According to the family history, their ancestors were originally residents of a village named chatuti in the Rarh region of present-day West Bengal.

[citation needed] He did his Major (Honours) in English literature from Presidency College, Kolkata, standing first in the first class in 1911.

[citation needed] His childhood friend was the famous industrialist Nagendra Nath Das founder of Power Tools And Appliance Co. Ltd.

[citation needed] The same year, he was appointed lecturer in English at Vidyasagar College, Kolkata where his colleague was the thespian, Sisir Kumar Bhaduri.

[citation needed] In 1914, Chatterji became assistant professor of English in the Post-Graduate Department of the University of Calcutta, which he held till 1919.

[citation needed] Suniti Kumar accompanied Rabindranath Tagore to Malaya, Siam, Sumatra, Java, and Bali, where he delivered lectures on Indian art and culture.