Bangla Novel Pdf

[Marilina Crawn]

Bengalinovels occupy a major part of Bengali literature. Despite the evidence of Bengali literary traditions dating back to the 7th century, the format of novel or prose writing did not fully emerge until the early nineteenth century. The development of Bengali novel was fueled by colonial encounter, booming print culture, growth of urban centers, and increased middle-class readership[1] Upanyas, the Bangla word for novel, is derived from the words upanay and upanyasta.[2]

According to Ananda Sanker and Lila Ray, 'when the novel was introduced in Bengali in the middle of the 19th century, the form itself was new, the prose in which it was written was new, the secular tone was new in a country hitherto wholly dominated by religion, and the society in which and for which it was written was new' (p. 168). But some great novelists like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore, Manik Bandopadhyay, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay developed the newly introduced genre in such a way that 'new' changed into 'matured' through their works. Almost all these literary activities went on in full swing in Kolkata, which was considered the cultural hub before the partition of Bengal. After 1947, novelists from East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) gained the platform to focus on their unique identities and Dhaka emerged as a flourishing hub for Bengali novelists. Despite the Bengali common heritage and customs, the political partition was accompanied by partition of literary streams between East and West Bengal.[3] In the twenty first century, popular contemporary Bengali novels include those written by novelists from both Bengals. Examples include prominent and prolific authors like Humayun Ahmed from Bangladesh and Sunil Gangopadhyay from India.

Before 1947, events like Partition of Bengal in 1905, Foundation of Muslim League in 1906 and Unification of Bengali in 1911 inspired the Muslim community of Dhaka to establish a new identity in the horizon of literature. Mohammad Najibar Rahman, Kazi Imdadul Huq, Kazi Abdul Wadud, Sheikh Idrish Ali, Akbaruddin, Abul Fazal, Humayun Kabir, etc. were among the novelists who tried to enrich the novels of the then East Pakistan, present Bangladesh.

Mohammad Najibar Rahman's Anowara was the first notable novel and it moved the whole Bengali Muslim community after publication. According to Rafiqullah Khan, 'The novel could not create any novelty from artistic point of view, but it carried great importance for its picturization of socio-economic and political culture and ideals of the uprising populace' (p. 25, Translation). The main themes of most of the novels in this era were Muslim society, beliefs, and orthodoxy. Examples of novels incorporating these themes are Najibar Rahman's Premer Somadhi (published in 1919) and Goriber Meye (1923), Sheikh Idris Ali's Premer Pothe (1926). In this time, for the first time the life of the Bengali farmers took an artistic delineation through Kazi Abdul Wadud's Nodibakshe (1919).

Then Kazi Imdadul Huq sprinkled a new wave. His famous novel Abdullah was published in periodicals in 1920 and it came into book form in 1933. According to Biswajit Ghosh, this novel was a 'bourgeois and humanitarian revolt against devotion to Peers, religious dogmas, purdah-system and disparity between Ashraf and Atraf'.[5] Later, 'Kazi Abdul Wadud and Humayun Kabir extended this attitude'.[6] Another novelist, Abul Fazal, exposed human psychological analyses in his novel Chouchir (1927). He afterwards continued with his own style and wrote Prodip O Patongo (1940) and Shahoshika (1946). It is well accepted that this type of psychological approach was a first attempt in novels of Bangladesh, though not for the first time in Bengali novels.

Novels in post-partition West Bengal portrayed proliferation of socialist ideas. Two of the most notable novelists from this era are Manik Bandopadhyay and Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay. Tarashankar's goal was to write novels with a social purpose. Through his novels, he sketched the tension between socialism and capitalism. His popular novels Raikamal and Kavi, and Hasuli Banker Upakatha (1947) paints the pictures of lives of people with humble means.[3]

In the first years of the Pakistan regime the authors mostly took village life as their theme, but they gradually diversified their interests. Newly born urban society began to establish itself as worthy to be literary contents. Along with them political developments also took place in fiction. Among the first novelists of Pakistan period, Abul Fazal, Akbar Hossain, Shaukat Osman, Abu Rushd, Kazi Afsaruddin, Daulatunnessa Khatun, Syed Waliullah, Sarder Jayenuddin, Abu Ishaque, and Shamsuddin Abul Kalam were the most prominent ones.

Then came a whole generation of extraordinary novelists. Chowdhury Shamsur Rahman, Satyen Sen, Abujafar Shamsuddin, Ahsan Habib, Nilima Ibrahim, Abdur Razzak, Khondkar Md. Eliash, Rashid Karim, Shahidulla Kaisar, Anwar Pasha, Abdar Rashid, Alauddin Al-Azad, Abdul Gaffar Choudhury, Zahir Raihan, Syed Shamsul Haq, Humayun Kadir, Shahid Akhand, Razia Khan, Shawkat Ali, Dilara Hashim, Indu Saha, and Ahmed Sofa were notable names.

