Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya
Encyclopedia
Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya (died 1831) was an India
n journalist, teacher and reformer. He was born in Bahara village, near Serampore
. He started his career as a compositor in the Baptist Mission Press, Serampore
. But later on he shifted to Calcutta. In 1816, he edited the earliest illustrated book published in Bengali
language, the Annadamangal, printed in the Ferris and Company press, Calcutta. The two illustrations in this book were engraved by Ramachand Roy. In 1818, he set up a printing press in Calcutta, the Bengal Gazette Press for printing Bengali
books. Probably Harachandra Roy, who also hailed from Serampore
, was his partner.
The works written or edited by him and printed in this press include: A Grammar in English and Bengalee Language (1816), Daybhag (1816), Drabyagun (1828) and Chikitsarnab.
In Calcutta, he started a business of publication and selling of books. Serampore
’s Samachar Darpan
,wrote highly of him. Apart from the few books he wrote, Gangabhaktitarangini, Lakshmicharitra, Betal Panchabingshati, Chanakya Sloka and a collaborated work by Lallu Lal and Ram Mohan Roy, were published by him.
and Hindi
books. Roebuck in Annals of the College of Fort William talks about Lord Minto’s lecture in Fort William College
on 27 February 1808: “A printing press has been established by learned Hindoos, furnished with complete founts of improved Nagree types of different sizes, for the printing of books in the Sunskrit language. This press has been encouraged by the college to undertake an edition of the best Sunskrit Dictionaries, and a compilation of the Sunskrit rules of Grammar.... will form a valuable collection of Sunskrit philology.”
The printing press came to be known as the Sanskrit Press. In 1814-15 Munshi Lallulal Kavi, a Gujarati Brahmin (of the Braja Bhasa)of Fort William College
was believed to have acquired the rights to Baburam’s Sanskrit Press. Apart from Hindi
and Sanskrit
texts, he arranged for the publication of Bengali
texts as well. In that very machine, pundit Ramachandra Bidyabagish’s Jyotishsangrahasar was published too.
In a time when the only available printing presses were Ferris and Co. Press, Hindoostani Press, Bengali Press and Serampore Mission Press
, Ganga Kishore ventured in establishing a Bengali
printing press in 1818 known as the Bengal Gazette Press or Office .
, it would be received by a lot of readers, because till then no Bengali
periodical had been published from Calcutta. This want was fulfilled by the Bengal Gazetti.
In 1818, he started editing and publishing this weekly Bengali
newspaper, the Bengal Gazetti along with Harachandra Roy. It was printed in his Bengal Gazette Press. Though the exact date of is not yet known, the commencement of the publication of this newspaper was announced in two successive advertisements published in the Government Gazette of 14 May 1818 and 11 July 1818. Both advertisements were given in the name of Harachandra Roy. But two newspaper reports (The Friend of India, September 1820, and Samachar Darpan
, 11 June 1831) mention Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya as the publisher of the Bengal Gazetti. These advertisements informed that the Bengal Gazetti comprised "Translation of Civil Appointments, Government Notifications and Regulations, and such other local matter as are deemed interesting to the Reader, into a plain, concise and correct Bengalee Language" and the rate of subscription was fixed at two rupees per month. The publication of this newspaper probably lasted for a year or so.
But it is still a question of debate whether Bengal Gazetti was the first Bengali newspaper, or it was the Samachar Darpan
.
In 1820, the periodical called Friends of India published: “the first Hindoo who established a press in Calcutta was Babooram...followed by Gunga Kishore...who conceived the idea of printing the work in the current language as a means of acquiring wealth....established an office of his own, and opened a book-shop.”
In 16 May 1818, the Oriental Star said: “Amongst the improvements which are taking place in Calcutta....publication of a Bengalee newspaper has been commenced. The diffusion of general knowledge and information amongst the natives must lead to.... communication between the natives and the European residents. – The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register (London) for January 1819.”
The Bengal Gazette Press used to publish Governmental advertisements, employment news and law related issues in simple Bengali
. It had also re-printed the works of Ram Mohan Roy
, on Sati
System and its abolition. However, Bengal Gazetti did not last long, and in about a year, it stopped being published.
A Grammar in English and Bengalee Language (1816) - It was published in the Ferris and Co. Press. It contained what was necessary to the knowledge of the English
tongue, along with a translation. It was basically English
Grammar in the Bengali
language. It was published in a simple language for rousing interest among the fickle minded students. It is to be noted that in the same year, another English
Grammar was published in Bengali
, called the English Darpan by Ramachandra Roy. He was the assistant pundit in the Bengali
department of Fort William College
.
