the Hatkhola Dutta family in 1847.

==Career==
Rajnarayan Basu was a rival of [[Michael Madhusudan Dutt]], a prominent poet of the time, and the introducer of [[free verse]] in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]. Both were responsible for introducing classical Western elements into Bengali literature.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He briefly tutored Asia's first [[Nobel Prize]]winner, [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and spent three years translating the [[Upanishads]] into English on the earnest request and co-operation of [[Devendranath Tagore]]. As a member of [[Young Bengal]], Rajnarayan Basu believed in "nation-building" at the grassroots level. To do his part, after teaching at [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar|Vidyasagar]]'s Sanskrit College as the second master of the English Department, he moved to [[Midnapore]] to teach in the ''mofussil'' district town.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He served as the headmaster of Midnapore Zilla School (later known as [[Midnapore Collegiate School]]) which was also the forerunner of [[Midnapore College]].

== Work life in Midnapore ==
He had joined the school on 21 February 1851 preceded by Mr. Sinclare, during whose time the school lost its glory and was in a deplorable condition. Rajnarayan's first goal was to reestablish the school in the firmament of education. The great teacher and educationist took some wonderful steps:
# He had abolished corporal punishment and introduced a friendly and cooperative atmosphere among the teachers and students to make education more interesting to them.
# He had immense hatred against the well-practiced procedure of ''" committing to memory and vomiting to paper"''. He always followed the rule of teaching through interaction of both students and teachers. His eloquent speeches with humorous jokes gradually attracted even the heart of the most dull student in the class. He put stress on interrogative teaching, so that the fundamentals of the student becomes strong.
# He understood that the students also need place for physical exercise and sports so that there mental and physical power can be properly manifested, so he made a Lawn Tennis Court and a Gymnasium in the school premises.
# He wanted students to be educated in " Character Making Education", so he advised teachers to look after the moral development of the students, so that they can be ''" Man in a true sense."''
# He observed that students sitting in benches without back-support, cannot keep there back straight, so their attention span becomes shorter while studying. So he introduced sits with back-supports for the first time.
# Being an active leader of Young Bengal, he was moved by the 'Academic Association' of [[Henry Louis Vivian Derozio]]. So he also introduced Debate Associations and Mutual Improvement Association in school level.
He also established the first arch of women education in Midnapore, the first girls school and a night school for educating the illiterates.
He established a public library that is still in use, although now it is known as the ''Rishi Rajnarayan Basu Smriti Pathagar'' (Rishi Rajnaraya Basu Memorial Library) which is the oldest public library in West Bengal. He was the first person to suggest using Bengali at meetings of the [[Vangiya Sahitya Parishad]] (Bengali literature society).<ref>{{cite book |last=Chaudhuri |first=Indrajit |year=2012 |chapter=Sahitya Parisad Patrika |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sahitya_Parisad_Patrika |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>
The Parishad was established to promote Bengali language literature yet ironically conducted meetings in English until Basu's request.

As an intellectual, he founded the [[Brahmo Samaj]] house and inaugurated [[Nabagopal Mitra]]'s [[Hindu Mela]], an organisation created to spread nationalist feelings among Indians.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He was a member of the Indian Association and a member of a political group called the ''[[Sanjibani Sabha]]''. He also lamented that there were no schools promoting the learning of Indian music among the middle-class<ref>[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2003/kobayashie032/kobayashie032.pdf Microsoft Word – front.doc] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107121653/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/etd/d/2003/kobayashie032/kobayashie032.pdf |date=7 November 2006 }}</ref> and he himself started one in Midnapore. In 1868, he retired and moved to [[Deoghar]] where he spent the last years of his life. His grandson, eminent philosopher and freedom-fighter, [[Sri Aurobindo]] has inscribed his tribute to Rajnarayan in a beautiful sonnet.

{{Quote box
| title = My Grandfather—Rajnarayan Bose[1826–1899]
| quote = <poem>Not in annihilation lost, nor given.
To darkness art thou fled from us and light,
O strong and sentient spirit; no more heaven
of ancient joys, no silence eremite
received thee; but the omnipresent thought
of which thou was a part and earthly hour,
took back its gift. Into that splendour caught
thou hast no lost thy special brightness.Power
remains with thee and old genial force
unseen for blinding light; not darkly larks;
as when a sacred river in its course
dives into ocean, there its strength abides
Not less because with because with vastness wed and works
unnoticed in the grandeur of the tides.</poem>
| source = [[Sri Aurobindo]]
}}

