Toru Dutt: A Mindmap

• Toru Dutt (1856-1877)
  • Titles & Epithets
    • Founding figure of Indo-Anglian literature
    • India’s first woman novelist in English
  • Biography
    • Born: Mar 4, 1856 (Calcutta)
    • Family: Bengali, Christian, intellectual family (father Govind Chandra Dutt)
    • Education: Primarily at home, then France & England
    • Key Influences: French Romanticism, English Romantics (Keats)
    • Died: Aug 30, 1877 (age 21) from consumption (tuberculosis)
    • Personal Losses: Siblings Aru and Abju also died young
  • Major Works
    • Poetry Collections
      • A Sheaf Gleaned in French Fields (1875) - Translations of French poems
      • Ancient Ballads and Legends of Hindustan (1882) - Original Indian themes
    • Novels
      • Le Journal de Mademoiselle d’Arvers (1879) - In French
      • Bianca, or The Young Spanish Maiden (1878) - Incomplete, first English novel by Indian woman
    • Key Poems
      • “Our Casuarina Tree”
      • “Sita”
      • “The Lotus”
      • “Baugmaree”
  • Literary Style & Themes
    • Style
      • Lyrical & Evocative
      • Fusion of Eastern & Western cultures
      • Sensory Detail & Vivid Imagery
      • Personal & Confessional Tone
      • Narrative Skill
    • Themes
      • Memory & Nostalgia
      • Loss & Grief
      • Patriotism & Love for India
      • Nature
      • Spiritual Quest
      • The Role of Women
  • Legacy
    • Pioneering Indo-Anglian Writer
    • Cultural Bridge (East & West)
    • Set a high standard for lyrical poetry
    • Authentic Indian voice in English