ঠাকুরবাড়ির পত্র-পত্রিকার নান্দনিকতা ও মতাদর্শ/ The aesthetics and ideology of Thakurbari newspapers and magazines

Abstract

The emergence of the 19th century new consciousness was welcomed by all the members of the Jorasanko Tagore family. The education system of their inner city was developed in line with Western education. They were pioneers in the creation of art, literature, and culture. Naturally, they felt the need for a magazine to express literary ideas. And through the editing of this magazine, they left a mark on the entire literary world. Tattvabodhini magazine, founded by Debendranath Tagore, was one of the most important magazines of that time. The magazine played a guiding role in social reform. The magazine was the first to introduce modern editorial style in Bengali. Under the leadership of Rabindra, magazines like Bharati, Balak, Sadhana introduced a new language, new ideas, and modern style in Bengali literature. These magazines taught new writers to write and refined Bengali prose. In the continuation of publishing various magazines for children, the first puja-anniversary was published from Thakurbari in 1918- ‘Parvani.’ Parvani’ is not just a puja-number, but a historical document carrying the legacy of the literary and cultural heritage of the Thakurbari. The wonderful combination of progress and eternity took place in wisdom and its manifestation was in the pages of ‘Punya’. It was like a bridge— where the solemn beauty of tradition was illuminated by the light of modernity, and literature became a meeting point for the eternal with the contemporary. The magazine ‘Ananda Sangeet’, jointly edited by Pratibha Devi and Indira Devi, created a glorious chapter in the world of music. In a word, these magazines not only enriched the flow of literature and culture, but also opened new horizons in the advancement of Bengali women's thoughts and ideas. The magazines edited and published by the combined efforts of the men and women of the Tagore family took Bengali literature and culture to an unprecedented height. By building a bridge between tradition and modernity, the magazines ushered in a new era in Bengali social life—where literature became not just a field of taste, but also one of the tools of social awakening and cultural progress.