Devdas (Bengali: দেবদাস, transliterated as Debdās) is a Bengaliromance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. Despite being finished in September 1900,^[1] the novel was not published till June 1917 due to Chatterjee's hesitance probably over some autobiographical elements.^[2] According to Chatterjee's own words, he wrote it under the influence of drink and was ashamed of the work.^[2]

The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidden childhood love; and Chandramukhi, a reformed courtesan.^[3] Devdas was adapted on screen 19 times.

Plot summary[edit]

Devdas is a young man from a wealthy BengaliBrahmin family in India in the early 1900s. Parvati (Paro) is a young woman from a middle class Bengali Brahmin family. The two families live in a village called Taalshonapur in Bengal, and Devdas and Parvati are childhood friends.

Devdas goes away for a couple of years to live and study in the city of Calcutta (now Kolkata). During vacations, he returns to his village. Suddenly both realise that their easy comfort in each other's innocent comradeship has changed to something deeper. Devdas sees that Parvati is no longer the small girl he knew. Parvati looks forward to their childhood love blossoming into a happy lifelong journey in marriage. According to prevailing social custom, Parvati's parents would have to approach Devdas's parents and propose marriage of Parvati to Devdas as Parvati longs for.

Parvati's mother approaches Devdas's mother, Harimati, with a marriage proposal. Although Devdas's mother loves Parvati very much she isn't so keen on forming an alliance with the family next door. Besides, Parvati's family has a long-standing tradition of accepting dowry from the groom's family for marriage rather than sending dowry with the bride. The alternative family tradition of Parvati's family influences Devdas's mother's decision not to consider Parvati as Devdas' bride, especially as Parvati belongs to a trading (becha -kena chottoghor) lower family. The 'trading' label is applied in context of the marriage custom followed by Parvati's family. Devdas's father, Narayan Mukherjee, who also loves Parvati, does not want Devdas to get married so early in life and isn't keen on the alliance. Parvati's father, Nilkantha Chakravarti, feeling insulted at the rejection, finds an even richer husband for Parvati.

When Parvati learns of her planned marriage, she stealthily meets Devdas at night, desperately believing that he will accept her hand in marriage. Devdas has never previously considered Parvati as his would-be wife. Surprised by Parvati's boldly visiting him alone at night, he also feels pained for her. Making up his mind, he tells his father he wants to marry Parvati. Devdas's father disagrees.

In a confused state, Devdas flees to Calcutta. From there, he writes a letter to Parvati, saying that they should simply continue only as friends. Within days, however, he realizes that he should have been bolder. He goes back to his village and tells Parvati that he is ready to do anything needed to save their love.

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By now, Parvati's marriage plans are in an advanced stage. She refuses to go back to Devdas and chides him for his cowardice and vacillation. She, however requests Devdas to come and see her before she dies. He vows to do so.

Devdas goes back to Calcutta and Parvati is married off to the widower, Bhuvan Choudhuri, who has three children. An elderly gentleman and zamindar of Hatipota he had found his house and home so empty and lustreless after his wife's death, that he decided to marry again. After marrying Parvati, he spent most of his day in Pujas and looking after the zamindari.

In Calcutta, Devdas's carousing friend, Chunni Lal, introduces him to a courtesan named Chandramukhi. Devdas takes to heavy drinking at the courtesan's place; she falls in love with him, and looks after him. His health deteriorates through excessive drinking and despair - a drawn-out form of suicide. In his mind, he frequently compares Parvati and Chandramukhi. Strangely he feels betrayed by Parvati, though it was she who had loved him first, and confessed her love for him. Chandramukhi knows and tells him how things had really happened. This makes Devdas, when sober, hate and loathe her very presence. He drinks more and more to forget his plight. Chandramukhi sees it all happen, suffering silently. She senses the real man behind the fallen, aimless Devdas he has become and can't help but love him.

Knowing death approaches him fast, Devdas goes to Hatipota to meet Parvati to fulfill his vow. He dies at her doorstep on a dark, cold night. On hearing of his death, Parvati runs towards the door, but her family members prevent her from stepping out of the house.

The novella powerfully depicts the customs of society that prevailed in Bengal in the early 1900s, which largely prevented a happy ending to a true and tender love story.

Film, TV, and theatrical adaptations[edit]

The novel has been made into films in many Indian languages, including Bengali, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Urdu, Assamese and Malayalam.^[4][5][6] It is the most filmed non-epic story in India.

