The Kahar culture of Rāṛhbaṅga in the literature of Tarashankar/ তারাশঙ্করের সাহিত্যে রাঢ়বঙ্গের কাহার সংস্কৃতি

Abstract

Tarashankar Banerjee is a prominent figure in Bengali Literature as well as Rarh Bengal’s Litrature. Being born in Rarh Bengal, various castes and tribes of Rarh Bengal and their cultural identity have come up again and again as literary material. One such timeless work of his is ‘ Hansuli Banker Upokotha’. In this novel, the past and present context, spiritual beliefs and disbeliefs, social sense and cultural thinking of the ‘Kahar’ nation have been covered.  In this discussion article, I have tried to highlight the self-identity of the ‘Kahar’ class as a distinct self-caste of Bengal, particularly through the rhymes and folk songs of the ‘Kahar’ caste, by delineating the aspect of their own social and cultural position and their own life cycle.