Thakurmar Jhuli: The Grandmother’s Bag of Tales from Bengal
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Thakurmar Jhuli: The Grandmother’s Bag of Tales
Thakurmar Jhuli is a compilation of stories from Bengal. Thakurma means grandmother and Jhuli, a bag. So, the title Thakurmar Jhuli translates to the grandmother’s bag and is called so as these were the kind of stories that grandmothers told the children in the house. When evening came and all housework was done, the children would sit near the grandmother and ask her to tell a story. The grandmother would then start telling them stories that usually started with ‘Once upon a time’.
Folk Tale or Fairy Tale?
These stories have been told for years in India and are classified as folk tales and not as fairy tales.
This is a question that has been debated many times. Some of the stories feature princesses who are captive and then princes come and rescue them, riding on flying horses. If this belongs to the fantasy world, why is it classified as a collection of folk tales? This comes from the definition itself. For that, let me touch upon three terms here – Rupkatha, Upakatha and Lokkatha. Rupkatha is about kings, princes, princesses, rakshashas, and magic. As per the modern English definition, this is what is a fairytale. Upakatha is about animals and their tales. The works of Upendrakishore Roy Choudhuri like Tuntuni’r boi and even tales from Panchatantra and Hitopadesha come under this category. This brings us to the third category, Lokkatha. Lokkatha is the katha (story) of lok (people) and this is what we call a folk tale. These are stories that are anonymous, collectively owned, passed on orally, and found in variants. Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar did not author these stories. He roamed around Bengal, heard these stories, recorded them and compiled them. They were compiled as a collection of tales as told by a grandmother, thus the name ‘Thakurmar Jhuli’. He published this collection of stories in 1907.
The Struggle to Find a Publisher
Let me talk about 1907 now. Rabindranath Tagore received his Nobel Prize in 1913, which made him a global figure. Prior to this, Tagore was famous in Bengal. He had published his poems in volumes like Manasi (1890) and Sonar Tari (1894), along with many short stories and plays. His songs (Rabindra Sangeet) were very popular. With this background, let me now talk about how the collection of stories got published.
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar had recorded the stories he had heard, using a phonograph. He then compiled them in the form of a book and illustrated them. The next step was to find a publisher. This was a herculean task. Mainstream publishers were sceptical of touching the tales, and the market was dominated by translated European fairy tales. Extremely frustrated, Dakshinaranjan thought of setting up his own press to self-publish the book.
Before proceeding with self-funding, Dakshinaranjan decided to reach out to Dinesh Chandra Sen. Dinesh Chandra Sen was an established historian and was a respected figure in Kolkata’s academic circles.
Dinesh Chandra Sen went through the draft and the illustrations that had been made, and he was impressed by the output. He saw the potential in the work.
Around the same time, there was a collection of Bengali folk tales floating around. Reverend Lal Behari Day (also spelt Lal Bihari Dey) had published his ‘Folk-Tales of Bengal’ (1883). Lal Bihari Dey was a Christian missionary and, as was observed then, this work catered primarily to British and Anglo-Indian audiences. When Dinesh Chandra Sen read Dakshinaranjan’s work, he saw the difference. Recognizing the value, Dinesh Chandra Sen wrote back and asked Mitra Majumdar not to self-publish. He then reached out to Bhattacharya and Sons, a publisher based out of College Street and persuaded them to publish Dakshinaranjan’s work.
The publisher was finalized, and something more was needed. Authority. Who better than Rabindranath Tagore? Dinesh Chandra Sen wrote to Tagore and convinced him to read the work. The rest is history.
Tagore’s Foreword
Rabindranath Tagore was pleased with the compilation, and he wrote a foreword and introduced the book saying the correct tone and language had been captured. He said that the grandmothers of that time were more interested in learning about the French Revolution than about their own culture.
Tagore also wrote, ‘Upon receiving Dakshinaranjan Babu’s book Thakurmar Jhuli, I was afraid to open it. I had a doubt that perhaps under the harsh steel edge of modern Bengali, that subtle tune might be lost. Preserving that tune in today's literary language is extremely difficult. Had it been me, I would not have had the courage for this task.’ (This is a rough translation of the Bengali foreword. The exact Bengali words were:
দক্ষিণারঞ্জনবাবুর ঠাকুরমা’র ঝুলি বইটি পাইয়া, তাহা খুলিতে ভয় হইতেছিল। আমার সন্দেহ ছিল, আধুনিক বাংলার কড়া ইস্পাতের মুখে ঐ সুরটা পাছে বাদ পড়ে। এখনকার কেতাবী ভাষায় ঐ সুরটি বজায় রাখা বড় শক্ত। আমি হইলে ত এ কাজে সাহসই করিতাম না।
Dakshinaranjanbabur Thakurmar Jhuli boiti paiya, taha khulite bhoy hotechilo. Amar sondeho chilo, adhunik Banglar kora ispater mukhe oi surta pache bad pore. Ekhankar ketabi bhasay oi surti bojay rakha boro shokto. Ami hoile to e kaje shahos-i koritam na.)
In his humorous style, Tagore wrote that a school should be opened for ‘modern grandmothers’ of Bengal, who should use this book as a textbook and learn the art of bedtime storytelling.
Thakurmar Jhuli was officially published in 1907 (Bengali year 1314) by Bhattacharya and Sons, located at 65 College Street, Kolkata. The initial print run featured custom illustrations drawn by Mitra Majumdar himself. While the exact date of publication is not available, Tagore wrote his foreword on 20th Bhadra, 1314 Bangabda (corresponding to 06 September, 1907), so the book would been printed shortly after.
The first edition of 3,000 copies sold out within a single week of publication. In those days, selling 3,000 copies of a collection of folk tales in a week was a remarkable achievement.
Unlike many others, I had never heard these tales from my grandmother. I grew up in Delhi, away from my grandparents. My mother played that role. She told those stories in which a prince riding a flying horse would go to rescue a princess locked up in a castle, up in the clouds.
Why do I want to talk about this?
I was talking about this with a fellow Bengali who had never heard of this collection of stories. So, I thought – why not share the stories, not just for that person, but for all? I think there is a massive diaspora of people who may not be fluent in Bengali or have not heard the tales, but want to hear them, know about them, and are hungry for their roots. The English language then provides a platform.
I remember there was a gramophone record which had a musical version of the stories. HMV had brought out a 33 1/3 rpm LP record in 1970 under the music direction of Nachiketa Ghosh, with lyrics by Bhaskar Basu featuring the voices of Hemanta Mukherjee, Sandhya Mukherjee, Arati Mukherjee, Shyamal Mitra and Nirmalendu Chowdhury and many more. If someone can find this, or a CD version this, they will the stories of Buddhu Bhutum and Nalkamal Nilkamal.
I want to invite all to come and enjoy the words of Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar. Get the book. Read it. Relive your childhood.
For now, be with me, as I attempt to retell those stories for all.
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