The Sarat Period

Inspired by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's writings, it was novelist Sarat Chandra Chatterjee who brought modern bengali literature to the masses. His piercing analysis of human love, faith and frailties is unparallel. His intimate understanding of the social goings-on and the sympathetic albeit affirmative way he portrayed the unpriviledged and the women in his stories testify his paramount love and affection for the deprived. His lovingly and masterfully crafted words, used by ordinary people of the street, and immaculate writing style made him easily one of the world's best loved novelists. Like Bankim Chandra, he was a common man; he understood the common person's dilemas with life and living conditions.

His novels and short stories appealed to people of all walks of life. His mastery on this branch of the Bengali literature was so complete that it is not at all surprising to note that remaining under the full glare of Tagore's creative genius, Sarat Chandra was never to be influenced by it. On the contrary, Tagore has been so moved by his stories that even he could not resist from the occasional forray into the latter's familiar territory.

Other writers of the Sarat tradition included famous novelists like Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (celebrated author of the Apu trilogy), Manik Bandyopadhyay, Balaichand Mukhopadhyay (pen-name was Bonofool), Abadhoot and Vimal Mitra.

Countless novelists of the modern era since have tried many a different style and technique; many of them succeeded in varying degrees to reach the reading public at large. To date, however, no one novelist has received the same degree of love and affection as Sarat Chandra can so naturally and so mesmerisingly command.