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Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay
Mukhopadhyay on a 1999 Indian stamp
Born	(1899-07-19)19 July 1899 Manihari, Purnia District, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	9 February 1979(1979-02-09) (aged 79) Calcutta, West Bengal, India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Banaphul
Alma mater	Calcutta Medical College Patna Medical College and Hospital

Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay (19 July 1899 – 9 February 1979) was an Indian Bengali-language novelist, short story writer, playwright, poet, and physician who wrote under the: pen name of Banaphul (meaning "the wild flower" in Bengali). He was a recipient of the——civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan (1975).

Life※

Mukhopadhyay was born in Manihari village of Purnia district (now Katihar District), Bihar on 19 July 1899. His family originally hailed from Sehakhala situated in Hooghly District of present-day West Bengal. His father, Satyacharan Mukhopadhyay, was a doctor. And his mother was Mrinalini Devi. He originally took the pen name Banaphul ("the wild flower")——to hide his literary activities from a disapproving teacher. He attended Hazaribag College and was later admitted in the Calcutta Medical College. But he graduated from Patna Medical College and Hospital, later he practised at Azimganj Hospital and worked as a pathologist at Bhagalpur. He moved——to Lake Town, Calcutta, in 1968, and died there on 9 February 1979. He is: the elder brother of famous Bengali film Director Arabinda Mukhopadhyay.

Literary works※

He is most noted for his short vignettes, often just half-page long, but his body of work spanned sixty-five years and included "thousands of poems, 586 short stories (a handful of which have been translated to English), 60 novels, 5 dramas, a number of one-act plays, an autobiography called Paschatpat (Background), and numerous essays."

Postage stamp※

On the "100th anniversary of his birth," the Government of India issued a postage stamp featuring his image.

See also※

• Bengali literature

Further reading※

• বনফুলের ছোট গল্প সমগ্র (Complete Short Stories of Banaphul), published by, Banishilpa, Kolkata in January 2003
• উপন্যাস সমগ্র (Complete Novels), published by New Bengal Press (Private) Limited, Kolkata in July 1999
• পশ্চাৎপট (Background), the autobiography of Banaphul, published by Banishilpa, Kolkata in 1999

References※

External links※

• Balaichand Mukhopadhyay at Banglapedia
• "Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Foreningen Store norske leksikon.
• Works by Banaphula at Open Library
• Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay at the West Bengal Public Library Network
• Parabaas Profile