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The title that was given to Ishwar Chandra Bôndopaddhae and it it's meaning and reason.
 
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{{Infobox actor
{{Infobox Hindu leader
| name = Elia Kazan
|name=Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
| image = Elia Kazan NYWTS.jpg
|image=Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar.jpg
|birth-place=[[Midnapore]],[[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| birthdate = {{birth date|1909|9|7|mf=y}}
|birth-date= {{birth date|1820|9|26|mf=y}}
| location = [[Constantinople]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| deathdate = {{death date and age|2003|9|28|1909|9|7}}
|death-date={{death date|1890|7|29|mf=y}}
| deathplace = [[New York City, New York]], [[United States|US]]
| yearsactive = 1934-1976
| birthname = Elias Kazanjoglou
| spouse = Molly Day Thatcher (1932-1963) <br> Barbara Loden (1967-1980) <br> Frances Rudges (1982-2003)
| academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]'''<br> 1947 ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' <br> 1954 ''[[On the Waterfront]]''<br> '''[[Academy Honorary Award]]''' <br> 1999 Lifetime Achievement
| goldenglobeawards = '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture|Best Director - Motion Picture]]''' <br> 1948 ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' <br> 1955 ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' <br> 1957 ''[[Baby Doll]]'' <br> 1964 ''[[America, America]]''
| tonyawards = '''[[Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play|Best Direction of a Play]]''' <br> 1947 ''[[All My Sons]]'' <br> 1949 ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' <br> 1959 ''[[J.B.]]''
}}
}}


'''Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar''' ({{lang-bn|ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর}} ''Ishshor Chôndro Biddashagor'') (1820-1891), born '''Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya''' ({{lang-bn|ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়}}, ''Ishshor Chôndro Bôndopaddhae''), was a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] [[polymath]] and a pillar of the [[Bengal Renaissance]].
'''Elia Kazan''', ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Ηλίας Καζάν, [[September 7]] [[1909]] &ndash; [[September 28]] [[2003]]) was a [[Greece|Greek]]-[[United States|American]] award-winning [[film director|film]] and [[Theatre direction|theatre director]], [[film producer|film]] and [[theatrical producer]], [[screenwriter]], [[novelist]] and cofounder of the influential [[Actors Studio]] in New York in 1947. Kazan was a three-time [[Academy Award]] winner, a five-time [[Tony Award]] winner, a four-time [[Golden Globes]] winner as well as a recipient of numerous awards and nominations in other prestigious festivals as the [[Cannes Film Festival]] and the [[Venice Film Festival]].


Vidyasagar was a [[philosopher]], academic, [[educator]], writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize [[Bengali language|Bangla]] prose were significant. He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since [[Charles Wilkins]] and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first Bangla types in 1780.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Kazan was born '''Elias Kazanjoglou''' in the capital city of the [[Ottoman Empire]], [[Constantinople]] (modern-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]]) to a [[Greeks|Greek]] family.<ref name=pegasos>{{cite web | author= | title=Elia Kazan (1909-2003) - Elia Kazanjoglous | url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kazan.htm | publisher=Pegasos | date=2003 | accessdate=2008-05-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | author= | title=Biography of Elia Kazan | url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3749&source_type=A | publisher=The Kennedy Center | date=2008 | accessdate=2008-05-28}}</ref> Interestingly, his family name 'Kazanjoglou' (an alternate spelling is Kazantzoglou) is actually Turkish meaning "The son of a cauldron maker", where the root word 'kazan' means cauldron or boiler. It was and still is common to find people of Greek, Jewish, Armenian, and Kurdish lineage with Turkish family names or where the root words in the names are uniquely Turkish.


