Children's literature of Bengal [1 ed.]

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Jildren’s Literature

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE OF BENGAL

PROVASH RONJAN DEY

ACADEMY FOR DOCUMENTATION & RESEARCH ON CHILDREN’S LITERATURE 4/2, Jadab Ghosh Road CALCUTTA-700 061

Children’s Literature o f Bengal First Edition : 1978

Price : India : Rs. 5*00 / Foreign : US

Publisher : Shri Nirmal Gopal Chatteijee Publication Division Academy for Documentation & Research on Children’s Literature, Calcutta

Printer : Rajdhani Printing 117/1, Bepin Behari Ganguly Street Calcutta-12

?N\zoci W ^ 37 / MA\N CONTENTS Foreword

•••

V

Preface

—

VII

O n e : Children’s Books T w o : Children’s Periodicals

I •••

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FOREWORD In his book “Children’s Literature o f Bengal” Provash Ronjan Dey, surveys the children’s literatures of India, from the beginning o f the 19th century up to the middle o f the 20th. For languages such as English, German and French, surveys o f this type have long been in existence. It is very important that all national children’s literatures o f the world are treated in the same way. The history o f the Bengali literature, presented here, is thus welcome. Some day it will be possible to write the history o f world literature for children. There are some who have tried to do this already, but the difficulties are very great so long as all national literatures are not sufficiently surveyed. Also from this viewpoint the book and its planned sequels, depicting children’s literature in the thirteen other regional languages o f India, are to be received with satisfaction. Studying the world literature for children it is striking to what extent this literature is a common property o f many countries. In my own country Sweden—half o f the books published for children are translated from other languages than Swedish. This was already the case in the 17th and the 18th centuries. From Provash Ronjan Dey’s book it is seen that similar conditions are found in Bengal too. We find the old Greek names o f AEsop and Homer, the Englishman Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, the tales o f the Dane Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, the German fairy tale collectors, and Pinocchio by the Italian Lorenini (Collodi), to mention European examples known in our part of the world. The importance for Bengali children’s literature of the British presence in India is obvious, but this has not necessarily to be seen as a negative trait. O f course it may seem a bit

comical to find stories o f European sovereigns as Peter the Great o f Russia and Philip the Second o f Spain instead o f stories from the rich treasures o f Bengali history and folk literature. On the other hand it reminds me that the Euro­ peans and Americans have been brought up with the stories o f old Greek and Roman heroes. Children’s literature to a certain extent is and ought to be an international literature, and for this reason the history o f Bengali children’s literature is o f interest also outside India.

Gote KliBgberg University of Gothenburg, Sweden President,International Research Society for Children’s Literature.

PREFACE The Academy for “Documentation and Research on Child­ ren’s Literature” was established by some writers and research workers in the year 1976 and now serves as a documentation and information centre and supplies informations and mate­ rials to researchers, publishers, libraries and organisations working for children’s literature. The Academy organised National Seminar on Children’s Literature which was held in Calcutta from 17th to 19th March, 1978. Twenty six writers and editors from Amritsar, Allahabad, Bhubaneswar, Bareilly, Barasat, Jalpaiguri, Jammu & Kashmir, Kanpur, Kerala, Pune, Varanashi and from many other places of India partici­ pated in the seminar. As a part o f the programme for the ‘‘International year o f •child—1979” the Academy is planning to publish short history of Children’s Literature in 14 volumes containing history of 14 regional languages o f India for national distribution. “ Children’s Literature o f Bengal” is the first publication of the series. It is not possible to give a detailed account o f the children’s literature within a limited space as it is a history o f two century which has a long and glorious background which was started at the beginning o f the nineteenth century. However I am trying to give short idea on Children’s Literature in Bengali, one o f the regional languages of India in a nutshell. This publication is nothing but a reference seeking to provide basic informations. It does not claim to be comprehensive or exhaustive. Though every possible efforts have been taken, there may be errors and ommissions and if detected that will be rectified in the next edition. I am grateful for the co-operation received from Shri Dhirendra Lai Dhar, President of the Academy and other

members o f Academy in publishing this book. I am also thank' ful to Shri Anil Chandra Chakrabarty for proof reading which helped to publish the book in short time. To conclude, I must express my gratitude for the troubles taken by Mr. Gote Klingberg o f the Gothenburg University, Sweden and President o f the '‘International Research Society for Children’s Litera­ ture” for encouraging me in my work with his Foreword. Provfisb Ronjan Dey

Jogindra Nath Sarker

Abanindra Nath Tagore

i

Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury

Kulada Ranjan Roy

Pramada Ranjan Roy

Sukha Lata Rao

Sunirmal Bose

Sukumar Roy

■’flartick Das Gupta

Dakshina Ranjan Mitra Majumder

Mohan Lai Gangopadhya i

Mani Lai Gangopadhya

Sourindra Nath Mukherjee

Sukumar Dey Sarker V

Khagendra Nath Mitra

Rabindra Lai Ray

L.__________________________________________________________________________________ '¿¡¡Miisiii

, ,;'li

ONE The dawn o f the 19th century saw the beginning o f Bengali prose. It was during this period the children’s literature o f Bengal was also bom . The missionaries o f Serampore laid its foundation by bringing out the first chiidren’s journal “Digdarshan”. But the first leap towards consolidation o f children’s literature was the establishment o f the School Book Society to prepare and publish cheap books useful for schools. The members o f the Society were—Radhakanta Deb, Ram Kamal Sen, Maulvi Hyder Ali, Maulvi Mohammed Rashid and Mritunjoy Tarkalankar. The British paramount power assisted it to meet the ever increasing demand for text books in the schools, set up to produce clerks. The children’s literature in Bengal, thus had its roots in the text books and in the domain o f education. The accent was on making these text books as interesting and easy reading as possible. In their seventh report the Society congratulated itself that their efforts for the improvement o f Bengali language had been crowned with success. The writers o f books published by them were Radhakanta Deb, Tarini Charan Mitra. Ramkamal Sen, Tarachand Datta, and Captain Stuart. Stuart’s book was “Itihas Katha”, which was subsequently renamed as •‘Upadesh Katha’. Besides a short history o f England, it contained a few advices with a dictionary as an appendix. Raja Rammohan Roy and Clark Marshman, were colla­ borators o f Digdarshan. Raja Rammohan wrote on scientific topics and his efforts were original. “ Nitikatha” was published in 1818 and it was divided into three parts. After Nitikatha, Tarachand Datta’s “Manoranjanetihas” was published in 1819. It was not a text book but merely a collection o f eighteen stories and essays. The book was first published as one volume. Later owing to its popu­ larity a second volume was published.

