Saralabala Sarkar (10 December 1875 – 1 December 1961) was an Indian Bengali writer.

Early life

Saralabala Sarkar was born on 10 December 1875 in Katalpora,

Nadia District Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influe ...

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal until 1937, later the Bengal Province, was the largest of all three presidencies of British India during Company rule in India, Company rule and later a Provinces o ...

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. Her ancestral house was in Bhar Ramdia,

Faridpur District Faridpur District () is a district in south-central Bangladesh. It is a part of Dhaka Division. It is bounded by the Padma River to the northeast. The district was named for its headquarters, the city of Faridpur, Bangladesh, Faridpur, which its ...

. She was home schooled. She was married to Sarat Chandra Sarkar when she was twelve years old. Her husband died when she was twenty-three. Her grandmother was Shreemati Rasasundari, a writer herself, notable for her autobiography that provided a keen insight into the life of a 19th-century Bengali housewife.

Career

Saralabala Sarkar was a writer and started writing more extensively after the death of her husband. She was involved in British Indian politics to a limited extent. She served as a Member of the Women Satyagraha Samity part of the

Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

movement in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. She published her books of poetry, Prabaha in 1904 and Arghya in 1938. She also provided shelter to pro-independence activist at her home. In 1953, she became the first women to be appointed the

Girish Chandra Ghosh Girish Chandra Ghosh (28 February 1844 – 8 February 1912) was a Bengali actor, director, and writer. He was largely responsible for the golden age of Bengali theatre.Kundu, Pranay K. ''Development of Stage and Theatre Music in Bengal.'' Publi ...

Lecturer at the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

. She also published her memoir, Harano Atit, in 1953. She wrote a number of essays, poets, and short stories which were published in journals like the Antahpur, Bharatbarsa, Jahnabi,

Prabasi ''Prabasi'' () was a monthly Bengali language literary magazine edited by Ramananda Chatterjee. History and profile ''Prabasi'' was founded by Ramananda Chatterjee in 1901 and ran for over 60 years. It published many important Bengali author ...

, Suprabhat, Sahitya Pradip, Utsaha among others. Her collected essays were published in Manusyatver Sadhana and Sahitya Jijvasa in 1953. She published Swami Vivekananda O Sriramakrishva Sangha and Galpa Sangraha in 1957. She wrote about her grandmother, Shreemati Rasasundari, in the book ''Amar Thakuma''.

Death

Saralabala Sarkar died on 1 December 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Saralabala 1875 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Bengali poets Bengali women poets People from Nadia district Academic staff of the University of Calcutta Indian memoirists Indian women memoirists 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century memoirists Poets from British India Women writers from West Bengal