History of 15th September- Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
Explore the history of 15th September through an engaging narrative that spans across centuries. From Brahmagupta’s astronomical treatise to Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s birth, discover how this day has shaped literary and scientific worlds.
Ah, dear readers, let’s take a delightful stroll through the history of 15th September, shall we? Now, I must confess, the list I present in this series is by no means an exhaustive account of all the historical happenings of the day. What I endeavour to do is shine a light on a few events that I believe will tickle your fancy—after all, history never truly ends, does it?
Let’s dive right into it, then. Our first stop takes us all the way back to ancient India, in the year 642 (or 25th Bhadrapada 4943 if you’re following the Kali Yuga calendar). On this day, none other than Brahmagupta, the famed Indian mathematician and astronomer, wrapped up his astronomical treatise Khandakhadyaka. It’s a bit of a mouthful, I’ll grant you that! But within it, Brahmagupta delved into the longitudes of planets, solar and lunar eclipses, and much more besides. Oh, and before I forget, he was the first chap to describe gravity as an attractive force. Not too shabby, eh?
Fast forward a few centuries and we land in the year 1616, in the quaint town of Frascati, not far from Rome. Here, on this very day, the first public school in Europe opened its doors. A Spanish Catholic priest by the name of José de Calasanz was behind this rather noble endeavour. Up until that point, schooling was reserved for the upper crust of society, so this was a bit of a game-changer, don’t you think?
Now, for the romantics among you, you’ll be pleased to know that on this day in 1795, Lyrical Ballads, the cornerstone of the English Romantic movement, was published. Yes, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth teamed up to give the world this poetic gem, changing the landscape of English literature forever.
Jumping ahead to 1928, we find ourselves in London, where a chap named Sir Alexander Fleming made a bit of a splash. While mucking about with the influenza virus in his lab at St. Mary’s Hospital, he stumbled upon penicillin. A stroke of luck that would, quite literally, save millions of lives. Not bad for an accidental discovery, wouldn’t you say?
And now we come to the feature story of 15th September. I’ll be honest, I found myself in a bit of a pickle deciding on this one. Should I regale you with Neville Chamberlain’s infamous meeting with Hitler in 1938? Or perhaps delve into Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s 13-day visit to the United States in 1959, the first state visit by a Soviet leader to the US, no less? Tempting as those were, my Bengali roots tugged me back to a small village in Hooghly called Debanandapur. For it was on this day in 1876 that Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, the creator of the beloved Devdas, was born. So, there you have it—today’s feature is a tribute to the life and legacy of one of Bengal’s literary giants.
The Voice of India’s ‘Fallen Women’
Ah history of 15th of September—let’s take a trip back to the little village of Debanandapur, nestled in the Bandel region of Bengal. It was on this very day in 1876 when a baby boy came into the world, destined to become a literary icon, shining a light on India’s so-called ‘fallen women.’ Fast forward to today, and while Indian women have indeed risen in many ways, standing shoulder to shoulder with men in every sphere, let’s not kid ourselves into thinking everything’s rosy.
We’ve got rapists like Ram Rahim waltzing out on parole not once, not twice, but three times in a mere 40 days in 2023. And what about Bilkis Banu? Her rapists were let loose for ‘good conduct’—they were even given a hero’s welcome! Let that sink in for a moment. Women in Manipur? Stripped and paraded in public like it’s the dark ages. And while we’re at it, let’s not forget Prajwal Revenna, a man tainted with controversy, gets an election ticket. And what of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh? Accusation after accusation, yet no action. Oh, and the icing on this shameful cake? A doctor in Kolkata’s R.G. Kar Hospital was not only raped but murdered, and now our once-proud Kolkata Police—once dubbed the ‘Scotland Yard of the East’—is being accused of tampering with evidence. Brilliant, isn’t it?
So, as we turn the pages from the history of 15th September, the perfect choice for today’s feature is none other than Sarat Chandra Bose. A realist, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee had no time for sugar-coating. He gave his women characters with grit, with depth—no goddesses floating around in some heavenly light, just real women, wading through the muck society throws at them. And his men? Often weaker than the women they sought to control. Take Devdas—a lad who couldn’t stop drowning himself in drink for the love of a woman. Some hero.
Sarat ripped the veil off the double standards of the day. Oh, yes, society preached purity for women, but men? They got a free pass. His female characters are either stoic, like Parvati, Rama, Sabitri or Bindu, or they possess sharp intellect, like Kiranmaye, Bharati. Kamal, Sorasi and Sumitra. He laid bare the hypocrisy, the misery, the suffocating grip of conservatism. His women weren’t just characters—they were rebels in their own right, rejecting the chains society tried to place on them.
From widows who dared to love but refused to marry again (Lalana in Subhada1898) out of fear of public scorn to women who suffered at the hands of inhuman laws (Choto Bhai 1912), Sarat’s works depict a Bengal that stifled its women.
It’s been more than a hundred years, yet here we are, still debating what women can and cannot do, what they should wear, and how they ought to behave. Women are still told to ‘become teachers, it’s a good job for women.’ Still unable to walk freely at night in a country that boasts about being ‘free.’
Shame on us, I say.
So before I end the history of 15th September let me tell all my mothers, sisters, daughters, and lovers: enough is enough. It’s high time you stopped asking nicely. Wake up, fight for what’s rightfully yours, and don’t stop until you get it.
Long live freedom.
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