Poem on According to me, the greatest contribution of Sh. Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay (Chatterjee) was…
Answers
With Reverence
I salute thou, for your acumen
To bind forever a nation
With never a speech or a drama
Used your pen as your weapon
And what a weapon, it was!
Wielding it like a spear or a sword
But hurting neither nor fighting
Made a killing nevertheless
Oh, with such impactful words!
That made a collision of an influence
And what an influence it was!
Invoking the patriotism of a nation
To drive her enemies from her soil
What a humble way to become legendary!
Being remembered through a chorus
Of a wonderful National song.
Answer:
Chattopadhyay is widely regarded as a key figure in literary renaissance of Bengal as well as the broader Indian subcontinent. Some of his writings, including novels, essays, and commentaries, were a breakaway from traditional verse-oriented Indian writings, and provided an inspiration for authors across India.
When Bipin Chandra Pal decided to start a patriotic journal in August 1906, he named it Vande Mataram, after Chattopadhyay's song. Lala Lajpat Rai also published a journal of the same name.
Chattopadhyay was born in the village Kanthalpara in the town of North 24 Parganas, Naihati, in an orthodox Bengali Brahmin family, the youngest of three brothers, to Yadav Chandra Chattopadhyaya and Durgadebi. His father, a government official, went on to become the Deputy Collector of Midnapur. One of his brothers, Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay was also a novelist and he is known for his famous book "Palamau". Bankim Chandra and his elder brother both had their schooling from Midnapore Collegiate School (then Governmental Zilla School), where he wrote his first poem. He was educated at the Hooghly Mohsin College (founded by Bengali philanthropist Muhammad Mohsin) and later at Presidency College, Kolkata, graduating with a degree in Arts in 1858.