He received the title 'Vidyasagar'(Ocean of learing or ocean of knowledge) from the Sanskrit college,(from where he graduated)due to his excellent performance in studies.In Sanskrit,'Vidya' means knowledge or learning and 'Sagar' means ocean or sea.This title was mainly given due to his vast knowledge in all subjects which is compared to the vastness of the ocean.
Suffering the prejudice of being Greek from the newly formed government of the [[Young Turks]], his family emigrated to the [[United States]] in 1913 and settled in [[New York City]], where his father, George Kazanjoglu, became a rug merchant. Kazan's father expected that his son would go into the family business, but his mother, Athena (née Sismanoglou),<ref>http://www.filmreference.com/film/31/Elia-Kazan.html</ref> encouraged Kazan to make his own decisions.


==Teaching career==
Kazan attended public schools in New York City and [[New Rochelle, New York|New Rochelle]], New York. After graduating from [[Williams College]], Massachusetts, Kazan studied at [[Yale University]]'s School of Drama. In the 1930s, Kazan acted with New York's [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theatre]], alongside (among others) [[Lee Strasberg]], [[Clifford Odets]], and [[Stella Adler|Stella]] and [[Luther Adler]]. During this period, Kazan earned his nickname 'Gadg,' short for Gadget - he never learned to love the name. For about 19 months in 1934-36, Kazan was a member of a secret Communist cell.<ref name=pegasos/>


In 1841, Vidyasagar took the job of a Sanskrit [[pundit]] (professor) at [[Fort William College]] in [[Kolkata]] ([[Calcutta]]). In 1846, he joined the ''Sanskrit College'' as Assistant Secretary. A year later, he and a friend of his, [[Madan Mohan Tarkalankar]], set up the [[Sanskrit Press and Depository]], a print shop and a bookstore.
=== Career ===
====Theatrical====
He became one of the most visible members of the [[New York]] elite. Kazan's theater credits included acting in ''[[Men in White]]'', ''[[Waiting for Lefty]]'', ''[[Johnny Johnson (musical)|Johnny Johnson]]'', ''[[Golden Boy (play)|Golden Boy]]'', and the 1940 revival of ''[[Liliom]]'', and directing ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (play)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1951) and ''[[Cat on a Hot Tin Roof]]'' (1955), two of the plays that made [[Tennessee Williams]] a theatrical and literary force, and ''[[All My Sons]]'' (1947) and ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'', (1949) the plays which did much the same for [[Arthur Miller]]. He received three [[Tony Awards]], winning for ''All My Sons'', ''Death of a Salesman'', and ''[[J.B.]]''


While Vidyasagar was working at the [[Sanskrit College]], some serious differences arose between him and [[Rasamoy Dutta]] who was then the Secretary of the College, and so he resigned in 1849. One of the issues was that while Rasamoy Dutta wanted the College to remain a Brahmin preserve, Vidyasagar wanted it to be opened to students from all [[Hindu caste system|castes]].
==== Film director ====
[[Image:Vivien Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire trailer 2.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Vivien Leigh]] in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1951)]]
Kazan's history as a film director is equally as noteworthy, if not more impressive. He won two [[Academy Award for Directing|Academy Awards for Best Director]], for ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' (1947) and ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' (1954). He elicited remarkable performances from actors such as [[Marlon Brando]] and Oscar winners [[Vivien Leigh]], [[Karl Malden]] and [[Kim Hunter]] in ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' (1951) (the film version of [[Tennessee Williams]]' play), [[James Dean]] and Oscar winner [[Jo Van Fleet]] in ''[[East of Eden (1955 film)|East of Eden]]'' (adapted from the [[John Steinbeck]] [[East of Eden|novel]]), and [[Andy Griffith]] in ''[[A Face in the Crowd]]''.


Later, Vidyasagar rejoined the College, and introduced many far-reaching changes to the College's syllabus.
Before he began directing films, however, he occasionally played supporting roles in them, one of those films being the 1941 ''[[Blues in the Night (1941 film)|Blues in the Night]]''.