Manoranjanetihas was followed in 1820 by Ram Kamal Sen’s “Hitopadesha”. It was a selection o f 49 fables and moral teachings taken from Bishnu Sharma’s “Hitopadesha”, as acknowledged in its preface. Ram Kamal Sen was one o f the few who as early as that held strongly to the view that a change o f view does change the fundamental bearings o f man. Some o f the stories o f Ram Kamal Sen, however, appeared differently in Vidyasagar’s Kathamala. Hitopadesha was meant for preaching moral. “ Bangala Siksha Grantha” by Radha Kanta Deb, in 1821, was written with a view to teach Bengali Language. It contained alphabets, essays. Grammar, History and Mathematics. But the practice o f writing first in English and then translating them into Bengali, lent a peculia­ rly alien twist to the language. The Bengali Language o f the essays were more Sanskritic than ever before and they lacked punctuation marks. Wood’s “Choto Henry” was published in 1824, which dealt with the life o f an orphan boy Henry. Twelve years later “Jananankur” a collection o f moral stories was published in 1836. In the same year Sadachar Deepak was also published. It contained 48 pages and was priced half-an-anna. It was popular for 14 long years at a stretch. The reason for its popularity was the variety o f its stories. Sadachar Deepak had for its aim the improvement o f morals, teaching readers to be god-fearing, and making them truthful and courageous. Some o f the stories were forerunners o f psycho-analytical short stories o f the future and there were evident attempts o f creating artistic literature. The characters were all historical, which had been skillfully utilised as materials for stories, dramas and poems. In 1838 Gopal Lai Mitra’s “Jnan Chandrika” was published. It frankly admited that it was translated from English. In 1842 Iswar Gupta wrote patriotic poems in the Sanbad Probhakar which aroused patriotic sentiments. Besides patriotic themes, social problems o f those days also found place in his writings. “Nitidarshan” was published in 1840. It was a collection o f lectures on morals delivered

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by Ram Chandra Bidyabagish to the students o f Hindu College. Hindu College was established m 1839 to impart education through the medium o f Bengali. Bidyabagish was its first principal. Next year “Tatwa Bodhini Pathsala” was founded by Debendra Nath Tagore with almost identical aims and objectives. Vedanta Hinduism was taught here to counteract Christian influence exerted by the missionaries through their English Schools. Akshoy Kumar Datta was one o f its teachers. Soon the need for juvenile literature and school books were felt to promote our rich cultural heritage and enrich our mother tongue. Akshoy Datta was a contemporary o f Vidyasagar, both being born in the same year (1820). They left the deepest impression on the children’s literature o f their 4ays. Their style served as example to many a literatures o f later days and both o f them did a remarkable job in impro­ ving the Bengali language. Later in 1843, the Pathsala was was shifted to Bansberia village and on that occasion Akshoy Datta delivered! a magnificient speech in Bengali which was published in the “Tatwabodhini Patrika”. Gourisankar Bidyabagish’s “Jnanprodeep” was published in 1840. From the foreword o f the book it was revealed that it intended to teach morals to children and as such all its stories had moral lessons. The book, however, failed to be popular, and inspite o f the author’s desire to publish four volumes, only two volumes saw the light of the day. The second volume came out in 1853, twelve years after the first. The language o f the book was Sanskritic. By the middle o f the 19th century Bengali poetry began to flourish, but under the influence o f English models. So far as the development o f the Bengali children’s literature was concerned during the age o f the School Book Society—the Society itself wind after twelve years o f existence. It continued in a moribund stage afterwards and perhaps its final decay came during the age of Vidyasagar. The style and language o f their books were neither literary nor classical but merely one of text books. The unrhythmic language, hackne­

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yed style and inclination to imitation have all acted as impediments to its success. Several years following 1840 was the period o f the missing link in Bengali children’s literature. The period lacked in any original work worth mentioning. For twenty five years the translators ruled the day although varieties were being added to them. It was Vidyasagar who lifted Bengali children’* literature from its mortal inertia while Akshay Datta kept adding life and jest to by his writings. In 1847 “Betala Panchabinsati” by Vidyasagar was published. Rabindranath Tagore then wrote “The pride o f Iswar Chaodra Vidyasagar's character was his indomitable personality”. This personality comment about Vidyasagar led him to break asunder from the earlier fetters and introduce for the first time in Bengali Prose a rare artistic skill. The changes that English education brought in Bengali life during the 19th century began to be evident during Vidyasagar’s time. He was the foremost o f those who were responsible for thischange. His great works came to fruition first in literatu rejuvenile literature, to be more precise. About his language, Mahamahopadhyaya Hara Prosad Sastri once said, “It was he who first taught chaste Bengali to the Bengalees and much can be gained even by the first ranks if they go through his “ Kathamala”, “Charitabali” . He was the forerunner o f an age, the maker of Bengali children’s literature and it all started with his “ Betal Panchabinsati” in 1847. “ Hitopadesha” was published by the Fort William College for the use o f its students. Although “ Betal Panchabinsati” was meant for the adult students o f the Fort William College, it was used in almost all the schools, and even adorned the shelves o f the general readers beyond the orbit o f schools. The sacred touch of Vidyasagar purified the children’s literature o f all the previous obscurities and uninteresting moralities and gave it a new •dimension. Vidyasagar’s “ Betal Panchabinsati” crossed the thresh-hold of schools. His style had influenced quite & number o f juvenile writers. “ Kathamala”, “Jiban Charit” , “Bodhodaya” , “Akhyan

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Manjari” were his works for the children. “Kathamala” was translation from AEsop’s Fables. He changed some fables to fit in with the custom o f our land, For instance, he changed the golden egg producing hen into a duck. The translation was so natural that it appeared like originals. The language was simple though rich in vocabulary and diction. In Jiban Charit, he collected the life-sketches o f Galilio, Newton and other renowned scientists. N o one before Vidyasagar had ventured on this path. “ Barnaparichaya” surpassed his former attempts, not only in production pattern, but also in the technique o f teaching the language. A five or six year old child could very easily get at the meaning o f the story o f “Bhuban” absolutely unaided. It was an original story, perhaps the first o f its kind written during the British period. During 1849—1850 Madanmohan Tarkalankar, the poet, was the first to introduce poetry in Bengali children’s literature. He published the three volumes o f the “Sisusikha”. The period under review saw the establishment o f a new organisation “Banga Bhasa Anubadak Samaj”, transcribed in English as the Vernacular Literature Committee. With it was incorporated “Gurhasthya Bangla Pustak Sangraha’% The Committee’s maiden venture was “ Robinson Crusor Bhraman Brittanta*’ which was translated by John Robinson. It rarely smocked off translation. The book characterized by 14 woodcuts was probably the first illustrated children's book in Bengali. The second publication being “Shakespearer Krita Galpa” , translated by Doctor Bayor. In 18S0 was published from Serampore the first part o f “ Balak Bodhetihas” written by Keshab Chandra Karmakar. It contained seventeen precepts supplemented by seventeen stories. The author was free from the influence o f Vidyasagar. Rajkrishna Bandopadhaya’s “ Nitibodh” was published in 1851. It was adopted from the “Moral Class Book” o f Robert and William Chambers and was thoroughly revised by Vidyasagar. “Akhyan Manjuri” published in 1863 was per­ haps Vidyasagar’s last contribution to children’s literature.

