Battala Print Culture - Selected BibliographyBibliography
bengali literature
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9
While Swami Vivekananda’s introductory speech at the World Parliament of Religions on September 11, 1893 is widely regarded as iconic, we note that, contrary to popular opinion, he did not advocate the idea of a ‘universal religion’, but championed the concept of a common goal or destiny (i.e.,…
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Interpreting the life and work of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar has often put scholars into ideologically conflicting camps. This especially comes to the fore with respect to his opposition of the Age of Consent Bill of 1891. We attempt to understand Vidyasagar and his ideological concerns. (Photo…
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Iswarchandra Vidyasagar was one of the greatest reformers from Bengal whose works are integral to Indian modernity. Primarily known for his contribution towards creating a Bengali primer, Borno Parichay, and for his serious and sustained efforts at improving the status of the Hindu woman and wife,…
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Unknown to many, novelist Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay also devoted considerable attention to popularise science through a number of essays. Interestingly, he felt that it was European science that had ultimately conquered India for the British. We look at Chattopadhyay’s scientific philosophy. (…
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Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820−86) was a progressive thinker from renascent Bengal who reinterpreted the West for Bengal and contributed to the evolution of Bengali prose. Today, his legacy and works seem to have been forgotten. [i] (Photo Courtesy: [Public domain])
Akshay Kumar Dutta (1820−86) remains…
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As with many progressive Hindus of the time, Rabindranath Tagore had some conflicting ideas about the role of women in marriage and marital life. We look at how Tagore underwent brief but visible phases of social and cultural conservatism. (Photo Source: Cherishsantosh/Wikimedia Commons) [i]
In a…
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Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay was not only a literary pioneer in Bengali, but an activist whose words and work are seminal for meaningfully interpreting the West for India and India for the West. We look at how his ideas on contemporary Hindu society and culture reveal a curious mix of liberality and…
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‘Being a pilgrim at Ajmer Sharif
Will bear the same fruit as visiting Mecca
At the Dargah (mausoleum) of our beloved Khwaja
O naive soul, keep chanting the name of Allah’
The lines above are translated and quoted from a Bengali qawwali song released in 2004 in the album Bharat Tirtha sung by…
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Selected Bibliography
Biswas, Adris, ed. Battalar Boi. Vol. I & II. Calcutta: Gangchil, 2011.
Biswas, Adris and Acharya, Anil, eds. Bangalir Battala: A Collection of Writings, Reprints and Paintings Related to Battala. Calcutta: Anushtup, 2013.
Darnton, Robert. "Literary Surveillance In…
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