Manik Bandyopadhyay [alias Banerjee] (Manik Bandyopadhyay; 19 May 1908– 3 December 1956) is an Indian author regarded as one of the major figures of 20th century Bengali literature. During a lifespan of 48 years and 28 years of literary career, battling with epilepsy from the age of around 28 and financial strains all along, he produced some masterpieces of novels and short stories, besides some poems, essays etc. One of the early neo-realist film shot in Pakistan, The Day Shall Dawn is based on his story.
Manik was born on 19 May 1908 in Dumka, a small town of Santhal Parganas district in the state of the then Bihar (now under Jharkhand) in British India in a Bengali Brahmin family of Harihar Bandyopadhyay and Niroda Devi. He was named Prabodh Kumar, but was known mostly by his nickname Manik. Parents had fourteen children (ultimately ten survived) and Manik was fourth of the six sons with all four elder sisters. Family had its ancestral home in Malapadiya village of Bikrampur in Dacca district (present day Bangladesh). His father, who joined in government service as Surveyor and finally retired as sub-deputy collector, had to work in different parts of undivided Bengal like Calcutta, Midnapore, Barasat, Dacca, Dumka, Cumilla, Brahmanbaria, Mymensingh, Tangail and in some parts of Orissa and Bihar. This gave Manik an opportunity to experience the misery and sorrows of the rural and urban people as growing up, which was reflected sympathetically in his works throughout. Romantic in nature, Manik could sing well and play flutes from early in his life almost till death.