Toru Dutt

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Toru Dutt (March 4, 1856 - August 30, 1877) was an English and French poet and author, who made a mark in literature in spite of her premature death.

1 Early life
2 Achievements
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Early life

She was daughter of Kshetramoni and Gobinda Chandra Dutt, of the Rambagan Dutt family of Kolkata. Gobinda Chandra Dutt had converted to Christianity in the 1860s and had travelled abroad. Aru Dutt (1854-1874) was her elder sister. The two sisters were educated in France and England. They returned to India in the early 1870s and took to learning Sanskrit. Both the sisters earned fame for their literary activities, in spite of their premature death. Their grandfather Rasamay Dutt (1779-1854) was the first Indian Commissioner of the Court of Small Causes and was one of the founders of the Hindu College. Romesh Chunder Dutt, the famous administrator, writer and historian, was her cousin.

[edit] Achievements

After publication of several translations and literary discussions, she published in 1876, A Sheaf Gleaned in French Field, with translation in English of some 70-80 French poets. Eight of the poems were translated by her elder sister Aru. A novel Binaca was published in the Bengal Magazine in 1878. Her famous novel ‘Le Journal de Mademoiselle d’Arvers was published in 1879 from Paris. Prithwindra Mukherjee translated it into Bengali, serialised it in the monthly Italic textBasumatiItalic text, before bringing it out in a book form in 1956, with a foreword by Premendra Mitra. Once again, Prithwindra Mukherjee serialised its English translation in 1963, in the Italic textIllustrated Weekly of IndiaItalic text with line drawings by Mario. Her Ancient Ballads and Legends of India, published in 1882, was a great beginning in Indo-Anglican writing. She also knew German.