সুন্দরবনের বাউলে : মানুষ ও না-মানুষের দুনিয়ার এক মেলবন্ধন

In this work, Carola Erika Lorea documents the life, songs, and legacy of a widely popular, but academically unexplored, songwriter and guru of Bengal, Bhaba Pagla, whose songs are now mostly sung by the well-known mystic minstrels called Bauls. This is the first English book on Bhaba Pagla. It studies song-texts and their lives, not from the usual textual perspectives, but as contextual realities, best understood as performances. Through detailed ethnographic research and a consideration of theoretical literature, especially on performance, the work shows with clarity and deftness what a very close-grained ethnographic work, rather than a textual one, and performanceoriented study, rather than a treatment of texts and traditions as fixed phenomena, can do to our understanding of culture. The work thus critically engages with very important terms that are essential to the discourse of popular culture: for instance, orality, texts, folk, tradition, literacy, and orthodoxy. These are the key strengths of the book.

2019

The Sundarbans is the largest mangrove forest in the world, spanning across the borders of Bangladesh and India. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site recognized for its ecological uniqueness and importance to all humanity. The Sundarbans is home to diverse species and some of the poorest twelve million people in the world. Hindu and Muslim fisherfolk and honey collectors who call this place home share a respect for the forest and venerate Bonbibi (Forest Lady), who they believe reigns over the forest and its inhabitants. For them, she offers protection. This article argues that in their ritual and ethical practices, these Muslims and Hindus treat the Sundarbans as sacred land. It is sacred because it provides all they need to live a sustainable life. This study combines textual analysis of the epic poem about Bonbibi entitled the Jahuranama with ethnographic studies and field visits.

The India Forum, 2023

The tiger-charmers of the Sundarbans have been seen by forest guards and scientists as unscrupulous. But the islanders argue that tiger-charmers are able to better communicate between human and nonhuman worlds, and ensure resources are evenly shared. This is their story.

Journal of History, Art and Archaeology, 2021

The Sundarbans, the largest deltaic mangrove forest, lie along the coastal belt of the Bay of Bengal has been designated as a world Heritage site in 1987 and further as a Biosphere Reserve in 1989 by UNESCO. The rich biodiversity comprises large varieties of flora and fauna most famous of which are the Bengal tiger, estuarine crocodiles and Indian dog shark. The continuous historical record of the Sundarbans is available since the British East India Company took up the administration of the region in their hand in 1765 and decided to reclaim forest land in order to bring it under cultivation. The target of the British was to earn revenue. With this the human habitation started in the tract of Sundarbans. The whole of Indian Sundarbans falls within the state of West Bengal and is distributed in its two districts: North and South 24 Parganas. The Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve comprises altogether 102 islands intersected by innumerable waterways and estuaries. Of the total islands 54 are inhabited and under cultivation, others are under forest occupation. With the independence of India in 1947 and that of Bangladesh in 1971 there was large inflow of population to these islands, resulting in an unprecedented growth of population. The obvious impact of this trend was the excessive pressure on the economic resources. Land resources was limited. Other two resources were water (rivers) and forest. Forest resource attracted the most. Wood was the major forest product. Honey, though seasonal but gives a good return. The waterways inside the forests give a good harvest of fishes, oysters and crabs. Thus, forest was lucrative and could feed a large population. The close interaction with the forest resulted into contact and conflict between man and wild life. The man-eating tiger in the forest posed a threat to life

2004

This thesis examines how Sundarbans islanders living in the southern reclaimed islands of the Bengal delta both think about and 'interact with' the man-eating tigers of the region. The thesis classifies three broad occupational groups - forest workers, prawn collectors, and landowners - and discusses how they use different understandings of the tiger to draw distinctions between each other. It argues that the islanders' interactions with tigers articulate both social practices and understandings of the social, and that attitudes to the forest/land opposition divide people into the distinct groups of bhadralok and gramer lok. These interactions are discussed in connection with people's relation to their environment. The environment is understood both as a set of narratives - about humans and tigers sharing a cantankerous nature because of a harsh geography and of a common history of displacement - and as a practical experience - of working in the forest as crab, fish ...

Le Simplegadi, 2006

This essay deals with the philosophy of the Bauls, the wandering minstrels of Bengal, whose expression is through song and dance. They believe in a society without caste or creed and are influenced by Hinduism, Tantric philosophy, the Sufi tradition as well as Buddhism. Both Hindu and Muslim Bauls acknowledge Sri Caitanya and poet Jayadeva as their preceptors. Their songs provide haunting glimpses of the village life around, images rooted in earthy reality where the Baul makes no attempt to deny the sensual and the bodily in the search for the Supreme.

Malik & Sons, 2023

BonBiBi and her 'palagan': folK TradiTion of sundarBan disha mondal F Bonbibi is the local Goddess of Sundarbans. She has given birth to a variety of folklores. The meaning of the name, 'Bonbibi' is the lady of the forest. The surname, 'Bibi' is used by the Muslim married women though but, Bonbibi is not only worshiped by the Muslims but also the Hindus as well. This Goddess is the symbol of communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims. She is the daughter of a Sufi fakir, and the opponent of Dakkhin Rai, literally Southern lord. Rai is the zamindar who takes the form of tiger and prey on the inhabitants of Sundarbans. The Sundarbans is adelta on the Bay of Bengal. It is situated in the southernmost part of West Bengal, India. Sundarbans is surrounded by two rivers: one is the river Hoogly and the other is Meghna. Sundarbans is populated by various religious sects ages after ages. Presently the inhabitants are mainly Hindus and Muslims. A vast body of folk literature can be found in this place. Among all 'Johuranama,' written by Abdur Rahim is remarkable. It was composed in the late 19th century. 'Johurnama' describes the birth of Bonbibi and her brother Shah-Janguli. According to 'Johurnama' Bonbibi protects all the creatures of Sundarnans from natural calamities and tigers. The 'Johuranama' consists of the Dukhe Jatra (the journey of Dukhe), or a narration of the ways in which the life of a small child called 'Dukhe' was saved from the hands of Dakshin Ray by Bonbibi. Forest workers identify themselves with poor Dukhe before venturing inside the forests and pray to Bonbibi to safeguard them against potential threats of tiger attacks. The lore of Bonbibi, like any other oral literature, has changed over time. It still exists in a flexible state in the present society and appears destined to transform further.

This anthology contains eight independent essays. Excepting one, all are of recent origin. Of these seven were written in English. Six of those seven have been previously published. But since compiling the volume compelled me to re-visit the essays they have had had to undergo modifications. To fit them within the parameters I set for the book I have also had to alter the titles of two pieces. Although the revisions are not drastic I consider the versions printed here 'authorized' and final.

Grassroots level health care workers provided insights into rural women's health concerns at a program development workshop held at Sundarban Islands in West Bengal, India. This report describes these narratives and identifi es strategies for potential intervention plans. The narratives suggest layers of disenfranchisement compounded by gender inequality and geographic instability.