Bharati

Bharati a Bangla periodical. It was first published in 15 Sravan, 1284 BS (29 July 1877). jyotirindranath tagore (1849-1925) pioneered the publication of this literary magazine. dwijendranath tagore (1840-1926) was its editor. Rabindranath contributed three pieces for the first issue and very soon the Bharati became a prominent periodical. The Bharati combined analytical discussions on literature, science, geography, theory of knowledge, current topics, local history, and theatre, along with progressive political articles. It became the upholder of nationalist ideas during the editorship of Sarala Devi.

The Bharati has a very interesting editorial history. After Dwijendranath (1284-1290 BS), Swarnakumari Devi (1291-1301) took charge and worked hard to keep up the uniqueness of this excellent journal. It was conspicuous by its regularity, lucidity and wide acclaim among critics. Hiranmayi Devi and Sarala Devi jointly took charge as editors for the years 1302-1304, and Rabindranath was its editor for a year (1305). Sarala Devi single-handedly carried on as editor from 1306 to 1314, and Swarnakumari Devi again took over from 1315 to 1321. Manilal Gangopadhyay and Sourindramohan Mukhopadhyay were joint editors from 1322 to 1330. Sarala Devi had to take charge again from 1331 up to Kartik 1333 BS, when the journal folded. Thus, in its fifty-year history, the journal had the rare privilege of being edited by ladies for over thirty years.

There is a long list of the contributors of the Bharati. Among them the most prominent contributors are, Akshay Kumar Maitreya, Anurupa Devi, Abanindranath Tagore, Amullay Charan Vidyabhushan, Amrita Lal Basu, Asit Kumar Haldar, Indira Devi Chowdhurani, Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury, Kalidas Ray, Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder, Rai Bahadur Dinesh Chandra Sen, Pramatha Chowdhury, Jadunath Sarkar, Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay etc. Sushil Das had written the total history and introduction of the Bharati. [Indrajit Chaudhuri]