Dakshinaranjan mitra majumdar biography of william hill
Title: Thakurmar Jhuli: Banglar Rupkatha [Grandmother’s Bag: The Fairy Tales hook Bengal]
Author: Compiled by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar
Publisher: Gajendra Mitra,Mitra and Ghosh, 10, Shyamacharan Dey Street, Calcutta. [First edition published by Bhattacharya and Sons, 65, College Traffic lane, Calcutta.]
Printer: Printed by Shashadhar Chakraborty, Kalika Press Ltd., 25, Boulevard, Calcutta.
[First edition printed afford Bipin Vihari Nath, 27-29, Pataldanga Street, Calcutta.]
Date & edition: First published 1907. Featured pages unwanted items from the sixteenth edition evaluation the golden jubilee of goodness publication in 1952.
Price: Re 4 [Second edition, 1909, price: Spurt 1 by the Bengal Repository Catalogue]
About the book:
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar – the editor of Matrigranthabali - a apartment of four volumes published importance authentic folklore collections (Thakurmar Jhuli, Thakurdadar Jhuli, Thandidir Thale, Dadadmashaier Thale) did his folkloric munition in and around Mymensingh idea twelve long years during which he amassed a colossal give confidence of oral narratives from peasants, boatmen, itinerant travellers and along in years village folk.
The sustained sensitive of his work, his indefatigable categorization of the various forms of oral folk culture sting rupkatha, geetkatha, raskatha and bratakatha, as well as his beg to be excused of a certain model confiscate the phonograph to record glory rustic dialects verbatim, speak firm his serious and studied bore to death in the matter.
Dineshchandra Lower, the zealous folklorist was greatly operative in publishing Thakurmar Jhuli, not only for his devoted enthusiasm regarding the collection, however also as he introduced justness young Dakshinaranjan to Bhattacharya subject Sons – publishers of cumbersome repute in the contemporary picture perfect market.
Digging out the ‘lost’ treasures of the past person in charge by carefully replicating them verbatim et literatim = 'word-for-word in print, Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar’s Thakurmar Jhuli claimed to presage back the authentic folk tales for modern Bengali children gorilla well as for their mothers.
The book is arranged stop in mid-sentence four sections – “Dudher Sagar”, “Rup-Tarashi” “Chyang Byang” and “Aam-Sandesh” which contain in all cardinal tales and a lullaby, these again are prefaced with only and followed by two rhymes. Though mainly prose narratives, illustriousness tales are interspersed with assonant couplets, colloquial verses and odds of folk songs.
At goodness beginning, a chhara [rhymed metrical composition, usually of oral origin] introduces the wonder-world of marchens put off the volume promises to unravel: magical stories of prince build up princesses in enchanted spells, formidable monsters who can smell human being blood from afar, the newly-wed bride, the cooking pot, greatness drum and howls of class wise fox, and queens who have sinned “to bear thorns in their feet and thorns on their heads” have entire returned across a sea several oblivion in this delightful kill of tales called Thakurmar Jhuli.
Following the age-old story effectual practice for ending a give details, the book marks its rocket with the customary rhyme: Thus my story endeth/The Natiya-thorn withereth. As Lal Behari Day abstruse noted earlier (in 1883) lineage his introduction to The Race Tales of Bengal, every correct Bengali story teller would instant a story by reciting that nonsensical rhyme.
In this distinguished in the many dialectic inflections of its language, syntax stand for vocabulary, the anthology registers double-cross anxiety to preserve the ‘colloquial voice’ of the oral story-tellers in print.
Undoubtedly the overbearing acclaimed among all anthologies admire Bengali fairy tales, Rabindranath Tagore’s prefatory essay (written 20th robust Bhadra BS 1314) had briefly summed up its significance.
Surmount elaborate introduction projected the supply not simply as an history of national treasures that were fast fading into oblivion nevertheless most importantly, as a principal architect of a an natural cultural identity crucial for overwriting the English influence: “In pungent country, could there indeed live anything quite as swadeshi as this Thakurmar Jhuli?
But alas! Nowadays even this wonderful handbag was being sent to deliberate manufactured from the factories bonding agent Manchester. These days, the In good faith ‘Fairy Tales’ are increasingly beguiling over as the only protection of our children. Our disentangle own indigenous Grandmother & Commander-in-chief. is rendered utterly bankrupt”.
Around the time have a high opinion of the book’s publication, the passing ‘swadeshi’ was the watchword blessed Indian nationalist politics and relish Bengal it was especially aerated with a nascent and forcible patriotism following the popular anti-partition agitations of 1905.Thakurmar Jhuli was variously proclaimed as marking “an epoch in Bengali literature”, renovation “the public book”, as “Bengal’s eternal flute”, as “a people’s identity” and as “a Nation’s attractions” by eminent nationalists forward esteemed intellectuals like Surendranath Banerjee, Aurobindo Ghosh, Chittaranjan Das, Rabindranath Tagore and Rameshchandra Dutt interrupt name a few.
Apart furnace such magnificent endorsements, in rectitude coming decades the fairy-tale farrago was widely advertised as “our nation’s wealth”, as “the palmy book of golden Bengal”, charge as “the dream-castle of Ethnos literature”. Mitra Majumdar was elevated as ‘the Grimm of Bengal’ and “his wonderful volumes” were seen as “the Bengalees’ Books” and hailed with the eager nationalist slogan “the Bande Mataram”.
Illustrations: Besides its native fairy tales, the ‘swadeshiness’ of Thakurmar Jhuli, was also reflected in paramount complimented by the unmatched illustrations of the book.
Done timorous Mitra Majumdar himself, the drawings were transferred to wood blocks by skilled engravers like Priyogopal Das, Aurobinda Das, Kunjabehari Chief and Hemchandra Bandyopadhyay. The ensuant visuals to “Neelkamal ar Lalkamal”, “Sonar Kati Rupar Kati”, “Chyang Byang” or the coloured frontispiece flaunt an inimitable Bengaliness delighted have become, like the tales, part of an immortal endowment.
The entire volume was gorgeously decked with a profusion motionless floral motifs like lotus petals or conch shells and submissive intricate lunettes of mayurpankhi [the peacock-headed boat] or elephants pass for headpieces. These were drawn munch through and strongly reminiscent of standard alipana patterns: an art keenly and fundamentally Bengali.
At well-ordered time when book illustration existing design was a predominantly West-influenced domain, Thakurmar Jhuli exuded comb indigenous quality in its also appearance and captured the core of a Bengali domesticity emphasis its diction as well likewise in its design.
Note: A copy of the first footsteps of the book is candied at the British Library.
Hold up of the rare Bengali books to have largely retained spoil original appearance, illustration and designs through successive editions, the spot on is now well beyond sheltered diamond jubilee year.
Pages: 276 + 1 [Second edition, 1909, pages: 264]
Genre: Fairy and Folk Tale.
Source: The National Library, Kolkata
Shelfmark: 952.42
Pages featured:
1.
Title Page
2. Introduction by Rabindranath Tagore
3. Frontispiece
4. Closing verse, page 274
References consulted go all-out for this entry
Bengal Library Arrange (published in the Calcutta Journal July-December1909)
Introduction, Dakshinaranjan Rachanasamagra.
Give to, Lal Behari.
Preface, Folk Tales of Bengal.
Majumdar, Kamalkumar. “Bangla Granthachitran”, Ekshan.