Thakurmar Jhuli

Did You Know?

• Tagore noted that Dakshinaranjan successfully captured the linguistic flavour of traditional oral tales in writing.
• The four initial folktale anthologies of Mitra Majumdar are each titled after a grandparent, symbolising cultural heritage.
• The poems in the collection read as collages of references to Bengali culture and folklore motifs.

Publishing background

In his introduction, Rabindranath Tagore noted a pressing need to revive Bengali folk literature, as only European fairy tales and their translations were then available to the reading public. He advocated for a swadeshi, or indigenous, folk literature to counter British cultural imperialism. Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder, in his own introduction, recalled listening to fairy tales told by his mother and aunt. His aunt Rajlakkhi Debi tasked him with visiting villages in their zamindari, where he collected folktales from village elders, primarily in the Mymensingh district region of Bangladesh. He recorded the material with a phonograph and studied the recordings to absorb the narrative style. Initially unable to find a publisher, he set up a press to self-publish, but Dinesh Chandra Sen, impressed by the manuscript, arranged for its publication by Bhattacharya and Sons. The author also drew illustrations that were turned into lithographs for printing.

Contents

The book contains fourteen stories divided into three sections: Dudher Sagor (Sea of Milk), Rooptarashi (Scary Form), and Chyang Byang (Fish-Frog). A final section, Aam Sandesh (Mangoes and Sweets), includes three poems, and additional poems serve as introductions to the collection and each section. Dudher Sagor features popular stories such as Kalabati Rajkanya (also known as Buddhu Bhutum), Ghumonto Puri, Saat Bhai Champa, and Kiranmala, where characters endure misfortunes, display courage, kindness, and wit, and ultimately achieve great fortune. Rooptarashi contains the widely known Lalkamal Neelkamal, in which human protagonists encounter rakkhoshes (Rakshasas from Hindu mythology, known for magical abilities, shapeshifting, and sometimes eating humans) and magical snakes, as well as the bird-like Byangoma and Byangomi. Chyang Byang includes miscellaneous stories and features feats by the Fox Pandit.

Film and television

Several adaptations of Thakurmar Jhuli stories have been produced. These include the Indian Bengali-language film Saat Bhai Champa (1978), the fantasy film Arun Barun O Kiranmala (1979), and the Indian animated television series Thakumar Jhuli aired on Zee Bangla in the 2000s. The television series Kiranmala aired on Star Jalsha from 2014 to 2016, and the film Buddhu Bhutum was released in 2017. Saat Bhai Champa aired as a Bengali-language fantasy television series on Zee Bangla from 2017 to 2019, and an anthology series Thakurmar Jhuli aired on Star Jalsha in 2019.