Bengali Authors Every Reader Should Know
By KOK Books · Published · 7 min read
Bengali is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and its literature runs from nineteenth-century novels to contemporary fiction from both West Bengal and Bangladesh. If you are starting out, or coming back after years away, these are the writers to know and the books to begin with.
Key points
- Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, the first non-European writer to do so.
- The classic novelists to start with are Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay.
- For detective and adventure fiction, read Satyajit Ray (Feluda), Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay (Byomkesh Bakshi) and Sunil Gangopadhyay (Kakababu).
- Humayun Ahmed is one of the most widely read modern novelists from Bangladesh.
The foundations
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is often called the father of the Bengali novel. His Anandamath contains the song Vande Mataram. Rabindranath Tagore followed with poems, songs, short stories, novels and plays; his collection Gitanjali led to the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote about ordinary households with unusual sympathy, in novels such as Devdas, Parineeta and Srikanta. His books remain among the most reprinted in the language.
Village, forest and city
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's Pather Panchali, later filmed by Satyajit Ray, is the place to start; Aranyak and the adventure novel Chander Pahar are close behind. Among poets, Kazi Nazrul Islam is known for the poem Bidrohi, and Jibanananda Das for Banalata Sen.
Detectives, science and adventure
Bengali has a strong tradition of detective and adventure writing that younger readers usually meet first.
- Satyajit Ray: the detective Feluda and the scientist Professor Shonku.
- Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay: Byomkesh Bakshi, who calls himself a truth-seeker and not a detective.
- Sunil Gangopadhyay: the Kakababu adventures, alongside his historical novel Sei Somoy.
- Sukumar Ray: the nonsense verse of Abol Tabol, still read aloud to children.
Modern and contemporary voices
Mahasweta Devi wrote about people at the margins, as in Hajar Churashir Maa. Ashapurna Devi's Pratham Pratisruti earned her the Jnanpith Award. Samaresh Majumdar is best known for Kalbela, and Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay for Manabjamin and a long list of much-loved children's novels.
From Bangladesh, Humayun Ahmed created Himu and Misir Ali, two characters with a huge following among readers on both sides of the border.
Where to start
If you want one book from each period: Tagore's short stories, Sarat Chandra's Srikanta, Bibhutibhushan's Pather Panchali, a Feluda omnibus and a Humayun Ahmed novel. On KOK Books you can search by author name to see every title in stock by that writer.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the most famous Bengali author?
Rabindranath Tagore is the best known. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 and wrote poems, songs, short stories, novels and plays.
Which Bengali author should a beginner read first?
Start with Tagore's short stories or Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's Pather Panchali. Younger readers often begin with Satyajit Ray's Feluda stories.
Who wrote Byomkesh Bakshi and Feluda?
Byomkesh Bakshi was created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay. Feluda was created by Satyajit Ray.
Where can I buy books by Bengali authors online?
KOK Books (kokbooks.com) lists books by Bengali authors and delivers across India. Search the author's name to see available titles.