PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 52

Probashi-Reader’s Contribution
Gazette” etc. came out. However,
in Calcutta, Bengalis began to take
active part in publication industry
30 years later. Between 1801-1832
Srirampore Mission Press printed
2,12,000 copies of books in 40
different languages. Srirampore
Mission Press brought out the
English daily in 1818, “A friend of
India”
(precursor
to
The
Statesman). The first paper mill of
India was also installed at Bot Tala,
Srirampore
by
John
Clark
Marshman, which was powered by
a steam engine. The pioneers were
Panchanan Karmakar (creator of
wooden and moveable Bengali
typeface) and Ganga Kishore
Bhattacharya.
In
1816,
Bharatchandra
Ray’s
“Anandamangal” was printed by
Ferris and Company press of
Calcutta. This was the first book
printed in Bengali. In 1818, Ganga
Kishore established the Bengal
Gazette press. From there, under
his editorship a periodical called
Bengal Gazette was published. This
was the first newspaper of Calcutta
published by the independent
attempt of a Bengali Editor.

`

were Calcutta Exchange Price
Current, Calcutta Weekly Price
Current and Domestic Retail Price
Current published from Srirampore
in English. Bengali papers were
Samachar Darpan (second Bengali
daily came out from Srirampore in
1818 by William Carey), Bangadut,
Samachar Chandrika, Sambad
Kaumudi and Sambad Timirnashak.
In addition a French weekly Jami
Jahanuma was also published.

their living by copying books. It is
needless to mention that these set
of people were in great difficulty.
On the other hand, those who got
themselves trained in composition
were getting jobs. It was just like the
fight against automation and
computerization of recent past but
the importance of new technology
was established when people
trained in programming got job
offers easily.

The printing and newspapers
enriched Calcutta culturally. It may
be said that the Bengali
intellectuals, with the help of the
printing press, raised the culture of
the city to a new height. But at that
time, the sentiment of common
people was against it. In the
beginning whenever they used to
see a printed book, they used to
close their eyes and take the name
of God Rama. They used to
consider that this was also a tactful
plot of the English to spoil their
sacred caste. The idea came to
their mind at the instigation of
those people who used to earn

Now let us take a glimpse at the
advertisements in the newspapers
of those days, which will reveal
about the mindset and practices of
the society in those days. Some
Quotations are given below from
Brojendra Nath Bandopadhaya
(research scholar) and Binoy Bose’s
book:
“1795: Dr. Dinwiddie announces that
he will lecture on Philosophy and
Chemistry. Fee for the lecture is10
gold mohurs.” These days, such
lecture and such audience with such
fees