Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay : The life and character of the lower classes in Bengali novels/ তারাশঙ্কর বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় : বাংলা উপন্যাসে অন্ত্যজ শ্রেণির জীবন চারিত্র্য

Abstract

Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay has accepted the great tradition in Bengali literature, and has definitely established a new one by overshadowing it. In the novels of the novelist Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, he has portrayed the entire socio-economic-political life of the indigenous and lower class brats of rural Bengal. In one such novel, 'Chaitali Vorti’ (1931), we find a pitiful picture of a group of helpless lower class people. The story of ‘Chaitali Vorti’ is written about the sorrows and hardships of the very ordinary poor people of that time when the wind of partition was blowing in the markets, fields and ghats of India. During this time, the poor peasants lost their rights on agricultural land and became agricultural laborers, forced to become workers in urban factories. In Chaitali Vorti, Tarashankar painted a picture of the plight of the people in the socio-political and economic context of that time through the characters of the group. In the novel ' Kalindi' (1940), a char of the Kalindi river appeared on the edge of the village of Raihat. A dispute started over that char. All the old landlords of the village claimed ownership of this char. The people of the Anantya class who once built their homes on the char were exploited and expelled from their rights. On the other hand, Centered on the char that rises on the riverbed Big businessmen want to capitalize on their business through industrial construction. As a result, the helpless Santal Antyaja class people leave agriculture and become factory workers. Ganadevata (1942) is a famous novel by Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay. In the assembly at Chandimandap in the novel, Aniruddha Karmakar and Girish Chutor are heard saying against the long-standing rural customs that they do not get the right price for their work, so they have set up shop in the city in the hope of cash wages. In this assembly, they raise their voice against Sri Hari. Like Patubayan, Antyaja also complains to Chowdhury Mashai against Chiru that he went to his sister Durga's house and when he protested, Patu was even beaten. We see the lower class Antyaja class protesting against Sri Hari Ghosh, the feudalism of the landlords, the police station, and the British rule. Even the Harijan villagers protested and said that they would not remove the roof of the Chandi Mandap without any money. The novel ' Hansuli Banker Upokatha ' (1947) is about the Kahar community of the bamboo-growing village on the bank of the Kopai River. Written. The structure of the capitalist society is changing. Big businessmen want workers for their work. The Kahar class is becoming that worker. This change in Kahar society is happening at the touch of the Karali. However, earlier this lower class society used to lie at the feet of the upper class. They have endured the oppression and rule of the feudal society, the indigo farmers, the landlords and the Sadgop farmers for ages. However, the new community like the Karali could never accept this oppression. Therefore, they did not retreat, they wanted to change themselves forever. This change quickly spread to this lower class society. The Kahars left their caste business, left agriculture and enrolled in the railway factory in Chandanpur in droves in the pursuit of food and clothing. However, Banwari never accepted this change, The conflict between the old and the young continues throughout the novel, with Kahad's superstitious mind, his daily deception by capitalist society due to ignorance, and his failure to understand his own privileges.