IIMA CINE Ranjit Saha
Project Proposal
Topic: Creativity in Bengali Literature
Literature is a mirror of society. It reflects the socio-cultural and political ideas of contemporary mind set. As the society passes through several phases of continuous change over a period of time, so does literature. So, in a sense literature helps us to put the bygone era in a proper perspective.
The creativity in the fertile landscape of Bengali literature is well recognized. Over the centuries it has witnessed several experimentations, and it still continues its journey. The first ever literature in Bengali- Charyapada or Charyageeti, dates back to eighth century. Gradually the literature had to go through several phases; some of them have had a great impact in shaping the style of the Bengali literature. In the Court’s of Arakan dynasty the contribution of Muslim poets, during 17th century, in Bengali literature had brought a drastic change to the 15th century Vaishnabi Sahitya.
The project would be focused to study the evolution of Bengali literature over the centuries- starting from the eighth century creation – Charyapada, to the current creations of twenty-first century. The project would strive to find out the trend of changing experimentation with literature and how successful it has been in attaining the objective of being a mirror of contemporary thoughts of general mass at large. It would study how the literature shifted it focus from glorifying religious beliefs and lives to picturization of real Bengali life; and the modern theme of human mind and its analysis.
Along with this, the project would also study the present situation of children literature that had once reached its pinnacle in terms variety of taste and experimentation in the hand of veteran writers like Sukumar Ray and Satyajait Ray. This will also encompass the role of current teenage magazines and penetration of internet on the changing trend of Bengali literature.