Notable film versions of the novella include:

• In Guru Dutt's critically acclaimed film Kaagaz Ke Phool, a sub plot involves Dutt directing a film titled 'Devdas' with Waheeda Rehman playing Paro.
• In Haath Ki Safai, a song in the movie is about the play Devdas with Randhir Kapoor as Devdas and Hema Malini as Chandramukhi.^[7]
• In the Tamil remake of the song, Kamal Haasan plays Devdas and Sripriya plays Chandramukhi.
• A sequel of the 1953 Telugu version of Devdas was released in year 1978, titled Devadasu Malli Puttadu.
• In the 2012 Hindi film Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum, a dream sequence has Tusshar Kapoor as Devdas, Neha Sharma as Paro and Sarah Jane Dias as Chandramukhi.

See also[edit]

• Parinita/Parineeta (1914)

References[edit]

1. ^Sen, Sukumar (1353 Bengali Year). Bangla Sahityer Itihas বাঙ্গালা সাহিত্যের ইতিহাস [History of Bengali Literature]. V:3. Calcutta: Modern Book Agency. p. 552.
2. ^ ^ab'শতবর্ষে দেবদাস'. Prothom Alo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2018-12-23.
3. ^'The DEVDAS Phenomenon'. The University of Iowa. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
4. ^Sharma, Sanjukta (June 7, 2008). 'Multiple Takes: Devdas's journey in Indian cinema - from the silent era of the 1920s to the opulent Hindi blockbuster of 2002'. Livemint. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
5. ^The Hindu : The immortal lover
6. ^Devdas phenomenonArchived January 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
7. ^Peene Walon Ko Peene Ka Bahana Chahiye - Haath Ki Safai 1974 1080p HD

External links[edit]

• The Hindu (newspaper) essay on the novel

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, alternatively spelt as Sarat Chandra Chatterjee (15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938), was a Bengali novelist and short story writer. He is arguably the most popular novelist in the Bengali language.^[1] His notable works include Devdas, Srikanta, Choritrohin, Grihadaha, etc. Most of his works deal with the lifestyle, tragedy and struggle of the village people and the contemporary social practices that prevailed in Bengal. He remains the most popular, translated, adapted, and plagiarized Indian author of all time.^[2]

• 7References

Biography[edit]

Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876,^[3] in Debanandapur, a small village two miles northwest of Bandel in Hooghly, West Bengal.

His father Motilal Chattopadhyay was an idler and dreamer who held irregular jobs. He could not finish novels and stories that he had started writing, but passed on his imagination and love of literature to Sarat Chandra. His, wife Bhuvanmohini, and their five children lived for many years in his father-in-law Kedarnath Gangopadhyay's house in Bhagalpur, Bihar.

Sarat Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. Most of his schooling was in informal village schools called pathshalas.^[4] He was a good student and got a double promotion that enabled him to skip a grade.^[5] He passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at the end of Class X) but could not take his F.A. (First Arts) examination or attend college due to lack of funds.^[6]

Sarat Chandra started writing in his early teens. After finishing his formal studies, he spent much of his time interacting with friends, acting in plays, and in playing sports and games. Several of his famous novels and stories were written during this period.^[5]

In 1893, Sarat Chandra moved to Burma. Part of his novel, Srikanto, is based on his experiences in Burma. He got a temporary job in Burma Railway's audit office and later worked for many years in Burma's public works accounts office. While living in Rangoon, he married his first wife Shanti. He was deeply hurt when his wife and one-year-old son died from plague. He married his second wife Mokshada (later renamed Hironmoyee) also in Rangoon and taught her to read and write. She outlived him by 23 years.

In 1916, Sarat Chandra moved backed to India and settled in Howrah, near Kolkata. It is during this time that he improved his Sanskrit skills from 'Kabyasri' Kishorimohan Mukherjee. He devoted himself to writing and established himself as one of India's major novelists and story writers. He was involved in India's freedom struggle and served as the president of Howrah district branch of Indian National Congress (1921–1936). University of Calcutta awarded him the prestigious Jagattarini medal. University of Dhaka awarded him an honorary doctorate (D.Litt.). On 2 Magh 1344 or 16 January 1938 he died, from cancer of the liver.

House of Chattopadhyay[edit]

After returning from Burma, Chattopadhyay stayed for 11 years in Baje Shibpur, Howrah. Then he made a house in the village of Samtabere. He spent the later years of his life as a novelist in Samtabere and in another house in Kolkata. His house in Samtabere is often called as Sarat Chandra Kuthi in the map of Samtabere or Samta, in the Howrah district of West Bengal.

