Page:Ramtanu Lahiri, Brahman and Reformer - A History of the Renaissance in Bengal.djvu/196

 Sakuntala, in 1857, and then Beni Shankar and Bikram Urbashi, all these being translations from Sanskrit. They were played in several places, the house of Kali Prasanna Singha, the author of the last-named, being one of them.

It was at this time that through the joint exertions of Raja Protap Chandra, and Ishwar Chandra of Paikpara, and Maharaja Jotindra Mohan Tagore, that a Bengali theatre was inaugurated in the garden at Belgachia. It was here that Calcutta first came to know Mr Michael Madhu Sudhan Dutt, who, having returned from Madras in 1857, was working in the Calcutta Police Court. He was introduced to the patrons of the theatre, and he translated for them, in 1858, the Ratna Vali Natak, or the drama named Ratna Vali, after its heroine. Other works followed, which secured for him fame and popularity. Some there were, however, who, though quite fascinated by the flight of his genius, questioned the appropriateness of his versification. He was the first to use blank verse in Bengali poetry, and this offended their tastes, though there were others that lauded him for this innovation.

The rise of Mr Dutt at this particular time must be acknowledged to be a happy coincidence, following the decline of that witty poet of nature, Ishwar Chandra Gupta. The genius of Ishwar amused men much in the midst of the common surroundings of life, but that of Michael soared high and dealt with great and noble themes.

We now return to our hero Ramtanu. He was transferred from the Uttarpara School to that in Baraset in 1857, where he worked for about a year and a half; and where, being near to Calcutta, he could conveniently visit his friends and co-operate with them in their patriotic movements. The noble qualities of this good and great