author
Lal Behari Day
1826–1894
Known for bringing the stories and everyday life of rural Bengal into English, this 19th-century writer, journalist, and missionary helped preserve a rich world of folklore for later readers. His best-known books remain valued for their vivid picture of village life and storytelling traditions.
1 Audiobook
Folk-Tales of Bengal
by Lal Behari Day
About the author
Born near Bardhaman in Bengal, he studied in Calcutta at Alexander Duff's General Assembly Institution and later converted to Christianity, eventually becoming a missionary. He also worked as a journalist and wrote in English at a time when very few Indian authors were doing so for an international readership.
He is best remembered for two books: Govinda Samanta, a novel centered on peasant life in Bengal, and Folk-Tales of Bengal (1883), an influential collection that helped carry Bengali oral storytelling into print. His writing is still admired for its close attention to ordinary people, local customs, and the rhythms of village life.
His name is often spelled both Lal Behari Dey and Lal Behari Day, and sources differ on some biographical details, including exact birth and death dates. Even so, his place in Indian English writing and in the preservation of Bengali folklore is clear.