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Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Born	1824 Sagardari, Jessore
Died	1873 Kolkata, British India
Occupation	poet, playwright

Michael Madhusudan Dutt (Datta), (Bengali: মাইকেল মধুসূদন দত্ত Maikel Modhushudôn Dôtto) (1824-1873), born Madhusudan Dutt, is a famous 19th century Bengali poet and dramatist. He was born in Sagardari, a village in Jessore , East Bengal (now in Bangladesh). He was a pioneer of Bengali drama. His famous work Meghnadh Badh Kabya (Bengali: মেঘনাদবধ কাব্য), is a tragic epic. It consists of nine cantos and is quite exceptional in Bengali literature both in terms of style and content. He also wrote poems about the sorrows and afflictions of love as spoken by women. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File links MichaelMadhusudanDatta. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Jessore is a district in south western region of Bangladesh. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... , “Calcutta” redirects here. ... Anthem God Save The Queen/King British India, circa 1860 Capital Calcutta (1858-1912), New Delhi (1912-1947) Language(s) Hindi, Urdu, English and many others Government Monarchy Emperor of India  - 1877-1901 Victoria  - 1901-1910 Edward VII  - 1910-1936 George V  - January-December 1936 Edward VIII  - 1936-1947 George... This article is about work. ... Sappho and Alcaeus of Mytilene, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1881). ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Bangla redirects here. ... 1824 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Bangla redirects here. ... Jessore is a district in south western region of Bangladesh. ... East Bengal was the name used during two periods in the 20th century for a territory that roughly included the modern state of Bangladesh. ... Bangla redirects here. ... The epic is a broadly defined genre of narrative poetry, characterized by great length, multiple settings, large numbers of characters, or long span of time involved. ... A canto is a significant section of a long poem or the highest part in a piece of choral music. ...

From an early age, Madhusudan desired to be an Englishman in form and manner. Born to a Hindu-Christian Zeminder family, he converted to Christianity to the ire of his family and adopted the first name, Michael. However, he was to regret his desire for England and the [[[Occident]] in later life when he talked ardently of his homeland as is seen in his poems and sonnets from this period. Royal motto: Dieu et mon droit (French: God and my right) Official language None; English is de facto Capital London Capitals coordinates 51° 30 N, 0° 10 W Largest city London Area  - Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 1st UK 49,138,831... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Madhusudan is widely considered to be one of the greatest poets in Bengali literature and the father of Bangla sonnet. He pioneered what came to be called amitrakshar chhanda (unrhyming rhythm, similar to Spenserian sonnet in structure). Dutt died in Kolkata, India on 29 June 1873. The first evidence of Bengali literature is known as Charyapada or Charyageeti, which were Buddhist hymns from the 8th century. ... Bangla redirects here. ... Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch, one of the best-known early Italian sonnet writers. ... The Spenserian sonnet was used by Edmund Spenser. ... , “Calcutta” redirects here. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

Major works

• Tillotama, 1860
• Meghnad Badh Kabya (Ballad of Meghnadh's demise), 1861
• Ratnavali

1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... Year 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

Early life

His childhood education started from his neibour village name Shekpura, There an old mosque, where he went to learn Persian, He was an exceptionally gifted student. Ever since his childhood, young Madhusudan was recognized by his teachers and professors as being a precocious child with a gift of literary expression. He was very imaginative from his boyhood. Early exposure to English education and European literature at home and in Kolkata made him desire to emulate the proverbially stiff upper-lip Englishman in taste, manners and intellect. In this respect, he was an early Macaulayite without even knowing it. He dreamt of achieving great fame the moment he landed abroad. His adolescence, coupled with the spirit of intellectual enquiry convinced him that he was born on the wrong side of the planet, and that conservative Hindu society in early nineteenth century Bengal (and by extension Indian society) had not yet developed the spirit of rationalistic enquiry and appreciation of greater intellectual sophistry to appreciate his myriad talents. He espoused the view that free thinking and post Enlightenment West would be more receptive to his intellectual acumen and creative genius. In this, perhaps he forgot the colour of his skin, as he was to realize later on in life, much to his consternation and disgust. He composed his early works--poetry and drama--almost entirely in English. Plays like Sermista, Ratnavali and translations like Neel Durpan and poems like Captive Ladie which was written on the mother of his close friend Sri Bhudev Mukhopadhyay, indicate a high level of intellectual sophistication. Farsi redirects here. ... Quotes His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. ... Rational may be: the adjective for the state of rationality acting according to the philosophical principles of rationalism a mathematical term for certain numbers; the rational numbers the software company Rational Software; now owned by IBM, and formerly Rational Software Corporation This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which... Literati redirects here. ... Sophism was originally a term for the techniques taught by a highly respected group of philosophy and rhetoric teachers in ancient Greece. ... The Age of Enlightenment (French: ; Italian: ; German: ; Spanish: ; Swedish: ) was an eighteenth-century movement in Western philosophy. ... A compass rose with west highlighted This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation). ...