==Select bibliography==

===In Bengali===
* ''Brahmo Sadhon'' (Serving Brahmoism)(1865)
* ''Dharmatatvo Dipika'' (The Light of Religious Theory) (1866–67)
* ''Hindudhormer srestotto'' (The superiority of Hinduism)(1873)
* ''Sekal aar eikaal'' (Then and now) (1873)
* ''Hindu othoba Presidency College-er itibritto'' (A history of the Hindu or Presidency College) (1876)
* ''Bibidho probondho'' (Various essays) (1882)
* ''Rajnarayan Basur Attocharit'' (Autobiography) (1909)

===In English===
* ''A defence of Brahmoism and the Brahmo Samaj'' (1863)
* ''Brahmic Advice, Caution, and Help'' (1869)
* ''The Adi Brahmo Samaj, its views and principles'' (1870)
* ''The Adi Brahmo Samaj as a Church'' (1873)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.midnapore.in/people/rishi_rajnarayan_basu.html Chronology of Life-events]

{{Bengal Renaissance}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Rajnarayan}}
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Vangiya Sahitya Parishad]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Hare School alumni]]
[[Category:1826 births|Basu Rajnarayan]]
[[Category:1899 deaths|Basu Rajnarayan]]
[[Category:People from Midnapore]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:35, 22 March 2026
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	\| caption = Rajnarayan Basu, {{Circa\|1899}}		\| caption = Rajnarayan Basu, {{Circa\|1899}}
	\| birth_date = 7 September 1826		\| birth_date = 7 September 1826
	\| birth_place = Boral, [[24 Parganas]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj\|British India]]~~<~~ref		\| birth_place = Boral, [[24 Parganas]], [[Bengal Presidency]], [[British Raj\|British India]]<ref
	name="basu" ~~>~~''Rajnarayan Basur Atmacharit'', Basu, Rajnarayan, Kuntaline Press, 1909, p. 1~~<~~/ref~~>~~		name="basu" >''Rajnarayan Basur Atmacharit'', Basu, Rajnarayan, Kuntaline Press, 1909, p. 1</ref>
	\| death_date = 18 September 1899		\| death_date = 18 September 1899
	\| death_place = [[Midnapore]], Bengal Presidency, British India		\| death_place = [[Midnapore]], Bengal Presidency, British India
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	}}		}}

	'''Rajnarayan Basu''' (1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. He was born in Boral in [[24 Parganas]] and studied at the [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata\|Hindu College]], in [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal]]. A [[monotheist]] at heart, Basu converted to the [[Brahmo Samaj\|Brahmoism]] sect at the age of twenty.~~<~~ref name="Banglapedia"~~>~~{{cite book \|last=Murshid \|first=Ghulam \|year=2012 \|chapter=Basu, Rajnarayan \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Basu,_Rajnarayan \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}~~<~~/ref~~><~~ref~~>~~{{Cite web \|script-title=bn:রাজনারায়ণ বসু \|url=https://sobbanglay.com/sob/rajnarayan-basu/ \|access-date=14 September 2022 \|website=সববাংলায় \|date=4 September 2022 \|language=bn-BD}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~ After retiring, he was given the honorary title of ''Rishi'' or sage. He was one of the best known prose writers in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]] in the nineteenth century, writing often for the ''[[Tattwabodhini Patrika]]'', a premier Brahmo journal.~~<~~ref~~>~~{{cite book \|last=Devnath \|first=Samaresh \|year=2012 \|chapter=Tattvabodhini Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tattvabodhini_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~ Due to his defence of Brahmoism, he was given the title "Grandfather of Indian Nationalism".~~<~~ref~~>~~{{Cite book \|last=Kopf \|first=David \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcY_IRKDHQC&pg=PA315 \|title=The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind \|date=1979 \|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri \|isbn=978-0-691-03125-5 \|language=en}}~~<~~/ref~~><~~ref~~>~~{{Cite book \|last=Gupta \|first=Prakash Chandra \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoHFioSmBoC&pg=PT1 \|title=Prem Chand \|date=1968 \|publisher=Sahitya Akademi \|isbn=978-81-260-0428-7 \|language=en}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		'''Rajnarayan Basu''' (1826–1899) was an Indian writer and intellectual of the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. He was born in Boral in [[24 Parganas]] and studied at the [[Hare School]] and [[Presidency College, Kolkata\|Hindu College]], in [[Kolkata]], [[Bengal]]. A [[monotheist]] at heart, Basu converted to the [[Brahmo Samaj\|Brahmoism]] sect at the age of twenty.<ref name="Banglapedia">{{cite book \|last=Murshid \|first=Ghulam \|year=2012 \|chapter=Basu, Rajnarayan \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Basu,_Rajnarayan \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web \|script-title=bn:রাজনারায়ণ বসু \|url=https://sobbanglay.com/sob/rajnarayan-basu/ \|access-date=14 September 2022 \|website=সববাংলায় \|date=4 September 2022 \|language=bn-BD}}</ref> After retiring, he was given the honorary title of ''Rishi'' or sage. He was one of the best known prose writers in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]] in the nineteenth century, writing often for the ''[[Tattwabodhini Patrika]]'', a premier Brahmo journal.<ref>{{cite book \|last=Devnath \|first=Samaresh \|year=2012 \|chapter=Tattvabodhini Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tattvabodhini_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref> Due to his defence of Brahmoism, he was given the title "Grandfather of Indian Nationalism".<ref>{{Cite book \|last=Kopf \|first=David \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IUcY_IRKDHQC&pg=PA315 \|title=The Brahmo Samaj and the Shaping of the Modern Indian Mind \|date=1979 \|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri \|isbn=978-0-691-03125-5 \|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book \|last=Gupta \|first=Prakash Chandra \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuoHFioSmBoC&pg=PT1 \|title=Prem Chand \|date=1968 \|publisher=Sahitya Akademi \|isbn=978-81-260-0428-7 \|language=en}}</ref>