Vidyasagar was one of the first persons in India to realize that modern science was the key to India's future. He translated into Bengali the English biographies of some outstanding scientists like [[Copernicus]], [[Newton]], and [[Herschel]]. He sought to inculcate a spirit of scientific inquiry into young Bengalis. A staunch anti-[[Berkeley]]an, he emphasized the importance of studying European [[Empiricist]] philosophy (of [[Francis Bacon]]) and the inductive logic of [[John Stuart Mill]].
==== HUAC controversy====
Kazan's later career was marked by his testimony before the [[House Un-American Activities Committee]] (HUAC) during the postwar "[[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]]", in which he "named names."


In the face of opposition from the Hindu establishment, Vidyasagar vigorously promoted the idea that regardless of their caste, both men and women should receive the best education.
Kazan had briefly been a member of the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]] in his youth, when working as part of a theater troupe, the [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theater]], in the 1930s. At the time, the Group Theater included several theater professionals who had Communist or other left-wing sympathies. A committed [[Socialist]], Kazan felt betrayed by [[Stalin]]'s atrocities and the ideological rigidity of Communists in general. He was personally offended when Party functionaries tried to intervene in the artistic decisions of his theater group.


==Reform Concerning Widow Remarriages==
At first, although Kazan agreed to testify before HUAC, and readily admitted his former membership in the Communist Party, he refused to name others who had been members. But Kazan felt increasing pressure from Hollywood studio management to cooperate with the Committee and provided the names of former Party members or those connected with Party activities, in order to preserve his career.


Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native [[Bengal]]. Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought, however, to transform orthodox Hindu society from ''within''.
He knew that the names were already known to the Committee, since HUAC had already obtained copies of Communist Party membership archives, and that his testimony would be used primarily to increase media attention. After a delay, during which he asked for and received permission to release the names of former members of the Party, he was recalled to testify, and at the second examination Kazan provided testimony to the Committee.


With valuable moral support from people like Akshay Kumar Dutta, Vidyasagar introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In earlier times, remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among progressive members of the [[Brahmo Samaj|Brahmo Samāj]]. The prevailing deplorable custom of [[Kulin Brahmin]] [[polygamy]] allowed elderly men -- sometimes on their deathbeds -- to marry teenage or even prepubescent girls, supposedly to ''spare their parents the shame of having an unmarried girl attain puberty in their house''. After such marriages, these girls would usually be left behind in their parental homes, where they might be cruelly subjected to orthodox rituals, especially if they were subsequently widowed. These included a semi starvation diet, rigid and dangerous daily rituals of purity and cleanliness, hard domestic labour, and close restriction on their freedom to leave the house or be seen by strangers. Unable to tolerate the ill treatment, many of these girls would run away and turn to prostitution to support themselves. Ironically the economic prosperity and lavish lifestyles of the city made it possible for many of them to have quite successful careers once they had stepped out of the sanction of society and into the demi-monde. In 1853 it was estimated that Calcutta had a population of 12,718 prostitutes and public women.<ref>Nikhil Sarkar [Sripantho], ''Bat tala'', (Calcutta: Ananda, 1977) p. 66. (This text is in Bengali and is, unfortunately, yet to be translated.)</ref>
The 'naming of names' by some in Hollywood was used as a tactic by HUAC to validate the Committee's actions and galvanize reaction against those who were merely friends or relations of the accused. One of those named as being a Party member was the wife of noted actor [[John Garfield]], with whom Kazan had worked in the Group Theatre troupe, and who was being investigated by [[House Un-American Activities Committee|HUAC]]. HUAC failed to uncover any evidence of Communist Party membership by Garfield himself, but Garfield was nonetheless subpoenaed.


Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the ''Widow Remarriage Act XV'' of 1856 in India.
As Kazan later explained, he felt that it was in the best interest of the country and his own liberal beliefs to cooperate with HUAC's anti-communist efforts in order to counter Communists in Hollywood who were co-opting the liberal agenda. Kazan felt no allegiance to Communism, and had been disillusioned by the Soviet Union's brutal record of murder and repression during Stalin's Purges, and massacres in Poland during World War II. He still resented the Party's attempt to force their agenda on him during his theatre group days. American playwrights [[Lillian Hellman]] and [[Arthur Miller]] publicly and bitterly disagreed with Kazan's reasoning. Though Kazan testified to HUAC under threat of ostracism and blacklisting by the Hollywood studios, he was in turn shunned and ostracized by many of his former friends. Always a confirmed liberal and progressive, even socialist in his political outlook, Kazan now found himself hated by the left, yet mistrusted by many on the right.


==Alphabet Reform==
Some have perceived elements of Kazan's own reaction to his critics in the film ''On the Waterfront'', in which the protagonist courageously agrees to testify against his former mentor, a corrupt dockland union boss. Miller in his turn responded with the play ''[[A View from the Bridge]]'', also set among dock-workers, in which his main character informs on two illegal immigrants based on ignoble, self-serving motivations.


Vidyasagar was a first-rate linguist . He reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet of twelve vowels and forty consonants.
===Personal life===
Elia Kazan was married three times. His first wife was playwright [[Molly Kazan|Molly Day Thacher]]. They were married from 1932 until her death in 1963; this marriage produced two daughters and two sons. His second marriage, to the actress [[Barbara Loden]], lasted from 1969 until her death in 1980, and produced one son. Lastly, he was married to Frances Rudge from 1982 until his death in 2003 at the age of 91. He also had a long-term affair with [[Constance Dowling]] during his first marriage, which ended when Dowling went to Hollywood in 1944 to make ''Up in Arms'' under contract to [[Samuel Goldwyn]].


Vidyasagar contributed significantly to Bengali and Sanskrit literature.
===The life of a Greek-American===
In 1967, Kazan published ''[[The Arrangement (1967 novel)|The Arrangement]]'', a novel about Evangelos Arness, an emotionally-battered middle-aged Greek-American living a double life in [[California]] as both an [[advertising]] executive, under the name 'Eddie Andreson', and a serious, muckraking [[magazine]] writer under the name 'Evans Arness'. The character's 'arrangement' of his life takes a huge toll on him, eventually leading him to a suicide attempt and a nervous breakdown. Critics saw parallels to Kazan's own life, including that the character had briefly been a member of the Communist Party prior to World War II, the character's Anatolian Greek background and the anglicisation of his birth name. Kazan disclaimed any [[autobiography|autobiographical]] elements and stated that the novel was a work of fiction, nothing more or less. It served as the basis for his 1969 ''[[The Arrangement (1969 film)|film of the same name]]''.


Rectitude and courage were the hallmarks of Vidyasagar's character, and he was certainly ahead of his time.
==Awards and nominations==
In 1999, Kazan received an honorary [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for lifetime achievement. He was accompanied by [[Martin Scorsese]] and [[Robert De Niro]] who warned the audience ''[[sotto voce]]'' not to misbehave. Robert De Niro himself had appeared in a film about the Hollywood Red Scare. While many in [[Hollywood]] who had experienced the [[Second Red Scare|Red Scare]] felt that enough time had passed that it was appropriate to bury the hatchet and recognize Kazan's great artistic accomplishments, others did not. Some Hollywood celebrities expressed outrage, and former blacklisted writer [[Abraham Polonsky]] stated that he wished Kazan would be shot onstage.<ref>{{cite journal | author= | title=Some Rude to Kazan | volume=4 | issue=52 | url=http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/1999/cyb19990322.asp | journal=CyberAlert | publisher=Media Research Center | date=22 March 1999 | accessdate=2008-05-28}}</ref>


In the final years of life, he chose to spend his days among the ''[[Santhal]]s'', an old tribe in India.
Footage from the 1999 Oscars suggest fully three-quarters of those present in the audience gave him a standing ovation, including [[Lynn Redgrave]], [[Karl Malden]], [[Kurt Russell]], [[Kathy Bates]], [[Holly Hunter]], [[Meryl Streep]] and the very liberal [[Warren Beatty]] (Beatty later said that he was applauding because Kazan had directed him in his first film ''[[Splendor in the Grass]]'', but was not endorsing the decision he made).
Shortly after Vidyasagar's death, [[Rabindranath Tagore|Rabindranāth Tāgore]] reverently wrote about him: ''"One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!"''


A fair named ''Vidyasagar Mela'' ({{lang-bn|বিদ্যাসাগর মেলা}} ''Biddashagor Mêla'') which is dedicated to spreading education and increasing social awareness has been held annually in West Bengal since 1994. Since 2001, it has been held simultaneously in Kolkata and Birsingha.
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
=== Academy Awards ===
*1948: Best Director – ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]''
*1955: Best Director – ''[[On the Waterfront]]''
*1999: Academy Honorary Award – Lifetime Achievement
;Nominations
*1963: Best Picture – ''[[America, America]]''
*1963: Best Adapted Screenplay – ''[[America, America]]''

=== Tony Awards ===
*1956: Best Director – ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof''
*1958: Best Play – ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs ''
*1958: Best Director – ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs''
*1960: Best Direction of a Play – ''Sweet Bird of Youth''
*1965: Best Producer of a Play – ''Tartuffe
;Nominations
*1959: Best Direction – ''J.B.''
*1949: Best Director – ''Death of a Salesman''
*1947: Best Direction – ''All My Sons''

{{col-break}}
=== Cannes Film Festival Awards ===
*1955: Best Dramatic Film – ''East of Eden'' (1955)
;Nominations
*1952: Grand Prize of the Festival – ''Viva Zapata!''
*1955: [[Palme d'Or]] (Golden Palm) – ''East of Eden''
*1972: Palme d'Or – ''The Visitors''

=== Venice Film Festival Awards ===
*1950: International Award – ''Panic in the Streets''
*1951: Special Jury Prize – ''A Streetcar Named Desire''
*1954: Italian Film Critics Award – ''On the Waterfront''
*1954: [[Leone d’Argento]] (Silver Lion) – ''On the Waterfront''
*1955: OCIC Award – ''On the Waterfront''
;Nominations
*1948: [[Leone d'Oro]] (Golden Lion) – ''Gentleman's Agreement''
*1950: Leone d'Oro – ''Panic in the Streets'' (1950)
*1951: Leone d'Oro – ''A Streetcar Named Desire''
*1954: Leone d'Oro – ''On the Waterfront''
{{col-end}}

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Film !! Oscar nominations !! Oscar wins
|-
| 1937 || ''[[The People of the Cumberland]]'' || || ||
|-
|rowspan="2" | 1945 || ''[[A Tree Grows In Brooklyn (film)|A Tree Grows in Brooklyn]]'' || 2 || 1 ||
|-
| ''[[Watchtower Over Tomorrow]]'' || || ||
|-
|rowspan="3" | 1947 || ''[[The Sea of Grass]]'' || || ||
|-
| ''[[Boomerang (1947 film)|Boomerang!]]'' || 1 || ||
|-
| ''[[Gentleman's Agreement]]'' || 8 || 3 ||
|-
| 1949 || ''[[Pinky (1949 film)|Pinky]]'' || 3 || ||
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Panic in the Streets (film)|Panic in the Streets]]'' || 1 || 1 ||
|-
| 1951 || ''[[A Streetcar Named Desire (film)|A Streetcar Named Desire]]'' || 12 || 4 ||
|-
| 1952 || ''[[Viva Zapata!]]'' || 5 || 1 ||
|-
| 1953 || ''[[Man on a Tightrope]]'' || || ||
|-
| 1954 || ''[[On the Waterfront]]'' || 12 || 8 ||
|-
| 1955 || ''[[East of Eden (1955 film)|East of Eden]]'' || 4 || 1 ||
|-
| 1956 || ''[[Baby Doll]]'' || 4 || ||
|-
| 1957 || ''[[A Face in the Crowd]]'' || || ||
|-
| 1960 || ''[[Wild River]]'' || || ||
|-
| 1961 || ''[[Splendor in the Grass]]'' || 2 || 1 ||
|-
| 1963 || ''[[America, America]]'' || 4 || 1 ||
|-
| 1969 || ''[[The Arrangement (1969 film)|The Arrangement]]'' || || ||
|-
| 1972 || ''[[The Visitors (1972 film)|The Visitors]]'' || || ||
|-
| 1976 || ''[[The Last Tycoon (film)|The Last Tycoon]]'' || 1 || ||
|-
|}

