Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder
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| Born | 15 April 1877 Ulail, Savar, Dhaka, British India |
| Died | 30 March 1957 (aged 79) Calcutta, India |
| Occupation | Writer, Editor, Collector of folk literature, Zamindar |
| Language | Bengali |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Folk Literature, Children's Literature |
| Notable works | Thakurmar Jhuli(1907) |
| Spouse | Giribala Debi |
| Relatives | Ramadaranjan Mitra Majumdar (father) Kusumkumari Debi (mother) Rajlakkhi Debi (paternal aunt) |
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar (born 1877, died 1956) was a famous Indian writer. He wrote many fairy tales and stories for children in the Bengali language. He was born in a village called Ulail, in what was then British India. Today, this area is part of Dhaka District in Bangladesh.
His most important work was collecting and writing down old Bengali folk and fairy tales. He put them into four books: Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother's Bag of Tales), Thakurdadar Jhuli (Grandfather's Bag of Tales), Thandidir Thale (Maternal-Grandmother's Bag of Tales), and Dadamashayer Thale (Maternal-Grandfather's Bag of Tales).
Early Life and Learning
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar was born in the village of Ulail, near Savar. When he was nine, his mother passed away. His aunt, Rajlakkhi Devi, then raised him in a place called Mymensingh.
In his book Thakurmar Jhuli, Dakshinaranjan shared how he loved listening to fairy tales. Both his mother and his aunt used to tell him these stories. When he was 21, he moved to Murshidabad with his father.
School was a bit tough for him, and he changed schools many times. But he loved reading books from his father's collection. In Murshidabad, he started writing for different magazines. These included Sahitya Parisat Patrika and Pradip. At 25, he published a book of poems called Utthan (Ascent). After finishing his F.A. degree, he went back to Mymensingh. There, he helped manage his aunt's land.
Collecting Folk Tales
Rabindranath Tagore, a very famous writer, wrote an introduction for Thakurmar Jhuli. He said that Bengal needed its own folk stories. At that time, most fairy tales available were from Europe. Tagore felt it was important to have "swadeshi" (local) folk literature. This would remind people of Bengal's rich oral traditions. It also helped to preserve their culture.
Dakshinaranjan's aunt, Rajlakkhi Debi, asked him to visit villages on their land. Dakshinaranjan traveled and listened to old Bengali folk and fairy tales. Village elders would tell him these stories. He used a special machine called a phonograph to record them. He listened to these recordings many times to learn the storytelling style.
Inspired by another writer, Dinesh Chandra Sen, he put together and published the stories he collected. These books were:
- Thakurmar Jhuli (1907)
- Thakurdadar Jhuli (1909)
- Thandidir Thale (1909)
- Dadamashayer Thale (1913)
He also translated fairy tales from around the world. These were published in a collection called Prithibir Rupkotha (Fairytales of the World).
Other Contributions
Dakshinaranjan also worked as an editor for several journals. These included Sudha (from 1901 to 1904), Sarathi (1908), and Path (from 1930 to 1932). He was also involved with the Bengal Scientific Council. He served as its vice-president from 1930 to 1933. As president of the Scientific Terminology Board, he helped create new scientific words in Bengali.
His Works
Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar wrote many books. Here are some of his most well-known works:
- Thakurmar Jhuli (1907)
- This book is very famous in Bengali children's literature.
- Rabindranath Tagore noted that Dakshinaranjan captured the true feeling of traditional oral stories.
- When it was published in 1907, 3,000 copies were sold in just one week!
- Dakshinaranjan also drew many pictures for the book.
- Thakurdadar Jhuli (1909)
- The stories in this book often include songs.
- The author mentioned that these were special tales. They were told or sung to pregnant women. They were also used during religious ceremonies.
- Thandidir Thale (1909)
- Dadamashayer Thale (1913)
- Charu O Haru
- First Boy
- Last Boy
- Utpal O Rabi
- Banglar Bratakatha
- Sabuj Lekha
- Amar Desh
- Ashirbad O Ashirbani
- Manush Kishore
- Kishorder Man
- Banglar Sonar Chhele
- Bijnaner Rupkatha
- Natun Katha
- Rupak Katha
- Srishtir Swapna
- Chiradiner Rupkatha
- Amar Bai
- Karmer murti
- Sonar chala
