Abstract
Critical Discourse in Bangla is one of the most thought-provoking books within Routledge's Critical Discourses in South Asia series. It comprehensively explores the evolution of critical thinking within the context of Bangla literature, which has remained invisible in global literary academia since time immemorial. This volume is a compilation of English translations of the famous works of Bengali writers from the nineteenth century onwards. The book consists of twenty-nine chapters that offer an outline of cultural aspects of Bengal, the early text of Bengal, Indian aesthetics, poetic discourse, literature of the post-Tagore period, the language of theatre, and the language movement in the realm of Bangla literature. This incorporation of Bengali culture and cultural tradition in ‘Sahitya’ or literature will surely enable the Bengali language to attain greater global recognition.
As discussed within Critical Discourse, the discovery of Charyapadas by Haraprasad Shastri brought about a new dimension in Bangla literature. Shashibhusan Dasgupta, in the article ‘Bengal and the Bengali in Charyageeti’, explores the vibrant tapestry of contemporary Bengali culture and society through the songs of Charyapadas and underscores the significant influence of Buddhism and other religious cults like Vaishnavism, Tantric Sahajiya Cults, Sufism and Islamism in shaping the multifaceted nature of Bengali culture. Besides the importance of mainstream literature, the efficacy of oral and folk literature cannot be overlooked. Upendranath Bhattacharya, in ‘The Emergence of the Baul sect and the Period of Composition of Baul Songs,’ offers a comprehensive exploration of the emergence of Baul songs from the beginning and its association with Vaishnavism, Sufism and Buddhism. The incarnation of Sri Chaitanya had a great influence on the medieval Bengali literature. In his article ‘The Termination of Sri Gauranga's Leela,’ Dinesh Chandra Sen illustrates the importance of Sri Chaitanya's ‘leela’ and his demise, which remains a mystery among the followers of Vaishnava. In the article ‘The Gaudiya Vaishnav Order: Its Treaties on Rhetoric and Rasa,’ Bishnupada Bhattacharya expounds on the theory and rasa and Indian aesthetics, drawing insights from Bharat's Natyasastra where Bharat illustrates nine types of ‘sthayibhavas’ or ‘emotions’ that evoke ‘rasa.’ Iswar Chandra Gupta, in his essay ‘The Early Poets,’ laments the diminishing influence of Bengali literature, which is facing the risk of decline as a result of young poets’ infatuation with Western aesthetics. However, it is important to note that these youth poets can still celebrate and embrace Bengali poetry by integrating popular folk narratives and expressive art forms into their poetry, bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, and upholding the rich literary legacy of Bengali literature.
In ‘A Message to the New Writers of Bengal,’ Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay offers valuable recommendations and guidance to aspiring writers on how to excel and become prolific writers, figuring out a beautiful comparison of Sakuntala of Kalidasa’ Abhignan Sakuntalam with Miranda of Shakespeare's The Tempest and Desdemona of Shakespeare's Othello to show that contemporary Indian literature is no less inferior to western literature, while Pramatha Chaudhuri's ‘Preface to Sabuj Patra’ serves as an earnest appeal to authors aspiring to convey their knowledge through their writings, emphasizing the importance of utilizing colloquial language as in ‘Sabuj Patra’. Haraprasad Shastri, in ‘The Bengali Youth and Three Poets,’ describes ancient and modern authors from India and the West, using the comparative study of Kalidasa, Byron, and Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay and highlighting their remarkable ability to shape and convey profound lessons through their characters. Ramendrasundar Trivedi, in ‘The Sign of the Epic,’ then illustrates the essential qualities of an epic, offering examples from various literary periods. Epic – or ‘maha kavya’ – is replete with rhetorical embellishment. When we compare epics like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata with Kumarsambhava, Raghuvamsam, and Paradise Lost, we inadvertently diminish the magnificence of the former two epics, allowing tragedy to lose its ground in Bangla literature. As such Mohitlal Majumdar, in ‘Tragedy in Bangla Literature’, highlights how Bangla tragedy writers fail to assimilate the tragic ‘rasa’.
Rajendralal Mitra, in ‘A Consideration of Literature,’ asserts the functions of language and its aesthetic concerns. He expounds on how poetry, or ‘kavya,’ is shaped through the utilization of three distinct forms of expressions: logical, emotive, and ethical, which collectively serve to elicit pathos and emotions in the audience with the harmonious amalgamation of five fundamental elements of composition namely ‘Word, syllable, utterance, meaning, and rasa’ (p. 143). In ‘Rasa and the Questions of Taste,’ Rajshekhar Bose then elucidates the diverse facets of ‘rasas’ that provide depth and significance to comprehending a text. All kinds of art and literature are born of ‘kama’ (desire), ‘krodha’ (anger), ‘lobha’ (greed), and ‘moha’ (attachment), while in ‘The Poetic Mind’, Jagadish Bhattacharya evaluates a poet's brilliance based on three pivotal components: ‘prativa’ (genius), ‘vyutpatti’ (knowledge), and ‘abhyas’ (practice). He delineates the essence of the poetic mind, referred to as ‘kavimanas,’ which remains elusive to assess while reading a ‘kavya’ or poetry. In his ‘Three Essays from Literature,’ titled ‘The Significance of Literature,’ ‘The Material of Literature,’ and ‘The Judge of Literature,’ Rabindranath Tagore addresses the poetic mind, the inner world, the poetic world, literary elements, and the representation of nature, among other aspects of literature. Alokeranjan Dasgupta, in the article ‘The Search for World Language and World Literature in Poetry,’ explains the process by which local literature might be elevated to the level of global literature.