Daybhag (1816–17) – In 1816, in the introduction to English
grammar, Ganga Kishore mentions that Daybhag was in the process of completion in the printing press of Ferris and Co. in 1859. In the introduction to Byabasha Darpan, Shyamacharan Sharma-Sarkar wrote that it was one of the best religious books ever written in Bengali
. It talks about the three procedures of liability, period of religious impurity and expiation in brief.
Chikitsarnab (1820) - One of the khandas of the Chikitsarnab was in the library of Radhakanta Deb. Later on it was reprinted from Battala.
Drabyagun (1828) - Drabyagun was reprinted from Battala in 1868.
Among his edited works are the:-
Annada Mangal
(1816)- Bharatchandra’s Annadamangal exhibited the Tales of Biddyah and Sunder, and to which was added the Memoirs of Rajah Pratapaditya. It was printed from the Press of Ferris and Co. in Calcutta. It was the first known illustrated work in printing. It was embellished with line-engraving and had six pictures. The blocks used to make those pictures, were prepared by Ramchand Roy, who was probably related to Harachandra Roy. It is most likely that the first book printed in Bengali
in a press at Serampore
, was published on 30 January 1830.
Bhagbadgita – He published the annotated version of the Bhagbadgita. It first came out in 1820. The second edition was published in 1824, a khanda of which is in the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Library.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n journalist, teacher and reformer. He was born in Bahara village, near Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
. He started his career as a compositor in the Baptist Mission Press, Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
. But later on he shifted to Calcutta. In 1816, he edited the earliest illustrated book published in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
language, the Annadamangal, printed in the Ferris and Company press, Calcutta. The two illustrations in this book were engraved by Ramachand Roy. In 1818, he set up a printing press in Calcutta, the Bengal Gazette Press for printing Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
books. Probably Harachandra Roy, who also hailed from Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
, was his partner.
The works written or edited by him and printed in this press include: A Grammar in English and Bengalee Language (1816), Daybhag (1816), Drabyagun (1828) and Chikitsarnab.
In Calcutta, he started a business of publication and selling of books. Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
’s Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan was a Bengali weekly newspaper published by the Baptist Missionary Society from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore in early half of the 19th century...
,wrote highly of him. Apart from the few books he wrote, Gangabhaktitarangini, Lakshmicharitra, Betal Panchabingshati, Chanakya Sloka and a collaborated work by Lallu Lal and Ram Mohan Roy, were published by him.
Indian Printing Press in Calcutta
Around 1806-07, a Hindu called Baburam established a printing machine for the first time, in Devanagari letters, at Khidderpore, for publishing SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
books. Roebuck in Annals of the College of Fort William talks about Lord Minto’s lecture in Fort William College
Fort William College
Fort William College was an academy and learning centre of Oriental studies established by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India. It was founded on July 10, 1800 within the Fort William complex in Calcutta...
on 27 February 1808: “A printing press has been established by learned Hindoos, furnished with complete founts of improved Nagree types of different sizes, for the printing of books in the Sunskrit language. This press has been encouraged by the college to undertake an edition of the best Sunskrit Dictionaries, and a compilation of the Sunskrit rules of Grammar.... will form a valuable collection of Sunskrit philology.”
The printing press came to be known as the Sanskrit Press. In 1814-15 Munshi Lallulal Kavi, a Gujarati Brahmin (of the Braja Bhasa)of Fort William College
Fort William College
Fort William College was an academy and learning centre of Oriental studies established by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India. It was founded on July 10, 1800 within the Fort William complex in Calcutta...
was believed to have acquired the rights to Baburam’s Sanskrit Press. Apart from Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
and Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
texts, he arranged for the publication of Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
texts as well. In that very machine, pundit Ramachandra Bidyabagish’s Jyotishsangrahasar was published too.
In a time when the only available printing presses were Ferris and Co. Press, Hindoostani Press, Bengali Press and Serampore Mission Press
Serampore Mission Press
The Serampore Mission Press was established in Serampore in 1800 by William Carey, William Ward and other British Baptist missionaries as an auxiliary of the Serampore Mission. The press produced 212,000 books between 1800 and 1832. The British government highly suspicious of missionaries...
, Ganga Kishore ventured in establishing a Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
printing press in 1818 known as the Bengal Gazette Press or Office .
The Bengal Gazetti
After installing the Press, Ganga Kishore thought of publishing a newspaper. He felt that if it was published in BengaliBengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, it would be received by a lot of readers, because till then no Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
periodical had been published from Calcutta. This want was fulfilled by the Bengal Gazetti.
