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Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was born in Kantalpara, West Bengal, in 1838. In 1858, he became the first Indian to earn a BA degree. He served in the Indian Civil Service as Deputy Magistrate and Deputy Collector between 1859 and 1891. Bankimchandra's first novel Rajmohan's Wife was written in English. His first Bengali novel Durgeshnandini appeared in 1865. He went on to write thirteen more novels, of which Kapalkundala, Mrinalini, Bishabriksha, Krishnakanter Will, Rajani, Rajsingha and Devi Choudhurani are the most famous. The epoch-making Anandamath appeared in 1882; the verse Vande Mataram from the novel became the anthem of nationalists during the freedom movement, and is now the National Song of India. Apart from his novels, Bankimchandra has to his credit a considerable body of non-fiction. He was the editor of Bangadarshan, perhaps the most influential literary magazine of its time, which began publication in 1872. Bankimchandra died in 1894.

Sh Tapobrata Sanyal (b.28 April 1940 at Krishnagar, West Bengal) hails from an intellectual lineage. An internationally known geotechnical engineer and river-expert, Sh Sanyal’s interest is not confined to professional activities only. He is well known as a critic and essayist in Bengali and has authored seven books in Bengali so far, His Bengali treatise on the Ganga (Ganga-Tattva O Tathya) is a pioneering work.