Ramapada Chowdhury


Ramapada Chowdhury was a Bengali-language novelist and short story writer in India. He was the longtime editor of Rabibashoriyo, the Sunday supplement of Anandabazar Patrika. His works are often seen as "sham-naturalistic" reflections on society. In 1988, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Bari Badle Jay.
He was also honoured with the Rabindra Puraskar and several other literary awards, including the inaugural Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize. Many of his works have been adapted into films, most notably Kharij, directed by Mrinal Sen, and Ek Doctor Ki Maut, directed by Tapan Sinha—both of which earned critical acclaim.
Chowdhury began writing during World War II and remained closely associated with Anandabazar Patrika for many years. His writing style is marked by brevity and precision. He is regarded as one of the most significant short story writers in modern Bengali literature.
In a 2005 interview with Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, he announced his retirement from writing, saying he no longer understood today's world and had nothing more to say.

Early life

Ramapada Chowdhury was born on 28 December 1922 in Kharagpur, Bengal Presidency, British India. His father, Maheshchandra Chowdhury, worked in the railways, and the family often moved from one place to another. Thus young Ramapada was exposed to life in several different parts of India. Ranchi, Raipur, Bilaspur, Guwahati and Dibrugarh were some of the towns he lived in. All of these places figure in his early works of fiction. His Mother was Durgasundari Devi. He completed his schooling from Kharagpur. Subsequently, he studied at Presidency College, Calcutta, and obtained his master's degree in English literature from the University of Calcutta.

Career

Chowdhury wrote his first short story as a student, in response to a challenge from his friends. It was written sitting in a restaurant near his college, and was published in the newspaper Jugantar. After completing his Master's, he got a job with Anandabazar Patrika. Later he became Associate Editor of the newspaper, and edited its Sunday supplement Rabibasariya for many years.
Chowdhury started writing short stories on a regular basis from the age of twenty-five. He published two collections of stories before the publication of his first novel Pratham Prahar. Although an established writer in the 1950s, Chowdhury received wider recognition with his 1960 novel Banpalashir Padabali, which appeared in serial form in the well-known literary magazine Desh. He was awarded the Rabindra Puraskar in 1971 for his novel Ekhoni and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1988 for Bari Badle Jay. In all, he wrote around fifty novels and over one hundred short stories. He also edited an anthology of stories originally published in Desh. According to Shamik Ghosh, Chowdhury was among the few Bengali authors who preferred quality to quantity.
In 2011, the Indian Institute of Planning and Management instituted the Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize. Ramapada Chowdhury won the award in its inaugural year, for his novel Banpalashir Padabali. According to writer and scholar Surajit Dasgupta,
The Sahitya Akademi, in its series of films on eminent Indian writers, has produced a film on Ramapada Chowdhury, directed by Raja Mitra.

Legacy

Writing for Desh, Bani Basu described him as "sharp and witty," noting his experimentation with different storytelling forms while preserving traditional styles and exploring the "criticism of life" in his writings. Krishna Basu saw him as a "distant personality" and counted him among his favorite novelists, alongside the three Bandopadhyays: Tarasankar, Manik, and Bibhutibhushan. Dibyendu Palit remembered him as an editor who encouraged young writers, unafraid to both praise and critique their work, while Nirendranath Chakraborty reflected on their long friendship, before and after joining ABP, and how he quit smoking after Ramapada did. Chakraborty later died the same year on 25 December. Nrisingha Prasad Bhaduri remembered him as an editor with a keen ability to draw out quality writing, praising his craftsmanship in novels, short stories, and even the brief, starkly radical notes he occasionally sent to fellow writers—each word, he said, was "irreplaceable."

Selected works

Pratham Prahar Dwiper Nam Tia rang Banpalashir Padabali
  • Parajit Samrat Ekhoni
  • Picnic Je Jekhane Danriye
  • Album-e Koyekti Chobi Kharij
  • Lajja
  • Hridoy
  • Beej
  • Swajan Bari Badle Jay Abhimanyu DarbariLalbaiHarano Khata
  • Bahiri
  • Chhad
  • Shesher Seemana
  • Aakash Pradeep
  • Bhobishyot

English translations

Nothing but the Truth, translated by Enakshi Chatterjee, Vikas, New Delhi, 1978..Second Encounter, translated by Swapna Dutta, Niyogi Books, 2016..Dwellings Change, translated by Tania Chakravertty, Sahitya Akademi, 2023..

In popular culture

Film adaptations

Dwiper Nam Tiarang, directed by Gurudas BagchiEkhoni, directed by Tapan SinhaPicnic, directed by Inder SenBanpalashir Padabali, directed by Uttam KumarJe Jekhane Danriye, directed by AgragamiKharij, directed by Mrinal SenEk Din Achanak, directed by Mrinal Sen )

Awards and honours

  • Sahitya Akademi Award 1988
  • Rabindra Puraskar 1971
  • Ananda Puraskar 1963
  • Rabindranath Tagore Memorial International Prize 2011