In His Own Words

Madhusudan embraced Christianity at the church of Fort William in spite of the objections of his parents and relatives on February 9, 1843. Later, he escaped to Madras to escape persecution. He describes the day as: Fort William is a British Raj fort in the Indian city of Calcutta and was named after King William of Orange. ... is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1843 (MDCCCXLIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ...

On the eve of his departure to England:

(Translated from the original Bengali by the poet.)

Later life

Influences

Dutt was particularly inspired by both the life and work of the English Romantic poet Lord Byron. The life of Dutt closely parallels the life of Lord Byron in many respects. Like Byron, Dutt was a spirited bohemian and like Byron, Dutt was a Romantic, albeit being born on the other side of the world, and as a recipient subject of the British imperialist enterprise. However, the lives of the two can be summed up in one word: audacity. These two mighty poets at once remind us of the saying of Georges Danton, the French revolutionist: "L'audace, encore l'audace, toujours l'audace!" Romantics redirects here. ... Lord Byron redirects here. ... For other uses, see Bohemian (disambiguation). ... According to a biographer, Dantons height was colossal, his make athletic, his features strongly marked, coarse, and displeasing; his voice shook the domes of the halls.[1] Georges Jacques Danton (October 26, 1759 – April 5, 1794) was a leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and...

If Lord Byron won over the British literary establishment with Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a comparative analogy may be made for Dutt's heroic epic Meghnadh Badh Kabya, although the journey was far from smooth. However, with its publication, the Indian poet distinguished himself as a serious composer of an entirely new genre of heroic poetry, that was Homeric and Dantesque in technique and style, and yet so fundamentally Indian in theme. To cite the poet himself: "I awoke one morning and found myself famous." Nevertheless, it took a few years for this epic to win recognition all over the country. Childe Harolds Pilgrimage by J.M.W. Turner, 1823. ... For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... DANTE is also a digital audio network. ...

Linguistic Abilities

Madhusudan was a gifted linguist and polyglot. Besides Indian languages like Bengali, Sanskrit and Tamil, he was well versed in classical languages like Greek and Latin. He also had a fluent understanding of modern European languages like Italian and French and could read and write the last two with perfect grace and ease.^{[citation needed]} For the journal, see Linguistics (journal). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Multilingualism#Multilingualism within an individual. ... Bangla redirects here. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... European languages are the object of Eurolinguistics. ...

Work with the Sonnet

He dedicated his first sonnet to his friend Rajnarayan Basu, along with a letter which in which he wrote: Francesco Petrarca, or Petrarch, one of the best-known early Italian sonnet writers. ... Rajnarayan Basu (Bengali: রাজনারায়ণ বসু) (1826-1899) was a writer and intellectual of the Bengal Renaissance. ...

"What say you to this, my good friend? In my humble opinion, if cultivated by men of genius, our sonnet in time would rival the Italian."

When Madhusudan later stayed in Versailles, France, the third centenary of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri was being celebrated all over the Europe. He composed a poem in memory of the immortal poet and translated it into French and Italian and sent it to court of the king of Italy. Victor Emmanuel II, the then monarch, was so enamored by the poem and wrote back to the poet: This article is about the city of Versailles. ... Dante redirects here. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II; March 14, 1820—January 9, 1878) was the King of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia from 1849–1861, and King of Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878. ...

"It will be a ring which will connect the Orient with the Occident."

