History of Bengali Language and Literature

 

Origin of Bengali Language

The Bengali language was originated in 3500 B.C. and it belongs to the Indo-European language family. Many people believed that it was derived from Sanskrit. The scholars and linguists believe that it was derived from Indo-Aryan languages like Magadhi,Prakrit and Pali.

Origin of Bengali Literature

The first works in Bengali language was discovered in 900 CE, and they were the Charyapada. These  were Buddhist texts and hymns created by monks. The first appearence of Bengali literature occured in the 1200s, from this time the current script of Bangla began to take place. The Charyapada is a collection of mystical poems that was written between the 8th and 12th centuries. The Charyapada was written in the script which is in the most closest form of Bengali-Assamese language used today. It was rediscovered in 19th century by Sanskrit scholar and historian of Bengali literature Haraprasad Shastri.

Part of the rare Charyapad preserved in the library of Rajshahi College

Bengali Novels and Short Stories

Fulmoni o Korunar Biboron:

'Fulmoni o Korunar Biboron' was the first Bengali novel written by 'Hana Catherine Mullens' in 1852. It was unsuccessful as a first Bengali novel as it was inspired by a short story written in English and the plot of the novel was not so attractive. The book describes the incident which was occured to a Christian family. Although it was the first novel written in Bengali literature but it is not considered as the first novel in Bengali literature. Hence, the first novel in Bengali literature was 'Alaler Ghorer Dulal' by 'Tekchand Thakur' ('Peary Chand Mitra').

Alaler Ghorer Dulal

The 'Alaler Ghorer Dulal' novel by Parichand Mitra was a landmark in the history of Bengali literature.The central plot of the story concentrates on the society of Kolkata during the British period. The novel describes the story of Motilal (the main protagonist) who was indiscipline and pampered. 'Thokchacha' was another main character of this novel. It was written in modern Bengali language(cholito bhasha) which came to be known as 'Alali Bhasa' later. He used colloquial language to make the novel more realistic.

Peary Chand Mitra


Impact of Bengali Literature on British Society:

(a) It clearly represents the political and societal conditions of Bengal during the British period.

(b)There are lots of novels and short stories that influenced Indian revolution against the British like : ' Anandamath ' by 'Sahityasamrat Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay', 'Gora' by 'Biswakobi Rabindranath Tagore' , 'Pather Dabi' by 'Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay', ' Neel Darpan ' by 'Dinabandhu Mitra '.

(c) The novels and short stories against superstition are : 'Kapalkundala' by 'Sahityasamrat Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay', 'Sompotti Somorpon' by 'Biswakobi Rabindranath Tagore', 'Lalu' and 'Bamuner Meye' by 'Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay'.

(d) Some short stories that promotes communal harmony, unity in society and influenced it are : 'Kabuliwala' and ' Musalmanir Golpo ' by 'Biswakobi Rabindranath Tagore' , 'Mahesh' and 'Abhagir Swargo' by 'Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay'

Bengali Novels and Indian Revolution :

Several Bengali Novels are there that influenced Indian revolution but here we will concentrate only on 'Anandamath' written by 'Sahityasamrat Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay'. The central plot of 'Anandamath' concentrates on 'Sanyashi Rebellion' that is the revolution of sanyashi's against the Nawabs of India at that time. The slogan 'VANDE MATARAM' by the sanyashi's in the novel was later used by the  'INDIAN  BENGALI REVOLUTIONARIES' during the 'SWADESHI MOVEMENT' in 1905 in Bengal. It clearly describes the story of village 'Podochinno' where Mahendra along with his wife Kalyani are suffering from economic depression and faces natural calamity drought and the story continued towards the end followed by 'Sanyashi Rebellion'.

Sahityasamrat Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay

Bengali Novels and Society :

Here we will concentrate on 'Bamuner Meye' by 'Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay' and 'Kabuliwala' by 'Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore'.

Bamuner Meye :

(Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay)

The novel depicts the caste system of the society very clearly that is the orthodox Brahmin society and it's tortorous impact. It mainly focuses on the father-daughter relationship of Priyo Mukhujje and Sandhya and also the cute love story of Sandhya and Arun but it is a tragedy. The speciality of the novel is that Priyo Mukhujje hides his identity and  establish himself as Brahmin although he is not a Brahmin , he is from a lower caste. The novel ends with Sandhya leaving the village along with his father Priyo Mukhujje and Gyanodadidi .

Kathasilpi Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay

Kabuliwala:

(Biswakobi Rabindranath Tagore)

This is a short story written by 'Biswakabi Rabindranath Tagore' in 1892 depicting Hindu-Muslim unity and also friendship of  Kabuliwala and Mini which is basically a father-daughter relationship. Rahmat Khan was a Kabuliwala who used to sell dry fruits in Kolkata and there he met with Mini , a cute and pretty little girl who is from a well known Hindu family. Slowly , a strong bond of friendship is formed between them. Rahmat Khan who left his daughter in Afghanistan and came to India to earn money always misses her who also looklike Mini so he also think of her as his daughter. Everyday Kabuliwala used to come to Mini's house and talk to her. One day Mini was not found in the house , everyone and even Mini's parents started to blame Rahmat Khan of kidnapping her but he saved Mini from car accident and get beaten by the people. He get insulted by shopkeeper because he argued with him as the shopkeeper has not returned his money and this leads to a serious arguement leading to the murder of the shopkeeper. Kabuliwala was arrested on the charge of murdering shopkeeper and he accepts his sin on the court leading to life imprisonment where he again forms a strong friendship bond with the jailer's daughter and he was released from the jail early due to his good and obedient behaviour. During his time of imprisonment  several years passed and Mini had grown up but Rahmat Khan thought Mini would be of the same age if he is released from jail but it was his conception but when he met Mini, she was unable to recognize her. Rahmat Khan was shocked and thought that when he will return Kabul , Afghanisthan , his daughter will be unable to recognize her as Mini was like his daughter. The story ended with Rahmat Khan accepting the money given by Mini's father and returning to Kabul , Afghanistan thinking  about the sorrow and harsh realities of life. He became more emotional when he understood that his daughter will not recognise her when he returns home .

 

Biswakobi Rabindranath Tagore

 

Dinabandhu Mitra (known for 'Neel Darpan' based on 'Indigo Revolt' which occured from 1859-1860)