Captain Suresh Biswas (1861 – 22 September 1905) was a famous 19th-century adventurer from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Life

Sures
Biswas
was born in 1861 in Nathpur, Krishnaganj CD block) in

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...

district in

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. He ran away from home as a teen and worked as a timber camp care taker in the

Taungoo Taungoo (, ''Tauñngu myoú''; ; also spelled Toungoo) is a district-level city in the Bago Region of Myanmar, 220 km from Yangon, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industry ...

forest for a while. Biswas had travelled to England as a stowaway at age fifteen. After he arrived in England he drifted through several occupations, before becoming an animal trainer in a circus in Kent. He travelled with the circus to Hamburg. After that, he migrated to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(probably one of the first Indians to do so), and fought valiantly in the Brazilian army (late 19th century)
Biswas
himself was a fan of literature. He was made a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in the army (and a Captain too, later). In spite of showing remarkable courage during the upsurge of rebellion he was not properly felicitated simply because of racial discrimination (he was after all a non white Hindu Asiatic in the white dominated catholic Brazil). He is often mistakenly mentioned as Col. Sures
Biswas
He was made Captain, not a Colonel in the Brazilian Army. Colone
Biswas
however settled down in Brazil as he was enchanted by the natural beauty of the country. He died there in 1905. He was buried in Cemitério São João Batista,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, but the tomb was destroyed by the authorities in 1911, just six years after his death.

Trivia

Not too many written records remain of the legendary adventurer, but he was mentioned in

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

's novel "

Chhinnamastar Abhishap ''Chhinnamastar Abhishap'' (English title : The Curse of the Goddess) is a Bengali novel by Satyajit Ray featuring private detective Feluda. It was first serialized in Desh magazine in 1978, and then released in book form in 1981 by Ananda Pu ...

" (Trans: The Curse of the Goddess), featuring the famous fictional detective,

Feluda Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his ap ...

and also in "Du Chakay Duniya" by first Indian globe trotter Bimal Mukherjee. Famous Bengali Comics strip creator Mayukh Chowdhury created a Bengali comics named 'Bangadesher Ranga' on him featuring him in the midst of the jungles in Brazil. Colonel Suresh Biswas's name was also referred in the short story "Biswas Moshai" by Banaful (

Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay (19 July 1899 – 9 February 1979) was an Indian Bengali-language novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, and physician who wrote under the pen name of Banaphul (meaning "the wild flower" in Bengali). He was a re ...

). Also he was mentioned in famous writer Hemendra Kumar Roy's story "Surjo Nogorir Gupotodhon",which belongs to Hemendra Kumar's famous Bimal-Kumar series. Suresh Biswas is also mentioned in

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperia ...

autobiography.

External links

A Life of Mythic Proportions - Mid-Day

References

*''The Self-Image of Effeteness: Physical Education and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Bengal'' by John Rosselli, ''Past and Present'', No. 86 (Feb., 1980) *"The Effeminate and the Masculine: Nationalism and the Concept of race in Colonial Bengal" by Indira Chowdhury-Sengupta from ''The Concept of Race in South Asia'' edited by Peter Robb, 1995 Oxford Press *Upendra Krishna Banerji, ''Karnel Suresh Bishvas'', (1900; second edition, Calcutta 1909-10) - biography of Colonel Suresh Biswas {{DEFAULTSORT:Biswas, Suresh 1861 births 1905 deaths Indian explorers Brazilian people of Indian descent Lion tamers People from Nadia district