==Bibliography==

*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia| title=[[The Arrangement: A Novel]] | year=1951 | location=New York | publisher=Stein and Day | oclc=36500300}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=America America | year=1962 | location=New York | publisher=Popular Library | oclc=21378773}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia| title=The Assassins | year=1972 | location=London | publisher=Collins | isbn=0002210355}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=Kazan on Kazan | location=London | publisher=Secker & Warburg | year=1973 | oclc=221452156}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=Elia Kazan: A Life | publisher=Knopf | year=1988 | location=New York | isbn=0394559533}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=The Understudy | year=1975 | location=New York | publisher=Stein and Day | oclc=9666336}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=A Kazan Reader | year=1977 | location=New York | publisher=Stein and Day | isbn=0812821939 }}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=Acts of Love | year=1978 | location=New York | publisher=Warner | isbn=0446855537}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia | title=The Anatolian | year=1982 | location=New York | publisher=Knopf | isbn=0394525604}}
*{{cite book | author=Kazan, Elia| coauthors=Young, Jeff | title=The Master Director Discusses His Films | publisher=Newmarket Press | year=1999 | location=New York | isbn=1557043388}}

==See also==
* [[Actors Studio]]
* [[Group Theatre (New York)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | author=Schickel, Richard| title=Elia Kazan: A Biography | publisher=HarperCollins Publishers | year=2005 | location=New York | isbn=0060195797}}
*{{cite book | author=Jones, David, Richard | title=Great directors at work : Stanislavsky, Brecht, Kazan, Brook | year=1986 | location=Berkeley ; London | publisher=University of California Press | isbn=0520046013}}
*{{cite book | author=Murphy, Brenda | title=Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan : a collaboration in the theatre | year=2006 | location= Cambridge| publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=0521035244 (pbk)}}


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.calcuttaweb.com/people/vidyasagar.shtml Biography (Calcuttaweb.com)]
* {{findagrave|7926713}}
* {{ibdb|15277}}
* {{imdb|1415}}


== Notes ==
* {{WiredForBooks|eliakazan|1985 audio interview with Elia Kazan by Don Swaim of CBS Radio - RealAudio}}
<references/>
*[http://movies2.nytimes.com/2005/11/14/books/14masl.html?ei=5070&en=b3496fcb32464825&ex=1167195600&pagewanted=print Assessing Kazan: His Life and Choice (NYT Books of the Times)]
Benoy Ghosh, ''Vidyasagar O Bangali Samaj'', Orient Longman, Kolkata
Indramitra, ''Karunasagar Vidyasagar'', Ananda Publishers, Kolkata ISBN 81-7215-040-7
Asok Sen, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and his Elusive Milestones, Riddhi, Kolkata.
Gopal Haldar, ''Vidyasagar: A Reassessment'', People's Publishing House, New Delhi


{{Bengal Renaissance}}
{{AcademyAwardBestDirector 1941-1960}}
{{TonyAward PlayDirection 1947-1975}}
{{Elia Kazan Films}}

