Bankim Chandra Chatterjee 
Devi Chaudharani 

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, also known as Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, was a great poet, writer, and journalist. Born on June 27, 1838, in West Bengal’s Kantalpara village, he did his schooling from Midnapur. He graduated from Mohsin College at Hoogly. He is most famous for penning down Vande Mataram, which is later adapted to as India’s national song.Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was a voracious reader and was especially interested in Sanskrit literature. He got admission in the Presidency College in Calcutta in 1856. After completing his education, he joined government service and retired in 1891.Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was adept at both verse and fiction. He shot into the limelight with Durgeshnandini, his first Bengali romance, published in 1865. He then went on to write other famous novels like , Dutta Kapalkundala in 1866, Mrinalini in 1869, Vishbriksha in 1873, Chandrasekhar in 1877, Rajani in 1877, Rajsimha in 1881 and Devi Chaudhurani in 1884. He brought out a monthly magazine called Bangadarshan in 1872.His most famous novel is Anand Math, published in 1882, featuring the famous song Vande Mataram. Anandamath tells a story about an army of Brahmin ascetics fighting Indian Muslims in the pay of the East India Company. The book called for unity among the Hindus and Muslims. His famous song Vande Mataram was set to music by none other than Rabindranath Tagore.