Bankim Chandra Chattopadyay was born on June 27th 1838. He was born in Kantalpura 24 Pargana District of West Bengal. His father’s name was Yadav Chandra Chattopadyay and his mother’s name was Durga Devi. He was brought up in a very conservative Brahmin Bengali family. He completed his elementary education from Midnapur and did his graduation from Presidency College in the year 1857. Bankim Chandra was married at a very early age of 11. His first wife died in 1959 and he was married again to Rajalakshmi Devi. His first published novel in English was Rajmohan’s wife.

The foremost novel, in the literal sense, of Bengali literature Durgeshnandini was authored by Bankim Chandra.  Bankim Chandra is the stalwart of the social and intellectual movement popularly known as Bengal Renaissance. His literary genius was evidently brilliant in all styles of creative writing be it fiction, satire and essays focusing on social, ethical, and religious issues. His journal Bangadarshan which was started in April 1872 was regarded as the pioneer of an unparalleled cultural progress. It was unique in all its aspects concerning its intellectual dimension, class and variety. The second next extraordinary novel was Kapalkundala. Its central female figure named after the novel represented a classic synthesis of Kalidas’s Shakuntala and Shakespeare’s Miranda. Bankim Chandra composed the celebrated song of Bande Matram in his novel Anandamath which was later declared the national Song of India. Another novel in the series was Mrinalini and together these three novels overlapped the boundaries of history and romance, realism and fantasy.
Although being essentially a novelist, Bankim Chandra excelled in writing numerous essays and religious commentaries. Among his religious dialogues, mention may be made of Krishna Charita, Dharmatattva, Devatattva, and Srimadbhagvat Gita. He wrote several essays including Lok Rahasya, Bijnan Rahasya, and Bichitra Prabandha. Bankim Chandra served for 32 years in Government service and retired in 1891. He breathed his last in April 8, 1894. View or Read more books of Bankim Chandra.