His first book of stories, Gaddalika, was published in 1924 and drew praise from such personalities as Rabindranath Tagore. In 1937, when he published Chalantika, a monolingual Bengali dictionary, Rabindranath commented: "At long last, we have a dictionary for Bengali. The concise grammar for Bengali that you have included in the appendix is also wonderful." Chalantika also included Basu's first efforts to reform and rationalise Bengali orthography. A few years before its publication, in 1935, Calcutta University formed a committee, chaired by him, to formulate a set of guidelines governing the spelling of Bengali words. The recommendations of this committee were broadly accepted, and Chalantika is still in use today. Basu's collection of short stories, Anandibai Ityadi Galpa, won a Sahitya Akademi Award for Bengali literature in 1958. The book was published under his pen name, Parasuram, and contained fifteen satirical stories, touching on themes of love, courtship, families, and politics. Other achievements Basu was a man of diverse achievements. He was an active member of the National Council of Education, founded in 1903. He served on the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad. He even provided covert assistance to the revolutionaries of the Indian Independence Movement in the form of money and chemicals, and also provided his expertise in making bombs. Basu also played a major role in the history of printing in Bengal. He was the principal assistant to Sureshchandra Majumdar, credited with creating the first linotype in the Bengali script. The second edition of Parashuram's Hanumaaner Svapna Ityadi Galpa was the first book to be completely printed in Bengali linotype. Awards and honours Basu received a good deal of recognition for his writing. Calcutta University awarded him the Jagattarini and Sarojini medals in 1940 and 1945 respectively. In 1957, the University awarded him D.Litt. Jadavpur University followed suit the next year. Krishnakali ityadi golpo won the Rabindra Puraskar in 1955, and in 1956, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan. In 1958, he was awarded the Akademi Puraskar for Anandibai Ityadi Galpa. Personal life Basu was married and had one daughter. He suffered a great deal of tragedy in his personal life. His son-in-law died of a terminal illness at a very young age, and his heartbroken daughter died the same day. In 1942, he lost his wife as well. He lived for almost 18 years after his wife's demise and wrote a great deal during this time, but he did