BLiterature-Apratim

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restored in the place of materialism. It was an age of restoration of traditional Hindu
mythologies and glorification of historical monarchs and legendary heroes. And in
response to their Hindu nationalism, a counter Muslim nationalism too developed.
Derozio’s alcoholism too was challenged by the writers of this epoch like Tekchand,
Michael, Dinabandhu and Hutome. Rangalal Bandyopadhyay’s heroic poem Padmini
Upakhyan (1858) marked the beginning of the age and it ended with the publication
of Tagore’s lyrical work Manashi (1890).
The poets of the era were much influenced by Western classics; in their
works, they proclaimed bourgeois values like individualism, humanism and
nationalism. The most promising and innovative genius among them was Michael
Madhusudan Datta (1824-’73). He worked in several sections – epic, romance,
sonnet, monologue, lyrical poem and drama. He first wrote in English, but later in
Bangla and introduced blank verse in this language. His Meghnadbadh (1861) is an
epic poem where he broke the tradition of Hindu myth by making the abhorred
demon Ravana into the protagonist and Rama a brute villain. He imposed human
qualities on mythic demons and wrote of human instincts and emotions in his poems.
Michael was not a secularist like Derozio, rather he was remarkably influenced by
the religious views prevalent in those days’ Bengali society. His verses also bear the
mark of influence of the prose of that era.
On the other hand, Bankim was the leading writer of the period in a number of
genres – novel, philosophical essay and satire. His Kopalkundala (1866) and
Krishnakanter Will (1878) are examples of supreme romantic novels. His writings
sometimes offended Muslim sentiments but in fact he was a great patriot and
attacked the British colonial rule in an implicit way. It is evident especially in his great
novel Anandamath (1882). He, although wrote prose, was a sublime poet; his poetic
prose bear an introspective outlook of life and beauty. He was the composer of the
greatest national song of the age – “Bandey Mataram”. He was also the editor of
Bangadarshan, the most famous literary journal of those days.
The other writers of the era were influenced by these two genius authors’
thoughts and writing techniques. In poetry and drama, it was Michael’s reigning
period and in fiction and no-fictional prose, it was the age of Bankim.
In this context, it needs to be said that the word ‘heroic’ is not always
associated with warfare; in literature, it also refers to a high-flown and grand
language. The writers of the age (especially Michael and Bankim) fulfilled these
requirements. Besides, they were influenced by fatalistic ideas of antique Greek
literature. Michael’s and Bankim’s heroes and heroines fall victim to their predestined
fate; they had a likeness of drawing the pictures of man’s tragic fall. Even the
romances of the age uphold heroism and awful consequences of their protagonists.
The genre of epic was run on by Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay (1838-1903)
and Nabinchandra Sen (1847-1909) who were deeply influenced by Michael’s poetic
principles and Bankim’s nationalistic views. Hemchandra wrote Bitrashanghar Kabya
(1875,’77) maintaining the tradition of poetic justice. Nabinchandra, influenced by
Bankim’s Krishna-Charitra (1886), composed Raibatak (1887), Kurukshetra (1893)
and Pravas (1896), an epic-trilogy in total commonly known as ‘the Mahabharata of
the 19 th century’. And Kaikobad (1857-1951) and Ismail Hossain Siraji (1880-1931)