author
Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya
1838–1894
A pioneer of the Bengali novel, he helped shape modern Indian literature with stories that blended romance, history, and sharp social observation. He is also remembered for Anandamath, the novel that introduced “Vande Mataram.”
1 Audiobook
The Poison Tree: A Tale of Hindu Life in Bengal
by Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya
About the author
Born in Bengal in 1838, Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya became one of the key literary voices of 19th-century India. He studied at Hooghly College and Presidency College, and was among the early graduates of the University of Calcutta. Alongside his writing, he served in the colonial administration as a deputy magistrate.
His fiction played a major role in establishing Bengali prose as a powerful literary form. Novels such as Durgeshnandini, Kapalkundala, and Anandamath brought together drama, emotion, historical imagination, and questions about society and identity, helping build a lasting readership for Bengali fiction.
He also wrote essays and worked as a journalist, and his influence reached far beyond literature. The song “Vande Mataram,” which appeared in Anandamath, later became one of the best-known patriotic songs in India. More than a century after his death in 1894, he is still read as a foundational figure in Bengali and Indian writing.