Contribution of Nabakanta Baruah to Assamese Children Literature
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© 2021 IJRAR February 2021, Volume 8, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Contribution of Nabakanta Baruah to Assamese Children Literature Abul Hussain Research Scholar Department of Folklore Research Gauhati University Abstract: The origin of children literature is found in various oral songs, tales, stories that are revolved round the children. They have fascinated not only the kids but also the adults. The Missionary published the stories of the Bible and tales from across the world in the Arunudoi which were helpful in shaping the moral character of the children. Apart from giving pleasure, children literature also imparts moral lesson to the kids. Among the figures who have contributed to extend the range of Assamese children literature the name of Nabakanta Baruah is mentioned worthy. His writings for the kids have filled the treasure of Assamese children literature. Therefore, the objective of the paper is to discuss the contribution of Nabakanta Baruah to Assamese children literature. Key words: Children literature Nabakanta Baruah, Contribution. Introduction: Children’s literature is recognized as one of the genres of literature. The primary source of the children was the oral literature. Various oral songs, tales, stories that are revolved round the children are considered as children literature. The origin of children literature is to be found in the age of Sankardeva. There was no specific category which can be claimed as the children literature in the ancient Assamese literature. The portrayals which appealed to the children were available in some of the writings like Bheem sorit, Kankhowa, Sishuleela etc which have fascinated not only the kids but also the adults. It is to be claimed that the birth of the present children literature took place in 1846 in the pages of the Arunudoi which was an endeavour by the Missionary. The Missionary published the stories of the Bible and tales from across the world in the Arunudoi which were helpful in shaping the moral character of the children. Apart from giving pleasure, keeping the aim to instruct moral lesson, various tales from Jatok, Hitupodesh, Panchatantra, the Ramayana, Purana, science tale, life of the great people, songs, and drama appeared in the scene. Later on, many figures who have contributed to extend the range of Assamese children literature. In this respect, the place of Nabakanta Baruah is mentioned worthy. He has contributed not only to the children literature, but also enriched entire Assamese literature with his poems, novels, songs and criticism. Objective, range and methodology of the study: Apart from the children literature, Nabakanta Baruah also contributed immensely to the other genres of Assamese literature as well. The present study is confined only to the children literature of Nabakanta Baruah. The objective of the study is to present the point of view of Nabakanta Baruah regarding children literature and also to give a hint of the scope of research on such writings. Children literature of Nabakanta Baruah: The renowned figure of Assamese literature Nabakanta Baruah has created many literary pieces which appeal to the mind of the children. In the magazine the Rangali, various poems, verses, dramas, songs such as 'hopun koka’, ‘notun kokaideu’, ‘akhud bhaiti’, ‘no aaita’, ‘Sima Dutta’, ‘Dhenubar Dutta’ pseudonymously. His creation of children literature is divided into two categories- literature of soul and knowledge. Birendranath Dutta has divided the writings of Nabakanta Baruah related to children as children centric and children base. Those writings which are written keeping the children at centre or which are addressed to the children have been included in the first and the works such as introduction to any books that deals with kids, editorial of the children magazine, collection of children writings, text books for the children, column for kid in the newspapers etc are categorized in the second part. The children literature of Nabakanta Baruah in Nabakanta Baruahr Sishu Sahitya edited by Gagan Chandra Adhikari is divided into two parts. The published writings of Nabakanta Baruah have been included in the first part and the texts books along the scattered unpublished writings are put in the ‘Leseri Butola’. Some of the creations that have been included in the first part are ‘mur kitap’, ‘umola ghoror puthi’, kereluar rail’, ‘gulap aru beliphul’, ‘monot porar hobdo’, ‘kagoj kolomor ron’, ‘moi tuntunalu’, ‘makhonor kukura puwali’, ‘hiyali palegoi rotonpur’, ‘akhoror jokhola’, ‘bhotakare bhu’, and ‘no-aaitar kotha’. The verses from ‘Akou Poidyo Umola’, the plays from ‘Notunnator Pat Mela’, various tales from the column ‘Nanan Sadhu Kobloi’, the essays from’ ‘Bibidh Gyanor Sophura’ are included in the second category. Moreover, some of the children related songs have been included in both the parts. IJRAR21A1195 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 