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It was not translation but collections from a few English books to teach certain moral principles and intricacy o f Bengali composition. In 1SS2 was published Akshoy Kumar Datta’s “Charupath’T Part I. It was one o f the best children’s books during that period. O f course the points were gathered from English books but the texture was entirely Akhoy Kumar’s own. Rajnarayan Bose, however, mentioned in course o f a speech that Devendranath Tagore and Vidyasagar used to revise his early manuscripts extensively. From the introduction o f “Charupath” we learn that most o f the articles were reprinted from “Tatwa Bodhini Patrika” and “ Pravakar,” “Charupath” contained a number o f scientific essays and some were inten­ sely patriotic which could inspire the children. Moreover Akshoy Kumar was the first to introduce the concept o f class consciousness and the role of peasants and labourers in the modern society which was not mentioned by any o f the earlier writers. It was something really bold and novel o f Akshoy Dutta to stress at that time that the labourers were the real producers o f all wealth and to incorporate the idea in Childrens’ books. Between 1853-1856 about half a dozen children’s books were published. Gouri Sankar Tarkabagis’s “Jnan Prodeep” Part II was published after“Charupath” in 1853 and its language was not so much shackled to Sanskrit. In 1854 was published Tarka Bagis’s “Niti Ratna”, a Bengali poetry, based on Sanskrit. Tarasankar Tarkaratna’s literature was no less contributory to children’s literature. His “Kadambari” , a free translation o f Sanskrit “ Kadambari” was a brillant example o f elegant Bengali prose. The book was used as a text book in upper classes o f the Bengali medium schools. Christian School Book Society published “ Bangiya Pathabali” in four parts in 1854. It was at this time that Madhusudan Mukhopadadhya tran­ slated a few pieces from Hans Anderson. His “Duck Prince” , published between 1857 and 1860 was widely read by all. Madhusudan Mukhopadhyay then had well established himself as a juvenile writer. The second edition o f the “ Duck Prince”

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came out in 1859. It was illustrated with woodcut. The name o f the engraver appears to be Ramdhan Das, a goldsmith o f Simla, Calcutta. Christian School Book Society's Bangaiya Pathabali was published in 1863. Kalikrishna Bhattacharya’s “ Nabanitisar” was published in 1858. The book was revised by Iswar Chandra Kaviratna. It followed the traditions earlier pursued by Keshab Chandra Kabyaratna and Dwarik Nath Bidyabhushan, starting with a Sanskrit couplet and then illustrating the same. Bengali writings by then had advanced beyond Sanskrit influences with pauses based on English syntaxes. Unfortunately Kalikrishna lacked all these qualities. “Bichar” by Madhusudan Mukhopadhaya was published in the same year. It dealt with the naughtiness o f the students and justice and thereby taught them discipline. It appears that it was not a prescribed text book. As such Madhusudan became pioneer in publishing an extra curricular book o f general interest. Ram Narayan Tarkaratna’s “ Hitakathabali” was published the next year along with Kangal Haranath’s “Bijoy Basanta”— the first original novel in Bengali Juvenle litereture. In its introduction Haranath stressed that the book was meant for boys. It became very popular amongst the children and not less than fourteen editions were printed. Dwarakanath Bidyao bhusan, the editor o f “ Som Prokash” had written six or seven books viz. Nitisar 1st, 2nd, and 3rd volume, Rome Rajyer Itihas, Greece Desher Itish and Upadeshamala 1st and 2nd. volume. Vernacular Literature Society did not only translate books and stories, but also complied books first in English and then' translated them into Bengali. The first was—“Advut Itisa”. It is not history in the ordinary sense o f the term but anecdotes o f conquerers. There were two other books o f adventure—“Taimurlanger Brittanta” and “Sikandar Saher Digbijoy” . The first was published in 1856 and the second in 1860. Both o f them seem to have been translated by Ram Narayan Bidyaratna.

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Following Vidyasagar’s Jiban Chant which was in great demand in the middle o f the 19th century, Mathuranath Tarakaratna published in 1859, a biography o f a few great foreigners like James Watt, Howard, Columbus and Bonaparte along with that o f Emperor Akbar. In the same year was published “ Prani Brittanta” by Satkari Datta. Paswabali was published 35 year earlier. Paswabali or Prani was not tran­ slation though based on a book o f Natural History in English. It had an easy style and each piece had woodcut illustrations. The identity o f the engraver was not known. After “Prani Brittanta** came out Madhusudan Mukhopadhya’s “Jeeb Rahasaya” a booklet o f 99 pages with twenty-two articles. It was the first Bengali rapid reader for School children. Priya Madhab Bose when barely 18, pub­ lished a book entitled “Jnan Ratnamala” in 1858. In 1861, Tarak Brahma Gupta published “Prani Bidya” . Though not o f a very high standard, the attempt was original. In the introduction the author hoped to publish its second part which, however did not see the light o f the day. The book was perhaps the direct result o f Satkari Dutt’s “Prani Tatwa” and Madhusudan Mukhopadhya’s “Jeeb Rahasya” . In the same year was published the second part o f “Jeeb Rahasya” under the joint authorship o f Long and Madhusudan Mukhopadhya. Towards the beginning o f the 19th century attempts were made to teach science to our boys. But hardly any attempt worth the name was made to popularise physics and chemistry. In 1884 was published Prasanna Kumar Mukhopadhya’s scientific discourses “ Balbodh” . In can not be ascertained now whether it was a text book. Its language followed the language o f the then modern scientific bocks. It is a compendium o f seven scientific essays on man, air, fire, water, the stars and the planets. In course o f the next five years about five or six scientific books were published. During the age o f Vidyasagar, juvenile books o f verse were published. Earlier writings were not o f very high order and were meant for schools only. In 1863 was published “Kabita Kaumudi” 1st part by

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Harishchandra Mitra. In 1867 and 1875 its second and third parts were published. “Charit Manjuri” by Kaliprasanna Roy contained several life sketches o f British Governor Generals together with a piece on mutiny. Certain portions o f the book were translations by Kamal Krishna Bhattacharya which was acknowledged in the introduction. Perhaps as a rejoinder to this, the great patriot Bhudeb Mukhopadhya brought out “Charitarthak” . The characters selected were all o f Indian patriots. Michael Madhusudan Datta wrote a few pieces o f moral poems for the children. The most popular o f these was ^‘Rasal O Swamalatika”. 4 long descriptive verses by Dinabandhu Mitra were published in “ Banga Darshan” (1879 A .D .). We learn from India Office catalogue that Haricharan Dey’s “ Kabitamanjuri” was published from Calcutta in 1868. It was followed by Gopal Chandra Datta’s “ Kabitamanjuri” in 1871. in 1873 was brought out from Dacca Hem Chandra Chattopadhya’s “Jnanmanjari”another book o f verses. In that year was published from Calcutta Mathuranath Tarkalankar’s poetical collection “Kabitamanjari” . They were mostly poems on morals ■and were descriptive in nature. Jadugopal Chottapadhaya’s books of poems was probably published in 1870 or 1871. In 1876 was published the “Hitopakhyanmala”, 3rd part. It was adapted from Gulistan and Bustan, the immortal poems o f Iran. The language o f the book was simple, easy and racy but it was difficult for children to appreciate the lessons. During the next four years we come across no further publications. May be a few books were published but they were not available. Books o f those days were mostly on morals like “ Nitimala” (18*2). A year earlier Rajkrishna Ray’s “Sisukabita” was published The book contained didactic verses on pen, paper, book, inkpot, school, animal and many other things. In 1887 Rajani Kanta Gupta published his “Arya Kirti” . The articles were original but a little bit heavy and followed Sanskrit diction. The language was even referred to as an ideal o f chaste Bengali.

