Kaliprasanna Singha

Kaliprasanna Singha (23 February 1840 – 24 July 1870), His most famous work was the translation of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata into Bengali. Singha's book Hootum Pyanchar Naksha , a compilation of satirical social sketches, is another work that is noted for reflecting Bengali urban society of the time. He is also remembered as a philanthropist who helped several people and movements in distress.

Early life Though the exact date of Kaliprasanna Sinha's birth is debatable, on 24 February 1840, the Calcutta Courier published the news that celebrations were held on 23 February 1840 on the occasion of the birth of the son of Nandalal Singha of Jorasanko. The confusion about his year of birth is because researchers initially found his death announcement where it was stated that he died at the age of 29 in 1870. However, if the news published in Calcutta Courier, found at a later date, is taken into account, his date of birth would be somewhere near 23 February 1840.

In 1846, Nandalal died of cholera when Kaliprasanna was only six years old. A judge of the lower court, Babu Hara Chandra Ghosh, the Singha family's neighbour and a son of Babu Pran Krishna Singha's friend Abhay Charan Ghosh, was appointed as his legal guardian. As tensions arose among his relatives for the family inheritance, Kaliprasanna's mother Trailokyamohini Devi had to fight legal battle against their relatives – for which Kaliprasanna had expressed sadness in Hootum Pyanchar Naksha.

In his short span of life (1841–1870), Kaliprasanna was a man of unbelievable versatile qualities. It is said that he had a power to recollect anything that he would see or hear even once, and that too from a very early age. The foundation of the Vidyotsahini Sabha by him at age 14 bears testimony to the abilities of this child prodigy. Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar was astonished to see how this young boy could mingle with so many elderly associates and lead them towards recreational pursuits such as organisation of the theatres. Hootum Pyanchar Naksha is his immortal creation in which he portrayed the picture of the 19th-century babudom in Kolkata. Sunil Gangopadhyay, in his epoch making novel Sei Somoy (Those Days), recreated the same period with Kaliprasanna as the symbolic character, his name in this historical fiction being Nabinkumar.

In popular culture He was a Major inspiration for the lead character in Sunil Gangopadhyay's famous Novel Shei Somoy. His name in the novel being Nabinkumar.