Atulprasad Sen

Family members and relatives

Grand father: Krishna Chandra Sen (Kabiraj)

Maternal grandfather: Kali Narayan Gupta

Parents: Ram Prasad Sen and Hemanta Shashi

Step father: Durga Mohan Das

Wife: Hem Kusum Sen (daughter of Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta, ICS of 1871, and Srimati Prasanna Tara Gupta)

Sisters: Hiran Sen (wife of Dr. Ramaswamy Iyenger), Kiran Sen (wife of Sarojmohan Babu), Prova Sen (wife of Sheshadri Iyenger)

Step Sisters: Lady Abala Bose (wife of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose), Sarala Roy, Shailabala Roy

Step Brothers: Satya Ranjan Das, Satish Ranjan Das, Jyotish Ranjan Das

Son: Dilip Kumar and Nilip Kumar*, Twins born in 1901. (*died at the age of seven months only)

Early life

Atul Prasad Sen was born as the eldest child of Ram Prasad Sen and Hemanta Shashi, in a Vaidya-Brahmin family hailing from the village Magor in South Bikrampur, Faridpur District, presently located in Bangladesh. He was born in his maternal uncle's house in Dhaka, following the custom at that time. He had three sisters. Ramprasad was a school teacher in Dhaka. Later, with help from Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, Ramprasad studied psychiatry and became the superintendent of the Dhaka Mental Asylum. Unfortunately Ram Prasad died when Atul Prasad was a toddler. Atul Prasad was raised by his maternal grandfather Kali Narayan Gupta, who was a renowned Brahmo social reformer. It was Kali Narayan who initiated Atul Prasad in music and devotional songs. Atul Prasad's mother later married prominent Brahmo Samaj reformer Durga Mohan Das.

Initially Atul Prasad could not accept this marriage. In due course of time his relationship was very congenial with Durga Mohan and Hemanta Shashi. Sarala Devi recounted in her diary জীবনের ঝরাপাতা (fallen leaves of life) that Durga Mohan, after demise of his wife Brahmoamoyee, in spite of his busy outward life, took great care of his children. It was his elder daughter Abala, whose eager and consisted effort towards wellbeing of her aging father convinced Durga Mohan to marry Hemanta Shashi. Durga Mohan extended every possible care to his step children too, and treated them as his own children.

Education and Profession

After passing the Entrance examination in 1890, Atul Prasad was admitted to Presidency College in Kolkata, and in the same year took a voyage to England to study law. .

Durga Mohan Das sent his sons to London to become Barrister. The eldest son Satya Ranjan passed matriculation from Emmanuel College and was at Middle Temple during 1883-1886, followed by Chitta Ranjan Das, Durga Mohan's brother's son, during 1890-1894, Satish Ranjan Das (1891-1894) and Jyotish Ranjan Das (1892-1895). Atul Prasad Sen stayed at 98 Lansdowne Road, London, W-20. In 25 October 1892 he was admitted to the Middle Temple, and after completing the course was called to the Bar on the same day along with Jyotish Ranjan Das on 26 June 1895. Prafulla Ranjan Das, brother of Chitta Ranjan also followed the suit during 1902-1905. Long afterwards Dhruba Ranjan Das, son of Satish Ranjan, completed law couse from Middle Temple (1924-1930).

In London he had befriended with Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Chitta Ranjan Das and Sarojini Naidu among others, together they promoted Dadabhai Naoroji in the British Parliament.

After successfully becoming a Barrister, he returned to Bengal in 1895 and joined with Satyendra Prasanno Sinha, (Lord Sinha), as a Bar-at-Law. Successively he opened up law practice in Rangpur and Kolkata.

The High Court at Calcutta, which used to be known as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal, was established and formally opened on 1st July 1862. Atul Prasad was called to the Bar in Calcutta High Court in 1895. He was a member of the Bar Library Club of Calcutta High Court.

It was mentioned in "The High Court of Calcutta - 125 Anniversary Souvenir 1862 - 1987":

"The ecstatic resonance of Atul Prasad Sen's (1896) lyrics is heard in every Bengali home. Again, the poet of 'The Song of the Ocean' (Sagara-Sangeet) in his Vaishnavite melody surrendered himself completely to the Almighty".

The noted compilation titled "The High Court at Calcutta - 150 Years: An Overview" remembered Atul Prasad with due reverence,

"Atul Prasad Sen (1896), a member of the Club, was a poet, lyricist, composer and a lawyer all moulded in one, whose songs and poems inspired many a young heart in pre-independence days and are cherished even today."

Upon advised by his friend Mumtaj Hussain, he chose the province of Oudh as his field of activity and moved to Lucknow in 1902.

Marriage

Atul Prasad married his cousin sister Hem Kusum, which was disapproved by their family members. The couple wedded at Gretna Old Parish Church, Gretna Green, Scotland, under the Scottish Law in the year 1900. However, Atul Prasad led a troubled married life. The emotional sufferings he experienced in his life found their ways into his lyrics; and this has made many of his songs full of pathos.

Work in Lucknow

Atul Prasad Sen practised law in Lucknow from 1902 to 1934. He attained wealth, prosperity and fame as a lawyer, and in due course of time became the President of the Oudh Bar Association and the Oudh Bar Council. He had distinguished himself amongst the citizens of Lucknow not only for his fame as a lawyer, but with diversified activities and social works.

In 1922 the first conference of Bengali literary personages outside Bengal (Prabasi Banga-Sahitya Sammelan, presently known as Nikhil Bharat Banga Sahitya Sammelan) was organised at Benaras with patronage from distinguished 'Bengalis living outside Bengal' (Prabasis) like Atul Prasad Sen, Radha Kamal Mukherjee, Kedar Nath Bandyopadhyay and Mahendra Chandra Roy, which was presided over by Rabindranath Tagore. Atul Prasad initiated and edited Uttara, the bengali magazine of the organisation, to keep alive the Bengali culture among the Bengali Diaspora. Later, he presided over its Kanpur and Gorakhpur conventions. He was also editor of Allahabad Law Journal and Awadh Weekly Notes.

Since 1903 Atul Prasad served the Bengali Club of Lucknow, which was founded by Atul Krishna Singh, as the President. In 1929, he initiated the idea of merging of the Bengali Club and the Young Men's Association of Lucknow, and thus emerged a new organisation to be known as Bengali Club and Young Men's Association. A rare photograph of Atul Prasad is uploaded in the website of the Club.

Atul Prasad played an active role in national politics during 1905-1921. He was a close associate of Gopal Krishna Gokhale. In 1905, when Gokhale was elected president of the Indian National Congress and was at the height of his political power, he founded the Servants of India Society to specifically further one of the causes dearest to his heart: the expansion of Indian education. Atul Prasad was sympathetic to nationalistic movement and extended his support and generosity to Congress Party and Servants of India Society founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale. He joined Indian National Congress and represented Oudh in several annual conventions. He acted as Vice Chairman of Lucknow Municipal Corporation. In 1917 he joined in the Liberal Party.

He actively took part in conversion of Lucknow Canning College founded by Raja Dakshina Ranjan Mukhopadhyay to Lucknow University and acted as a member of the first Executive Committee. He extended aid to many educational institutions.

Atul Prasad Sen Memorial Girls' College, Lucknow, established in 1902 under the name Mahalaki Pathshala, humbly bears the name of its principal patron. From Mahakali Pathshala, the name was changed to Harimati Balika Vidyalaya. In 1933 it received temporary recognition for High School and intermediate from U.P Board. It was at this time it acquired the name Jubilee-girls School. In 1944, the school received permanent recognition for High school. It advanced to an Inter college in 1947, and to a Degree College in 1955.

Atul Prasad's house at Lucknow, which was located next to the labour court complex, is demolished. It is so unfortunate that such a nice specimen of colonial architecture, the famous residence of Atul Prasad Sen which witnessed visit of so many distinguished personalities of pre-Independent India, is no more. A photograph of the house is available in the website of Sri Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Lucknow.

The A P Sen Road, running in front of the residence, was named after him during his lifetime. This was a very rare instance of expressing immense love, honour and respect imparted ever by the citizen of any town. This road still runs in Charbag area of Lucknow.

Music

Lucknow played an important role in Atul Prasad's musical creation and experiments. At this time, he used to hold musical soirees almost every evening at his residence. Maestros like Ustad Ahammad Khalif Khan, Ustad Chhotey Munne Khan (The last living courtier of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah), Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and many other emminent exponents of Indian Classical Music used to attend such soirees. He wrote most of his Bengali songs during his residence in Lucknow. He was able to internalise the Hindustani rendition style well since he lived almost half his life in northern India. Such exposure led Atulprasad to introduce the raga-based classical idiom, especially the thumri, a speciality of Lucknow, into Bangla vocal music. Atul Prasad adapted the Hindustani style to fit Bangla songs, without distorting their tune and measure. He added a new dimension to Bangla songs and opened the way for further experiments. He used fast-paced Hindustani tunes like Kheyal, Thumri and Dadra skilfully, and was able to add an element of spontaneity on occasions when the tune has transcended the lyrics.

Atul Prasad is credited with introducing the Thumri style in Bengali music. He also pioneered introduction of Ghazals in Bengali.

Atul Prasad's acquaintances with maestros in Urdu and Persian Ghazal inspired him to experiment this particular style to be brought into Bengali music. He created around six or seven Ghazals in Bengali and pioneered a stream of Bengali music which was later enriched profusely by contribution of Kazi Nazrul Islam.

Atul Prasad's introduction of the raga to the Bangla songs had a significant impact on Bengali music, and influenced the songs of Kazi Nazrul Islam and other raga-based modern songs. The songs created by him are known as অতুলপ্রসাদের গান (Atul Prasad's song).

Atul Prasad's Song (অতুলপ্রসাদের গান)

Atul Prasad wrote 212 poems and except a few most of the poems were used as song. Unfortunately none of the songs were dated. Only three among these 212 poems were titled (অর্ঘ্য, সাগরবক্ষে জ্যোৎস্নাসুন্দরী, প্রত্যাবর্তন).

Atul Prasad himself, in his book গীতিগুঞ্জ (Geetigunja), arranged his songs into five broad categories: দেবতা (Devotional), প্রকৃতি (Nature), স্বদেশ (Patriotic), মানব (Humanity) and বিবিধ (others). He did not explicitly categorised any of his songs into the category of love. However, many of his songs, having multi-layered association of deep emotional sentiments, bloom into expression of love and lug deep shadow of sadness, which was his constant companion.

Love songs

Love songs of Atul Prasad, with tunes heart-touching and lyrics mellowed with sadness, have eternal appeal of a lonely heart, longing for love from his sweetheart.

বঁধুয়া - নিদ নাহি আঁখিপাতে। আমিও একাকী, তুমিও একাকী আজি এ বাদল রাতে।

বঁধু এমন বাদলে তুমি কোথা? আজি পড়িছে মনে মম কত কথা।

একা মোর গানের তরী ভাসিয়ে ছিলাম নয়ন জলে..

Devotional songs

Atul Prasad was a follower of Bahmo faith, which was initiated in Calcutta in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time. Atul Prasad created many songs devoted to Brahmo faith. Also, some of his compositions are dedidated to faith of Vaishnavism (worshiper of Lord Vishnu or Sri Krishna - হরি), Shaivism (worshiper of Lord Shiva - শিব) and Shaktism, where the metaphysical reality is considered feminine (Mother Kali or Mother Universal - শক্তি).

He employed variety of folk tunes in his compositions apart from using Classical Ragas. কীর্তন (Kirtan), বাউল (Baul), ভাটিয়ালি (Vatially) and রামপ্রসাদী (Ramprasadi) tunes were prominent among them.

পরানে তোমারে ডাকিনি হে হরি (কীর্তন)

যদি দুঃখের লাগিয়া গড়েছ আমায়, সুখ আমি নাহি চাই (কীর্তন)

Patriotic songs

Atul Prasad contributed immensely to the awakening of nationalism in colonial India by creating various patriotic songs. During his first voyage to England in 1890, Atul Prasad passed through Italy and being inspired by the tune of the Gondola rowers' song in Venice he composed his famous patriotic song, উঠ গো ভারত-লক্ষ্মী..:

The movement against the partition of Bengal during 1905-11 inspired creation of patriotic songs which helped in propagation of Swadeshi movement ideologies. Rabindranath Tagore, Atulprasad Sen, Dwijendralal Roy, Rajanikanta Sen, Mukunda Das, Kamini Kumar Bhattacharya, Aswini Kumar Datta, Manmohan Chakravarty, Satish Chandra Banerjee and many others composed various patriotic songs in support of the movement.

In 1916 All India Congress Convention was held in Lucknow, and Atul Prasad actively participated in the program contributing a song that stressed upon harmony between Hindu and Muslims: দেখ মা এবার দুয়ার খুলে গলে গলে এনু মা তোর হিন্দু মুসলমান দুই ছেলে (Look, O Mother, we have come hand in hand, two of your children, Hindu and Musalman).

Hindusthan Record Company produced a record in 1930s with the song "উঠ গো ভারত-লক্ষ্মী" in one side, and in the other side it was "হও ধরমেতে ধীর" :

Ideology of Unity in Diversity and Indian Pluralism was conceived and urged by Atul Prasad in this song.

Atul Prasad was an ardent believer and fearless preacher of Indian reawakening. He wrote:

The following song, venerating the Bengali language, played an equally significant inspirational role in the struggle for independence of India in 1947 as well as in the struggle for liberation of Bangladesh during 1971.

মোদের গরব, মোদের আশা, আ- মরি বাংলা ভাষা; (মাগো) তোমার কোলে, তোমার বোলে, কতই শান্তি ভালোবাসা।(Our pride Our hope, O thy our Bengali language)

Classical based songs

Atul Prasad pioneered in creation of Ghazals in Bengali.

ভাঙা দেউলে মোর কে আইলে আলো হাতে? (Who has come to my derelict house with a lamp in hand? / Ghazal)

Classical based songs of Atul Prasad were reflections of his extensive exposure and profound expertise in Indian Classical Music. Some examples of such compositions are:

কি আর চাহিব বলো (What more shall I ask for?/ Raga Bhairabi/Tappa Kheyal)

ওগো নিঠুর দরদী (O the merciless/ Raga Mixed Ashabari-Dadra/tap Thumri)

যাবো না যাবো না ঘরে (I won't go home/ Thumri)

বন্ধু ধরো ধরো মালা (O my friend, take the garland/ Raga Kalingda)

তবু তোমায় ডাকি বারে বারে (Yet I call you/ Raga Sindhu Kafi)

Noted rendition of Atul Prasad's song

Sahana Devi, Autl Prasad's cousin, edited and published 70 songs, along with her staff notations, in কাকলি (Kakali) in two volumes. in 1922 Sahana Devi and Harendranath Chattopadhyay recorded Atul Prasad's song in Gramophone Company's record.

In 1932 three recording companies having Indian ownership were born in Calcutta, one of which was Hindusthan Music Products Ltd, founded by Chandi Charan Saha. Chandi Charan appoached Rabindranath Tagore for contributing his voice in the first record under the banner of Hinduasthan Records. In July 1932, Rabindranath Tagore sang, তবু মনে রেখো in the house no. 6/1, Akrur Datta Lane near Subodh Mallick Square. The second record consisted of two songs sung by Atul Prasad Sen, being the only instance the poet recorded his voice. Atul Prasad sang:

"মিছে তুই ভাবিস মন! তুই গান গেয়ে যা, গান গেয়ে যা আজীবন!" and

"জানি জানি তোমারে গো রঙ্গরাণী, শূন্য করি লইবে মম চিত্তখানি"

The third one with two songs was sung by Renuka Dasgupta (nee Sengupta), one of which was পাগলা মনটারে তুই বাঁধ, a song written by Atulprasad.

যদি তোর হৃদযমুনা (Jadi tor hridjamuna) ~ Harendranath Chattopadhyay (1937) HMV

সে ডাকে আমারে (Se dake amare) ~ Pahari Sanyal (1970). Film Aranyer Din Ratri directed by Satyajit Ray.

Since the day of creation to the present day, the songs of Atul Prasad remain very popular and close to the heart of Bengal. His songs are being used in Bengali films even today. Many eminent singers have sung and recorded his songs, and the trend is continuing.

Noted Artists

Various eminent vocalists have rendered their voice performing Atul Prasad's songs through ages. An attempt is made here to present a tentative list, in alphabetical order, which is neither perfect nor exhaustive, but only indicative to the immense popularity of Atul Prasad's song among generations:

Aditi Mahsin, Anasuya Sen, Anjan Dutt, Arati Mukherjee, Archana Bhowmick, Arghya Sen, Arijit Roy Chowdhury, Arundhati Home Chowdhury, Asima Bhattacharya, Atanu Sanyal, Banani Ghosh, Chandrabali Rudra Dutta, Chhabi Bandyopadhyay, Chitralekha Chowdhury, Dilip Kumar Roy (grandson of Rajanikanta Sen), Dilip Kumar Roy (son of Dwijendralal Roy), Gautam Mukherjee, Gayatri Basu, Gita Ghatak, Haimanti Shukla, Herandranath Chattopadhyay, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Indrani Roychoudhury, Jayati Chakraborti, Kanika Bandopadhyay, Koushiki Deshikan, Krishna Chandra Dey, Krishna Chattopadhyay, Manju Gupta, Manna De, Manomay Bhattacharya, Mita Huq, Nihar Bindu Sen, Nupurchhanda Ghosh, Pahari Sanyal, Pankaj Kumar Mallick, Pratima Bandopadhyay Renuka Dasgupta, Rezwana Choudhury Bannya, Riddhi Bandyopadhyay, Sahana Debi, Sakuntala Barua,, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Santosh Sengupta, Sarbani Sen, Shyamal Mitra, Shikha Basu, Somlata Acharyya, Sounak Chattopadhyay, Soumya Paul, Srabani Sen, Sreeradha Banerjee, Suchitra Mitra, Supratik Das, Supriti Ghosh, Suprotik Das, Sushil Chatterjee, Subhamita Banerjee, Swagatalaxmi Dasgupta, Swati Lahiri, Uma Rudra, Utsab Das, and others.

Friends, relatives and acquaintances

Rabindranath Tagore initiated Khamkheyali Sabha along with Gaganendranath Tagore at Jorasako, and its meeting on February 5, 1897 was attended by Atul Prasad Sen and Chittaranjan Das, among other dignitaries. In July 1897 Atul Prasad hosted the meeting of the Khamkheyali Sabha in his house at Wellesley Mansion, Kolkata.

Rabindranath Tagore's first visit to Lucknow was on invitation from Atul Prasad in 1914. Tagore was accompanied by Andrews (Charles Freer Andrews, popularly known as Deenabondhu Andrews) and Atul Prasad joined with them at Tagore's cottage at Ramgarh, which the Poet bought on May 10, 1914. In June, 1914 Tagore came to Lucknow from Ramgarh, and enjoyed the hospitality of Atul Prasad, and returned to Calcutta on 14 June, 1914.

Atul Prasad mentioned this event in his memoirs and recapitulated:

"He invited me to stay with him at Ramgarh for some days. I came hurriedly from Lucknau to Ramgarh. One day there was heavy rain which contiued late in the night. We had an assembly of rainy season on that day. From afternoon till at ten o'clock at night, the poet (Rabindranath) recited poems written by him one after another and sung many songs of rainy season. I couldn't forget that day. At about eight in the night our dinner was made ready. The daughter and daughter-in-law of the poet was waiting at the door, but neither the poet nor any of us could take notice of them. In that sitting Rabindranath requested me, "Atul, will you please sing a Hindi song of your locality?". I sang, "Maharaja keoriya kholo, rasaki bund pare". It was a timely song, and everybody liked it. The poet accompanied me in the song. Even the song touched Andrews who was ignorant of the song. He accompanied me loudly with his strange pronunciation and wrong tuned voice."