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One year after “Aryakirti” was published in 1888The book was printed by Tinkari Chakravarti from Chandanagore. The book we secured neither had the number o f pages nor could it be ascertained who was the author. In 1886 was published an unique book ‘Kabita Kanika’ for the boys. Of the thirty poems o f this book 20 belonged to teenagers, two to the publisher himself and eight others came from the immortal pen o f Jogindranath Sarkar. If we are to believe the publisher, all the poems were written by boys. At the end of the 19th century Bireswar Pande acquired fame of beiog a writer for the children. At the request of the Education Department, to cater moral lessons to school children, Pande wrote his “ Aryapath” in 1888. The Editor of Sanjibani, Krishna Kumar Mitra brought out “ Sukhpath” at about that time. With the advent o f Rajani Kanta Gupta the tide o f writing turned towards original themes and Krishna Kumar Mitra was no exception. Swarnakumari Devi’s “Galpa Salpo” was published in 1889. The authoress had in view, the teaching o f morality to the children. The stories were all original and homely. The language was quite racy. The periodicals o f the day were mostly in prose. The age o f Vidyasagar was the age o f prose and translation. The flood gates o f prose were opened by Vidyasagar himself. In its wake followed biographical sketches, scientific essays, historical narratives, short stories o f varieties that enriched the contemporary juvenile literature and built up a solid foundation for the future stalwarts. This age also witnessed the birth o f some immortal poems. Yet, barring the periodicals all other attempts were aimed at for imparting school education. It was no easy job to release juvenile literature from the shackles of text-book syllabus and and lead it to its own path o f variety and glory. As the schools had no fixed courses o f study there was some liberty for the writers. Madhusudan Mukhopadhya was one who untilised this liberty to his best advantage. Jogindranath Sarkar’s “ Hasi-O-Khela” was published in 1891. The author wrote in its introduction “Although

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there is no dearth o f school text-books for our boys and girls, • hardly any prize and home study books are available. Hasi-OKhela was published to meet this demand. If we receive public sympathy we hope to publish another illustrated home study book entitled “Chhabi-O-Galpa”. “School Book Society” had earlier expressed their desire to publish prize books, whteh, however, did never materialise. Kalikrishna Bhattacharya brought out “Jiban Adarsha” for both home and schools. But what Jogindranath Sarkar produced, were literary classics meant for home study and prize purposes. The contents were quite different from earlier children's literature. Both children and their guardians were grateful to Jogindranath. But Jogindranath Sarkar, clinging to the idea o f periodicals collec­ ted variety o f poems, stories, essays on animals, puzzles, sums and letters. Hence we may say that the 19th century juvenile journals paved the way for this. Naba Krishna Bhattacharya, Upendrakishore Roy Chowdhury, Promoda Charan Sen, Rajkrishna Roy, Jogendranath Bose were a few stalwarts o f that age. Juvenile literature o f this period drew heavily from the folk literature o f Bengal, which by and large was the richest store house. In “ Hasi-O-Khela” Jogindranath Sarker for the first time wrote fairy tales. N o book was published before this in the colloquial language. Even the dialogues in stories were written in chaste Bengali. Upendra Kishore used the colloquial expression in dialogues.' In the month of January, 1891 was published Nabakrishna Bhattachary’s “ Sisuranjan Ramayana”. Abanindranath Tagore’s “ Sakuntala”,and Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury’s “Chheleder Ramayana” were widely read till then. Both these works were published between 1894-96. About the year 1895 three or four biographies were also published. Sambhu Chandra Vidyaratna, wrote on the lives of our countrymen o f repute in two parts. It was his simplicity o f diction and brilliant imagery that made Upendra Kishore so endearing to the children. Perhaps he presented them as best as he could without being affected by his mood and likings. The- result was delightful for children and it

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gradually became popular among them. Jogindranath Sarker, Naba Krishna and later Dakshina Ranjan Mitra Mazumder also created some immortal classics. It was very difficult to cater to those who had just come in contact with the life and the world around them as those minds soar high on imagination. Abanindra Nath’s “Rajkahini” was meant for the adolescents and unique in this respect. The style and lan­ guage o f Upendra Kishore was different from the earlier works. They were a mixture o f the standard and the colloquial. But Abanindranath relied on the colloquial diction o f Calcutta. He wrote the whole o f “ Sakuntala” in colloquial style, thus completing the circle left incomplete by Jogindranath Sarker. All his writings appeared like ‘paintings’ in the literary frame and the sketches were superb. In 1896 was published Abanindrannth’s “ Khirer Putul”—an original writing, and a unique creation. We did not come across any earlier book in which both the characters and the situations were entirely original. Although no real story, historical character or mythology formed its basis. The influence o f the ‘Ramayana’ could be traced to a large extent. Hanuman in the Ramayana was o f great assistance in delivering Sita and in Khirer Putul we find a face-burnt monkey delivering Duorani (neglected queen) from her sufferings. It was written in the form o f a fairy tale, ending as a comedy with the victory o f the sufferer. Perhaps Jnanada Nandini Debi dramatised her “ Satbhati Champa” and “Napit-O-Seyal” (the barbar and the jeckal) and had them acted by the boys and girls. The dialogues o f “ Satbhai Champa” was not so forceful, but that o f “Napit-OSeyal” (the dramatic version o f Takdumadum) was how­ ever, very forceful and elegant at the same time. In the fifth act o f the drama Napit-O-Seyal was a scene where the groom swaps the bride with the jackal which reminds us o f the feudal days when women were looked upon as men’s chattels. This social outlook was the result o f the tradition born out o f feudal set up. Towards the end o f the 19th century Rabindranath, Upendra Kishore and Jnanada Nandini wrote dramas for the •children, with the sole purpose o f delighting them.