Work in Blank Verse

Sharmistha (spelt as Sermista in English) was Madhusudan's first attempt at blank verse in Bengali literature. Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee, while paying a glowing tribute to Madhusudan's blank verse, observed: Sahasravachaspati Sir Asutosh Mookerjee Saraswati (Bengali: ) , M.A, PhD, DSc, LLD,CIE, Kt. ...

"As long as the Bengali race and Bengali literature would exist, the sweet lyre of Madhusudan would never cease playing."

He further added:

"Ordinarily, reading of poetry causes a soporific effect, but the intoxicating vigour of Madhusudan's poems makes even a sick man sit up on his bed."

In his The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian, Nirad C. Chaudhuri has remarked that during his childhood days in Kishoreganj, a common standard for testing the level of erudition in the Bengali language during family gatherings (like for example, testing the vocabulary stock of a would-be bridegroom as a way of teasing him) was the ability to pronounce and recite the poetry of Dutt, without the trace of an accent. The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian is an autobiographical work of one of the most controversial writers of India -- Nirad C. Chaudhuri, the last imperialist. ... Nirad C. Chaudhuri (Bangla: নীরদ চন্দ্র চৌধুরী Nirod Chôndro Choudhuri) (23 November 1897 – 1 August 1999) was a Bengali Indian writer and a commentator on culture. ... A groom waits for his bride. ...

In France

In his trip to Versailles, France during the 1860s, Madhusudan had to suffer the ignominy of penury and destitution. His friends back home, who had inspired him to cross the ocean in search of recognition, started ignoring him altogether. Perhaps his choice of a lavish lifestyle, coupled with a big ego that was openly hostile to native tradition, was partly to blame for his financial ruin. Except for a very few well-wishers, he had to remain satisfied with many fair-weather friends. It may be argued, not without some obvious irony that during those days, his life oscillated, as it were, between the Scylla of stark poverty and the Charybdis of innumerable loans. He was head over heels in debt. As he was not in a position to clear off his debts, he was very often threatened by imprisonment. Dutt was able to return home only due to the munificent generosity of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. For this, Dutt was to regard Vidyasagar as Dayar Sagar (meaning the ocean of kindness) for as long as he lived. For it should not be forgotten here, that Madhusudan had cut off all connections with his parents, relatives and at times even with his closest friends, who more often than not were wont to regard him as an iconoclast and an outcast. It was during the course of his sojourn in Europe that Madhusudan then realized his true identity. Perhaps for the first time in his life, he became aware of the colour of his skin and his native language. What he wrote to his friend Gour Bysack from France neatly sums up his eternal dilemma: This article is about the city of Versailles. ... Three of Scyllas heads as portrayed in The Odyssey (1997) TV miniseries; the film depicts each head striking with snake-like speed and accuracy and devouring men whole. ... In Greek mythology, Charybdis, or Kharybdis (sucker down, Greek Χάρυβδις), is a sea monster, daughter of Poseidon and Gaia, who swallows huge amounts of water three times a day and then belches it back out again. ... Indian postal stamp on Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Bangla: ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর) (1820-1891) (born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyay) was a Bengali polymath. ... This article belongs in one or more categories. ... Outcast is an action-adventure computer game by Belgian developer Appeal, released in 1999 by publisher Infogrames. ...

Marriage and Relationships

One of the reasons for his decision to leave the religion of his family was his refusal to enter into an arranged marriage that his father had decided for him. He had no respect for that tradition and wanted to break free from the confines of caste-based endogamous marriage. His knowledge of the European tradition convinced him of the superiority of marriages made by mutual consent (or love marriages). Marriage à-la-mode by William Hogarth: a satire on arranged marriages and prediction of ensuing disaster The purpose of an arranged marriage is to form a new family unit by marriage while respecting the chastity of all people involved. ... Caste systems are traditional, hereditary systems of social classification, that evolved due to the enormous diversity in India (where all three primary races met, not by forced slavery but by immigration). ... pertaining to or characterized by the custom of marrying only within the limits of a clan or tribe ... Matrimony redirects here. ... A love marriage is a union of two parties based upon affection and a mutual attraction between the individuals subconscious minds. ...

