Shibram Chakraborty
Encyclopedia
Shibram Chakrabarty was a popular Bengali
writer
, humorist and revolutionary
who is best known for his humorous stories. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of pun, alliteration, play of words and ironic humor. He was a prolific author who also wrote poems, plays, non-fiction and novels for mature audiences in his long career.
[চিত্তরঞ্জন দাস]. During this time he became involved with the magazine Bijli [বিজলী] and Forward as a journalist. He later became the publisher of a magazine called Jugantar
[যুগান্তর].
He discovered his innerself during writing for a Child Magazine named "Mouchak" [মৌচাক].
His initial foray into literature was as a poet. His first book of poems was called Manush (Man). He worked as a feature writer in daily newspapers and magazines such as Basumati [বসুমতী], Ananda Bazar Patrika [আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা] and Desh
[দেশ]. These were tinged with humor and got him notice in the public eye. Subsequently he started writing stories and novels.
His writing is noted for use of literary puns as a key story vehicle - speculated to be a first in Bengali literature. He is also noted for his self-deprecating humor. An example of this is the convoluted way in which he would spell his name in Bengali in his stories: শিব্রাম চকরবরতি (Shee-bram Cho-ko-ro-bo-ro-ty). He would often put himself into his stories amongst fictional characters. The most famous and recurring characters in his stories are the brothers Harshabardhan
[হর্ষবর্ধন] and Gobardhan [গোবর্ধন] and his sister Bini. Advertisements for his books often bill him as the King of Laughter. Aside from funny stories, his other notable writings include the dramatization of Sharat Chandra Chatterji's novel Dena Paona under the title Shoroshi [ষোড়শী] (Sixteen Year Old Girl), the political work Moscow bonam Pondicheri [মস্কো বনাম পন্ডিচেরি] (Moscow Versus Pondicheri; ) and the play Jokhon Tara Kotha Bolbe [যখন তারা কথা বলবে] (When They Will Speak). His (so called) autobiography Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa [ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা] (God Earth Love) is also regarded as one of his best works. During his 60-year career he authored more than 150 books.
Rajbari (royal house of Chachal) family, although his ancestral home was in Malda. He was born at his maternal uncle's house in Kolkata
, the capital of British India. His father's name was Shibprashad Chakrabarty [শিবপ্রসাদ চক্রবর্তী]. A spirtualist by nature, Shibprashad would often take to the road. Shibram later inherited this wanderlust from his father. Shibram spent his early days in Paharpur and Chachal. In his boyhood days, he once ran away from home penniless. This experience would later inspire his novel Bari Theke Paliye
[বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Running Away From Home), which was made into a film by Ritwik Ghatak. While still in school he played an active role in the Swadeshi movement and as a result was sent to jail. Owing to these circumstances he could not sit the matriculation
exam. His institutional education never progressed beyond this. However, he studied on his own and was knowledgeable in a variety of subjects.
He spent the most part of his life on the second-floor mess room of a bedsit in 134, Muktaram Babu Street in Kolkata
. He put his personal touch on the room by turning its walls into a hand-written calendar, noting the time he had lived there. He never married. Shibram had a capricious nature and would often be broke. However he was known as a free spirit and generous to his friends. His Panjabi
-clad frame and smiling countenance was a regular sight at the Coffee House in Kolkata. He did not even maintain proper record or preserve the manuscripts of some of his works. In the last phase of his life, he ran into serious financial difficulties and the West Bengal Government had to put him on a monthly allowance. He died in Kolkata in 1980.
Shibram Chakraborty's long stay at Muktarambabu Street is fondly recalled by the elderly resistants of that Street. The building has three floors and, when viewed from the street, looks haunted. Access is from Central Avenue, also called Chittaranjan Avenue. Proceed towards Mahajati Sadan from the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of the underground railway line, turn right into the wide lane adjacent to Mahajati Sadan; the lane leads to a park. Turn left along the park, and turn right at the boundary of the park and the first left thereafter. This two lane road is about 50 yards long and terminates at Muktarambabu Lane (not Street). At this junction, there is just one house with two beams protruding in the air. Shibram Chakraborty lived here.
