Indian Folk Narratives: Oral Tales from 53 Languages

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his scholarly Introduction to the Bengali translation of the tales and fables of India, Bharatjada Kathan Katha the editor, literary critic and writer Ramkumar Mukhopadhay highlighted the indisputable fact that an anthology of oral narratives could be regarded as a rare and refreshing resource, that would sensitize readers and researchers about the marginalized "Alternative flow of Indian social history and culture". These neglected and obscure oral narratives of the periphery, which have survived due to their remarkable fluidity and transformative zeal, reject historical dates, periods and ages, and emerge as perennial sources of connecting the roots with the branches of the Indian literary tradition and its robust evolution.

In fact, the painstaking endeavour of Ramkumar Mukhopadhay is truly outstanding, as he has been successful in bringing together 130 stories narrated in 53 languages that span a pan-Indian trajectory, comprising the geographically located regions of the east, west, north and south. The anthology brings together oral tales narrated in languages such as Achik (Garo), Ao, Adi, Andamanese, Bhil, Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dimasa, Dogri, Garhwali, Gond, Harayani, Lepcha, Maithili, Pali, Rajbanshi and Rupini, in addition to the Sahitya Akademi recognized list of 24 languages excluding English Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sindhi, Sanskrit, Santali, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.

Undoubtedly, this has been a simultaneously rewarding and onerous task for Mukhopadhay, as he had to be in constant touch with the collectors, selectors, writers and translators for long periods of time. Mukhopadhyay's self imposed research project, has become an exemplary success story, proving how a dream can be translated into reality.

Bharatjoda Kathan Katha is the Bengali source text used by the team of translators whose indefatigable zest and engagement enabled the compilation of Indian Folk Narratives, a book of 130 Indian oral tales in English translation, to see the light of day.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages