Renowned linguist and litterateur Suniti Kumar Chatterji was born on this day.
He stood first in both BA (English honours) and MA (English) examinations from Calcutta University. He is said to have known 36 languages, ancient and modern, and wrote foundational texts. He wrote prolifically in Bengali, English and Hindi. He earned his D.Litt. degree from London University.
In London, he had studied Phonology, Indo-European Linguistics, Prakrit, Persian, old Irish and Gothic. At Sorbonne in Paris he studied IndoAryan, Slav and Indo European Linguistics, Greek and Latin. He taught at Calcutta University.
Among his most important works are Bengali Phonetic Reader, The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language, Bangla Bhasatattver Bhumika (Introduction to Bangla Linguistics), Bharater Bhasa O Bhasa Samasya (Language and Language Problem of India), and Indo-Aryan and Hindi, to name only a few.
He suggested Bengali had its roots in Magahi Prakrit (a spoken language) through Magahi Apabhramsha (the written language). He accompanied Rabindranath Tagore to Malaya, Sumatra, Java, and Bali, a delightful account of which remains in Chatterji’s book Dwipmay Bharat. He was awarded Padmabibhusan (1948) by the Government of India.
He passed away on May 29, 1977. His house in south Kolkata, a beautiful structure, is now a FabIndia store.