Her father was a noted linguist and a published poet writing in English while her mother was a cultured and intelligent woman with a literary bent of mind. In —when Toru was six—the Dutts converted to Christianity from Hinduism.
Three years later, the happiness of the close-knit family was shattered when Abju, the eldest son, died at the age of Deeply aggrieved, Govin Chunder, along with his wife and two daughters, left for Europe in with the intention of settling there.
He wanted his gifted daughters to see the world and receive the best of Western education. They studied French and spent time in Paris and Boulogne before moving to England in Along with their studies of French language and literature, the young girls began to translate French poetry into English. The family spent a year in London, where Aru and Toru studied music and history. In Cambridge, Toru met Mary E. Martin, with whom she carried on a close friendship, mostly through letters, till her own death.
In September , the failing health of the two young daughters forced the Dutts to return to Calcutta. The four years that the Dutt girls spent abroad were the happiest and the most liberating of their lives. After their return to Bengal, Aru and Toru tried to write their way out of the loneliness and the stifling atmosphere they experienced in Calcutta.
She also started to write another novel, Bianca or The Young Spanish Maiden , which remains incomplete due to her young and untimely death. Both these novels were set outside of India with non-Indian protagonists.
Despite beginning her literary career with prose, Toru Dutt is known for her poetry. The first edition of her book was published in by the Saptahik Sambad Press, located in Bhowanipore, India. This collection of poetry earned Toru some recognition as young, rising poet. At first her collection was not a hit, because it lacked a preface, was printed on low-quality paper, and the publisher was little known.
However, in the poetry collection gained publicity after it was favorably reviewed in The Examiner by Edmund Gosse. Sadly, Toru Dutt did not live to see her success. She, like her siblings, died from consumption in , at the age of Her book of poetry named Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan , a collection of translations and adaptations from Sanskrit literature, was published posthumously in Edmund Gosse wrote the introductory memoir for the collection.
He said, describing Toru, "She brought with her from Europe a store of knowledge that would have sufficed to make an English or French girl seem learned, but which in her case was simply miraculous. The anthology contained translations of poems of which eight had been translated by Aru by about 70 poets, with her critical notes on each piece. Her book was so well received that, within only a few months of its publication, it saw a second edition in and a third edition in But Toru did not live to see these triumphs.
The young litterateur and writer died of tuberculosis, which had earlier claimed both her siblings. She died on 30th August , at the age of It was the first French book by an Indian. Another work Toru left behind, and which made her famous in the literary world, is Ancient Ballads And Legends of Hindustan.
It compiles her narrative adaptations based on Sanskrit literature like the Ramayana , the Mahabharata and the Vishnu Purana , along with seven original compositions.
In woe and weal To be a helpmate swears the bride. Grave of Toru Dutt at Maniktala Christian Cemetery Sumit Surai While Toru has gone down in literary history as a pioneer of English writing in India, she has attracted her share of criticism for her very stark style, shortcomings of meter and over-sentimental writing. But none of this can take away from the fact that she was a brilliant young woman with a talent that made the people in Europe take serious note of Indians writing in English.
Also, her contribution to the French language and literature is commendable along with her storytelling of Indian folklore. In just a few years, Toru was able to produce so much of lasting worth. Here are stories of some women pioneers — doctors, lawyers, scientists, educators and even spies — who fought to be taken seriously and had to contend with name-calling and ridicule, until their grit and vision forced changes in the system.
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