Binodoni and Makchak Harin : A Narrative of the Gradual Disappearance of an Ethnic Language and Ethnic Community/‘বিনদনি’ ও ‘মাকচক হরিণ’ : এক কৌমভাষা ও কৌমজাতির ক্রমবিলীয়মান অস্তিত্বের আখ্যান

Abstract

Amiya Bhushan Majumdar, a renowned and exceptional writer of Bengali literature. In most of his works, North Bengal is colourfully portrayed in its multi-varied aspects. He brings North Bengal, the nature and people’s life there, into the landscape of his works and presents their forest-centric life story also. However, it would be bit unfair to call his works only nature-centric. In many cases, shades of Scandinavian literature can be found in Amiya Bhushan’s works. Makchak Harin and Binodoni are his two such creations. Here, the story of a tribal community called Rava and the many crises that are looming over them find their exposure. One such crisis is the crisis of language. The Rava language is rapidly declining. Though the Rava language has a rich cultural heritage, it is currently classified as a ‘vulnerable language’ by UNESCO due to declining number of its speakers and the increasing influence of the other dominant languages. When a community loses its language, its survival is at stake and the roots of its very existence are cut off. This is exactly what happened to the Rava tribe. This discussion will attempt to address this issue and emphasise on the reasons lurking behind this tragedy.