{"id":803,"date":"2013-07-13T01:30:31","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=803"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:30:31","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:30:31","slug":"66-bankim-chamdra-vol-27-supplement-volume-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/27-supplement-volume-27\/66-bankim-chamdra-vol-27-supplement-volume-27","title":{"rendered":"-66_Bankim Chamdra.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\n
\nSUPPL\u00c9MENT<\/font>  
\n<\/font> <\/span>TO
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span>
\n
\nVOLUME   <\/span>17
\n<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\nTHE  <\/span>HOUR 
\n<\/span>OF  <\/span>GOD  <\/span><\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nAND  <\/span>OTHER 
\n<\/span>WRITINGS<\/span><\/b> <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

l.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Bankim<\/span>
\nChandra <\/span><\/i>first
\nappeared in the daily Bande <\/i><\/span>Mataram
\n<\/span><\/i>of
\nApril 22, 1907. We did not include it previously because<\/span>
\nwe were uncertain about its authorship. We find, <\/span>however,
\nthat it is included in a list of articles identified as Sri Aurobindo’s by
\nUpendranath Bannerji, an associate of Sri Aurobindo on the Bande Mataram <\/i>staff.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

2.
\nSapta-chatushtaya <\/i>consists of mantras received by Sri Aurobindo in the
\nAlipore Jail in 1908<\/span> <\/span>–
\n1909. These mantras <\/span>along
\nwith the notes which accompany them were written down by Sri Aurobindo, probably
\nafter his release from prison in May, 1909, and certainly before his departure
\nfrom Chandernagore on March 31, 1910. They have been recently published by
\nPrabartak Sangha in their book, <\/span>LIGHT
\nTO SUPERLIGHT.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

We
\nare indebted to Prabartak Sangha for the photostat copies of Sapta-Chatushtaya,
\n<\/i>except for two pages dealing with "Virya", which were missing.
\nThese pages were later supplied by a devotee of Sri Aurobindo.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n


\n3. The Way of Works <\/i>seems to be the beginning of a book left incomplete
\nby Sri Aurobindo. It is reprinted from a manuscript belonging probably to Sri
\nAurobindo’s early years in Pondicherry.
\n 
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

 
\n Page-349<\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n
\nBankim
\nChandra<\/font> <\/font>
\n <\/b>
\n <\/font> <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

