Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of early 20th century.
Sarat Chandra was born in Debanandapur, Hooghly, Bengal Presidency, British Raj.
His family was occasionally supported by other family members and
Chattopadhyay's lack of financial stability would influence his writing
in years to come. He started his education at "Pyari Pandit"s" pathshala
and then he took admission at Hooghly Branch High School. Although he
began as a fine
arts student, Chattopadhyay left his studies due to his
persistent state of poverty. He received his early education while
residing at his maternal uncle's house in Bhagalpur. He spent 20 years
of his life in Bhagalpur and a significant portion of his novels were
either written in Bhagalpur or based on his experience in Bhagalpur.
His work represented rural Bengali society and he often wrote against
social superstitions and oppression. For a short period he was a sannyasi, a Hindu ascetic who abandons the material and social worlds. His first published story was "Mandir".
After the death of his parents, Chattopadhyay left his college education midway and went to Burma in 1903. There he found employment with a Government Office as clerk.
He returned to India, but before his departure he submitted a short
story for a prize competition under his uncle's name, Surendranath
Ganguli. It won first prize in 1904.
Vishnu Prabhakar wrote a biography about Chattopadhyay. Prabhakar traveled for fourteen years to collect material.
He died in Kolkata of liver cancer in 1938.
House of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Sarat Chandra Kuthi
Sarat Chandra's house at Samta.
Room of Sarat Chandra in his house at Samta.
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 lifetime as a novelist in Samtabere and in
another house in Kolkata. His house in Samtaber is often called by and shown as Sarat Chandra Kuthi in the map of Samtaber or Samta, in the Howrah district of West Bengal.
The temple of Sarat Chandra in his house.
The Rupnarayan River
then used to flow right outside the window of Sarat Chandra’s ground
floor study. Now, the river has changed its route and has moved far
away. The two storied Burmese style house was also home to Sarat
Chandra's brother, Swami Vedananda, who was a disciple of Belur Math. His along with his brother Swami Vedananda's samadhi can still be seen there. Swami Vedananda was a disciple in Belur Math. The trees like that of bamboo, galoncho and the guava trees planted by the renowned author are still tourist attractions.
Parts of the house-like the mud-walled kitchen-collapsed and the
house was damaged in the 1978 floods, the Zilla Parishad undertook its
repair spending 
77000. After it was declared as a Heritage or Historical Site by the Clause 2 of the West Bengal Heritage Commission Act 2001 (Act IX of 2001)
Act IX of 2001 in 2009 the whole house was renovated and the belongings
of Sarat Chandra like his furniture, walking stick, shoes etc. were
polished and are restored in showcases. The house’s boundary has been
extended until the Samadhis, surrounding them which earlier used to lie
on the road.
77000. After it was declared as a Heritage or Historical Site by the Clause 2 of the West Bengal Heritage Commission Act 2001 (Act IX of 2001)
Act IX of 2001 in 2009 the whole house was renovated and the belongings
of Sarat Chandra like his furniture, walking stick, shoes etc. were
polished and are restored in showcases. The house’s boundary has been
extended until the Samadhis, surrounding them which earlier used to lie
on the road.Sarat Mela
Sarat Mela is an annual fair which is held in late January every year
for seven days to showcase the different lifetimes of Sarat Chandra.
The fair is solely dedicated to Sarat Chandra and his works. Sarat Mela
was started in 1972. Complete with countless stalls of handicrafts and
local products, giant wheels, merry-go-rounds, stalls of jalebi, papad,
toys, utensils, etc. Cultural programs mostly held by local talents,
debate and singing competition is also held. Students display their
handicrafts as do amateur and professional gardeners. They also display
unique like over-sized vegetables and plants, series of terracotta
relief plaques depicting the various phases of Sarat Chandra’s life like
his childhood, his marriage, his homeopathic clinic for the poor, his
last journey to Kolkata’s
Park Nursing Home in a palanquin and so on which catch the eye. Also
such clay “illustrations” of Sarat Chandra’s works like Mahesh are
installed. The fair ends late at night with Chhau dance and a fireworks display.
The fair is held on the Panitras High School grounds some distance
from Sarat Chandra’s house but if it could be shifted to the open space
where the Rupnarayan River once flowed right in front of the house people could link the two more easily. The Government of West Bengal
does not provide funds, only private and public donations allow the
villagers to hold the fair. However, sometime the number of people it
draws is reduced due to unpleasant weather conditions like rainfall.
- Bordidi, (The Elder Sister) 1907
- Bindur Chhele, (Bindu's Son) 1913
- Devdas
- Mejhdidi