Madhusudan married twice. When he was in Madras, he married Rebecca Mactavys. Later, that marriage ended, and Michael married a French woman named Henrietta. His second marriage was to last till the end of his life. From his second marriage, he had four children. The tennis player Leander Paes is a direct descendant. Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... Leander Adrian Paes (born June 17, 1973) is an Indian male tennis professional, who currently features predominantly in the doubles events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup events. ...

Death

Madhusudan died in Calcutta General Hospital on 27 June 1873. Just three days prior to his death, Madhusudan recited a passage from Shakespeare's Macbeth to his dear friend Gour, to express his deepest conviction of life: is the 178th day of the year (179th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Shakespeare redirects here. ... This article is about Shakespeares play. ...

(Macbeth)

Gour responded with a passage from Longfellow: Baron Longfellow , also named Andy Kim was an artist from the 60s. ...

After Dutt's death, he was not paid a proper tribute for fifteen years. The belated tribute took the form of a shabby makeshift tomb. Madhusudan's life was a mixture of joy and sorrow. Although it could be argued that the loss of self-control was largely responsible for his pitiable fate, his over-flowing poetic originality for joy was to become forever immortalized in his oeuvre.

His epitaph, a verse of his own, reads:

it can be argued that michael Madhusudan's popularit was widely influenced by the west where is writing style and much of his life originated. whether he is the greatest modern poet of Bengal is debatable. It is more truthful to say that he introduced Bengali ideas to western writing styles. whether he himself can be considered an idol of Bengali poetry is unlikely because of his rejection to much of Bengali culture and preference to western materialism. Like the Bengali language, Bengali poetry traces its lineage to Pāli and other Prakrit socio-cultural traditions. ...

Legacy

In the words of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the father of modern Bengali prose, the poet of Meghnad Badh Kabya thus: Bankim Chandra Chatterjee (Chattopadhyay in the original Bengali; Chatterjee as spelt by the British) was an Indian poet and author, most famous as the composer of Vande Mataram. ...

"...to Homer and Milton, as well as to Valmiki, he is largely indebted, and his poem is on the whole the most valuable work in modern Bengali literature." For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation). ... // Milton may refer to: People with the surname Milton: John Milton (1608–1674), English poet Milton (surname), other people with that surname People with the given name Milton: Milton (given name) In Australia: Milton, New South Wales Milton, Queensland Milton railway station, Brisbane In Canada: Milton, Ontario Milton (GO Station... Valmiki composes the Ramayana Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, vālmīki) born as Ratnakar is a legendary Hindu sage (maharishi) traditionally regarded as the author of the epic, Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself[1]. He was the tenth child of Pracheta. ...

In word of Tagore:

"The Epic Meghnad-Badh is really a rare treasure in Bengali literature. Through his writings, the richness of Bengali literature has been proclaimed to the wide world."

Vidyasagar's lofty praise runs:

"Meghnad Badh is a supreme poem."

Rabindranath Tagore would later declare: (Bengali: , IPA: ) (7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941), also known by the sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

"It was a momentous day for Bengali literature to proclaim the message of the universal muse and not exclusively its own parochial note. The genius of Bengal secured a place in the wide world overpassing the length and breadth of Bengal. And Bengali poetry reached the highest status."

In Byron's dramatic poem Manfred what the Abbot of St. Maurice spoke of Manfred can equally be applied to the life of Madhusudan: Scene from Manfred by Thomas Cole Manfred is a dramatic poem written in 1816-1817 by Lord Byron; it contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. ... For other uses, see Abbot (disambiguation). ... Coptic Icon of Saint Maurice Saint Maurice, who has given his name to places as dissimilar as St. ...

In the words of Sri Aurobindo: Sri Aurobindo (Bangla: শ্রী অরবিন্দ Sri Ôrobindo, Sanskrit: श्री अरविन्द Srī Aravinda) (August 15, 1872–December 5, 1950) was an Indian/Hindu nationalist, scholar, poet, mystic, evolutionary philosopher, yogi and guru [1]. After a short political career in which he became one of the leaders of the early movement for the freedom of India...

"All the stormiest passions of man's soul he [Madhusudan] expressed in gigantic language."

Further reading

• Ghulam Murshid, Lured by Hope, Oxford Univ Press, (2003) ISBN 0195653629

External links

• Biography (Calcuttaweb.com)
• Hindu School, Kolkata - Web Site
• Michael Madhusudan Dutt