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Several poems of Rabindranath’s “Sishu” appeared during the last decade o f the 19th century. But quite a few o f them were beyond the comprehension of the children for whom they were mainly composed. A child has little sense o f distinguishing the probable from the improbable. He sees little o f the outer world and likes to move about according to his own taste and imagina­ tion. In the process he builds up a world from which he derives pleasure. Perhaps none, before Rabindranath wrote poems from the points o f the children. “Sishu” had earned an immortal place in the Bengali juvenile literature. Jogindranath Sarkar, published his “Hasi Khushi” , 1st part on the 16th September, 1897. His “Rangachabi” was publi­ shed a year earlier—both written and illustrated by him for the children. “Hasi Khusi” was the first attempt to introduce the Bengali alphabets through the medium o f verses. Jogindranath took ‘Chharas’ as the medium for introducing the alphabets. May be the pedagogists could find faults with him, but it remains >a fact that 61 long years have not dimmed their popularity in Bengal. After this was Jogindranath’s “Khelar Sathi” which was published in 1898. It also contained fairy tales. Another great work of Jogindranath was the collection o f Bengali “Chharas” published in 1899. Ramendra Sundar Trivedi wrote in its introduction ‘Bengali literature lacked such attempts for the past few years. Jogindranath Sarkar the publisher o f this work devoted himself to this task and he of all the Bengalees is the pioneer in this venture’. Although the book is called “Khukumonir Chhara” (rhymes for the little girls). Most o f the Chharas refer to little boys and only a few to girls. It is difficult to date these chharas. Books on the lives and habits o f animals were published in the 19th century but they were all school books. At the beginning o f the 20th century (1901), Dwijendranath Bose followed Jogindranath with his “Jibjantu”. Dwijendranath had fascile pen and simple style. The illustrations were also o f a high order. It described the vertebates and their characteristics through local episodes. The writer had a

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scientific bent o f mind and he never stooped to myths and legends. From the days o f Vidyasagar Bengali language became Anglo-phile. Gradually it enriched its vocabularies from several languages. This gave the Bengali language an inde­ pendent character which influenced children’s literature also. Although in the 19th century no collection o f selected articles from local journals were published, yet with the beginning of the 20th century Hemendraprasad Ghosh published (1901) “Asharo Galpa” a prime venture in the line. Upendra Kishore was the first to introduce children to the pre-histonc age. The book was entitled “Sekaler Katha”, and was serialised in “ Mukul” and was published in 1903. All the pictures were by the author himself. Several stories o f “Ashare Galpa” were also published in Mukul. Upendra Kishore wrote in an easy style tuned for children. His treatment of scientific subjects was no exception. Monomohan Sen also occupies a place o f honour in chil­ dren’s literature, His “ Khokar Daptar” was published in 1907. The poems of its first part were all of one syllable. The second part contained combined words and was published a little later. These poems were intended to teach spelling. His “ Mohonbhog” was published later and it contained a few humurous poems. The folk lales o f Bengal the “Thakur-mar Jhuli” of Dakshina Ranjan Mitra Majumder was published in the year 1907. The book was illustrated by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar himself. A few illustrations were multicoloured which was never used earlier in children’s literature. Dakshina Ranjan wrote several books. Many a narrater followed him in their attempts to publish fairy tales but none could reach the heights attained by “Thakurmar Jhuli”. In the introduction to “Thakurmar Jhuli” Dakshina Ranjan used the word “ Sishu Sahitya” along with “ Rupkatha”. His “Thakurmar Jhuli” was better heard as a song than read. That is why it could not be so popular. Before D akshina R anjan, Bengali folk tales were collected

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fcy Rev. Lai Behari De„ His “Folk tales o f Bengal” was highly appreciated by the Indians and Englishmen alike. Its aim was to acquaint foreigners with our folk tales. But folk tales were no juvenile literature as such. As literature impro­ ved, a part of the folk tale automatically came within the purview of childrens literature. Boys and girls found pleasure in them but not the adults. “Thakurmar Jhuli” did not only open up an inexhaus­ tible source o f delight to the readers but became a trend •setter as well. One o f them “Hindusthani Upakatha” was written by Sita Devi and Santa Devi. It was, of course no original work—a translation o f the folk tales of Hindusthan. In 1808 Sivnath Shastri published his “ Upakatha”, based on foreign sources Grim brother’s and Anderson’s collections. Although the books bear the word “Anubad”, they were not literal translations. The purpose of the book was to impart moral lessons to the students o f “ Nitisikkha Vidyalaya” . In the same year was published Manilal Gangopadhyay’s “Japani Manus”, a folk tale adopted from some Japanese stories. Two years after this in 1910, was published Manilal’s “Jhunjhumi” . The book was illustrated and was in a prose form, but it included a poem written by poet Satyendranath Datta. All these stories were of foreign inspiration. Hemendra Kumar Roy was the pioneer who introduced adventure stories in Bengali. His famous book “Jakher Dhan” was published in 1931. In 1910 was published “Tun Tunir Boi” by Upendra Kishore Roy Chowdhury. Its introduction reads : “But as the evening falls and children fall asleep without taking their supper, women o f East Bengal tell these stories to them to keep them awake. The boys can hardly forget the sweetness o f these stories even when they grow up........... ” The stories were popular in West Bengal too. The stories o f “Tun Tunir Boi” were told by the simple rustic of Bengal

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and that is why the picture of the domestic life o f Bengal peasantry was so well painted in them. Upendra Kishore be only dccked them in his own language. Poet Nabakrishna Bhattacharyya published “Tuktuke Ramayan” in 1910. Within 1918 a few more juvenile versionso f the “Ramayana” came out, but none could challenge the first one. From 1910 to 1918 several original books as well as many translations were published. But most o f them are not available now. Only a few names can be scanned from the announcements in the periodicals o f those days. Dinendra Kumar Ray, Barada Kanta Mazumdar, Binodini Debi, Satyacharan Chakraborty, Kartick Das Gupta and Jogendra Nath Gupta are a few o f them. Dinendra Roy’s “Chheleder Majar Galper Boi”, Ramkamal Bidyabhusan’s “ Saral Ramayan”, Dwijendra Nath Neogi’s “Koutuk Kahini”, Abinash Dasgupta’s “ Majar Boi” were popular in those days. Baradakanta enriched Bengali juvenile literature in periodicals by small biographies, stories and by editing Ramayan and Mahabharat. His “ Sati Kata Granthabali” depicted the lives o f two renowned women o f ancient India. Like him Satadal Basini Biswas also wrote the story o f Behula’s life. In Bharat Gourab series were published the biographies o f Rammohan, Vidyasagar, Maharshi Debendranath, Buddha. Ashoka, Shivaji, Rana Protap, Keshab Chandra, Bonkim Chandra and many others. Haraprasanna Dasgupta used to delight boys o f those days with his humourous poems. His “ Rangila” was published in 1914. It appears juvenile literature was being enriched during the last decade o f the 19th century by various original writings. But translation o f foreign classics never ceased nor were the adaptations. Kulada Ranjan Roy tops the list in this field with his “Tom Kakar Kutir”, “ Odessy” and “ Illiad” . At that time was published Pryambada Debi‘s adaptation o f Karlokalede’s Pinoccio as Panchulal. Charu Chandra

