Shibram Chakraborty

Sibram Chakraborty (1902-1980) (Bengali: শিবরাম চক্রবর্তী) was a popular Bengali writer, humorist and revolutionary who is best known for his humorous stories. His best known short stories and novels are renowned for their unique use of pun, alliteration, play of words and ironic humour. He was a prolific author who also wrote poems, plays, non-fiction and novels for mature audiences in his long career.

He spent most of his life in the second-floor mess room of a bedsit on Muktaram Babu Street in Kolkata. He turned its walls into a hand-written calendar, documenting his time there. He never married and was known as a "free spirit" and was generous to his friends. He did not maintain proper records or preserve the manuscripts of some of his works.

He would often put himself into his stories amongst fictional characters. The most famous and recurring characters in his stories are the brothers Harshabardhan [হর্ষবর্ধন] and Gobardhan [গোবর্ধন] and his sister Bini. Advertisements for his books often bill him as the King of Laughter. 

Shibram spent his early days in Paharpur and Chachal. In his boyhood days, he once ran away from home. This experience would later inspire his novel Bari Theke Paliye [বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Runaway), which was made into a film by Ritwik Ghatak. 

In the last phase of his life, he ran into serious financial difficulties and the West Bengal Government put him on a monthly allowance. He died in Kolkata in 1980.

Bibliography

• Bari Theke Paliye [বাড়ি থেকে পালিয়ে] (Runaway)
• The Merry Adventures of Harshabardhan and Gobardhan. (Translated by Arunava Sinha. Hachette India, New Delhi, 2014)
• Eeshwar Prithibee Valobasa [ঈশ্বর পৃথিবী ভালবাসা] (God Earth Love), 1974: (So called) autobiography.
• Valobasa Prithibee Eeshwar [ভালবাসা পৃথিবী ঈশ্বর] (Love Earth God), 1976: Another (so called) autobiography.
• Aaj O Agamikaal [আজ ও আগামীকাল] (Today & Tomorrow), 1929: A collection of short stories.
• Ekti Swarnaghotita Apokeerti [একটি স্বর্ণঘটিত অপকীর্তি] (An Misdoing Due to Gold): Drama
• Debotar Jonmo [দেবতার জন্ম] (Birth of God): Short story
• Jakhan Tara Katha Bolbe [যখন তারা কথা বলবে], (When They Will Speak)


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