{{Persondata
|NAME= Kazan, Elia
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Kazanjoglou, Elias
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=[[Greece|Greek]]-[[United States|American]] [[film director|film]] and [[Theatre direction|theatre director]], [[film producer|film]] and [[theatrical producer]], [[screenwriter]], [[novelist]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[September 7]], [[1909]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Constantinople]] (present-day [[Istanbul]])
|DATE OF DEATH= [[September 28]], [[2003]]
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[New York]], [[US]]
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidyasagar, Ishwar Chandra}}
{{Lifetime|1909|2003|Kazan, Elia}}
[[Category:American film directors]]
[[Category:1820 births]]
[[Category:American theatre directors]]
[[Category:1891 deaths]]
[[Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients]]
[[Category:Bengali renaissance]]
[[Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Hindu scholars]]
[[Category:Greek-Americans]]
[[Category:Bengali writers]]
[[Category:Kennedy Center honorees]]
[[Category:McCarthyism]]
[[Category:People from Istanbul]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Williams College alumni]]
[[Category:People from New Rochelle, New York]]


[[bn:ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর]]
[[ar:إيليا كازان]]
[[de:Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar]]
[[bn:এলিয়া কাজান]]
[[hi:ईश्वर चन्द्र विद्यासागर]]
[[bg:Елия Казан]]
[[kn:ಈಶ್ವರ ಚಂದ್ರ ವಿದ್ಯಾಸಾಗರ]]
[[ca:Elia Kazan]]
[[mr:ईश्वरचंद्र विद्यासागर]]
[[cy:Elia Kazan]]
[[te:ఈశ్వర్ చంద్ర విద్యాసాగర్]]
[[da:Elia Kazan]]
[[de:Elia Kazan]]
[[el:Ελία Καζάν]]
[[es:Elia Kazan]]
[[eo:Elia Kazan]]
[[eu:Elia Kazan]]
[[fr:Elia Kazan]]
[[hr:Elia Kazan]]
[[id:Elia Kazan]]
[[it:Elia Kazan]]
[[he:איליה קאזאן]]
[[ka:ელია კაზანი]]
[[hu:Elia Kazan]]
[[nl:Elia Kazan]]
[[ja:エリア・カザン]]
[[no:Elia Kazan]]
[[pl:Elia Kazan]]
[[pt:Elia Kazan]]
[[ro:Elia Kazan]]
[[ru:Элиа Казан]]
[[fi:Elia Kazan]]
[[sv:Elia Kazan]]
[[tr:Elia Kazan]]
[[uk:Казан Еліа]]
[[zh:伊利亚·卡赞]]

Revision as of 06:14, 12 October 2008

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar (Bengali: ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর Ishshor Chôndro Biddashagor) (1820-1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya (Bengali: ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়, Ishshor Chôndro Bôndopaddhae), was a Bengali polymath and a pillar of the Bengal Renaissance.

Vidyasagar was a philosopher, academic, educator, writer, translator, printer, publisher, entrepreneur, reformer, and philanthropist. His efforts to simplify and modernize Bangla prose were significant. He also rationalized and simplified the Bengali alphabet and type, which had remained unchanged since Charles Wilkins and Panchanan Karmakar had cut the first Bangla types in 1780.

He received the title 'Vidyasagar'(Ocean of learing or ocean of knowledge) from the Sanskrit college,(from where he graduated)due to his excellent performance in studies.In Sanskrit,'Vidya' means knowledge or learning and 'Sagar' means ocean or sea.This title was mainly given due to his vast knowledge in all subjects which is compared to the vastness of the ocean.

Teaching career

In 1841, Vidyasagar took the job of a Sanskrit pundit (professor) at Fort William College in Kolkata (Calcutta). In 1846, he joined the Sanskrit College as Assistant Secretary. A year later, he and a friend of his, Madan Mohan Tarkalankar, set up the Sanskrit Press and Depository, a print shop and a bookstore.

