Bengali Literature

Shaahitter baahon, upobhaashaa, aar mitobaak shanketaayon

by Probal Dasgupta

In this paper (in Bangla) I argue that the notion of a 'standard dialect' is an oxymoron. The dialects are... more In this paper (in Bangla) I argue that the notion of a 'standard dialect' is an oxymoron. The dialects are asymmetrically related to a standard language. Those of us who wish to work against the invidious effects of this asymmetry are likely to find it worth our while to cultivate the art of thin description.

Here and now...or the undefinable: Manabendra Bandyopadhyay's poetry (review essay in Bengali language)

by Abhijit Roy

Antassar 7, September 2005

laloner jabaan

by Probal Dasgupta

published in _Aarshinagar_ 1:7-22 (2011).

This article in Bangla (Bengali), written in the substantivist framework, looks at the use of words of Perso-Arabic... more This article in Bangla (Bengali), written in the substantivist framework, looks at the use of words of Perso-Arabic origin and of Sanskritic origin in the songs composed by Lalon Fakir. The question of why mainstream writing in Bangla, unlike Lalon's writings, invested heavily in the Sanskritic lexicon and stopped drawing on Perso-Arabic lexical resources -- in contrast to what is observed in Hindi -- is raised, and some relevant factors are highlighted.

Women and Modernisation: A Study of Non-fictional Writings by Bengali Women in Nineteenth Century Bengal (Abstract to the Paper)

by Shantanu Majee

This paper was read at the UGC Sponsored National Level Seminar organised by Jogamaya Devi College, Kolkata, in collaboration with Asutosh College, Kolkata, on 2nd of December, 2011.

Women have never lived in a separate world of their own and until quite recently their very existence was merely a... more Women have never lived in a separate world of their own and until quite recently their very existence was merely a necessary and indispensable appendage to that of the male population. Hence, formal institutional education for women in the nineteenth century was supposed to have been for the purpose of producing ideal female companions for the more English educated men folk of the nation-in-making. But even as the bhadralok reformers were planning to introduce education for women, many women were secretly learning the powers of the alphabets and spreading their ideas in the form of writing. This paper proposes to indulge in a case-study of the non-fictional writings of such authors as Jnanadanandini Devi, Swarnakumari Devi, Krishnabhamini Das, Kamini Roy, Sarala Devi Chaudhurani and others, who used to publish profusely in the leading periodicals of their age. The paper might also look into the practice of publishing such monthly magazines for women as the 'Bamabodhini Patrika' (1863-1923), which were manufactured to replace the dearth of reading materials particularly suitable for women, wherein the women critiqued the system and unabashedly talked about subversion even to the point of praise. The paper shall argue to illustrate the idea that the life-histories of such women suggest an alternative discourse to modernity by indulging in a dialogue with the patriarchy and the nation.

Bengálská literatura: Bibliografický esej

by Lubomír Ondračka

in: Dušan Zbavitel: Bengálská literatura : Od tantrických písní k Rabíndranáthu Thákurovi, Praha: ExOriente, 2008; s. 272-339.

"Bengali Literature: A Bibliographic Essay". In: Dušan Zbavitel, Bengali Literature (in Czech).

What Should Mīnanāth Do to Save His Life?

by Lubomír Ondračka

Manuscript of the paper published in slightly different form in:
Yogi Heroes and Poets: Histories and Legends of the Nāths, David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz (eds.), Albany: SUNY Press, 2011; 129-141, 175-188 (notes)

Tantrické příběhy o nesmrtelnosti: Literatura bengálských náthů

by Lubomír Ondračka

in: Lubomír Ondračka (ed.), Mé zlaté Bengálsko: Studie k bengálskému náboženství a kultuře věnované Haně Preinhaelterové k jejím sedmdesátinám, Praha: ExOriente a FF UK, 2008, s. 13-34.

"Tantric Stories about Immortality: The Literature of the Bengali Naths". In: Lubomír Ondračka (ed.), My Golden Bengal: Studies on Bengali Religion and Culture Presented to Hana Preinhalterová on the Occasion of her 70th Birthday (in Czech)

Patricide and Historical Neurosis in Sandipan Chattopadhyay’s Novel Swarger Nirjan Upokule

by Arka Chattopadhyay

One of my Postgraduate papers which I later compressed into an article for Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. It appeared in its September 2010 issue. This is the fuller version. The paper is about a novel by Sandipan Chattopadhyay and deals with the cultural politics of Western appropriation with emphasis on issues like narrative formation, historical repetition, colonialism, intertextuality and a post-colonial condition that is shadowed by a neo-colonial global politics.

'Vaishnavpadabali': Lyricism, Romanticism and the Indian Literary Tradition (Abstract to the Paper)

by Shantanu Majee

Co-authored with Madhurima Neogi, this paper was presented at the CSRL (Centre for Studies in Romantic Literature) 2010 Conference.

The paper focuses on the exploring of the various nuances of Vaishnava love poetry from which one can arrive at some... more The paper focuses on the exploring of the various nuances of Vaishnava love poetry from which one can arrive at some specific features of the Romantic thought as it developed in India. The passion of Radha and Krishna being the central theme of this poetic tradition, it affords one the opportunity of studying the treatment of emotions and effects as formulated by the poets like Jaydev, Vidyapati, Chandidasa and others. Although neither Radha nor the pair of Radha and Krishna is the subject of any known major work prior to Jaydev’s Gitagovinda, their treatment in the stray verses of many prior literary works renders authenticity to Jaydev's claim that he is basing his poem on a known theme. In fact, Prakrit love poetry from the Gathasaptasati of Satavahana Hala provides the earliest instance of the poetic appropriation to this love story. Thus the presentation also attempts to assess the traditions of love poetry that lead upto the bards of Bengal and Mithila. Overall, Vaishnavpadavali, by its evocation of a lingering lyricism, “shringar rasa” as the oldest aesthetic tenet in India, and the mingling boundaries of the finite and the infinite, point to an endless mystery of life thereby bestowing a marked character to Indian Romantic Literature. There lie embedded in it the roots of many of the aesthetic principles to be later taken up and modified by the British Romantics, be it the relation between man and nature or the sense of melancholy lying at the heart of all things beautiful. Vaishnavpadavali, in its profoundly pantheistic flavour, also sing the notes of “advaita” philosophy so integral to the Indian thought. So one can observe the curious convergences and divergences between British Romanticism and Romantic thought as is reflected in Vaishnava love poetry which makes the later, if not an alternate, at least a prominently individual branch of Romantic aesthetics. The paper also tries to examine how this tradition throbs steady in a much later poet Tagore who was exposed to and heavily influenced by the British Romantics, with Shelley in particular. Not entering the labyrinthine alleys of theology, the paper concentrates mostly on a critical study of Vaishnavpadavali by analyzing some specific pada-s to delve into a general exploration of the domain.

Translating from Bangla to English : Sarat Chandra Chattopadyay’s “Abhagir Sorgo” recreated as “The Heaven of the Wretched”

by pluto panes

Translation can be best described as a process. The process is constantly under attack in order to reined it... more Translation can be best described as a process. The process is constantly under attack in order to reined it (referring to the act of building up theories to ‘explain’ or to criticize translations.) One can formulate theories while working on a particular text and those theories holds true only for that particular translation and only for that particular time. The attempt to find a universal set of theories that can guide all acts of translation is PROBLEMATIC.