Charu Chandra Bhattacharya facts for kids

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya (Bengali: চারুচন্দ্র ভট্টাচার্য) was a very important science teacher and writer. Born in 1883 and passing away in 1961, he wrote many science articles, especially for children, in the Bengali language. He made science easy and fun to learn for young readers.

Early Life and Education

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya was born on June 29, 1883. His parents were Basanta Kumar Bhattacharya and Menaka Devi. His family home was in Harinavi, South 24 Parganas, in what is now West Bengal, India.

From a young age, Charu Chandra was a brilliant student. He finished his high school exams with top marks from Metropolitan Institution in Kolkata in 1899. He continued his studies, earning his Bachelor's degree (B.A.) in 1903 from Presidency College. He then completed his Master's degree (M.A.) in Physics from the University of Calcutta in 1905.

Teaching Career

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya began his career as a Physics teacher at Presidency College. He worked there for about 35 years, until 1940.

He had the chance to learn from famous scientists like Jagadish Chandra Bose when he was a student. Later, as a teacher, he taught future great scientists such as Meghnad Saha, Satyendra Nath Bose, Shishir Kumar Mitra, and Prashanta Chandra Mahalnabish. One of his students, Pratul Chandra Gupta, once said that Charu Chandra could explain even the most difficult topics in a very simple way.

Writing and Publishing

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya was known for writing in a simple, easy-to-understand style. He preferred using everyday language (Chalit Bhasha) in his writings.

In 1939, he joined the publishing department of Visva Bharati in Santiniketan. Even during the difficult times of World War II, when money was short, he bravely helped publish the Rabindra Rochonaboli. These were the collected works of the famous poet Rabindranath Tagore. He worked on this project with Prashanta Chandra Mahalnabish.

Later, Rabindranath Tagore wanted to publish two series of books called Bishwa Vidya Songroho and LokShiksha. These books aimed to help more people learn and become literate. Charu Chandra Bhattacharya took on this important task. The first book in the LokShiksha series was BishwaPorichoy, written by Tagore himself.

After Tagore's death in 1941, Charu Chandra continued writing for the Bishwa Vidya Songroho series. His first book in this series, published in 1943, was about the great scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. It was called Jagadish Chandrer Abishkar (Innovations of Jagadish).

Many of the books he helped publish were about science. The LokShiksha series had 10 books, with 5 of them focused on science. Out of about 150 books in the BishwaVidyaSongroho series, around 50 were about science!

A pioneer in Bengali publishing, Pulin Bihari Sen, once said that Charu Chandra's biggest achievement was inspiring many authors to write about science in Bengali. He helped create new excitement for science in the Bengali language.

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya is seen as a successful follower of other great science writers like Jagadananda Roy and Ramendra Sundar Tribedi. His first popular science book, Nabya Bijnan (New Science), came out in 1918. In 1926, he published another book called Ban(g)alir Khadyo (Food of Bengali).

He was also deeply involved with the Bangiya Bijnan Parishad (Bengali Science Council), which was started by Satyendra Nath Bose. He was an active member and served as vice-president from 1949 to 1958, and then as president from 1960 to 1961. His article, Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bosu, was published in the very first issue of their famous magazine, Jnan O Bijnan.

Like Visva Bharati, this organization also had its own science book series. Charu Chandra wrote the first book in the LokBijnan series, called Toriter Avyutthan (The Rise of Electricity), in 1949. He also wrote the first four books of the Bijnan Probesh (Introduction to Science) series, all published in 1949.

Some of his other notable books include:

• Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bosu (1938)
• Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini (Stories of Scientific Discoveries) (1953)
• Bishwer Upadan (Elements of the Universe) (1943)
• Byadhir Porajoy (Defeat of Diseases) (1949)
• PodartoVidyar NoboJug (New Era of Physics) (1951)

As an Editor

Charu Chandra Bhattacharya also worked as an editor for several magazines. Early in his career, he edited a magazine called Beporoya. He later edited Bosudhara for a long time. He also edited Bhandar, a journal for a cooperative society, from 1926 to 1932. Rabindranath Tagore had also edited this magazine.

As a Preceptor and Educator

Besides writing popular science books, Charu Chandra Bhattacharya also wrote science textbooks for students in classes VI and VIII for the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education.

He played a big role in creating Bengali terminology for science. He was the secretary of a committee set up by Calcutta University to work on this, with Rajshekhar Bosu as the president. He also helped the Indian government with scientific measurements and terms. His articles are often found in school literature textbooks in West Bengal, showing how important his contributions were to education.

List of Articles

Here are some of the articles and books he wrote:

• Acharya JagadishChandra Bosu
• Alo Aar Ron(g): BhangaGorar Khela: from PodarthoVidya (2nd vol.), Bijnan Probesh series
• Chokh: from PodarthoVidya (2nd vol.), Bijnan Probesh series
• Taper NanaKotha: from PodarthoVidya (2nd vol.), Bijnan Probesh series
• Tap Cholachol: from PodarthoVidya (2nd vol.), Bijnan Probesh series
• Jenar O Basonter Tika: from Byadhir Porajoy, LokShiksha series
• Pasteur O Rogjibanu: from Byadhir Porajoy, LokShiksha series
• Pasteurer Porobortigon: from Byadhir Porajoy, LokShiksha series
• Galileo: from Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini
• Newton: from Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini
• Thomas Alva Edison: from Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini
• Marie Curie: from Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini
• Ronald Ross: from Boijnanik Abishkarer Kahini
• Ex-Roshmi Abishkar: from PodarthoVidyar Nobojug, LokShiksha series
• Atom-Anko: from PodarthoVidyar Nobojug, LokShiksha series
• Radiumer Prokriti: from PodarthoVidyar Nobojug, LokShiksha series
• Atom Bhan(g)a: from PodarthoVidyar Nobojug, LokShiksha series
• Atom Boma O Hydrogen Boma: from PodarthoVidyar Nobojug, LokShiksha series
• Upadaner Prokriti: from Bishwer Upadan, BishwaVidya Songroha
• Electron O Proton
• Electroner Prokriti
• Keno Rokomari Khabar: from Ban(g)alir Khadyo
• Khabar Bachhai, Bachhai Khabar: from Ban(g)alir Khadyo
• Amar Pathddoshar Kale: from Juganatar, Annual issue, 1950