While Vidyasagar was working at the Sanskrit College, some serious differences arose between him and Rasamoy Dutta who was then the Secretary of the College, and so he resigned in 1849. One of the issues was that while Rasamoy Dutta wanted the College to remain a Brahmin preserve, Vidyasagar wanted it to be opened to students from all castes.

Later, Vidyasagar rejoined the College, and introduced many far-reaching changes to the College's syllabus.

Vidyasagar was one of the first persons in India to realize that modern science was the key to India's future. He translated into Bengali the English biographies of some outstanding scientists like Copernicus, Newton, and Herschel. He sought to inculcate a spirit of scientific inquiry into young Bengalis. A staunch anti-Berkeleyan, he emphasized the importance of studying European Empiricist philosophy (of Francis Bacon) and the inductive logic of John Stuart Mill.

In the face of opposition from the Hindu establishment, Vidyasagar vigorously promoted the idea that regardless of their caste, both men and women should receive the best education.

Reform Concerning Widow Remarriages

Vidyasagar championed the uplift of the status of women in India, particularly in his native Bengal. Unlike some other reformers who sought to set up alternative societies or systems, he sought, however, to transform orthodox Hindu society from within.

With valuable moral support from people like Akshay Kumar Dutta, Vidyasagar introduced the practice of widow remarriages to mainstream Hindu society. In earlier times, remarriages of widows would occur sporadically only among progressive members of the Brahmo Samāj. The prevailing deplorable custom of Kulin Brahmin polygamy allowed elderly men -- sometimes on their deathbeds -- to marry teenage or even prepubescent girls, supposedly to spare their parents the shame of having an unmarried girl attain puberty in their house. After such marriages, these girls would usually be left behind in their parental homes, where they might be cruelly subjected to orthodox rituals, especially if they were subsequently widowed. These included a semi starvation diet, rigid and dangerous daily rituals of purity and cleanliness, hard domestic labour, and close restriction on their freedom to leave the house or be seen by strangers. Unable to tolerate the ill treatment, many of these girls would run away and turn to prostitution to support themselves. Ironically the economic prosperity and lavish lifestyles of the city made it possible for many of them to have quite successful careers once they had stepped out of the sanction of society and into the demi-monde. In 1853 it was estimated that Calcutta had a population of 12,718 prostitutes and public women.[1]

Vidyasagar took the initiative in proposing and pushing through the Widow Remarriage Act XV of 1856 in India.

Alphabet Reform

Vidyasagar was a first-rate linguist . He reconstructed the Bengali alphabet and reformed Bengali typography into an alphabet of twelve vowels and forty consonants.

Vidyasagar contributed significantly to Bengali and Sanskrit literature.

Rectitude and courage were the hallmarks of Vidyasagar's character, and he was certainly ahead of his time.

In the final years of life, he chose to spend his days among the Santhals, an old tribe in India.

Shortly after Vidyasagar's death, Rabindranāth Tāgore reverently wrote about him: "One wonders how God, in the process of producing forty million Bengalis, produced a man!"

A fair named Vidyasagar Mela (Bengali: বিদ্যাসাগর মেলা Biddashagor Mêla) which is dedicated to spreading education and increasing social awareness has been held annually in West Bengal since 1994. Since 2001, it has been held simultaneously in Kolkata and Birsingha.

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Nikhil Sarkar [Sripantho], Bat tala, (Calcutta: Ananda, 1977) p. 66. (This text is in Bengali and is, unfortunately, yet to be translated.)

Benoy Ghosh, Vidyasagar O Bangali Samaj, Orient Longman, Kolkata Indramitra, Karunasagar Vidyasagar, Ananda Publishers, Kolkata ISBN 81-7215-040-7 Asok Sen, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar and his Elusive Milestones, Riddhi, Kolkata. Gopal Haldar, Vidyasagar: A Reassessment, People's Publishing House, New Delhi

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