671 © 2021 IJRAR February 2021, Volume 8, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) In this study, it is tried to have a discussion on the children literature of Nabakanta Baruah. Children Poems: ‘Mur Kitap” written by Nabakanta Baruah is a book of children poem. It includes some of the poems and songs. Among them, the song ‘ao aa hikua geet’ tries to teach the kids the vowels of Assamese alphabets. On the other hand, the song ‘bogoli e hobaholoi nogoli kiyo’ gives pleasure to them. Again, through the verse ‘ko-kho- folar desh’, it has been tried to impart knowledge on the consonance and digit. For example: “Ek dui tini/ badam anim kini Chari –panch soi/ bhogai dim moi” (page 23) Moreover, the poems like ‘jibha kenkuri’, ‘uronia tora’, ‘phajilor ghura’, etc give the basic knowledge of the measurement. Umola Ghoror Puthi is another remarkable poetry book which consists of twenty poems. The first poem ‘umola ghoror hanhi’ presents the inner mind of the kids. The supernatural world is reflected in the poems like ‘ghotona’, ‘khora hiyaolr biya’, ‘folafol’ etc. For example, a wondrous scene of consuming the two snakes from the tail is presented in ‘folafol’: “Duyudal nej duyutai khale/ lahe lahe pet pale Kar pet tunu kune age khale/heituhe nanju hole” (page 33) The poem ‘nogaonr notun aain’ imparts the knowledge on the number nine while ‘hingsha nkoru kaku’ introduces different types of fishes. The poem ‘peha aru pehi’ narrates the contradictory characteristic traits of the aunty and uncle and ‘mahi aru moha’ provide immense delight to the ignorant mind of the children. Moreover, ‘mini jetiya mekuri hol’, ‘rongmonr hopun’, ‘hihont kiyo nahe’ etc describe the kingdom of dreamland of the kids. While ‘rang’, and ‘ras’ introduces the kids with the colours and tastes respectively, the poem ‘kune ki kole’ makes the children acquaint to the sounds and voices of different objects. Again the poem ‘loghun’ tells the story of the cleaver boy who pretends to keep fasting having filled his stomach: ‘Ekuke nakhau aji/ ekebare bhuk nai Ase Jodi Jodi adha ser/ sira diba bhal sai Nai Jodi malbhog/ jahaji koloke aan Aru eku nalgei/ eye hobo jolpan” (page 59) On the other hand, the poems ‘hobatutkoi apun’ expresses the deep love to mother, country and mother tongue. ‘Akou Poidyo Umola’ by Nabakanta Baruah that included in “Leseri Butola” is another book of poetry and it consists of twenty four poems. Among them, the poem ‘amar bharatbarsha’ introduces the boundary of India, while ‘amar jatiyo potaka’ portrays the national flag of Indian. ‘Mahburur geet’ presents the nature and changes of the months. The poem ‘kar ki mat’ introduces the voices and sounds of different animals and birds. Similarly, the poem ‘panchaindio’ and ‘rangar mela’ provides knowledge on the functions of the five senses and the primary and secondary colours respectively. An introduction of the vowels is given in ‘akhor bilak sobi nhy’. On the other hand, in ‘nibhaj asomia kobita’ it is attempted to introduce the Assamese words, phases etc. Moreover, ‘rimjhim rimjhim borokhun ahe’, ‘computer nigoni’, dujon rojar sadhu’, ‘pheriwalar gaan’ etc also provide pleasure and knowledge to the children. Children Play: The plays written by Nabakanta Baruah for the children are also an important part of children literature. He has five lyrical dramas to his credit. Among them, ‘kereluar rail’, introduces various insects to the kids such as caterpillar, spider, ant, millipede, beetle etc. Another important drama written by Nabakanta Baruah is ‘monot porara hobdo’. In this drama, the playwright tries to provide knowledge on some of the Assamese words through certain characters. The rhythm and sounds of the play is very attractive: “Senapoti seniputhi begai bol Khorke paunge kodom tol Kotoki kothoki selekona tawoi Nor senapoti amar kawoi” (page 80) Moreover, in ‘kagoj kolomor ron’, there is a conflict between the pen and paper regarding the power of the them. Then, the dramatist beautifully continues that both the pen and paper is complimentary to each other. He has also expressed that hand, mind, and brain is the basic of every work: “Kihe likhe aru kot likhe tare/ kiyonu logua lethe Manuhor hate kore hokoluti/ heyehe asol kotha! IJRAR21A1195 International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews (IJRAR) www.ijrar.org 672 © 2021 IJRAR February 2021, Volume 8, Issue 1 www.ijrar.org (E-ISSN 2348-1269, P- ISSN 2349-5138) Hatok solai nibor karone/ ase manuhor mon Heibur kotha nebhabi misate/ kiyonu korisa” (page 88) In ‘gulap and beliphul’, the love and trust of the children to Jawaharlal Nehru and also the affection of Nehru towards the children is expressed through the characters such as flower, kid, Hiralal, squirrel, parrot and so on. Moreover, how past is associated to present and help each other is also presented in the play. Another, beautiful children drama by Nabakanta Baruah is ‘moi tunie tuntunalu’. The play presents a bird that confuses the king and kings and others by its wit.