Anandamath

by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

Book Overview

Winner of the A.K. Ramanujan Prize for Annotated Translation This is a translation of a historically important Bengali novel. Published in 1882, Chatterji's Anandamath helped create the atmosphere and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 812220130X
• ISBN13: 9788122201307
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Orient Paperbacks
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11 and higher

Customer Reviews

Excellent contextualization of an historically important novel

Those who have done a decent amount of reading on the subject of Hindu nationalism in India have very likely heard of Bankimchandra Chatterji's novel, Anandamath. This 19th century novel greatly influenced the Hindu revivalist and anti-colonial movement, which sought to rid India of British rule and, in its more extreme form, "reclaim" India for the Hindus and to subordinate the Muslim population. It is odd that, given its importance, Julius Lipner's is the first book in a century to critically examine the novel and translate it into English. As Lipner points out, from a literary standpoint, Chatterji's novel is nothing special--hence only a 4-star rating. The novel itself is a quick read, often boring, with (in my opinion) no real memorable characters, no capturing prose (except for the song "Bande Mataram," which became a second national anthem of sorts after India's independence), etc. It was able to capture a great many readers through it's overall message of India's "decline" and Hinduism's "degeneration" during the period of Mughal rule. This message has led to both great praise and bilious criticism of the novel, and it is to this topic that Lipner's particular volume offers great insight. Lipner writes a 100+ page introduction about the life, times, and writing of Bankimchandra Chatterji. It is both very readable and extremely informative. It discusses his upbringing and schooling in both Sanskritic and English-medium schools (which profoundly affected his outlook), his early career and writings, the historical setting of the major events of Anandamath (the book is largely about a group of Hindu ascetics who go about attacking Muslims, and is supposedly based on the 18th-century Sannyasi Rebellion that took place in Bengal), and other topics relevant to this seminal work. The author analyzes many of Chatterji's other writings and correspondances, and tackles questions of historical relevance: Was Anandamath truly based on the Sannyasi Rebellion? Was Chatterji truly anti-Muslim, and/or was he a Hindu fundamentalist? Was Chatterji favorable towards British rule, if it meant at least getting rid of Muslim rule? What censorship problems did Chatterji encounter when publishing Anandamath, how did they affect his writing, and what does it all mean? The analysis of these and many other important questions greatly contextualizes Chatterji's novel, and this work is absolutely essential to understanding how one novel had such a profound affect on the Indian nationalist movement, and what the author's true intentions may have been. Lipner even re-translates the title from its original "Abbey of Bliss" to "The Sacred Brotherhood," examining the language, events, and themes of the novel and the time in which it was written, concluding that there is nothing "blissful" about this novel and therefore the longstanding English translation of the title is incorrect. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially to specialists of Indian hist