Anudhyan: An International Journal of Social Sciences (AIJSS) Little Magazine: The Prime Space for Study of Sociology, Anthropology and Folklore of Rural Bengal Biswajit Adhikary ABSTRACT Little Magazine, which just crossed the centenary year (2014) of its initiation, is a special kind of periodical generally meant for arts and literature. Alongside the experimental literary works by younger authors, Little Magazines also publish articles on different branches of Social Sciences. This paper tries to check the significance of such magazines in study and research of Sociology, Anthropology and Folklore in rural Bengal. It also examines the exclusiveness as well as the exhaustiveness of the published information, and the regional responsibility of the magazines. The paper concludes with the comments that the volatile and short-lived publications should be archived with care and the information lying scattered there should be indexed properly. Keywords:Little Magazine, Social Science, Sociology, Anthropology, Folklore, Library acquisition, Document selection, Information sources, Information storage, Information dissemination, Article indexing. 1. Introduction Information Centres are not enough to meet the Large number of studies had been conducted into increasing demand of the recent times. The the requirements of scientists for information, but conditions are even worse in the developing very few had been done in the field of social science countries like India. Therefore, the Librarians must information. There are a number of possible reasons keep themselves busy to anticipate the information for that. Social scientists have been much less needs of the Social Scientists and should always in information-conscious and less inclined to seek for quest for the potential resources. solutions because there was much smaller total Though the word magazine is associated with volume of information available for them. Moreover, their name, the Little Magazines are not magazines there are very few specialist libraries for social in true sense. They do not have big circulation, sciences, and few librarians have to confront with popularity and regularity as well. They are not social scientists’ information needs. research periodicals or popular journals. Actually, One of the major problems in the research of they belong outside the existing categorization. Social Sciences is the absence of proper information Little Magazines are not the traditional sources for systems. The available resources from Libraries and Social Science information. They were initiated in Librarian, Raja N.L. Khan Women’s College, Midnapore 721102, West Bengal, India. 40 Biswajit Adhikary the West as well as in our country as the modernist century; and, the Little Magazines appear in reaction literary periodicals. However, right from the to them (Peterson, 1956). Little Magazines were beginning they had a rich tradition to publish initiated from about 1880, and flourished in the thoughtful essays on different social issues. As United States and England. Moreover, the French there were magazines like Poetry or Little Review writers often had access to a similar type of dedicated for creative literatures, Freewomen or publication and German literature of the 1920s too Dial were also there to analyze and comment on was indebted to them. Foremost examples of such contemporary social phenomena. Now the question magazines are the Poetry (1912- ) and Little Review is ‘do the magazines have eligibility to being (1914-29) from US; Egoist (1914-19) and Blast (1914- preserved in the Libraries?’ Their importance as the 15) from the UK; and the Transition (1927-38) from literary media have been tested and recognized France. decades back. Yet, are they equally relevant for the According to the theoreticians, the adjective study of social sciences like sociology, folklore etc.? ‘little’ actually came from another contemporary movement namely the ‘Little Theatre’ in the US. 2. What is Little Magazine The objective of that movement was to free dramatic 2.1 Definition and History forms and methods of production from the Jibanananda Dash, one of the leading Bengali poets limitations of the large commercial theatres by in the post-Tagore era, wrote in an essay named establishing small experimental centres of drama. “Kovitar katha” that, not everyone but only few According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the are poets. In that same tone, it can be inferred that first known use of the term Little Magazine dates not all the poor noncommercial irregular short-lived back to 1900. and slender periodicals are little magazines. Little The Dial was the first ever magazine with Magazine is a rare intellectual phenomenon. To be features of a little magazine. It was an American a Little Magazine