In 1818, he started editing and publishing this weekly Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
newspaper, the Bengal Gazetti along with Harachandra Roy. It was printed in his Bengal Gazette Press. Though the exact date of is not yet known, the commencement of the publication of this newspaper was announced in two successive advertisements published in the Government Gazette of 14 May 1818 and 11 July 1818. Both advertisements were given in the name of Harachandra Roy. But two newspaper reports (The Friend of India, September 1820, and Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan was a Bengali weekly newspaper published by the Baptist Missionary Society from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore in early half of the 19th century...
, 11 June 1831) mention Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya as the publisher of the Bengal Gazetti. These advertisements informed that the Bengal Gazetti comprised "Translation of Civil Appointments, Government Notifications and Regulations, and such other local matter as are deemed interesting to the Reader, into a plain, concise and correct Bengalee Language" and the rate of subscription was fixed at two rupees per month. The publication of this newspaper probably lasted for a year or so.
But it is still a question of debate whether Bengal Gazetti was the first Bengali newspaper, or it was the Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan
Samachar Darpan was a Bengali weekly newspaper published by the Baptist Missionary Society from the Baptist Mission Press at Serampore in early half of the 19th century...
.
In 1820, the periodical called Friends of India published: “the first Hindoo who established a press in Calcutta was Babooram...followed by Gunga Kishore...who conceived the idea of printing the work in the current language as a means of acquiring wealth....established an office of his own, and opened a book-shop.”
In 16 May 1818, the Oriental Star said: “Amongst the improvements which are taking place in Calcutta....publication of a Bengalee newspaper has been commenced. The diffusion of general knowledge and information amongst the natives must lead to.... communication between the natives and the European residents. – The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register (London) for January 1819.”
The Bengal Gazette Press used to publish Governmental advertisements, employment news and law related issues in simple Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. It had also re-printed the works of Ram Mohan Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
, on Sati
Sati
Sati may refer to:*An alternative name for Hindu goddess Dakshayani, Shiva's first wife*Sati , an ancient Indian tradition of the immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre, now illegal*Mindfulness...
System and its abolition. However, Bengal Gazetti did not last long, and in about a year, it stopped being published.
Works
Ganga Kishore is the author of various works.A Grammar in English and Bengalee Language (1816) - It was published in the Ferris and Co. Press. It contained what was necessary to the knowledge of the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
tongue, along with a translation. It was basically English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Grammar in the Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
language. It was published in a simple language for rousing interest among the fickle minded students. It is to be noted that in the same year, another English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Grammar was published in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
, called the English Darpan by Ramachandra Roy. He was the assistant pundit in the Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
department of Fort William College
Fort William College
Fort William College was an academy and learning centre of Oriental studies established by Lord Wellesley, then Governor-General of British India. It was founded on July 10, 1800 within the Fort William complex in Calcutta...
.
Daybhag (1816–17) – In 1816, in the introduction to English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
grammar, Ganga Kishore mentions that Daybhag was in the process of completion in the printing press of Ferris and Co. in 1859. In the introduction to Byabasha Darpan, Shyamacharan Sharma-Sarkar wrote that it was one of the best religious books ever written in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
. It talks about the three procedures of liability, period of religious impurity and expiation in brief.
Chikitsarnab (1820) - One of the khandas of the Chikitsarnab was in the library of Radhakanta Deb. Later on it was reprinted from Battala.
Drabyagun (1828) - Drabyagun was reprinted from Battala in 1868.
Among his edited works are the:-
Annada Mangal
Annada Mangal
Annada Mangal , or Nutan Mangal , is a Bengali narrative poem in three parts by Bharatchandra Ray, written in 1752-53. It eulogizes Hindu goddess Annapurna, a form of Parvati, worshipped in Bengal. It is the only poem in medieval Mangalkavya tradition that does not create a separate sub-genre as no...
(1816)- Bharatchandra’s Annadamangal exhibited the Tales of Biddyah and Sunder, and to which was added the Memoirs of Rajah Pratapaditya. It was printed from the Press of Ferris and Co. in Calcutta. It was the first known illustrated work in printing. It was embellished with line-engraving and had six pictures. The blocks used to make those pictures, were prepared by Ramchand Roy, who was probably related to Harachandra Roy. It is most likely that the first book printed in Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
in a press at Serampore
Serampore
Serampore is a city and a municipality in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority. It is a pre-colonial town on the right bank of the Hoogli River...
, was published on 30 January 1830.
Bhagbadgita – He published the annotated version of the Bhagbadgita. It first came out in 1820. The second edition was published in 1824, a khanda of which is in the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Library.