Audio technica serial number check. The two storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda, who was a disciple of Belur Math. His and his brother's samadhi can still be seen there. The trees like bamboo, galoncho and the guava trees planted by the renowned author are still tourist attractions.^[7]

Appreciation[edit]

The phenomenal popularity of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay has been attested by some of the most prominent writers as well as literary critics across India in their writings.^[8] Most of the authors in Assam and Odisha, at least before the Independence, read him admiringly in original Bengali; rest of India read him in translations in varying quality. Publishers were never tired of reprinting his works; he remains the most translated, the most adapted and the most plagiarized author.^[8] His novels also reached a number of people through the medium of film and he is still an important force in Indian cinema. O. N. V. Kurup^[8] writes '..Sarat Chandra's name is cherished as dearly as the names of eminent Malayalam novelists. His name has been a household word'. Dr Mirajkar^[9] informs 'the translations of Sarat Chandra created a stir amongst the readers and writers all over Maharashtra. He has become a known literary personality in Maharashtra in the rank of any popular Marathi writers including H. N. Apte, V. S. Khandekar, N. S. Phadke and G. T. Madkholkar'. Jainendra Kumar,^[8] who considers that his contribution towards the creation and preservation of cultural India is second, perhaps, only to that of Gandhi, asks a rhetorical question summing up Sarat Chandra's position and presumably the role of translation and inter-literary relationship: 'Sarat Chandra was a writer in Bengali; but where is that Indian language in which he did not become the most popular when he reached it?'

Films[edit]

His works have been made into around fifty films in many Indian languages.^[8] Particularly, his novel Devdas has been made into sixteen versions, from Bengali, Hindi to Telugu. Parineeta has also been made twice. In 1957 Bardidi was made by director Ajoy Kar. Rajlakshmi O Srikanta and Indranath Srikanta O Annadadidi by Haridas Bhattacharya in 1958 and 1959 respectively, Majhli Didi (1967) by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Swami (1977), for which he was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Story, are other adaptations. Another famous film Chhoti Bahu (1971) is based on his novel Bindur Chhele. His novel 'Datta' was adapted into a Bengali film as Datta (film) in 1951 directed by Saumyen Mukhopadhyay starring Sunanda Banerjee and Manoranjan Bhattacharyya in the lead roles with Ahindra Choudhury as Rashbehari ^[10][11], and again in 1976 starring Suchitra Sen and Soumitra Chatterjee in the lead roles. The film Sabyasachi (film) was released in 1977 based on his work Pather Dabi.The other movies based on his novel were Nishkriti, and Apne Paraye (1980) by Basu Chatterjee, starring Amol Palekar.^[12] The Telugu film Thodi Kodallu (1957) is also based on this novel. Gulzar's 1975 film, Khushboo is majorly inspired by his work Pandit Mashay. The 1961 Telugu film Vagdanam by Acharya Atreya is loosely based on his novel Datta. Also the 2011 film Aalo Chhaya is based on his short story, Aalo O Chhaya.

Works[edit]

Sarat Chandra wrote novels, novellas, and stories.^[13]

His first novel was Badadidi (1907), which was published in the Bharati and made him well known. He went on to write several stories and novels, including

• Bindur Chhele O Anyanya (1914)
• Parinita (1914)
• Baikunther Will (1916)
• Pallisamaj (1916)
• Devdas (1917)
• Charitrahin (1917)
• Nishkrti (1917)
• Shrikanta (Part 1-4, 1917-33)
• Datta (1918)
• Grihadaha (1920)
• Dena-Paona (1923)
• Pather Dabi (1926)
• Shes Prashna (1931)

He also wrote essays, which were anthologized in Narir Mulya (1923) and Svadesh O Sahitya (1932).

Shrikanta, Charitrahin, Devdas, Grihadaha, Dena-Paona and Pather Dabi are among his most popular works. Pather Dabi was banned by the British Government because of its revolutionary theme. His posthumous publications include Chhelebelar Galpa, Shubhada (1938), Sheser Parichay (1939), Sharat Chandrer Granthabali (1948) and Sharat Chandrer Aprakashita Rachanabali (1951).