Tagore's journey to Japan and other countries of the far east was due on May 3, 1916. Many relatives, friends, well-wishers, organisations and followers arranged for farewell ceremonies. Atul Prasad arranged one such farewell gathering in his house in Calcutta on April 27, 1916. Kalidas Nag wrote:

"Gathering was held in the house of Atul Babu situated at Wellesly mansion - the poet, Gagan Babu, Abani Babu, Dinu Babu and others were present. The gathering was fine - with fountain of songs. On 28th farewell was arranged in Mayo Hospital organized by Dr. Dwijendranath Moitra. Dinu Babu and the poet sung traditional songs and patriotic songs. It was wonderful."

Tagore's second visit to Lucknow was during March 5 to 10, 1923, when he addressed the Convocation of Lucknow University. Tagore was basically travelling across India on a lecture tour to raise money for Visva-Varati. Atul Prasad arranged a musical durbar in his honour and invited famous Indian classical singers of Lucknow at his residence. Tagore, while proceeding further to Bombay en route to Ahmedabad by train, composed a song, appreciating the event, তোমার শেষের গানের রেশ নিয়ে কানে চলে এসেছি ওগো কেউ কি তা জানে.

(Note on date of event: 1926-28. Marris College of Music, Lucknow, later known as Bhatkhande Music Institute University was established by Sri Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande in 1926. Pahari Sanyal's visit to Atul Prasad's house may be dated around 1926-28.)

"I heard Abdul Karim when he was at the peak of his powers. It was a few days after the death of Deshbandhu C. R. Das. What an extraordinary gathering that was – Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Atul Prasad Sen and Sharat Chandra Chatterjee, the novelist, all were there in Dilip Kumar Roy’s house … Tagore’s appreciation was “saccha“, true. He would close his eyes and be lost to the world. Atul Prasad got so carried away on occasions that he had to be controlled." (Note on date of event: 1925-26 - after demise of Chittaranjan Das on 16 June 1925.)

Death

Atul Prasad died at Lucknow on August 26, 1934 at an age of sixty three years. His mortal remains were buried at the Brahmo Temple of Kaoradi (কাওরাদি ব্রহ্ম মন্দির), Sripur subdivision of Gazipur District, Dhaka division, established by Sir Krishna Govinda Gupta in his estate in 1893.

Atul Prasad was a great benevolent philanthropist, a fact which is NOT known to many. He donated all his wealth and property, including his residence and every rupee he earned, towards charity.

Considering his failing health, on May 3, 1930, much before his demise, Atul Prasad signed off his will, which was revealed after his death. Apart from monthly stipends for his wife and son, he provided financial assistance to Hemanta Seva Sadan of Ramakrishna Sevashram, Sadharan Bahmo Samaj of Kolkata, Nabo Bidhan Brahmo Samaj of Dhaka, Panchapalli Gururam High School of Faridpur, Lucknow Bengali Club and Young Men's Association, Lucknow Bengali Girls' School, Muslim Orphanage in Mumtaj Park of Lucknow, Several orphanages of Hindu and Arya Samaj and various other charity organisations. All the property he dedicated towards charity included his residence at Charbag, Lucknow; all land property; all furnitures and collection of books, motor car, cash certificates; shares; life insurance and all royalty from his creations and compositions.

Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem on September 4, 1934 in memory of Atul Prasad. The poem was included in Geetigunja, in its 1957 edition.

Legacy

Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie adopted the song "হও ধরমেতে ধীর হও করমেতে বীর, হও উন্নত শির নাহি ভয়" (Hao Dharmete Dheer, Hao Karomete Bir, Hao Unnato Shir—Naahi Bhay) as the Academy song of the Institute.