Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt

Toru Dutt (March 4, 1856 - August 30, 1877) was an Indian poet who wrote in English and French, and made a mark in literature in spite of her premature death.

Achievements

After publication of several translations and literary discussions, she published "A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields", a volume of French poems she had translated into English, with Saptahiksambad Press of Bhowanipore, India in 1876. Eight of the poems had been translated by her elder sister Aru. This volume came to the attention of Edmund Gosse in 1877, who reviewed it quite favorably in the "Examiner" that year. "Sheaf" would see a second Indian edition in 1878 and a third edition by Kegan Paul of London in 1880, but Dutt lived to see neither of these triumphs.

At the time of her death, she left behind two unpublished novels— "Le Journal de Mademoiselle d’Arvers" (thought to be the first novel in French by an Indian writer) and "Bianca, or the Young Spanish Maiden" (thought to be the first novel in English by an Indian woman writer)—in addition to an unfinished volume of original poems in English, "Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan". Her father, Govin Chunder Dutt, ensured that these works would be published posthumously: "Bianca" in Calcutta’s "Bengal Magazine" (1878), "Le Journal" by Didier of Paris (1879), and "Ancient Ballads" with Kegan Paul (1882).

Gosse wrote an Introductory Memoir for "Ancient Ballads". There he observed, “Her name . . . is no longer unfamiliar in the ear of any well-read man or woman” (vii). Indeed, according to Gosse, “It is difficult to exaggerate when we try to estimate what we have lost in the premature death of Toru Dutt. Literature has no honours which need have been beyond the grasp of a girl who at the age of twenty-one, and in languages separated from her own by so deep a chasm, had produced so much of lasting worth” (xxvi). Gosse thus concludes the Introductory Memoir by insisting, “When the history of the literature of our country comes to be written, there is sure to be a page in it dedicated to this fragile exotic blossom of song” (xxvii).

Prithwindra Mukherjee translated her famous novel "Le Journal" into Bengali, serialised it in the monthly "Basumati", before bringing it out in a book form in 1956, with a foreword by Premendra Mitra. Once again, Prithwindra Mukherjee serialised its English translation in 1963, in the "Illustrated Weekly of India" with line drawings by Mario. Her "Ancient Ballads" was a great beginning in Indo-Anglian writing. She also knew German.

References

"Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan" (Biographical dictionary) in Bengali edited by Subodh Chandra Sengupta and Anjali Bose.

Dutt, Toru. "Toru Dutt: Collected Prose and Poetry". Ed. Chandani Lokugé. New Delhi: Oxford UP, 2006.

Gosse, Edmund. Introductory Memoir. "Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan". London: Kegan Paul, 1882.

External links

* [http://foss.elsweb.org/toru_dutt/index.php?title=Toru_Dutt Annotated "Ancient Ballads" with Critical Introduction]

* [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/dutt.html Toru Dutt sonnet]

* [http://www.pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2001/fjun2001/f270620011.html PIB feature on Toru Dutt]

* [http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poet/393.html Selected poetry of Toru Dutt]

* [http://www.geocities.com/varnamala/toru.html Indian English poetry]

* [http://www.thegodparticle.com/2004_05/poetry04dutt.html "The God Particle"]

* [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/23245/23245-h/23245-h.htm "Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Romesh Chunder Dutt — Romesh Chunder Dutt, CIE (Calcutta August 13, 1848 Baroda November 30, 1909), or R. C. Dutt, was a Bengali writer, civil servant, economic historian, and translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata. He was president of the Indian National Congress in… …   Wikipedia

  • Dutta (surname) — Dutta, also spelled Datta and Dutt (Assamese and Bengali: দত্ত), is an Indian family name and surname found amongst Bengali, Punjabi and Assamese Hindus. The name is derived from the word aditya, which means sun in Sanskrit.[1] Contents 1… …   Wikipedia

  • South Asian arts — Literary, performing, and visual arts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Myths of the popular gods, Vishnu and Shiva, in the Puranas (ancient tales) and the Mahabharata and Ramayana epics, supply material for representational and… …   Universalium

  • Indian English literature — (IEL) refers to the body of work by writers in India who write in the English language and whose native or co native language could be one of the numerous languages of India. It is also associated with the works of members of the Indian diaspora …   Wikipedia

  • List of people from West Bengal — This is a list of famous and notable people from West Bengal, India. This would include persons who are known to a large number of people and is not based on the extent of their popularity. Neither is the list viewed from the context of the… …   Wikipedia

  • Gnanendramohan Tagore — See Tagore for disambiguation Infobox Person name = Gnanendramohan Tagore image size = caption = birth date = 24 January 1826 birth place = Kolkata death date = 5 January 1890 death place = England occupation = Barrister spouse =… …   Wikipedia

  • March 4 — << March 2011 >> Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa 1 2 3 …   Wikipedia

  • List of Indian poets — Below is the list of: * poets of Indian Origin * poets born in India * poets from other regions of the world who are masters of poetry in Indian languages. They should have published poetry books either in any Indian language or in English and… …   Wikipedia

  • 1877 in poetry — yearbox2 in?=in poetry in2?=in literature cp=18th century c=19th century cf=20th century yp1=1874 yp2=1875 yp3=1876 year=1877 ya1=1878 ya2=1879 ya3=1880 dp3=1840s dp2=1850s dp1=1860s d=1870s da=0 dn1=1880s dn2=1890s dn3=1900s|Events The Annus… …   Wikipedia

  • 1856 in poetry — yearbox2 in?=in poetry in2?=in literature cp=18th century c=19th century cf=20th century yp1=1853 yp2=1854 yp3=1855 year=1856 ya1=1857 ya2=1858 ya3=1859 dp3=1820s dp2=1830s dp1=1840s d=1850s da=0 dn1=1860s dn2=1870s dn3=1880s|EventsWorks… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”