18 Facts About Rajshekhar Basu

Rajshekhar Basu was a Bengali chemist, author and lexicographer.

Rajshekhar Basu was chiefly known for his comic and satirical short stories, and is considered the greatest Bengali humorist of the 20th century.

Rajshekhar Basu was the second son of Chandrasekhar Basu and Lakshmimani Devi.

Rajshekhar Basu spent his childhood in Darbhanga, in the state of Bihar, and learned to speak Hindi as a first language, rather than Bengali.

Rajshekhar Basu was an inquisitive child and manifested a knack for science early in life.

Shashisekhar, his elder brother, later wrote that the young Rajshekhar Basu put together a laboratory at home equipped with two cupboards of various chemicals; he would forecast the weather by looking at a barometer that he had hung on the wall, would write prescriptions of cough-mixtures for his family members, and later, would even go to the Temple Medical School to dissect corpses.

Rajshekhar Basu was very quickly promoted to the post of director, and began a long association with the company, which continued even after his retirement in 1932.

Rajshekhar Basu adopted the pen name of "Parashuram" while writing humorous pieces for a monthly magazine.

Rajshekhar Basu simply borrowed the surname of someone at hand, the family goldsmith, Tarachand Parashuram.

Rajshekhar Basu was an active member of the National Council of Education, founded in 1903.

Rajshekhar Basu even provided covert assistance to the revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement in the form of money and chemicals, and provided his expertise in making bombs.

Rajshekhar Basu played a major role in the history of printing in Bengal.

Rajshekhar Basu was the principal assistant to Sureshchandra Majumdar, credited with creating the first linotype in the Bengali script.

Rajshekhar Basu received a good deal of recognition for his writing.

Rajshekhar Basu suffered a great deal of tragedy in his personal life.

Rajshekhar Basu's son-in-law died of a terminal illness at a very young age, and his heartbroken daughter died the same day.

Rajshekhar Basu lived for almost 18 years after his wife's demise and wrote a great deal during this time, but he did not allow his personal tragedies to colour his writing.

Rajshekhar Basu's younger brother, Girindrasekhar Bose, was an early Freudian psychoanalyst of the non-Western world, and wrote books for children.