Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (Bengali pronunciation: [ʃɔɾot̪t͡ʃɔnd̪ɾo t͡ʃɔʈːopad̪ʱːae̯]; 15 September 1876 – 16 January 1938) was a Bengali novelist and short story writer of the early 20th century. He generally wrote about the lives of Bengali family and society in cities and villages. However, his keen powers of observation, great sympathy for fellow human beings, a deep understanding of human psychology (including the "ways and thoughts and languages of women and children"), an easy and natural writing style, and freedom from political biases and social prejudices enable his writing to transcend barriers and appeal to all Indians. He remains the most popular, translated, and adapted Indian author of all time.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay was born on 15 September 1876, in a Bengali Brahmin family in Debanandapur, a small village in Hooghly, West Bengal, about 50 kilometres from Kolkata. He was his father Matilal and mother Bhubanmohini's eldest son and second child. His grandfather was Baikuntha Chattopadhyay; after Baikuntha was murdered by his zamindar, Sarat Chandra's grandmother moved to Debanandapur with Matilal. Matilal was given a piece of land by his mother's brothers. Some time later, he married Bhubanmohini, the daughter of Kedarnath Gangopadhyay, who lived in Bhagalpur, Bihar. Matilal continued his studies in Bhagalpur, but his financial situation was precarious as he could not hold on to any jobs.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay started working from an early age. Chattopadhyay took an interest in literature from Motilal. Much of Chattopadhyay's early life is disputed. According to Narasingha Prosad Sil, Chattopadhyay was taken to Bhagalpur from Debanandapur when he was two or three years old. He enrolled there in school and stayed till fifth or sixth year. Chattopadhyay came back to Debanandapur, where he studied in a pathashala for two years. In the rural areas, he often went fishing or rafting in water bodies and exploring places.
In 1886, Chattopadhyay went to travel in Dehri-on-Sone. After this travel, Matilal sent him to Durgacharan Middle English School in Bhagalpur for a getting a scholarship. For meeting the eligibility, he took tutoring lessons from his classmate Manindranath's tutor. They passed their exams and got scholarship. The next year, Chattopadhyay enrolled in the Bhagalpur District School where he studied till 1889.
In 1889, Matilal lost his job. Chattopadhyay and his whole family shifted into Debanandapur, where he enrolled into the Hooghly District School. His father arranged a room for Sarat Chandra to stay, at the house of a landlord. He stayed in the residence for a few years and returned to Debanandapur. Matilal was unable to further pay for Chattopadhyay's education than what he paid earlier. They traveled to Bhagalpur in 1893 and Chattopadhyay got enrolled in Tejnarayan Jubilee Collegiate School. A teacher in the school helped Chattopadhyay to complete his homework to encourage his studies. Kedarnath died in 1892. His death caused turmoil in the family. His son Thakurdas Gangopadhyay spent money on lawyers for a financial lawsuit. To pay for Chattopadhyay's education, Kedarnath's son Bipradas borrowed money. Chattopadhyay completed his entrance exams in 1894. Sarat Chandra Chatterjee being unable to pay for college education was approached by the mother of his classmate's tutor, Kusumkamini, who offered to pay Chattopadhyay's college fees for tutoring her two sons. During his college years, Chattopadhyay began writing books; he took his inspiration from the novels of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and from his enduring interest in narrating stories and the theaters.
Sarat Chandra was a daring, adventure-loving boy. He attended schools in and around Debanandapur, one being Hooghly Branch Government School and in Bhagalpur. His strong performance in English and other subjects was rewarded with a "double promotion" that enabled him to skip a grade. However, in 1892, financial difficulties forced him to stay out of school for one year. He began writing stories at the time.
Matilal sold his paternal house on November 9, 1896, to Kedarnath's brother Aghornath. After November 1896, Matilal rented a house owned by Chandrashekhar Sarkar, in the slums of Bhagalpur. Chattopadhyay studied in college using borrowed books from his classmate he met in primary school. Chattopadhyay did not have enough money (₹20) to pay for the final college exams, after studying there for two years, he ended his formal education.
Poverty forced the family to live for long periods in Bhuvanmohini's father's (and later brother's) home in Bhagalpur, Bihar.
In 1894, Sarat Chandra passed his Entrance Examination (public examination at the end of Class X) and entered Tejnarayan Jubilee College. He developed an interest in English literature and read A Tale of Two Cities and David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and other novels. Looking at Western authors such as Marie Corelli and Ellen Prince, Chatterjee adopted the pseudonym St. C. Lara. He was inspired by the writings of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay. He organized a children's literary society in Bhagalpur, which published a handwritten magazine. Two years later, his formal studies ended as he could not pay the twenty rupees examination fee.
On his wife's death in 1895, Matilal left the house of his in-laws and moved the family to a mud house in Bhagalpur. In 1896, he sold his ancestral house to repay debts. Sarat Chandra spent time interacting with friends, acting in plays, and playing sports and games. He seriously read literature and wrote several famous works including Bordidi, Chandranath, and Devdas. And then he stopped writing: "But I soon gave up the habit as useless, and almost forgot in the long years that followed that I could even write a sentence in my boyhood."
After holding sundry jobs, Sarat Chandra got upset with his father and left home. He wandered from place to place in the guise of a sannyasi (monk). Little is known about what he did during this period. On getting the news of his father's death, Sarat Chandra came back and did his father's shraddha (memorial service). His oldest sister was already married. He deposited his remaining siblings with a friend and relatives and went to Calcutta (today's Kolkata) to try out his luck.
In Calcutta, Sarat Chandra worked for six months translating Hindi paper books into English for an advocate. In January 1903, he went to Burma (today's Myanmar).
Before leaving for Burma, at the insistence of an uncle, Sarat Chandra sent the story "Mandir" to the "Kuntaleen Story Competition." It won the first prize out of 150 submissions. Mandir was published under another uncle's name. The story was 27-year-old Sarat Chandra's first printed work.
Sarat Chandra lived in Burma for thirteen years. He first held sundry jobs in Rangoon and Pegu (today's Yangon and Bago, respectively). He eventually found work in Burma Public Works Accounts Office in Rangoon.
Most of his stay in Rangoon was in the Botahtaung Pazundaung neighbourhood where "mistris" (manual workers, mechanics, craftsmen, artisans) lived. He freely mixed with them. He wrote their job applications, mediated conflicts, gave them homeopathic medicine for free, even gave monetary help. The mistris had great respect for him.
During his stay in Rangoon, Sarat Chandra read widely. He borrowed books on various subjects, including sociology, politics, philosophy, physiology, psychology, history, scriptures, and other topics from the Bernard Free Library. Signs of heart problems slightly slowed down his intense study habits. He also began to paint.
In 1912, the wooden house where he lived on Lansdowne Road got burnt down. He lost his belongings including his paintings, and the manuscript of his novel Choritrohin, which he rewrote.
He resumed writing after a gap of many years: "Some of my old acquaintances started a little magazine, but no one of note would condescend to contribute to it, as it was so small and insignificant. When almost hopeless, some of them suddenly remembered me, and after much persuasion they succeeded in extracting from me a promise to write for it. This was in the year 1913. I agreed most unwillingly—perhaps only to put them off until I returned to Rangoon and could forget the matter entirely. But sheer volume and force of their letters and telegrams compelled me at last to think seriously about writing again. I sent them a short story, for their magazine Jamuna. This became at once extremely popular, and made me famous in one day. Since then I have been writing regularly. In Bengal perhaps I am the only fortunate writer who has not had to struggle."