Mukhopadhyay, Damodar Bidyananda
Mukhopadhyay, Damodar Bidyananda (1853-1907) translator, editor and litterateur, was born on 12 February 1853 at the residence of his maternal uncle in Krishnanagar of Nadiya district. His father was Ramratan Mukhopadhyay and mother Padmamoni Devi. The ancestral home of his father was at Shanti Nagar.
Damodar grew up at his maternal uncle's reside and received education from Bahrampur College. His maternal uncle Loharam Shivratna was a famous grammar expert and the principal of Bahrampur Normal School. While staying under Loharam's shelter and support as well as through his own efforts, Damodar achieved excellence in three languages such as Bangla, Sanskrit and English.
He turned his attention to the translation of European novels from 1883 onwards. As a result, he serially published the translated novels Rienzi, Last of the Roman Tribunes by Bulwer-Lytton, Women in White by Willkie Collins and The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott under the title Upanyash Ratnabali. Damodar was the main initiator and writer of the monthly volume published from the Anusandhan office titled Mashik Upanyash, which contained new novels each month, from 1892 onwards.
He shunned all foreign-made products from the day the swadeshi movement was launched, which was a notable indicator of his intense love for the motherland. He did not even take sweets, with the exception of molasses, in order to avoid eating British sugar.
Similar to authoring books, Damodar also demonstrated his aptitude in editing periodicals. He discharged the responsibility of editing the high-quality monthly Probaha. The fortnightly Anusandhan (volume 1, 1300 Bangla), which was the mouthpiece of Anusandhan Samity, was published under his editorship. Besides, he edited an English daily titled News of the Day.
He continued his literary pursuits alongside his editing jobs. His literary works occupy a distinguished position in Bangla literature. His notable books were: Mrinmoyee (novel, concluding part of Kapalkundala, 1874), Kamal-Kumari (historical novel, 1884),' Pratapsingha (historical novel, 1884), Shuklabasana-Sundari (translated novel, first-part-1885, second-part-1888, third-part-1890), Bish-Bibaha (novel, 1888), Srimadbhagbadgita (volume 1, 1893), Luxman-Barjan (mythology, 1890), Jogeshwari (novel, 1898), Karma-kshetra (novel, 1902), Annapurna (novel, 1902), Nabab Nandini (novel, 1901), Yish Upanishad (1904), Amarabati (novel, 1905), Sapatni (social novel, 1904), Nabeena (social novel, 1910), Adarsha Prem (novel, 1913). Besides, he wrote text-books titled Pathmala, Gyanoday, Varnabodh, and Padyapadap. He died on 16 August 1907. [Shamima Akhter]
