Ganga Kishore Bhattacharya facts for kids

Gangadhar Bhattacharya (who died in 1831) was an Indian editor and printer. He was a very important person in the early days of Bengali printing and journalism. He was born in Bahar village, close to Serampore, in Bengal.

Gangadhar started his career working with printing machines at the Serampore Mission Press. Later, he moved to Calcutta. There, he first worked at the Ferris and Company Press. After that, he started his own printing business called the Bengali Printing Press. He did this with his business partner, Harishchandra Ray.

After setting up his press, Gangadhar started a business just for publishing and selling Bengali books. He had tried this idea before at Ferris and Company. The newspaper Samachar Darpan from Serampore spoke very highly of him. Besides a few books he wrote himself, he published several others. These included Gangabhaktitarangini, Lakshmicharitra, Betal Panchabingshati, and Chanakya Sloka. He also published a book that was a team effort by Lallu Lal and Ram Mohan Roy.

Bangal Gezette: India's First Newspaper?

Gangadhar Bhattacharya and Harishchandra Ray did more than just start the first Bengali book business. They also started what many believe was the first newspaper produced by Indians. This newspaper was called Bangal Gezette. It was published from Chorbagan Street in Calcutta.

Some historians, like James Long, P. N. Bose, and Swaminath Natarajan, believe Bangal Gezette started in 1816. This would mean that Indian journalism began thanks to Indians themselves, not outsiders. However, we don't have any copies of the newspaper from that early date to confirm this.

What we do know is that Harachandra Roy put out a notice on May 12, 1818. This notice, printed in the Government Gazette on May 14, 1818, said he planned to publish a weekly newspaper. It would be called the Weekly Bengal Gazette. This paper would include translations of government news and other interesting local stories. It would be written in simple, clear, and correct Bengali.

The Serampore Samachar Darpan newspaper came out on May 23, 1818. Bangal Gezette is said to have appeared "within a fortnight" (two weeks) after this date. It is also known for reprinting the writings of Ram Mohan Roy. These writings were against the practice of sati, where a widow would burn herself on her husband's funeral pyre.

Books Written by Gangadhar Bhattacharya

Gangadhar Bhattacharya wrote several important books himself.

A Grammar in English and Bengalee Language (1816)

This book was published at the Ferris and Co. Press. It taught people what they needed to know about the English language. It also included translations. It was basically an English grammar book written in Bengali. Gangadhar wrote it in a simple way to make it interesting for students. In the same year, another English grammar book in Bengali was published by Ramachandra Roy. He was an assistant teacher at Fort William College.

Daybhag (1816-1817)

In 1816, in the introduction to his English grammar book, Gangadhar mentioned that Daybhag was almost finished printing. It was being printed at the Ferris and Co. Press. Later, in 1859, Shyamacharan Sharma-Sarkar wrote that Daybhag was one of the best religious books ever written in Bengali. It briefly explained rules about responsibility, periods of religious impurity, and ways to make up for wrongdoings.

Chikitsarnab (1820)

One part of the Chikitsarnab book was kept in the library of Radhakanta Deb. It was later reprinted from Battala, a famous printing area.

Drabyagun (1828)

The book Drabyagun was also reprinted from Battala in 1868.

Books Edited by Gangadhar Bhattacharya

Gangadhar Bhattacharya also edited and published other important works.

Annada Mangal (1816)

This was a famous work by Bharatchandra. Gangadhar's edition of Annadamangal included the Tales of Biddyah and Sunder. It also added the Memoirs of Rajah Pratapaditya. It was printed from the Press of Ferris and Co. in Calcutta. This was the first known Bengali book to have pictures. It had six pictures made with line-engraving. The blocks used to create these pictures were made by Ramchand Roy, who might have been related to Harachandra Roy.

Bhagbadgita

Gangadhar published a version of the Bhagbadgita with notes to explain it. The first edition came out in 1820. The second edition was published in 1824. A part of this edition is kept in the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad Library.

See also

• Print media in India
• Early phase of printing in Calcutta