Bengali people
The Bengali people are an ethnic community native to the historic region of Bengal in South Asia. They speak Bengali , which is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit and Sanskrit languages. In their native language, they are referred to as বাঙালী...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, humorist and revolutionary
Revolutionary movement for Indian independence
The Revolutionary movement for Indian independence is often a less-highlighted aspect of the Indian independence movement -- the underground revolutionary factions. The groups believing in armed revolution against the ruling British fall into this category. The revolutionary groups were...
who is best known for his humorous stories. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of pun, alliteration, play of words and ironic humor. He was a prolific author who also wrote poems, plays, non-fiction and novels for mature audiences in his long career.
Literary career
He worked as a volunteer in the Swadeshi movement and came under the affection of Chittaranjan DasChittaranjan Das
Chittaranjan Das was an eminent Bengali lawyer and a major figure in the Indian independence movement.-Personal life:...
[চিত্তরঞ্জন দাস]. During this time he became involved with the magazine Bijli [বিজলী] and Forward as a journalist. He later became the publisher of a magazine called Jugantar
Jugantar
Jugantar or Yugantar was one of the two main secret revolutionary trends operating in Bengal for Indian independence.This association, like Anushilan Samiti started in the guise of suburban fitness club. Several Jugantar members were arrested, hanged, or deported for life to the Cellular Jail in...
[যুগান্তর].
He discovered his innerself during writing for a Child Magazine named "Mouchak" [মৌচাক].
His initial foray into literature was as a poet. His first book of poems was called Manush (Man). He worked as a feature writer in daily newspapers and magazines such as Basumati [বসুমতী], Ananda Bazar Patrika [আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা] and Desh
Desh
Desh meaning "country"), is a region of Maharashtra state in central India.Desh is bounded on the west by the Western Ghats or Sahyadri range, on the north by the Kandesh and on the east by the Marathwada regions of Maharashtra, and on the south by the state of Karnataka...
[দেশ]. These were tinged with humor and got him notice in the public eye. Subsequently he started writing stories and novels.
His writing is noted for use of literary puns as a key story vehicle - speculated to be a first in Bengali literature. He is also noted for his self-deprecating humor. An example of this is the convoluted way in which he would spell his name in Bengali in his stories: শিব্রাম চকরবরতি (Shee-bram Cho-ko-ro-bo-ro-ty). He would often put himself into his stories amongst fictional characters. The most famous and recurring characters in his stories are the brothers Harshabardhan
Harshabardhan
Harshabardhan is the name of a humorous fictional character in Bengali created by Shibram Chakraborty. Harshabardhan along with his younger brother Gobardhan, his wife, and the author Shibram are the subject of a number of satirical short stories. A characteristic of these stories is acerbic wit,...
[হর্ষবর্ধন] and Gobardhan [গোবর্ধন] and his sister Bini. Advertisements for his books often bill him as the King of Laughter. Aside from funny stories, his other notable writings include the dramatization of Sharat Chandra Chatterji's novel Dena Paona under the title Shoroshi [ষোড়শী] (Sixteen Year Old Girl), the political work Moscow bonam Pondicheri [মস্কো বনাম পন্ডিচেরি] (Moscow Versus Pondicheri; ) and the play Jokhon Tara Kotha Bolbe [যখন তারা কথা বলবে] (When They Will Speak). His (so called) autobiography Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa [ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা] (God Earth Love) is also regarded as one of his best works. During his 60-year career he authored more than 150 books.
Personal life
Chakrabarty was born into the well-known ChachalChanchal
-Geography:Chanchal is located at . Chanchal is the headquarters of the Chanchal subdivision. Also, the headquarters of the Chanchal–I CD block is here....
