Modernity and Social Crisis in Bengali Poetry

5/18/2018 Modernity and Social Crisis in Bengali Poetry

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Modernity and Social

Crisis in Bengali Poetry

1920-1950

Dipankar Bagchi

2011

Thesis submitted

for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy (Arts)

in History of

Jadavpur University

SYNOPSIS


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Synopsis

The concept of this thesis is modernity and its reflection in thetransition of Bengali poetry from Kallol era to Krittibas. There is a lot

of confusion over the term modernity. It is basically a transition from

feudalism to capitalism, faith to reason, and corporate identity to

individual identity. But there is a considerable overlap of one phase

with the other, which is loosely called archaic. But on a closer analysis,

it is but inevitable and desirable synthesis in a story of tradition and

transformation. It has happened in the European renaissance and

evolution of modernity when identity crisis cropped up.

The same argument applies to the progress of Bengali poetry

from Kallol to Krittibus era. There is a lot of archaism in the synthesis

and even in materialist modernity. Romanticism comes and goes

between tradition and transformation. The stumbling book to

modernity in Bengali poetry was Rabindranaths incurable

romanticism. Many poets of the Kallol era, last but not the leastBuddhadeb Bose bewailed this fact. For even he could not escape

the interface of romanticism in his modern poetry. He is juxtaposed

between Rabindranath and Baudelaire. So also, the other firebrands

of Kallol. The thesis goes even beyond them and starts with Tagore

demolition from the time of Suresh Samajpati. It was a love-hate

relationship that was rampant in the writings of Suresh Samajpati,

Chandranath Bose, Panchkori Bandopadhyay and Dwijendralal Roy.

Tagore survives all these rallies to become immortal. The poets of

the 30s headed by Jibanananda Das and others struggled between

being and at once becoming and were pre-modern, modern and

ultra modern along with Rabindranath himself.

But the context of post war poets was different. They were

shattered by the Second World War and its concequences. A great

anxiety, insecurity, depression and melancholia and ephemerality


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of their life and work gripped their poetry. This is both realistic and

ultra-modern. Krittibus represents this genre. Sunil Gangopadhyay,

Sakti Chattopadhyay, Sankho Ghosh, Aalok Sarkar, hover between

bloom and gloom. This is the sign of the nouvel-vague or new-trend.

I have tried to analyse their thoughts and link them to the pase

ambivalence between romanticism and realism at the time of Tagore.

Therefore the first chapter discusses the concept of modernity.

The second deals with historical perspectives of modern Bengali

poetry. The third critiques Tagore tirades. The fourth opens up the

Pandoras box of Kallol era. The fifth probes the uncertainties of

post war period as reflected in the poets of those times. The sixth

excavates the political and economic background of post war poetry.

The next is all about the experiments made by the Krittibas group

in realism and psychological individuality. Poets like Sunil

Gangopadhyay and Sakti Chattopadhyay figure prominently. Thus,

it is a survey of modern Bengali poetry on which there is no suitable

book at present. It may be seen as a sequel to the seminal works of

Dipti Tripathi, Abu Sayeed Ayub and others.

I chose Modernity and Social Crisis in Bengali Poetry,

1920-1950 as my present doctoral thesis, because I had already

completed my M.Phil Dissertation on the subject Modernity : The

Turning Phase of Literature and the Age of Kallol. Indeed, I chose

a subject as a part of history where I tried to assimilate history and

literature in one container. I want to understand a dialectical process

where the history of literature and the literature of history

conjoined in the same background. I have divided the subject into

seven chapters :

1. Modernity : Theory and Practice

2. The Prelude

3. Tagore Criticism


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4. Kallol Era

5. Interwar Period, 30s & 40s

6. Political and Economic Background : The Interwar Period

7. Krittibas or Young Poets Movement

The first chapter deals with the theory and practice of Modernity

in both India and the west. I have argued that modernity is neither

chronology nor mere realism, it is more towards surrealism.

In the second chapter, the historical prelude to modern poetry

has been thoroughly discussed.

In the thrid, the modern poets criticism of Tagore romantic poetry

is analysed.

In The fourth chapter is a core chapter which critically examines

the post Tagore new poets writing in Kallol and allied magazines.

Announcing the arrival of new modern poetry.

In the fifth chapter the seven great poets of the 30s and 40s

have been taken up for minute apprasial.

In the sixth chapter the social crisis of the interwar period has

been highlighted with an emphasis on political and economic issues.

This serves as the backdrop of the experiments of the young and

angry poets centring round krittibas a new vogue mouthpice of thegroup.

In the seventh chapter, therefore, the angst of these poets in

throughly review.

Altogether it becomes a comprehensive literary and social history

of the dangerous decades in the interwar period for which no

subtantial work exists.


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At the end of the survey, it may be concluded that modernity is

an inscrutable rainbow. It has many colours pre-modern, modern

and post modern but blends wonderfully in the final frame of Bengali

poetry. It has been my effort to carry out the analysis in the mode,

thesis-anti-thesis-synthesis. It has been shown that no phase was

totally detached from the others and unique in character. The only

difference that has been noticed its that pre-war poetry was more

fanciful than the post-war starkness of modern Bengali poetry.

The great divide between contentment and discontent has been

made visible as far as possible. That is the central argument of this

thesis. To come to this conclusion, western allusions and Bengali

quotations have been liberally mixed and used. This is not merely a

conceptual cutout like other disciplines. It has been attempted to

made a historical empirical analysis with a sound database.

Hopefully, discerning readers will find out what is meant in the

above paragraphs.

Countersigned Candidate

by the Supervisors

Date : Date :

Documents

Modernity and Social Crisis in Bengali Poetry