Radharani Devi (bn:''রাধারাণী দেবী'') was one of the prominent
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
women poets of the twentieth century.
Literary career
Her first published work was the short story ''Bimata'' (Step-Mother) which was published in
Basumati in 1924. Her first essay was ''Purush'' (The Male) which was published in
Kallol
''Kallol'' ( bn, কল্লোল) refers to one of the most influential literary movements in Bengali literature, which can be placed approximately between 1923 and 1935. The name ''Kallol'' of the ''Kallol group'' derives from a magazine of t ...
. Her first book of collected poems, ''Lilakamal'' was published in 1929.
She wrote her second book ''Buker Beena'' under the penname of ''Aparajita Devi''. After that she penned her third book of poem collections ''Bono Bohogi'' and the forth one, ''Bichitra Rupini'' both under her real name.
Devi was famous for her debate with
Pramatha Chodhury in the Bengal writer's circuit ''Rabi Basar'', where her enrolment as the first ever women member was initially opposed by
Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay but later was welcomed in the mediation of
Jaladhar Sen
Rai Bahadur Jaladhar Sen (13 March 1860 – 15 March 1939) was a Bengalis, Bengali writer, poet, editor and also a philanthropist, traveler, social worker, educationist and littérateur. He was awarded with the title Ray Bahadur (রায় ...
. She was known to be fighting for women's rights in the Bengali literary arena during the twentieth century which was heavily dominated by males.
Personal life
At the age of 13, she married Satendranath Dutta. However, Dutta died from
Asiatic Flu the year of their marriage, leaving Devi a widow at a very early age. She started her literary career as a widow and later met the poet
Narendra Deb, whom she married in 1931. Their first child, a son. died of pneumonia after just a few days of birth. Their second child was
Nabaneeta Dev Sen
Nabaneeta Dev Sen ( bn, নবনীতা দেব সেন, Nôbonita Deb Sen; 13 January 1938 – 7 November 2019) was an Indian writer and academic. After studying arts and comparative literature, she moved to the United States, USA where ...
, who later became an avid Bengali female poet and married
Amartya Sen
Amartya Kumar Sen (; born 3 November 1933) is an Indian economist and philosopher, who since 1972 has taught and worked in the United Kingdom and the United States. Sen has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, econom ...
.
Devi and Deb were very close to
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
and
Sarat Chandra Chattapadhyay. Devi's daughter's name ''Nabaneeta'', was given by Tagore while Chattapadhyay gave her the name ''Anuradha''. Chattapadhyay died after a few days of the birth of Dev Sen.
Sources
* Sansad Bangali charitabhidhan. (1998). India: Sahitya Samsad. Second Part, Page 349–350.
* Radharani Devi: Life and Literature - Basanti Deb (Mazumdar), North Bengal University.
* History of Indian Literature: 1911–1956, struggle for freedom : triumph and tragedy
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Radharani
Bengali writers
Indian women novelists
Indian women poets
1903 births
1989 deaths
Amartya Sen
Women writers from West Bengal
Writers from Kolkata