Rajbari (royal house of Chachal) family, although his ancestral home was in Malda. He was born at his maternal uncle's house in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, the capital of British India. His father's name was Shibprashad Chakrabarty [শিবপ্রসাদ চক্রবর্তী]. A spirtualist by nature, Shibprashad would often take to the road. Shibram later inherited this wanderlust from his father. Shibram spent his early days in Paharpur and Chachal. In his boyhood days, he once ran away from home penniless. This experience would later inspire his novel Bari Theke Paliye
Bari Theke Paliye
Bari Theke Paliye is a 1958 Bengali film by director Ritwik Ghatak. It stars Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Gita Ghatak, Bijan Bhattacharya, Niranjan Roy, and Gyanesh Mukherjee....
[বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Running Away From Home), which was made into a film by Ritwik Ghatak. While still in school he played an active role in the Swadeshi movement and as a result was sent to jail. Owing to these circumstances he could not sit the matriculation
Matriculation
Matriculation, in the broadest sense, means to be registered or added to a list, from the Latin matricula – little list. In Scottish heraldry, for instance, a matriculation is a registration of armorial bearings...
exam. His institutional education never progressed beyond this. However, he studied on his own and was knowledgeable in a variety of subjects.
He spent the most part of his life on the second-floor mess room of a bedsit in 134, Muktaram Babu Street in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. He put his personal touch on the room by turning its walls into a hand-written calendar, noting the time he had lived there. He never married. Shibram had a capricious nature and would often be broke. However he was known as a free spirit and generous to his friends. His Panjabi
Punjabi Culture
Punjabi Culture is the culture of the Punjab region. It is one of the oldest in world history, dating from ancient antiquity to the modern era. The Punjabi culture is the culture of the Punjabi people who are now distributed throughout the world. The scope, history, sophistication and complexity of...
-clad frame and smiling countenance was a regular sight at the Coffee House in Kolkata. He did not even maintain proper record or preserve the manuscripts of some of his works. In the last phase of his life, he ran into serious financial difficulties and the West Bengal Government had to put him on a monthly allowance. He died in Kolkata in 1980.
Shibram Chakraborty's long stay at Muktarambabu Street is fondly recalled by the elderly resistants of that Street. The building has three floors and, when viewed from the street, looks haunted. Access is from Central Avenue, also called Chittaranjan Avenue. Proceed towards Mahajati Sadan from the Mahatma Gandhi Road station of the underground railway line, turn right into the wide lane adjacent to Mahajati Sadan; the lane leads to a park. Turn left along the park, and turn right at the boundary of the park and the first left thereafter. This two lane road is about 50 yards long and terminates at Muktarambabu Lane (not Street). At this junction, there is just one house with two beams protruding in the air. Shibram Chakraborty lived here.
Literary Works
- Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa [ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা] (God Earth Love), 1974: (So called) autobiographyAutobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
. - Valobasa Prithibee Eeshwar [ভালবাসা পৃথিবী ঈশ্বর] (Love Earth God), 1996: Another (so called) autobiographyAutobiographyAn autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
. - Aaj O Agamikaal [আজ ও আগামীকাল] (Today & Tomorrow), 1929: A collection of short stories.
- Ekti Swarnaghotita Apokeerti [একটি স্বর্ণঘটিত অপকীর্তি] (An Missdoing Due to Gold): Drama
- Debotar Jonmo [দেবতার জন্ম] (Birth of a God): Short story
Quotations
----- Yet may be not the ultimate goal,but the communists do have an extreme goal, and that is All for one and one for all.
- The history of human civilization is sub-divided into two kinds of people.One who is selfishly screaming that all of this earth belongs to me.State—that's me!I'll be benefitted—this happenes to be the biggest thing of this world.The other is sacrificing himself by exiling into the forest or on the cross;they said, I have come for all;I have sacrificed myself to all.--Both of them show the incompleteness of the civilization.
- My respect for Rabindranath is not because he is a so-called superman,but because he is a complete human being.
- The basis of a human being's completeness lies in the maturity of body,mind and intellect...the bottom line of completeness is congruence,harmony.