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Bandyopadhyay wrote “Aesoper Galpa” and “Robinson Crusoe”. His “ Bhater Janmakatha” describes rice from its stage o f cultivation in form o f paddy to its ultimate consump­ tion, in rhymes. N o one attempted earlier to acquaint our boys with the daily necessities in such a versified form. In 1915 Nagendranath Gangopadhyay’s “ Hate Chand Kapale Surji”, Saraj Kumar Bandyopadhay’s “Alupora” Abanindranath’s “ Bhutpatrir Desh”, Sukhalata R ao’s “Aro Galpa” were published. Jagadananda Ray wrote profusely on Physics, Botany, study o f the birds and insects and on many other things. But the only book to see the light o f day before 1918 was “Graha Nakshatra”. Before this book no one wrote on Astronomy for the children. Till 1914 no attempt was made to present Shakespeare to children. In 1916 a book named “ Sudkhor—o—Saodagar” an adaptation o f the Merchant o f Venice was published from Chittagong. It is to be deeply regretted that the form in which it reached us gave us no clue as to who its author was. Thus we find that a number o f authors wrote on various topics to enrich the stores of know­ ledge of our boys and girls. There were poets, scientists, artists and journalists among them. Some o f them wrote only for the children. Jagadananda Roy’s “Pokamakar” published in 1919, was probably the first book on insects. His famous book “Gachpala” was published in 1921. As stated in its introduction no one before him attempted to write on botanical subjects. It was illustrated by Nandalal Bose, Asit Kumar Haider and a few students of arts o f Santiniketan. The book had the typical style o f Jagadananda. Next he published his “Mach Rang Sap”. A year after he published ‘Banglar Pakhi’. The three books refered to above were attempted to acquaint our boys and . girls with their immediate environments. Among his successors in the line were Debiprosad Chatterjee and Sukumar De Sarker. Bengali children’s literature has a fairly rich collection o f fairy tales, fables and legends. Both fairy tales, myths and

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legends belonged to the class o f folk tales. Among the natives Bengali, Hindusthani, Adibasi, Oriya and Santali were more important. Panchatantra, Hitopodesa and Buddhist Jatakas had also enriched it. The former two belonged to the type o f fables dealing mainly with a world in which the animals had been allowed the human qualities o f speech, reason and wisdom. These were neither fairy tales nor legends but they were folk tales, after all. The adventures o f the princes, giants and goblins, fairies, and magicians, doing super-human jobs, defeating demons, were worth mentioning. Witty stories o f Gopal Bhar were also found in Bengali litera­ ture. So they must be at least a century old as Gopal Bhar had been identified as the court Jester o f Krishnachandra Roy, the feudal lord o f Krishnagar. Upendra Kishore Roy Choudhuri who succeeded Dakahina Ranjan Mitra Mazumder, was a stalwart in writing fairy tales. Satya Charan Chakravarty was another popular story teller o f those days. Dagobart, a translation was very popular in his days. Sibratan Mitra’s “ Sanjher Katha” was published in 1919. Prior to this in 1918 came out Satya Charan Chakravorty’s “Thakurmar Jhola” . Next come out in 1920 his “Thakurda’s Jhola” and after that “Thandidir Galpa” . Thakurdar Jhola contained seven big fairy tales. Chakravorty nowhere disclosed the source of his inspiration. Sibratan Mitra followed a different line. He wrote in his first book Sanjher Katha —“Old village housewives of those days or old granddadas were never ending sources of these fairy tales .. We collected these fairy tales so long current in these areas in three volum es-Sanjher Katha, Nisir Katha and Usar Katha. None o f these fairy tales had been published before”. Sibratan Mitra was a resident o f Suri, Birbhum. He probably published his own books—Sanjher Katha, Nisir Kantha (1933) and Kalpa Katha. Sanjher Katha and Nisir Katha contained seven fairy tales each. They were profusely illustrated. Kartick Chandra Das Gupta was another successful fairy tale writer well known among the children. He published

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seven volumes of fairy tales from 1923 to 1941. Most o f these fairy tales were collected from East Bengal. “Tultul” and “Sat Rajyer Galpa” came out in 1923 and 1928 respectively. He was a poet too. His “Phuljhuri” and “Tai Tai” were published in 1913 and 1915 respectively. In 1924 a new horizon was opened in the world o f Juvenile literature with the publication o f “ Sisu Bharati”. This was an encyclopaedia o f general knowledge edited by Jogendranath Gupta. It contained 11 volumes, o f which 10 were published during the life time o f the editor and the last volume was a posthumous one. He had to his credit about one hundred works mostly for the children. With the advent o f Swadeshi movement lives o f great men» national heroes and characters from history received their due importance. Historian Brojendranath Banerjee, wrote a few historical books for the children. “Raja Badsah” published in 1921 was his first book. In 1922 came out “ Ranadanka” and in 1929 was published “ Sivaji Maharaj” . In 1928 was published “Baporoah” by Akhil Neogy whose pen name is “ Swapanburo”. It described the life o f a village boy. Two years after that in 1930 was published Girindra Sekhar Bose’s “ Lai Kalo”. It dealt romantically with the lives o f Red and Black ants inhabiting with human qualities. The impact o f Civil Disobedience Movement fell directly on the children’s literature. Bimal Sen headed a new genera in juvenile literature with his “ Maru Yatri”, “Phuljhuri” and abridged translation o f Gorky’s mother as “ Ma” . O f these, the “Phuljhuri” contained short stories about the atrocities o f British Officers in India and was naturally proscribed. With his powerful pen he tried to infuse a new desparate longing for liberation amonst our youth. His was the only name o f those days who dealt directly with patriotic and seditious themes. In the second decade o f the twentieth century humourous poems appeared in Bengali Juvenile Literature. Sukumar Roy was the leading light among them all. N o one has as yet surpassed him. Even the stores o f drama-lets smacks o f

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humour.

But it was

left for Sibram

Chakraborty

and

Rabindralal Roy to infuse j uvenile literature with the spirit o f innocent humour. Both o f them were contemporaries and had their maiden stories published in 1936. So far as we know Sibram’s “Sur-walla Babu” was the predecessor o f Rabindra Lai Roy’s “ Nutan Kichu” . Although both o f them were creative artists, their medium was different. Sibram’s main resource was “Punning” . He did not spare even himself in punning. In 1937 was published his most famous book “Bari Theke Paliye”. Sribram wrote a few dramas and books o f poems as well. But he excelled in short stories with an ordinary m otif and a simple plot. His only object was to create humourous situation. He wielded a powerful pen but he never used it to lash at the unhealthy prejudices ingrained in the minds o f our youth. Rabindra Lai Roy created humour out o f the newness and incongruities o f plot and situations. His Nutan Kichu, Halka Khata, Bolito Hasbo Na, Birbahur Baniadi Chaal were foun­ tains o f humour, so to say. Roy had not written much, but he had already earned a permanent position by virtue of those few writings. He was one with Sibram Chakravorty in enjoying at the cost of aunts and uncles. Lila Majumdar also writes in humorous vein for the children. Sukumar De Sarkar introduced a completely new line in writing on animal life. In 1938 was published his “Dui Khuni” a book about two dogs. Main theme o f his books were the wild lives o f beasts and birds. He has, however, attributed human qualities to them. These are neither fables nor scientific dissertations but mere stories o f a new type. Hardly any other writer had ventured on this theme ever before. By the middle of 1942 came out Nihar Ranjar Gupta’s “ Sankar” in two volumes and Dhirendra Lai Dhar’s “Galpo Haleo Satya”. Dhar collected these episodes from great men’s childhood. He introduced a new technique in Bengali litera­ ture. A year later came out Rajat Sen‘s “ Makarsa”. It is written about the life in a child lifters’ colony and the writing has a touch o f mystery about it.

