I lived from 1809-1831. I was from India, and am in the Asian category.
Henry Louis Vivian Derozio was born on 18th April 1809 in Calcutta, India. He was given formal education at the Dhurumtollah Academy of David Drummond at Calcutta. He belonged to the Anglo-Indian community of India and his father had the ancestors of India and Portugal while his mother was English. His father served in J Scott and company in Calcutta, with his own house property and was also able to educate his children in private schools. Derozio had two brothers and one sister and very little is known about them. Derozio left school at the age of 14 as was the custom prevailing among his community at that time and joined the company his father worked for, as a clerk in the year 1823.
From the time he left school until his early death in 1831 he wrote a remarkable number of poems and also authored the famous poetry book "The Fakeer of Jungheera" which was published in the year 1828. The major influences in his life were his school where the school founder David Drummond, a Scottish man gave emphasis to classics of European heritage in his schooling of the children. He was also influenced by the rationalist philosophy of David Hume, Jeremy Bentham and Thomas Paine. By the age of twenty Derozio was well versed in the classics and philosophy of western intellectuals.
His expert writing style soon saw him as the sub-editor of the "India Gazette", Editor of "Calcutta Gazette", "The Bengal Annual" and "The Kaleidoscope" and he also contribute to the Literary Gazette. In the year 1826 he joined the Hindu college, Calcutta now known as Presidency College and worked as a teacher there till 1831. He taught English Literature and History and his method of teaching was unconventional. The college auditorium is named after him as "Derozio Hall". Derozio aroused the interest of the students so much that in the year 1828 they formed a Literary and debating club known as Academic Association. The success enjoyed by the Academic Association paved way for many such associations to be formed in the city. Derozio was member in many such associations and was very active.
Derozio's teaching had a critical outlook and his students learned to reason out everything and denounced everything that can not be reasoned. Since derozio openly denounced the Hindu religion, his teachings created trouble for him in the college which was dominantly managed by conservative Hindus and most of the students also came from orthodox Hindu families. He was dismissed from the college in April 1831 and this gave him more freedom to express his ideas. His students kept touch with him and followed his radical ideas.
Derozio worked hard in promoting his Anglo Indian community and after leaving the college job, he founded the English News Paper "The East Indian". Through this medium he helped even his Hindu students to express their radical ideas. Following his example, Krishna Mohan Banerji established the English weekly "The Enquirer" in May 1831 and Dakshinaranjan Mukherji and Rasik Krishna Mallick started publishing a Bengali Newspaper “The Jnananvesan" which was later published in English also. Encouraged by Derozio's guidance and ideas these young radicals launched a bitter attack on Hindu conservatism.
Derozio also wrote in the pseudonym of "Juvenis". Derozio wrote many of his works when he was enjoying the hospitality of his mother's sister and her husband Johnson in Bhaugalpore.
Derozio died of Cholera on 26th December 1831 and although the sudden death of the young scholar was a shock to the radicals, his spirit of enlightenment inspired the future generations and had a definite impact on the outlook of the Bengali Hindu community.
Credits:
Banglapedia
Article by R. Dean Wright, Professor of Sociology, Drake University Des Moines
RPO Library
Encyclopædia Britannica
warrenbrown.tripod.com
Image courtesy: Banglapedia
From the time he left school until his early death in 1831 he wrote a remarkable number of poems and also authored the famous poetry book "The Fakeer of Jungheera" which was published in the year 1828. The major influences in his life were his school where the school founder David Drummond, a Scottish man gave emphasis to classics of European heritage in his schooling of the children. He was also influenced by the rationalist philosophy of David Hume, Jeremy Bentham and Thomas Paine. By the age of twenty Derozio was well versed in the classics and philosophy of western intellectuals.
His expert writing style soon saw him as the sub-editor of the "India Gazette", Editor of "Calcutta Gazette", "The Bengal Annual" and "The Kaleidoscope" and he also contribute to the Literary Gazette. In the year 1826 he joined the Hindu college, Calcutta now known as Presidency College and worked as a teacher there till 1831. He taught English Literature and History and his method of teaching was unconventional. The college auditorium is named after him as "Derozio Hall". Derozio aroused the interest of the students so much that in the year 1828 they formed a Literary and debating club known as Academic Association. The success enjoyed by the Academic Association paved way for many such associations to be formed in the city. Derozio was member in many such associations and was very active.
Derozio's teaching had a critical outlook and his students learned to reason out everything and denounced everything that can not be reasoned. Since derozio openly denounced the Hindu religion, his teachings created trouble for him in the college which was dominantly managed by conservative Hindus and most of the students also came from orthodox Hindu families. He was dismissed from the college in April 1831 and this gave him more freedom to express his ideas. His students kept touch with him and followed his radical ideas.
Derozio worked hard in promoting his Anglo Indian community and after leaving the college job, he founded the English News Paper "The East Indian". Through this medium he helped even his Hindu students to express their radical ideas. Following his example, Krishna Mohan Banerji established the English weekly "The Enquirer" in May 1831 and Dakshinaranjan Mukherji and Rasik Krishna Mallick started publishing a Bengali Newspaper “The Jnananvesan" which was later published in English also. Encouraged by Derozio's guidance and ideas these young radicals launched a bitter attack on Hindu conservatism.
Derozio also wrote in the pseudonym of "Juvenis". Derozio wrote many of his works when he was enjoying the hospitality of his mother's sister and her husband Johnson in Bhaugalpore.
Derozio died of Cholera on 26th December 1831 and although the sudden death of the young scholar was a shock to the radicals, his spirit of enlightenment inspired the future generations and had a definite impact on the outlook of the Bengali Hindu community.
Credits:
Banglapedia
Article by R. Dean Wright, Professor of Sociology, Drake University Des Moines
RPO Library
Encyclopædia Britannica
warrenbrown.tripod.com
Image courtesy: Banglapedia
My poetry
- Last night — it was a lovely night,
And I was very blest &mda98 lines, 65,534 comments - My country! In thy days of glory past
A beauteous halo circled round thy brow14 lines, 1 comment - Why hang'st thou lonely on yon withered bough?
Unstrung for ever, must thou there remain;15 lines, 3 comments - "It is that hour when dusky night
Comes gathering o're departing light,36 lines, 1 comment