(1838
\n\u2013 1894)
\n <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

   <\/span>                            
\nB<\/b><\/font><\/span>ANKIM
\nChandra, the poet, the philosopher, and the prophet of the New Thought laboured
\nunder a plethora of wit and imagination. He had received from the good fairies
\nan ample dower at his birth; and his mastermind realised <\/span>that<\/span>
\n<\/span>dower<\/span>
\n<\/span>to
\nthe uttermost farthing.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nBankim
\nChandra’s father was a man of culture, and a <\/span>member<\/span>
\n<\/span>of
\nthe Subordinate Executive Service. Bankim Chandra <\/span>entered<\/span>
\n<\/span>the
\nCalcutta Presidency College in 1856 and there became a m<\/span>ember
\nof the most intellectual coterie. He was the first Bengalee to take the degree
\nof B.A. And in recognition of his successful<\/span>,<\/span>
\n<\/span>College
\ncareer, the Government appointed him a Deputy <\/span>Magistrate.
\nAs an officer he showed considerable ability and independence and for some time
\nacted as an Assistant Secretary to <\/span>the
\nGovernment of Bengal. That his official life enlarged his <\/span>mental
\nvision, made him acquainted with the thousand and one phases of nature, and
\nconducted him through a wide range of ex<\/span>periences<\/span>
\n<\/span>cannot
\nbe denied.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\n<\/span>But
\nthe service Bankim Chandra rendered to the above Government counts as dust in
\nthe balance in which posterity will weigh him to form a just estimate of his
\ntalents. And this service pales into insignificance before the brilliant service
\n<\/span>he<\/span>
\nrendered to this country and his community.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\n<\/span>He wrote English with facility. And his controversy with the Christian
\nmissionaries showed his undoubted argumentative, combative and debating powers.
\n        In literature Bankim
\nChandra served his apprenticehood under
\n<\/span>Ishwar
\nChandra Gupta,<\/span> <\/span>–
\na master of the vituperative art w<\/span>ho
\nhad an inexhaustible stock of rollicking humour.
\n        <\/span>While
\nstill young Bankim Chandra began to write a serial st<\/span>ory
\nnamed "Raj Mohan’s Wife" in the Indian Field, <\/i>then edited by
\nKishori Chand Mitra. This was his first public prominent literary effort. But he
\nsoon came to realise that a permanent<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPage-351<\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/span>hold
\non succeeding generations of readers could be got only by writing in the mother
\ntongue. This realisation was most fortunate for Bengalee literature, and marks
\nthe dawn of a new era. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nWhenever a civilised people have found their language inadequate to
\nexpress all sorts of ideas and every shade of thought, they have developed and
\namplified it to serve their purpose. To <\/span>the
\nEnglish-educated Bengalees, the poverty of their<\/span>
\n<\/span>mother
\ntongue had, at first, appeared an insurmountable difficulty, – and some of them
\nhad thought to convert English into their mother tongue. Bankim saw the
\nimpossibility of the idea, and set himself to re-cast and re-model the language,
\n– which was found to fetter the free and full expression of modern thought, – to
\nmake it the proper vehicle of thought.
\n        For a parallel we must turn to Greece. There the ancient language was the
\nliterary language at the time of the capture of Constantinople, and the use of
\nit as a vehicle of literature has been handed down in unbroken tradition to the
\npresent day. The Church service is in ancient Greek, and the New Testament is
\nstill read in the original language in Greek Churches. A change took place when
\nGreece revived in the 19th century. All the great writers felt that it was
\npedantic to adopt many of the old
\n<\/span>forms
\nof inflection and construction <\/span>–<\/span>
\nthat, in one word, the <\/span>ancient
\nlanguage was not fitted to be the vehicle of modern civilisation. They,
\ntherefore, resolved to adapt it. And hence has arisen a form of the language
\nwhich is practically identical with the ancient, but transfused with modern
\nideas, and fitted for the clear and rapid expression of modern literature. He
\nbetook himself to the plain and pleasant paths of prose. He was <\/span>a
\nvoracious reader of English fiction; and his first novel<\/span>
\nDur<\/i><\/span>geshnandini
\n<\/span><\/i>bears
\nthe influence of Scott. In reviewing this <\/span>book
\nProfessor Cowel remarked (MacMillan’s Magazine,<\/i><\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>1872)
\nthat Durgeshnandini <\/i>was a visible result of English education. Cynical
\ncritics have long complained that our Calcutta system of education only produces
\nclever automatons, – "books in chaddurs" used to be the favourite
\nphrase, – who reproduced in the examinations a great amount of ill-digested
\ninformation, but were utterly unable to originate an idea of their own. The
\npresent work, as well as several others may well refute these
\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPage-352<\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\nassertions. But he was a case of the exception proving the rule. <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nIn<\/span> his next
\nnovel Bankim Chandra shook off imitation, and cast his work in bronze like a
\nmaster. The Kapalkundala <\/i>has all the charms of a poem. The situations are
\npicturesque, the descriptions poetic, and the conception grand. In Mrinalinee<\/i>,
\nthe dramatic element predominates. More characters are introduced, and brighter
\nscenes move rapidly. The freshness of fancy, the glow of youth, the exuberance
\nof energy are evident in the construction, the development and the conclusion of
\nthe work. In the Bisabriksha <\/i>we have some striking and faithful <\/span>pictures<\/span>
\n<\/span>of
\nIndian life. His Chandrasekhar <\/i>is a more ambitious work. The canvas is
\ncrowded, the characters are taken widely different societies and spheres of
\nactivity, – and a halo of romance hovers over the work. Rajanee <\/i>is a new
\ndeparture. The climax is reached in Krishnakanter Will. <\/i>It is a work of
\nart done by a man whose gifts have been polished by study and trained by steady
\npractice till they rejoiced in their <\/span>own
\npower.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nThe
\nnext novel is the Anandamath. <\/i>In it occurs the song Bande Mataram <\/i>which
\nis our clarion call to the field of duty. It is the song that the current of the
\nstory sets. The book is meant to explain the significance of the song. It was
\ncomposed tore the book was written. On the day it was being set to music, Bankim
\nChandra, on being asked by the manager of his magazine Bangadarsan, <\/i>to
\nwrite a novel as a song was not cal<\/span>culated<\/span>
\n<\/span>to
\ngo a long way to fill the pages of the paper, replied: \u201c<\/span>You
\ncannot understand the significance of this song now. But if you live 25 years
\nmore you will see Bengal in rapture over it." Perhaps the vision and the
\nfaculty divine made Bankim Chandra make this prophecy. And the manager has lived
\nto see not only all Bengal but all India accept the song as the National anthem
\nand its opening words engraved on the cenotaph of the gr<\/span>eat
\nShivaji.<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nOther works followed. But the author had turned his attention to
\nreligion, and his later productions, -, save Rajs<\/i><\/span>inha,<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/i>a
\nhistoric novel which has no rival in Bengalee literature, <\/span>are
\ndidactic. "For over 20 years," remarks the writer in the
\nEncyclopedia Brittanica, <\/i>"the reading public in Bengal recog- <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPage-353
\n <\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