	==Birth and early life==		==Birth and early life==
	Basu was born on 7 September 1826, in a [[Bengali Kayastha]] family of the present-day [[South 24 Parganas]] district in [[West Bengal]]. The ancestral seat of the Basu family was [[Gobindapur, Kolkata\|Garh Gobindopur]], [[Kolkata]].~~<~~ref name="basu"/~~>~~ His father Nanda Kishore Basu was a disciple of a Raja [[Ram Mohan Roy]] and later one of his secretaries. A bright student since childhood, Rajnarayan was brought to [[Calcutta]] (now Kolkata) and was admitted to Hare School Society's School (later known as [[Hare School]]) and studied there till the age of 14.		Basu was born on 7 September 1826, in a [[Bengali Kayastha]] family of the present-day [[South 24 Parganas]] district in [[West Bengal]]. The ancestral seat of the Basu family was [[Gobindapur, Kolkata\|Garh Gobindopur]], [[Kolkata]].<ref name="basu"/> His father Nanda Kishore Basu was a disciple of a Raja [[Ram Mohan Roy]] and later one of his secretaries. A bright student since childhood, Rajnarayan was brought to [[Calcutta]] (now Kolkata) and was admitted to Hare School Society's School (later known as [[Hare School]]) and studied there till the age of 14.

	He married Prasannamoyee Mitra in 1843. After the death of his first wife, he married Nistarini Dutta, daughter of Abhayacharan Dutta.{{Citation needed\|date=August 2022}}		He married Prasannamoyee Mitra in 1843. After the death of his first wife, he married Nistarini Dutta, daughter of Abhayacharan Dutta.{{Citation needed\|date=August 2022}}

	==Career==		==Career==
	Rajnarayan Basu was a rival of [[Michael Madhusudan Dutta]], a prominent poet of the time, and the introducer of [[free verse]] in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]. Both were responsible for introducing classical Western elements into Bengali literature.~~<~~ref name="Banglapedia"/~~>~~ He briefly tutored [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and spent three years translating the [[Upanishads]] into English on the earnest request and co-operation of [[Devendranath Tagore]]. As a member of [[Young Bengal]], Rajnarayan Basu believed in "nation-building" at the grassroots level. To do his part, after teaching at [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar\|Vidyasagar]]'s Sanskrit College as the second master of the English Department, he moved to [[Midnapore]] to teach in the ''mofussil'' district town.~~<~~ref name="Banglapedia"/~~>~~ He served as the headmaster of Midnapore Zilla School (later known as [[Midnapore Collegiate School]]) which was also the forerunner of [[Midnapore College]].		Rajnarayan Basu was a rival of [[Michael Madhusudan Dutta]], a prominent poet of the time, and the introducer of [[free verse]] in [[Bengali language\|Bengali]]. Both were responsible for introducing classical Western elements into Bengali literature.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He briefly tutored [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and spent three years translating the [[Upanishads]] into English on the earnest request and co-operation of [[Devendranath Tagore]]. As a member of [[Young Bengal]], Rajnarayan Basu believed in "nation-building" at the grassroots level. To do his part, after teaching at [[Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar\|Vidyasagar]]'s Sanskrit College as the second master of the English Department, he moved to [[Midnapore]] to teach in the ''mofussil'' district town.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He served as the headmaster of Midnapore Zilla School (later known as [[Midnapore Collegiate School]]) which was also the forerunner of [[Midnapore College]].