He wrote some essays including Narir Itihas (The History of Women) and Narir Mulya (The Value of Women). Narir Itihas, which was lost in a house fire, contained a history of women on the lines of Spencer's Descriptive Sociology. While the second, Narir Mulya gives a theory of women's rights in the context of Mill's and Spencer's arguments.^[14]

Stories

• Aalo O Chhaya
• Abhagir Swargo
• Anupamar Prem
• Anuradha
• Andhare Aalo
• Balya Smriti
• Bilashi
• Bindur Chhele, (Bindu's Son) 1913
• Bojha
• Cheledhora
• Chobi
• Darpochurno (Broken Pride)
• Ekadoshi Bairagi
• Kashinath
• Haricharan
• Harilakshmi
• Lalu (parts 1, 2, and 3)
• Mamlar Phol
• Mandir
• Mahesh (The Drought)
• Mejdidi
• Bochor Panchash Purber Ekti Kahini
• Paresh
• Path Nirdesh
• Ramer Shumoti, (Ram's Good Sense) 1914
• Sati
• Swami (The Husband)^[15]

Plays
Sarat Chandra converted three of his works into plays.

• Bijoya
• Rama
• Shoroshi
• Jai hind

Essays

• Narir Mulya
• Swadesh O Sahitya
• Taruner Bidroho

Other works

• Dehati Samaj, 1920
• Sharoda (published posthumously)

Biography

• Awara Masiha ' (in Hindi) by Vishnu Prabhakar^[16][17]
• Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee^[18]

See also[edit]

• Samtaber, the village where Sarat Chandra spent his life's early years as a novelist
• Sarat Chandra Kuthi, the house of Sarat Chandra at Samtaber

References[edit]

1. ^'An Insight Into Sarat Chandra's Depiction Of Dynamic Women'. Daily Sun. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
2. ^'A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy South Asia Books (1 September 1995)'. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
3. ^Sarker, Subhash Chandra (January – February 1977). 'Sarat Chandra Chatterjee: The Great Humanist'. Indian Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. 20 (1): 50. JSTOR24157548.(subscription required)
4. ^Suresh, edited by Sushama (1999). Who's who on Indian stamps (1st ed.). Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Angel Guimera, 11): Mohan B. Daryanani. p. 73. ISBN8493110108.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
5. ^ ^ab'শরৎ রচনাবলী Sarat Rachanabali'. www.sarat-rachanabali.nltr.org. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
6. ^Sinha, BY J. N. (9 January 2015). 'The mortals of Devdas'.
7. ^House of Sarat ChandraArchived 23 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
8. ^ ^abcde'A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy South Asia Books (1 September 1995)'. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
9. ^'A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy South Asia Books (1 September 1995)'. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
10. ^YouTube
11. ^Moviebuff
12. ^Gulzar; Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 337. ISBN81-7991-066-0.
13. ^'Remembering Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the 'Awara Masiha''. The Indian Express. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
14. ^Shandilya, Krupa (2017). Intimate Relations: Social Reform and the Late Nineteenth-Century South Asian Novel. Northwestern University Press. p. 46. ISBN978-0-8101-3424-9 – via Project MUSE.(subscription required)
15. ^'Classic Saratchandra Penguin Books India'. penguinqa.srijan-sites.com. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
16. ^'Hindi Belt: A glimpse into an unfamiliar world'. The Hindu. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
17. ^'Remembering Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the 'Awara Masiha''. Indian Express. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
18. ^Vishnu Prabhakar and (tr.) Jai Ratan (1990). Great Vagabond: Biography and Immortal Works of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. South Asia Books.CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)

Notes[edit]

• Ganguly, Swagato. 'Introduction'. In Parineeta by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2005. (English translation)
• Guha, Sreejata. 'Introduction'. In Devdas by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2002. (English translation)
• Roy, Gopalchandra. Saratchandra, Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
• Sarat Rachanabali, Ananda Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
• Prithwindra Mukherjee. 'Introduction' in Mahesh et autres nouvelles by Saratchandra Chatterji. Paris: Unesco/Gallimard, 1978. (French translation of Mahesh, Bindur chhele and Mejdidi by Prithwindra Mukherjee. Foreword by Jean Filliozat)
• Dutt, A. K. and Dhussa, R. 'Novelist Sarat Chandra's perception of his Bengali home region: a literary geographic study'. Springer Link
• Sil, Narasingha Prasad. The life of Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay: drifter and dreamer. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2012.
• Das, Sisir Kumar, 'A History of Indian Literature 1911–1956: Struggle for Freedom: Triumph and Tragedy', South Asia Books (1 September 1995), ISBN8172017987

External links[edit]

• Perfectly All Right?^{[permanent dead link]}
• Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay on IMDb