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“ Lullaby” is a common dish for children everywhere. That this can be adapted to the patriotic themes and used to inspire the youths were shown by Sukanto Bhattacharyya. Sukanta breathed his last in 1947 when he was only twenty one. His “ Mithekara” and “Abhijan” were published in 1951 and 1953 respectively. Abhijan is a drama in the form o f poems. It has only one female character and it is a tragedy—and a grim tragedy at that. It is a rare addition to Bengali children’s literature. Bengali juvenile literature has no dearth o f scientific subjects. Publication o f Rabindranath's “ Biswa Parichay’ in 1937 created a stir in the literary world o f Bengal. “Janbar Katha” edited by Debi Prosad Chatterjee was an encyclopoedia o f nature. Kshitindra Narayan Bhattacharya is another writer who did much to popularise science among the children in Bengal. In 1927 was published his “Bijnan Buro”. N ot many war stories have so far appeared in Bengali. But no one has been able to surpass Dhirendra Lai Dhar in that. He had written more than eight books on war stories from 1938 to 1960. His writings are directed to arouse patrio­ tism in children and hatred for cruelty in war. It should be noted, however, that almost all his stories are imaginary, His stories covered Abyssinian war, Sino-Japanese war and Russo-German war. Production o f Bengali books has improved in all its aspects during the recent years. Modern books compare favourably with their western counterparts. They are profusely illustra­ ted, and the illustrations are o f a very high standard.

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TWO In Bengal a considerable number o f periodicals o f various types for juvenile readers, particularly school students, had been published since the beginning o f the nineteenth century. Most o f them first appeared in Calcutta while a few in some suburbs or mufussil towns. Some in form o f monthlies, while a few were weeklies and fewer were fortnightlies. There was a solitary instance of the publication of a daily. But so far as our knowledge goes, almost all o f them succumbed immaturely. Of all the existing juvenile periodicals o f Bengal, ‘Mauchak’ is the oldest. In 1818 Serampore Baptist Mission published a monthly magazine, named ‘Digdarsan’, under the editorship o f John Clerk Marshman. It was intended only for young. Calcutta School Book Society too recognished its educative value and purchased many copies for distribution among the students. And we like to consider this magazine as the first Bengali juvenile periodical. We could not find any illustration in the magazine. It contained articles on Geography, Agriculture, Zoology. Physics, accounts of geographical explorations and historical events. The language of Digdarsnan was more or less easy and simple, although Bengali prose style was still then in its infancy. Its chief object was to impart lessons to the students on Science and History. After four years, in February 1822 Calcutta School Book Society published a monthly named “Paswavali” for juvenile readers. The Society was founded on the 4th July, 1817. Its immense contribution to spread education in Bengal is beyond doubt. The growth of Bengali juvenile literature o f the nineteenth century was to a great extent due to its efforts. In each issue o f ‘Paswavali’ an account o f an animal was published with a picture o f that animal on the first page. The pictures were printed from a wood-cut block. The Society also published a collection of a ll the issues o f Paswavali as a prize-book for the students. It was the convention o f the Society to compose the article first in English and then

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translate them into Bengali. And that is the reason for which we find in the magazine the English original in one page and its translation in the next. In the first issue o f the second phase o f Paswavali we find an account o f a Dog. Ram Chan­ dra Mitra edited and published sixteen issues o f Paswavali both in Bengali and English. Paswavali should be recognised as the second children’s magazine in Bengali. O f course, it was not like a magazine as there used to be only one article in each issue, ‘Its object was to propagate scientific know­ ledge about animal life. On the 31st December. 1831 Krishnadhan Mitra published another monthly for juvenile readers, named “Jnanoday” . One could find in its pages historical and geographical tales and accounts, parables and instructions on morality. Of course the lifetime o f this magazine ended after the intermit­ tent publication o f only twenty issues. In Paswavali we find the use o f western punctuation marks like comas, semi-colons, full stops etc. But most of the compositions in Jnanoday were original and so only full stop (.) was used generally at the end o f a paragraph and ‘iti’ or ‘end’ at the conclusion o f an article in observance o f Sanskrit convention. In 1844, the Calcutta School Book Society published another science magazine for children, ^named, ‘Pakshir Brittanta’ under the editorship o f Ram Chandra Mitra. Its span o f life was very short. Then appeared on the 26th April, 1853, “Vidyadarpana” a monthly magazine for children, published and edited by Priyamadhab Basu and Yogendranath Chattopadhyay respectively. We find the following review in the ‘Sambad Prabhakar’. A new monthly magazine under the title of “Vidyadarpan” had been published by Priyamadhab Basu and Yogendranath Chattopadhyay. A reading o f it had brought pleasures to us. The manazine consisted o f sixteen pages and the price was two annas only. Both Priyamadhab Basu and Yogendrababu are not more then fifteen, but readers were surprised, going through their writings at such a tender age” . After this the Christian Vernacular Education Society

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published another monthly magazine for children, named 'Satyapradip’, in January, 1860. This was published regularly for consecutive five years and it proved its popularity. Another monthly magazine, named ‘Abodh-Bandhu\ appeared under the editorship o f Jogendranath Ghosh in 1866. Next year he handed over the proprietory rights and editorship to poet Biharilal Chakraborti. Abodh-bandhu first appeared in 1863 and then it ran for a very short period. But neither prose nor poems nor the materials printed in this magazine were suitable for juvenile readers. Major part o f Biharilal’s ‘Nisarga-sandarsan’and a portion o f his ‘Surabala’ were printed in Abodh-bandhu. Perhaps most o f the articles published in this magazine were Beharilal’s own writings. We have found no pictorial illustration excepting one printed in issue o f second year from a wood cut block. Biharilal must be regar­ ded as the pioneer in introducing book-reviews in a children’s periodical like Abodh-bandhu as a regular feature. In July, 1869, ‘Jyotiringan’, another juvenile magazine, was published. The magazine contained monocoloured pic­ tures drawn by an English artist and printed from a woodcut block made after English model. The prime obje:t of the magazine was to facilitate combination o f moral teaching and pleasure for ladies, boys and girls. After nine years, in 1878, Bharat Barshiya Brahma Samaj published an illustrated fortnightly for juvenile readers. The name o f the magazine was ‘Balak-Bandhu’. The editor o f Balak Bandhu was Brahmananda Kesab Chandra Sen, a great religious and social reformer o f India. Balak-Bandhu was the first Bengali fortnightly for juvenile readers. Its objeet was to provide education with pleasure. In almost every issue a few verses composed by boys and girls were published. Even the translation o f some poems by young boys were published. With its twentieth issue the convention o f publishing national and international news in the first page was introduced. The fortnightly did not live long and nor regular either. On 15th December, 1881 ‘Balak Bandhu* reappeared as a monthly only to disappear soon. In 1886, it