nised
\nand felt the power of a talented novelist, and the<\/span>
\n<\/span>Bengalee
\n<\/span>ladies in the Zenana
\nread every new work of Bankim Chandra as it issued from the Press."
\n        A novel, if it is to live, must deal with one or more of the few
\n<\/span>great
\npassions of life. The true novelist treats life in a<\/span>
\nbroad human fashion. He watches the stream of life, unmindful of the <\/span>little
\neddies that whirl about under the trees in the sunshine of a<\/span>
\n<\/span> <\/span>summer
\nafternoon. Bankim Chandra’s novels are pre-eminently novels of love. He took up
\nthe eternal and perennial passion of love and threw light on its innumerable
\nfacets. His novels are in the hand of every educated Bengalee. Their magnificent
\nfullness of life in movement, their sumptuous passages of description, their
\npoignancy in pathos and rapidity in action, their unwavering devotion to
\nveracity of impression, without colour or emphasis, <\/span>–<\/span>
\nthese qualities have given intellectual enjoyment to thousands <\/span>of
\nreaders. His women are characters from the hand of a<\/span>
\n<\/span>lover
\nand an artist.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nThe unusual brilliancy of his novels should not make us blind to the
\nother works of Bankim Chandra. He was a versatile and vigorous writer. In 1872
\nhe started the Bangadarsan<\/i>,- a <\/i>literary magazine he edited with
\nundoubted ability. And we all know how his severe criticisms on the worthless
\nand ephemeral productions of so many of his fellow-countrymen brought about a
\ncomplete revolution in the history of Bengalee literature.
\n        His essays on different subjects as well as his explanation of the ślokas
\n<\/i>of the Gita <\/i>bear the stamp of sound judgment and critical insight. He
\nwas ever fearless in exposing the hypocrisy and frailty in others but was never
\nblind to merit but rather ever ready to encourage it.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\nHis Krishnacharitra <\/i>is undoubtedly a great work. "In
\nit," Mr. Blumhardt truly remarks, "he represents the Hindu deity as
\nthe model of a perfect nature, and points out the gradual introduction into the
\ngreat epic of the Mahabharata of the many popular superstitions, and degrading
\naccounts of the life and character of Krishna which are so entirely at variance
\nwith the lofty conception of that deity, as contained in the more ancient Hindu
\nsacred writings."<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

       
\n<\/span>Speaking of the old and the new in modern India Mr. Frazer<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPage-354<\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n


\nin his <\/span>Literary<\/span>
\nHistory of India <\/span><\/i>remarks,
\n<\/span>–<\/span>
\n"Nowhere better than in the novels of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee can the
\nfull force of this strife between old and new be traced." Late in life Bankim
\nChandra took upon himself the task of explaining to his countrymen the Vedas.
\n<\/i>He refuted the opinions of European Orientalists. And sure enough he was a
\nfoeman worthy of the steel. But he was not spared to finish this self-imposed
\ntask. In the middle of his work his busy fingers dropped the pen and his fertile
\nimagination ceased to produce. Thus passed away Bankim Chandra<\/span>,
\nthe<\/span> rishi <\/i><\/span>of
\nmodern Bengal. But his spirit exists in our midst<\/span>,
\n– watching us and wishing us every success in our onward march.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n


\nPage-355<\/p>\n

<\/font>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SUPPL\u00c9MENT   TO VOLUME   17 THE  HOUR  OF  GOD   AND  OTHER  WRITINGS    l. Bankim Chandra first appeared in the daily Bande Mataram of April 22,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-27-supplement-volume-27","wpcat-16-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}