	== Work life in Midnapore ==		== Work life in Midnapore ==
Line 45:		Line 45:
	# Being an active leader of Young Bengal, he was moved by the 'Academic Association' of [[Henry Louis Vivian Derozio]]. So he also introduced Debate Associations and Mutual Improvement Association in school level.		# Being an active leader of Young Bengal, he was moved by the 'Academic Association' of [[Henry Louis Vivian Derozio]]. So he also introduced Debate Associations and Mutual Improvement Association in school level.
	He also established the first arch of women education in [[Midnapore]], the first girls school and a night school for educating the illiterates.		He also established the first arch of women education in [[Midnapore]], the first girls school and a night school for educating the illiterates.
	He established a public library that is still in use, although now it is known as the ''Rishi Rajnarayan Basu Smriti Pathagar'' (Rishi Rajnaraya Basu Memorial Library) which is the oldest public library in West Bengal. He was the first person to suggest using Bengali at meetings of the [[Vangiya Sahitya Parishad]] (Bengali literature society).~~<~~ref~~>~~{{cite book \|last=Chaudhuri \|first=Indrajit \|year=2012 \|chapter=Sahitya Parisad Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sahitya_Parisad_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~		He established a public library that is still in use, although now it is known as the ''Rishi Rajnarayan Basu Smriti Pathagar'' (Rishi Rajnaraya Basu Memorial Library) which is the oldest public library in West Bengal. He was the first person to suggest using Bengali at meetings of the [[Vangiya Sahitya Parishad]] (Bengali literature society).<ref>{{cite book \|last=Chaudhuri \|first=Indrajit \|year=2012 \|chapter=Sahitya Parisad Patrika \|chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Sahitya_Parisad_Patrika \|editor1-last=Islam \|editor1-first=Sirajul \|editor1-link=Sirajul Islam \|editor2-last=Jamal \|editor2-first=Ahmed A. \|title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh \|edition=Second \|publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>
	The Parishad was established to promote Bengali language literature yet ironically conducted meetings in English until Basu's request.		The Parishad was established to promote Bengali language literature yet ironically conducted meetings in English until Basu's request.

	As an intellectual, he founded the [[Brahmo Samaj]] house and inaugurated [[Nabagopal Mitra]]'s [[Hindu Mela]], an organisation created to spread nationalist feelings among Indians.~~<~~ref name="Banglapedia"/~~>~~ He was a member of the Indian Association and a member of a political group called the ''[[Sanjibani Sabha]]''. He also lamented that there were no schools promoting the learning of Indian music among the middle-class~~<~~ref~~>~~{{cite thesis \|last1=Kobayashi \|first1=Eriko \|title=Hindustani classical music reform movement and the writing of history, 1900s to 1940s \|type=PhD dissertation \|publisher=University of Texas at Austin \|date=2003 \|url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/707 \|hdl=2152/707 \|id={{ProQuest\|305295764}} \|isbn=978-0-496-63540-5}}~~<~~/ref~~>~~ and he himself started one in Midnapore. In 1868, he retired and moved to [[Deoghar]] where he spent the last years of his life. His grandson, eminent philosopher and freedom-fighter, [[Sri Aurobindo]] has inscribed his tribute to Rajnarayan in a beautiful sonnet.		As an intellectual, he founded the [[Brahmo Samaj]] house and inaugurated [[Nabagopal Mitra]]'s [[Hindu Mela]], an organisation created to spread nationalist feelings among Indians.<ref name="Banglapedia"/> He was a member of the Indian Association and a member of a political group called the ''[[Sanjibani Sabha]]''. He also lamented that there were no schools promoting the learning of Indian music among the middle-class<ref>{{cite thesis \|last1=Kobayashi \|first1=Eriko \|title=Hindustani classical music reform movement and the writing of history, 1900s to 1940s \|type=PhD dissertation \|publisher=University of Texas at Austin \|date=2003 \|url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/707 \|hdl=2152/707 \|id={{ProQuest\|305295764}} \|isbn=978-0-496-63540-5}}</ref> and he himself started one in Midnapore. In 1868, he retired and moved to [[Deoghar]] where he spent the last years of his life. His grandson, eminent philosopher and freedom-fighter, [[Sri Aurobindo]] has inscribed his tribute to Rajnarayan in a beautiful sonnet.

	{{Quote box		{{Quote box
	\| title = My Grandfather—Rajnarayan Bose[1826–1899]		\| title = My Grandfather—Rajnarayan Bose[1826–1899]
	\| quote = ~~<~~poem~~>~~Not in annihilation lost, nor given.		\| quote = <poem>Not in annihilation lost, nor given.
	To darkness art thou fled from us and light,		To darkness art thou fled from us and light,
	O strong and sentient spirit; no more heaven		O strong and sentient spirit; no more heaven
Line 65:		Line 65:
	dives into ocean, there its strength abides		dives into ocean, there its strength abides
	Not less because with because with vastness wed and works		Not less because with because with vastness wed and works
	unnoticed in the grandeur of the tides.~~<~~/poem~~>~~		unnoticed in the grandeur of the tides.</poem>
	\| source = [[Sri Aurobindo]]		\| source = [[Sri Aurobindo]]
	}}		}}