Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay

He is noted for the epic poem Vrittasamhara (1875–1877). Influenced by Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bandyopadhyay addressed themes such as national identity in works including Bharat Sangeet.

• Name — Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay • Native Name — হেমচন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় • Born — 17 April 1838 • Birthplace — Gulita Village, Hooghly, British India (now Gulita Village, West Bengal, India) • Died — 24 May 1903 • Place of death — Kidderpore, Calcutta, British India (now Khidirpur, West Bengal, India) • Occupation — Poet, clerk, teacher, lawyer

Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay was born on April 17, 1838, in Gulita Village, near Rajbalhat, the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. His father, Kailashchandra Bandyopadhyay, faced financial difficulties. He was married to Anandamayi, the daughter of Rajchandra Chakraborty, a solicitor in the Kolkata court. Following the death of his grandfather, the family's situation worsened, leading to an interruption in his education at Khidirpur Bangla School in Kolkata. In 1853, Prasannakumar Sarvadhikari, principal of Kolkata Sanskrit College, helped him gain admission to the senior school division of Hindu College, where he was enrolled in the second standard. In 1855, he placed second in the Junior Scholarship Examination. That same year, he married Kamini Devi. In 1857, he placed fourth in the Senior Scholarship Examination. When the scholarship ended during his fourth year, he had to discontinue his studies.

In 1859, Hemchandra began working as a clerk in the Military Audit Office. He later became headmaster of the Calcutta Training Academy. After earning his LLB degree in 1861, he began practicing law at the Calcutta High Court. In 1862, he was appointed a Munsif (junior judicial officer), but returned to the High Court after a few months. He completed his Bachelor of Laws (B.L.) in 1866 and in April 1890 was appointed as a government pleader.

• Jiban Sangeet (The Song of Life) – an adaptation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's A Psalm of Life • Bharat Sangeet (The Song of India) • Bharat Bilap (The Lament for India) • Gangar Utpatti (The Origin of the Ganges) • Padmer Mrinal (The Lotus Stem) • Bharat Kahini (The Tale of India) • Ashoktaru • Kulin Kanyaganer Akhep (The Lament of Aristocratic Daughters)

In his later years, Hemchandra lived in poverty and suffered from near blindness. He died on May 24, 1903, in Khidirpur, Kolkata.