Harindranath Chattopadhyay life and biography

Harindranath Chattopadhyay was an Indian-English poet, an actor, and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency. He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu.

Born to Aghornath Chattopadhyay, a scientist-philosopher, and Barada Sundari Devi, a poetess, he is famous for poems like Noon and Shaper Shaped. His other interests were politics, theatre and cinema. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1973. He married Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, a Socialist and leader of Women, who created the All India Women's Conference, the Indian Cooperative Union and also was the inspiration for the All Indian Handicraft's Board, a body which revived many Indian handicrafts, decimated by the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the 1800s. (Pottery and Weaving) their son Ramakrishna Chattopadhyaya is in Banagalore, India, today. Their divorce marked the very first legal separation granted by the courts of India.

His grandson, Neelkanth Chattopadhyaya is a musician and filmmaker, also in Bangalore, India.His granddaughter, Nina lives in Seattle, Washington, USA and remembers his early morning visits for breakfasts, a walk from Bandra to Marine Drive, in what is now Mumbai, (a good four hours!!) at the age of 75...with a box of chocolates for his grandchildren..he was a great grandfather and then a wonderful father for his son, late in life, Lakshman, a film-maker in his own right. "Granddaddy, as we called him was always an affectionate and wonderful person for us,Nina says, one must always remember the human side of these amazing personalities, and never forget."

Harindranath Chattopadhyay often recited his poem Rail Gaadi on All India Radio (Akashavani). The song was memorably sung by Ashok Kumar in the film Aashirwad.

In 1951 Lok Sabha elections Harindranath Chattopadhyay won from Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in Madras State as an independent candidate, supported by the Communist Party of India. He was the member of the 1st Lok Sabha from April 14, 1952 to April 4, 1957.

He died in 1990. His most famous acting role was in the movie Bawarchi (The Chef) which was made around 1972. He enacted as the role of strict and regimented patriach of the house, where his sons, daughter in laws and grand children lived in a joint family and still respected and abided by his rules.

Poems:
The Feast of Youth (1918)
The Magic Tree (1922)
Blood of Stones (1944)
Spring in Winter (1955)
Virgin and Vineyards (1967)

Plays:
Abu Hassan (1918)
Five Plays (1937)
Siddhartha, Man of Peace (1956)

Filmography:
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)
The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha (1969)
Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se (1978)
Bawarchi (1972)
The Golden Fortress (1974)
Company Limited (1974)
Tere Ghar Ke Samne (1963)
Teen Devian (1965)
Aashirwad (1968)
Maalamaal (1988)
The Householder (1963)

Read more