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{{short description|Indian writer}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Rajshekhar Basu
| image = RajshekharBasuPic.jpg
| alt = 
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1880|03|16}}
| birth_place = Bamunpara, [[Kandorsona]], [[British India]] (now [[Purba Bardhaman district|Purba Bardhaman]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]) <ref>''Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Bengali ed.)'', Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose, Sahitya Samsad, Calcutta, 1976, p. 458</ref>
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1960|04|27|1880|03|16}}
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
'''Rajshekhar Basu''', ({{lang-bn|রাজশেখর বসু}}) better known by the pen name '''Parashuram''' (16 March 1880 – 27 April 1960), was a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] writer, [[chemist]] and [[lexicographer]]. He was chiefly known for his comic and [[satire|satirical]] short stories, and is considered the greatest [[Bengali language|Bengali]] humorist of the twentyfirst century. He was awarded the [[Padma Bhushan]] in 1956.<ref name="Padma Awards">{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2015 | access-date=July 21, 2015}}</ref>

==Early life==
Basu was born at his maternal uncle's home at Bamunpara near [[Kandorsona]], [[British Raj|British India]] (now [[Purba Bardhaman district]] of [[West Bengal]], [[India]]). He was the second son (and sixth child) of Chandrasekhar Basu and Lakshmimani Devi. His father, who belonged to the Basu family of [[Birnagar]] in [[Nadia District]] of [[West Bengal]],<ref>''Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Bengali ed.)'', Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose, Sahitya Samsad, Calcutta, 2021, p. 458</ref> was the Dewan [[Darbhanga]] Raj. Rajshekhar spent his childhood in [[Darbhanga]], in the state of [[Bihar]], and learned to speak [[Hindi]] as a [[first language]], rather than Bengali. He was an inquisitive child and manifested a knack for science early in life. Shashisekhar, his elder brother, later wrote that the young Rajshekhar put together a laboratory at home equipped with two cupboards of various chemicals; he would forecast the weather by looking at a barometer that he had hung on the wall, would write prescriptions of cough-mixtures for his family members, and later, would even go to the Temple Medical School to dissect corpses.

Basu was introduced to Bengali literature when he went to [[Patna]] to study for the F.A. degree, where he interacted with a number of Bengali speakers. After school, he moved to [[Calcutta]] and joined [[Presidency College, Kolkata|Presidency College]], where he completed his BA and [[Master of Arts|MA]] degrees in [[chemistry]]. After graduating he completed a degree in law as well, but only attended court for three days, after which he quit the legal profession for good, and decided to pursue a career in science.

Around this time, he met [[Acharya Prafulla Chandra Roy]], who had recently started a company – [[Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals]]. In 1903, Basu joined the company as a chemist. He was very quickly promoted to the high-ranking position of manager, and began a long association with the company, which continued even after his retirement in 1932.

==Literary career==

Basu began his writing career in the 1920s. He adopted the pen name of '''Parashuram''' while writing humorous pieces for a monthly magazine. The name was not, apparently, a homage to the [[Parashurama]] of mythology. In fact, Basu simply borrowed the surname of someone at hand, the family [goldsmith], Tarachand Parashuram. His first book of stories, ''Gaddalika'', was published in 1924 and drew praise from such personalities as [[Rabindranath Tagore]].

In 1937, when he published ''Chalantika'', a monolingual Bengali dictionary, Rabindranath commented:

<blockquote>"''At long last, we have a dictionary for Bengali. The concise [[grammar]] for Bengali that you have included in the appendix is also wonderful.''"</blockquote>

''Chalantika'' also included Basu's first efforts to reform and rationalise Bengali [[orthography]]. A few years before its publication, in 1935, [[Calcutta University]] formed a committee, chaired by him, to formulate a set of guidelines governing the spelling of Bengali words. The recommendations of this committee were broadly accepted, and ''Chalantika'' is still in use today.

Basu's collection of short stories, ''Anandibai Ityadi Galpa,'' won a [[Sahitya Akademi Award to Bengali Writers|Sahitya Akademi Award]] for Bengali literature in 1958. The book was published under his [[pen name]], Parasuram, and contained fifteen satirical stories, touching on themes of love, courtship, families, and politics.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bose|first1=Rajasekhara|last2=Acharyya|first2=Saroj Ranjan|date=1959|title=Anandibai Ityadi Galpa|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23329329|journal=Indian Literature|volume=2|issue=2|pages=73–75|jstor=23329329|issn=0019-5804}}</ref>

==Other achievements==
Basu was a man of diverse achievements. He was an active member of the National Council of Education, founded in 1903. He served on the ''[[Bangiya Sahitya Parishad]]''. He even provided covert assistance to the revolutionaries of the [[Indian Independence Movement]] in the form of money and chemicals, and also provided his expertise in making [[bomb]]s.