But the background of another major event was being prepared in this time. The country began to experience turmoil. The political situation of the country became more and more prominent in the novels also. In novels like Nongor by Abu Rushd and Mon Na Moti by Anis Siddique, Jibon Khuda by Abul Monsoor Ahmed exposed the context of Pakistan Movement. Communal picture out of this movement and the restoration of Hindu-Muslim harmony also became core content in a number of novels including Ranga Probhat by Abul Fazal, Khuda O Asha by Alauddin Al-Azad, Neer Sandhani and Nishuti Rater Gatha by Anwar Pasha etc.

Then came the historic event of the Bengali Language Movement. The keen eyes of the novelists were nowhere but on this tremendous incident. Jahir Raihan's Aarek Falgoon was the most significant effort on language movement. Other political incidents like the class conflict, socialism, and movement in the cultivators was depicted in the novels like Dui Mohol (later on renamed as Alamnagorer Upokotha) by Shamsuddin Abul Kalam, Surjo Tumi Sathi by Ahmad Sofa etc. Shaukat Osman wrote wonderful symbolic political novels Kritodasher Hashi and Raja Upakhyan. Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury's Chandradwiper Upakhyan and Nam Na Jana Bhore portrayed the uprising farmer society and its conflicts.

There were some historical novels also. Abujafar Shamsuddin's Bhaowal Gorer Upakhayan about the Faraizi Movement, Sardar Jayenuddin's Nil Rong Rokto about the Indigo revolt, Satyen Sen's Kumarajiva about the spread of Buddhism, and Oporajeyo about the Sepoy Revolt etc. are a few examples among them. Some novelists favoured psychological complexities. With his unique presentation and language of his own, Syed Waliullah wrote Chander Amabashya and Kando Nodi Kando keeping psychological analysis in the centre.

Afterwards came the most memorable days of Bangali nation. After ten-month long war Bangalis became independent nation. After the massacre of three million people and huge violation and harassment of womenfolk and loss of property Bangladesh emerged as a secular and democratic nation on 16 December 1971, and Bangladeshi novel enters into a new era.

Most of the writers who were contributing in the pre-liberation period were also very creative in this period. Rashid Karim wrote novels based on middle-class society and their societal and psychological analysis. Alauddin Al-Azad, Shawkat Ali, Razia Khan and Dilara Hashim, Mahmudul Haque, Ahmad Sofa, Syed Shamsul Haq is among other notable names. Syed Shamsul Haq, commonly known as Syed Huq, wrote a good number of novels along with a huge number of books of other genres. He is always very experimental in both technique and form. Khelaram Khele Ja placed him in great controversy for his open delineation of human sexual behaviour. In his novels like Duratto, Mahashunye Poran Master, Ek Juboker Chhayapoth etc. Liberation war, its consequences, hopeless human existence and analysis of human mind and society take sharp pen-picture. Another powerful writer Shawkat Ali wrote Prodoshe Praakritojon, which is a real representation of the twelfth century Bengali during King Lakhkhan Sen. His trilogy Dakshinayaner Din, Kulaya Kalasrot and Purbaratri Purbadin deserve much compliment. Mahmudul Haque wrote Anur Pathshala before liberation war in 1967. He wrote Nirapod Tondra, Khelaghar (written 1978, published 1988), Kalo Borof (written in 1977, published in 1992), and Matir Jahaj (written in 1977, published in 1996). Ahmad Sofa, wrote novels with different tone. In Onkar (1975) he portrayed the suppressed Bangali mind of the pre-liberation period in a very artistic and symbolic way. In Gaavi Brityanto he presents the contemporary picture in a meticulous allegory. Ardhek Nari Ardhek Ishwari, a novel of romantic love, is widely considered as his masterpiece. His Pushpa Brikhkha Ebong Bihongo Puran is a narration of true human affinity to nature.

New faces appeared in the literary world after the liberation. Among them, Selina Hossain, Humayun Ahmed, Hasnat Abdul Hye, Rizia Rahman, Jubaida Gulshan Ara Hena, and Bashir al-Helal were the most prominent.

Akhtaruzzaman Elias, one of the most artistic but least productive writers, wrote only two novels. He has started his journey with Chilekothar Sepai. His most prestigious work Khoabnama, which came out in 1996, is considered a milestone in the history of Bengali novels.

Another senior novelist Abu Ishaque's second novel Padmar Palidwip was published in 1986, after thirty-one years of his debut novel Surjo Dighal Bari. Appearance and disappearance of Chars (strip of sandy land), their effect on nearby humanity etc. have taken a keen narration in Padmar Palidwip.

3a8082e126