Bangla literature in the post-Tagore period witnessed a rapid shift of thought among the two phases of poets. The initial generation of poets strives to adopt the poetry form introduced by Tagore, and their impact on Bangla literature is negligible. The later generation of poets, including Jibanananda Das, Sudhindranath Bose, Buddhadeva Bose, and Samar Sen, had a profound engagement with the poetic ethos of Tagore. Buddhadeva Bose, in ‘Rabindranath and his Successors,’ talks about the anxiety of the poets of the post-Tagore period for not attaining the status of his predecessors. Sudhindranath Datta, in ‘The Liberation of Poetry,’ elaborates on the process of freeing poetry from the pervasive literary influence of Tagore and his predecessors. He advocates for the creation of a fresh and distinct realm of poetry, using the poetical components of ‘language, feeling and rhythm’ (p. 216) by drawing inspiration from renowned Western poets like Tennyson, Swinburne, T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, and others. Jibanananda Das, in ‘On Poetry,’ asserts how he generates poetry from his own unique experiences that are marked by ‘colonial rule, a terrible famine, the struggle for independence and its achievement through a history of communal hatred, bloodshed, and partition’ (p. 225). In ‘Progressiveness in Bangla Literature,’ Bishnu Dey explores the idea of literary ‘progress,’ establishing it within the complex historical framework of Bengal's literary and cultural development. He draws attention to the idea's internationalist viewpoint while highlighting its deep-rooted connection to the indigenous literary and cultural advances Bengal has seen over its long history. Bengali Muslims have made a substantial and meaningful contribution to the gradual evolution of the Bengali language and its literature. In ‘Bangla Literature and Muslims,’ Rezaul Karim illustrates how Muslims are neglected and marginalised within the academic discourse of Bangla literature, despite prominent post-independence writers, including Munshi Abdul Karim, Abdul Kabir Sahib, Dr. Mohammad Ishaque, Seikh Madan Baul, and Kazi Nazrul Islam making significant contributions to the field of Bangla literature.
Manik Bandyopadhyay, in ‘Why I Write,’ discusses language as a connecting element between the writer and the reader. He draws attention to the fact that the writer's function goes beyond being a mere conveyor of information; rather, they serve as a facilitator of shared experiences. In ‘My Thoughts on Literature,’ Ashapurna Devi then describes how her writings are marked by strong rebellion, a fight against equality, and an appeal for justice. Her writings served as a passionate plea for justice against social inequality for women. Mahasweta Devi, in ‘I/My Writing,’ acknowledges that a writer should show his/her commitment to the betterment of people in general and society in particular, whilst in ‘In Search of a New Form of the Novel,’ Debes Ray exemplifies how the form of the novel, even in the post-colonial era, finds its relation to the European discourse of novel and argues for a more unique form by incorporating indigenous storytelling methods such as, ‘Bratakatha,’ ‘Panchali,’ ‘Kirtan,’ ‘Kathakata,’ and ‘Kavigan’ into the corpus of the novel. Sisir Kumar Bhaduri, in ‘Form in Theatre,’ likewise outlines ‘the transition from the traditional theatre to the Western stage’ (p. 271) and advocates for the establishment of a national theatre that embraces indigenous elements in bringing about a change in the gradual development of traditional theatre.
In ‘Theatre Moments and the Search for Language,’ Sankha Ghosh illustrates the dramatic universe of Tagore and Tagore's thoughts on the role of language in his dramas through the examples of Bisarjan, Saradotsab, Dakghar, Raktakarabi, Muktadhara, and Mayar Khela. Badal Sircar, in ‘The Language of Theatre,’ focuses on conveying the message to the audience in the best possible terms through an alternative kind of theatre, that is, ‘third theatre’ which lays emphasis not only on language but also on gestures, intonation, touch, and music. In ‘The Alkap Theatre Tradition and Third Theatre,’ Syed Mustafa Siraj critically assesses traditional performative practices of Bengal like ‘Alkap,’ ‘Gambhira,’ ‘Leto,’ ‘Palatiya’ and ‘Khan.’ The essay delves into the emergence and the gradual decline of the theatre in the present time and the unique form and beauty of the ‘Alkap’ that lies in the practice of transvestism and gender fluidity where men perform the role of women. Finally, Qazi Motahar Husain, in ‘State Language and Language Issues in Bangladesh,’ elaborates on the historical significance of the ‘Bhasa Andolan’ or Language Movement, led by students and intellectuals, which demanded making Bangla one of the official languages of Pakistan.
Critical Discourse in Bangla therefore offers a critical overview of numerous aspects of Bangla literature, which heightens the importance of the Bangla language within the South Asian Series of Languages. The translated essays of this book are influential enough to comprehend the form and language of Bangla ‘Sahitya.’ This book will surely become essential reading for scholars of interdisciplinary studies such as sociology, history, performance studies, comparative literature, cultural studies, and South Asian studies.