Basu also played a major role in the history of printing in Bengal. He was the principal assistant to [[Sureshchandra Majumdar]]{{who|date=October 2018}}, credited with creating the first [[Mergenthaler Linotype Company|linotype]] in the Bengali script. The second edition of Parashuram's ''Hanumaaner Svapna Ityadi Galpa'' was the first book to be completely printed in Bengali linotype.

==Awards and honours==

Basu received a good deal of recognition for his writing. Calcutta University awarded him the ''Jagattarini'' and ''Sarojini'' medals in 1940 and 1945 respectively. In 1957, the University awarded him [[D.Litt.]] [[Jadavpur University]] followed suit the next year. ''Krishnakali ityadi golpo'' won the ''[[Rabindra Puraskar]]'' in 1955, and in 1956, he was awarded the ''Padma Bhushan''. In 1958, he was awarded the ''Akademi Puraskar'' for ''Anandibai Ityadi Galpa''.

==Personal life==

Basu was married and had one daughter. He suffered a great deal of tragedy in his personal life. His son-in-law died of a terminal illness at a very young age, and his heartbroken daughter died the same day. In 1942, he lost his wife as well. He lived for almost 18 years after his wife's demise and wrote a great deal during this time, but he did not allow his personal tragedies to colour his writing. Even after a debilitating stroke in 1959, he continued writing. On 27 April 1960, he suffered a second stroke while he was resting and died in his sleep.

Rajshekhar's younger brother, [[Girindrasekhar Bose]] (1887–1953), was the first [[Freudian]] [[psychoanalyst]] of the non-Western world, and also wrote books for children.

==Works==
{{div col}}
'''Dictionary'''
* ''Chalantika'' (1937)

'''Short stories'''
* ''Sri sri siddheswari limited'' (1922)
* ''Gaddalika'' (1922)
* ''Kajjali'' (1927)
* ''Hanumaner Svapna Ityadi Galpa''
(1937)
* ''Galpakalpa'' (1950)
* ''Dhusturi Maya Ityadi Galpa''
* ''Krishnakali Ityadi Galpa'' (1953)
* ''Nil Tara Ityadi Galpa''
* ''Anandibai Ityadi Galpa'' (1957)
* ''Chamatkumari Ityadi Galpa''
* '' Asmani choti''
* ''Jaliyat''

<br>

'''Translations'''
* ''Kalidaser Meghdut'' (1943)
* ''Valmiki Ramayan'' (1946)
* ''Krishnadvaipayan Vyas krita Mahabharat'' (1949)
* ''Hitopadesher Galpa'' (1950)
* ''Shrimadbhagabat Gita''

'''Collection of essays'''
* ''Laghuguru'' (1939)
* ''Bharater Khanij'' (1943)
* ''Kutir Shilpa'' (1943)
* ''Bichinta'' (1955)
* ''Chalachchinta''

'''Poetry'''
* ''Parashuramer Kabita'' (published posthumously)

{{div col end}}

==Screen adaptations==
* Two Bengali movies, both directed by [[Satyajit Ray]], were based on short stories by Parashuram. These were ''[[Parash Pathar]]'' ({{lang-bn|পরশ পাথর}} (The philosopher's stone)), based on the story of the same name; and ''[[Mahapurush]]'' ({{lang-bn|মহাপুরুষ}} (The holy man)), based on the short story ''Birinchibaba'' ({{lang-bn|বিরিঞ্চি বাবা}}).
* In the film ''[[Chaar (film)|Chaar]]'', one story ''(Bateswarer Abodan)'' is written by Rajshekhar Basu. The film is directed by [[Sandip Ray]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.parabaas.com/translation/database/authors/texts/parashuram.html Rajsekhar Bose Section in Parabaas]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110725025604/http://www.abasar.net/bk_main.asp?what=B00959 Rajsekhar Bose Section in Abasar]

{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 1954–59}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basu, Rajshekhar}}
[[Category:1880 births]]
[[Category:1960 deaths]]
[[Category:Presidency University, Kolkata alumni]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Brahmos]]
[[Category:Writers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Rabindra Puraskar]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]
[[Category:People from Purba Bardhaman district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian translators]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian short story writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian translators]]

Rajshekhar Basu - Revision history

>Citation bot: Add: jstor, authors 1-1. Removed parameters. Some additions/deletions were parameter name changes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:University of Calcutta alumni‎ | via #UCB_Category 382/1421