Professor Sukanta Chaudhuri, Jadavpur University
2007 award – major project
£27,023 for 24 months
This project aims to archive Bengali ‘popular books' - street literature targeted at a demotic, non-metropolitan public, using traditional obsolescent technology, geared to a non-elite, virtually pre-industrial social phase. They exist alongside elite publications, but are marketed through entirely different channels for a different readership: through the humbler type of bookshops , but more often through hawkers on roads, buses and trains, in stalls and village haats (temporary markets). They are at a still more humble, demotic level than ‘Bat-tala' publications. The latter have received some attention, but the ‘street literature' has never been collected or archived, and seldom studied - they are totally ignored in formal literary and academic circles.
The material covers such varied subjects as religion, folk culture, local history, popular literature, pornography and erotica, popular redactions of elite practices such as fashion and cookery, instruction on traditional rural pursuits such as agriculture and animal farming) and instruction on technical occupations such as repairing machinery and appliances, citizen's rights, law, government procedure, public hygiene and social reform.
The books are of unique sociological interest, illustrating a changing society, culture and economy of Bengal at a popular level. The great variety is itself crucial to the social picture. They illustrate special sectors of Bengali printing history and book trade and special developments of the Bengali language. They were invariably printed cheaply on poor paper, quickly discoloured, and badly handled and preserved. However, the majority are in a fit state for scanning or digital photography.
The paper and printing of these books is poor and readily deteriorates, especially given the hot humid climate. Each print run is quickly exhausted, almost like ephemera though not technically such. Reprints and new editions may appear, but each issue has very short market life as well as a short shelf life. They are sometimes found only in single copies in remote locations.
Without this project, most of the material would simply vanish without trace. A tiny fraction might remain with private collectors, unknown to most researchers. Scattered copies with individual buyers would be untraceable and eventually lost.
A digital copy of each title will be deposited with the British Library, whilst the originals will remain with Jadavpur University , or with the individual collectors and libraries that own them.