24

became a fortnightly, as it was originally and met its end soon. Then it 1891, it again appeared as a monthly. It contained scientific articles, stories, parables, poems and verses, riddles, grammar and arithmetical treatises, and method o f correct Bengali composition. The language used in Balak Bandhu was as matured as that of the twentieth century. It was simple, lucid and elegant. We find in every issue of Balak Bandhu a few monocoloured pictorial illustrations, the artists remained anonymous. As a matter of fact, Balak Bandhu ushered in a new era in the history o f Bengali children’s periodicals. In 1880, another juvenile monthly magazine was published under the title of ‘Balak-Hitaishi’, which was edited by Janaki Prasad De. The first Bengali weekly magazine for juvenile readers was published in November, 1881. Its name was ‘Aryakahini’. Then appeared on 1st January, 1884, “ Sakha^ the famous monthly magazine for children. For the first three years from 1883 to 1885 it editor was Pramada Charan Sen, who was also its founder. This poor man made enormous sacrifices and suffered a good deal of hardship for the sake o f this periodi­ cal. Unfortunately, on 21st June, 1885, he breathed his last prematurely. Then, from July, 1886, Pandit Sibnath Sastri took up the editoaship, which he shouldered till the end o f 1886. Then for the next one year (1887) it was edited by Annadacharam Sen, who was succecded by Nabakrishna Bhattacharya, Due to his endeavours Sakha could survive for another three years, i.e. upto 1890. In 1894, Bhubanmohan Roy published another magazine named ‘Sathi’, and to keep the memory o f Sakha going he renamed it as ‘Sakha O Sathi*. Sakha was so tremendously popular among the children o f Bengal that even to day the surviving readers often recollect the sweet memory of the most favourite journal of their childhood days. Upendra Kisore Roy Chowdhury, an immortal name in the history o f Bengali juvenile literature, was one o f the regular contributors to Sakha. ‘Sakha’ was enriched with scientific and historical essays and the stories were like its

25

predecessors*. Though it mainly followed the ways o f Balak Bandhu, it has some original feature. One o f them was the publication o f short biographies o f great men o f foreign lands and the picture, we find in the pages o f Sakha, were very distinct and admirable, though they were printed from wood-cut blocks. The aim o f the magazine, as declared by the editor in its first issue, was the development o f character o f our children and spread of knowledge among them through the stories and articles. The editor himself composed an excellent moral. ‘Bhimer Kapal’ which was published serially from the first year. ‘Sakha’ was undoubtedly much more advanced in printing, illustration and composition than its predecessors. In 1883, monthly magazine, ‘Balika’ was published from Dacca, under the editorship o f Akshoy Kumar Gupta. In the same year (1883) another monthly named ‘Suniti’ was published by Bhudhar Chottapadhaya. Its aim was to introduce Aryan culture to our children and youth and to instil Arayan spirit in their hearts. We do not know how far it could achieve its noble aim but it disappeared after it was one year old. The same year saw the publication o f ‘Balyabandhu’ which was edited by Rev. J. E. Pen, and the object of which was to propagate Christianity among the children. The appearance o f ‘Balak’ an excellent monthly Magazine, in 1885, under the editorship o f Jandanandini Devi, wife o f Satyendranath Tagore, is a memorable incident in the history o f Bengali periodicals. In the first issue o f Balak we find Rabindranath’s famous poem, “Bristi pare tapur tupur nadey elo ban”. In the page of ‘Balak’ we also find Rabindranath Tagore’s famous novel ‘Rajarshi’ and most of his short humourous plays, now included in his ‘Hasyakautuk’. Many o f its contributors were members of the Tagore family. Balak also followed the tradition o f publishing scientific and histori­ cal essays, travels, stories, poems, plays, synopsis o f news and articles by children themselves. After a year Balak merged with “Bharati”, a monthly for adults.

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We have come to know the publication o f a monthly, named ‘Siksha’, in 1888, by Students Association o f Banagrm. Brajendranath Bandopadhyay mentioned the name o f'S isu bandhab’ a monthly magazine, published in 1890 and edited by G. M. Roose. The seed sowed by ‘Digdarsan’ in 1881 in the field o f Bengali juvenile literature had sprouted forth and grown into a big plant full o f twigs and boughs, flowers and foliages in seventy-seven years. The growth was manifested in ‘Mukul* published in 1895, edited by Sibnath Sastri. All the great talents like Rabindranath, Jagadish Chandra, Ramendrasundar, Acharya Jogesh Chandra, Ramananda Chattapadhyay, Bipin Chandra Pal, Jogindranath Sarkar, Girindra Mohini Dasi,. Nabakrishna Bhattacharya and Hemendra Prasad Ghosh, who enhanced the wealth and majesty o f the treasure of Bengali literature with valuable gems were the regular contributors o f Mukul. Stories and poems, scientific and geographical essays, accounts o f travels and animal studies, biographies( riddles were published regularly in Mukul. The editor himself replied to readers’ querries. Children contributed to Mukul and in the second issue o f the second year we find a narrative poem. ‘Nadi’ by Sukumar Roy, a child o f 8. In course o f time, this very child proved himself to be a genius and left behind him an immortal fame for his unique creation o f humourous dramas, poems and stories for children. In 1896, a monthly, ‘Saisab Sakha’ was published, the editor was Guruprasanna Dasgupta. In 1898, an educational monthly magazine was published. The name was “Anajali” and it was edited by Rajeswar Gupta.. In the second page o f the first issue, the editor declared that its mission was to educate our children. Besides a few stories and poems, all its articles were dry and boring. We think it was more useful to the guardians and teachers than to children. In 1898, another magazine, named ‘Kusum’ was published under the initiative o f a few students. In the concluding year o f the nineteenth century, Basantakumar Basu published a monthly magazine, named ‘Prakriti’. One o f the four aims o f

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this periodical, as stated by the editor, was to impart and improve the knowledge o f the students in their own language. It was doubtful whether they could live up to their objectives as it was under the supervision of school or college students. The editor expressed his desire o f having the school students as both subscribers and contributors. But from the compo­ sition and subject matters of the articles it appeared that the magazine was not suitable for the juvenile readers. We find in Prakriti two essays, one short story and a poem by Dakshina Ranjan Mitramajumdar. But these were much too inferior to his classic creations like ‘Thakurmar Jhuli’. Some compositions of Surendranath Das Gupta and Kumudranjan Mallick also were published in Pakriti. Of course, those were not suitable for the school students. Both in contents and composition Prakriti, could not show any variety or novelty and it simply followed the steps o f the other contemporaries. The editor o f Prakriti tried to impart some ethical lessons through some valuable English quotations. The span o f Prakriti’s life was not more than four years. A comparison between the childrens’ periodicals o f the past century and those of the present, reveals bold efforts*and experiments o f the nineteenth century. They served as beacon lights to the periodicals of this century. O f course, there has been a tremendous progress in printing, blocks and papers and many artists have earned fame just by illustrating and decora­ ting the childrens’ magazines. At the begining o f the twenteeth century, perhaps ther,. was no juvenile periodicals. In 1907, ‘Nababidhan Brahmo Samaj published an illustrated monthly, named ‘Prakriti. Their articles could not attain very high literary standard, but they were quite appropriate for young boys and girls. In Prakriti some o f the scientific essays o f Acharaya Jogeschandra were published. A year after the publication o f ‘Prakriti an article o f Jogeshchandra, named “Chini” (Sugar) was pub­ lished. It explained in the form o f a story, how sugar can be produced from the mixture o f coal and water. Among the