Pather Panchali  (English, Paperback, Bandyopadhyay Bibhutibhusan)

Pather Panchali is a coming-of-age story set in rural Bengal, written by renowned Bengali author Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay. The novel depicts a poor Brahmin family’s struggle to survive in their dilapidated ancestral home.

Summary of the Book

Pather Panchali portrays the life and struggle of the Roy family in their ancestral village in Bengal. It is a literary masterpiece and is considered one of the best Bengali novels ever written. The novel very vividly and beautifully portrays the life of a poor family seen through the eyes of Apu and Durga, the two young children of the family. The author writes about Apu and Durga and their friends with a natural realism and innocence. This book was later adapted into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray.

About Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay was a leading Bengali writer and novelist. He was born on September 12, 1894, in Ghoshpara-Muratipur village in Bengal. His childhood days were marred by acute poverty. After his schooling at the Bongaon High School, he went on to complete his undergraduate studies majoring in History, Sanskrit and Economics from the Surendranath College, Kolkata. Soon after this he joined the teaching profession. He also worked as a traveling publicist and secretary before returning to becoming a teacher. The author married twice and had a son from his second wife. He died on November 1, 1950. Bandyopadhyay received the Rabindra Puraskar (posthumous award) in 1951.

His works are primarily set in rural Bengal with characters inspired from that region. His loneliness after the death of his first wife influenced the theme of tragedy that characterizes some of his earliest works. A few of his literary works are Ashani Sanket, Aparajito and Debjan.