Harindranath Chattopadhyay

Harindranath Chattopadhyay (2 April 1898 – 23 June 1990) was an Indian English poet, a dramatist, an actor, a musician and a member of the 1st Lok Sabha from Vijayawada constituency.He was the younger brother of Sarojini Naidu, the second woman President of the Indian National Congress and first Indian woman to hold the position, and Virendranath Chattopadhyay, an international communist revolutionary. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1973.

Born in Hyderabad (erstwhile Hyderabad State, present day Telangana)in a Bengali Hindu Kulin Brahmin family to Aghornath Chattopadhyaya, first Indian D.Sc, a scientist-philosopher and educationist, and Barada Sundari Devi, a poet and singer, he is famous for poems like Noon and Shaper Shaped. His father was a Doctorate of Science from Edinburgh University, settled in Hyderabad State, where he founded and administered the Hyderabad College, which later became the Nizam’s College in Hyderabad. His mother was a poet and used to write poetry in Bengali. His other interests were politics, music, theatre and cinema. He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1973. He married Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya, a Socialist and leader of Women, who created the All India Women’s Conference, the Indian Cooperative Union and also was the inspiration for the All Indian Handicraft’s Board, a body which revived many Indian handicrafts, decimated by the Industrial Revolution in Britain in the 19th century. (Pottery and Weaving). A son died in 2008 but another survives. Kamaladevi and Harin’s divorce was the first legal separation granted by the courts of India. It was amicable.

Harindranath Chattopadhyaya often recited his poem Rail Gaadi on All India Radio (Akashavani). The song was memorably sung by Ashok Kumar in the film Aashirwad. He himself wrote the lyrics, composed the music and sang a few songs, notable among which were Surya Ast Ho Gaya and Tarun Arun Se Ranjit Dharani. He also penned a number of poems for children in Hindi. His poems were appreciated even by the Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

In 1951 Lok Sabha elections Harindranath Chattopadhyaya won from Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in Madras State as an independent candidate, supported by the Communist Party of India. He was the member of the 1st Lok Sabha from 14 April 1952 to 4 April 1957.

His most famous acting role was in the Hindi movie Bawarchi (The Chef), which was made in 1972 it was adapted by Gulzar from the Bengali film Galpa Holeo Satyi, directed by Tapan Sinha. Chattopadhyaya played the role of the strict and regimented patriarch of the house, where his sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren lived in a joint family and still respected and abided by his rules. He had cameos in three Satyajit Ray films: playing the wizard Barfi in Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne, the human encyclopaedia, Sidhujyatha, in Sonar Kella, and the senior member of the Board of Directors, Sir Baren Roy, in Seemabaddha .

He died in 1990.