a publication has to satisfy some magazine published intermittently from 1840 to 1929. strict ideological criteria. In its first form, from 1840 to 1844, it served as the For a copybook definition, we can quote—”A chief publication of the Transcendentalists. In the non-commercial periodical of limited circulation, 1880s it was revived as a political magazine. From usually dedicated to publishing experimental art and 1920 to 1929 it was an influential outlet literature and/or unconventional social ideas and for Modernist literature in English. political theories. The term little refers to the After the 1880 there was a sudden explosion in circulation, rather than the physical size, and is a number of the Little Magazines in the US and in relative and variable measure. These magazines Europe in between a period of 30/ 40years.Until 70s fueled the turbulent movement called modernism.” of the last century, there were four principal periods (Index of Modernist Magazines, 2014) of the Little Magazines in the West. Those were- (i) The popular mass magazines began to flourish The introductory Age (1890-1915), (ii) The Golden in Europe and America at the end of the nineteenth Age (1915-1930), (iii) The Age of Leftist Little 41 Anudhyan: An International Journal of Social Sciences (AIJSS) Magazines (1930-1950), and (iv) The Age of the sixties of last century in many languages like Spreading out (1940-1970). Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam Gujarati In India, the first Little Magazine Sabujpatra etc. However, Bengali Little Magazines always lead was launched at Kolkata under the editorship of from the front. Some kind of unyielding activism Pramatha Chudhury on 1914. It was none other and madness were associated with the movement than Rabindranath Tagore who mentored and in all over the Bengali-speaking region including inspired Chaudhury to edit such a magazine. Bangladesh. Leftist political ideology influenced Predecessors like Bangadarshan (1872), edited by the movement largely in the 70s, as it occurred in the great novelist Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay the West during the 30s to 50s. and Sadhana (1891), edited by Tagore prepared The principle eras of the Bengali Little the soil for sprouting of Sabujpatra. From then on Magazines are: (i) Sprouting Age (1914-30), numbers of such magazines were published from example: Sabujpatra, Kallol, Kalikalam; (ii) Bengal over the years. Renowned literary Golden Age (1930-40), example: Parichay, personalities like Nazrul Islam, Sudhindranath Dhumketu, Purbasha, Kovita; (iii)Age of Dutta, Buddhadeb Basu, Premendra Mitra, Spreading Out (1940-50), example: Ekak, Achintyakumar Sengupta, Nirod C. Chaudhury Samasamayik, Uttarsuri, Chatuskon; (iv) Age of were associated with them. Poetry (1950-60), example: Shatavisa, Krittibas, The so-called “Little Magazine Movement” in Simanta, Samakalin, Kovipatra; and (v) Age of India was initiated after the independence. The Ideological Influence (1960-70), example: Aneek, movements came to prominence in the fifties and Anustup, Alinda, Ekshan Diagram 1: District wise breakup of the Little Magazines 42 Biswajit Adhikary In 2013-2014, there were approximately 1565 whether the publication is commercially motivated living Little Magazines in West Bengal (Hasan, or not, whether it appears regularly or irregularly, 2014). The district wise breakup is given in the whether it is short-lived or long-lived. It simply must following diagram. However, the exact number of be in the vanguard, help establish a mainstream small magazines is much greater.Some of which current. Pondrom suggests that avant-garde might have been eliminated by Hasan from the list, magazines exhibit six characteristics: depending upon some qualitative yardsticks. 1. Publish “little known writers with ability”; It is generally found that, out of the total, almost 2. “produce a ferment of ideas, . serve as a gadfly 70 to 75 percent magazines are dedicated only for to the status quo”; poetry (Dutta, 2014). The residue, i.e. 25 to 30 3. maintain literary standards to “shield the writer percent of magazines also prints poetry with fiction, from some of the demands of the commercial essay and criticism. Little Magazine without poem press and social convention”; is very rare in West Bengal. The Magazines, which 4. “extend the audience for good work”; have rich prose section, publish thoughtful articles 5. create a “place where experiment is on various disciplines. untrammeled”; and lastly 2.2 Key features of the Little Magazines 6. Maintain a stimulating and congenial Why such magazine is prefixed with the environment of personal relationships– a adjective‘little’? Which among the symptoms like- community of interest and friendship among ‘little size’, ‘small circulation’,