The Emergence of Rupkatha as a Literary Genre in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Bengal:

A Historical Enquiry

Authors

  • Amrita Chakraborty

Keywords:

rupkatha, Fairy Tales, Swadeshi Cultural Revival, Folk, Children’s Genre

Abstract

The indigenous rupkatha collections that appeared in the late nineteenth and early twentieth Bengal, while purporting to be written transcriptions of an oral tradition, were effectively creating a new literary tradition distinct from the oral storytelling traditions that existed in the region. This paper will investigate the historical circumstances of its emergence, particularly the intersectional politics of Bengal’s colonial encounter with Europe and the emergence of a nascent nationalist consciousness that laid stress on indigenous culture. This paper will argue how the emergence of the Bengali rupkatha as a literary genre was interrelated with the widespread popularity of the European fairytale, and as an indigenous literary genre was intended to contrast and compete with the Western literary genre. The circumstances of its emergence in turn shaped the popular ideas associated with the genre and determined the way generations of readers approached and interpreted the texts.

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Author Biography

Amrita Chakraborty

Amrita Chakraborty is an Assistant Professor in Jamalpur Mahavidyalaya under the University of Burdwan. She has a Master’s degree in English from Jadavpur University and an MPhil in Women’s Studies from the School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University. She is currently in the process of submitting her PhD thesis. Her areas of research interests are Gender and Culture, and Popular Literature. She has published in these fields and has a number of forthcoming publications including one from Brill. 

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Published

2021-11-11

How to Cite

Chakraborty, A. (2021). The Emergence of Rupkatha as a Literary Genre in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Bengal: : A Historical Enquiry. Sanglap: Journal of Literary and Cultural Inquiry, 6(2), 15–23. Retrieved from https://sanglap-journal.in/index.php/sanglap/article/view/126