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Diametrically opposed to this was the response
in which the path of devotion was preferred to that of knowledge
or action. This found expression in the Gaudiya Vaisnaua dharma
or the Bengal school of Vaisnavism founded by Caitanya (1486-1534)
in the sixteenth century. Though this cult of devotion to
Krisna and Radha was not given any formal shape by its founder,
and schism soon broke out after the master's death, Gaudiya
Vaisnavism was enormously popular in Bengal for three centuries.
It went a long way in its revolt against arid formalism and
the caste-system, provided a personal god to the devotee,
declared the pre-eminence of Man, treated the sexes equally,
and laid another basis for syncretism. While smrti and navyanyaya
writings were in Sanskrit, Bengali was the vehicle of expression
for the Vaisnava. So great was its appeal of love and devotion
to the exclusion of all, that some scholars have held Vaisnavism
"responsible for the intellectual black-out, and the
emasculation of national life, in pre-British Bengal".4
Of the several genres of Bengali literature
produced during the period, mention has already been made
of the translations of Sanskrit epics and Puranas. Another
was the translation of mystic and romantic tales from the
Persian, and also from other Indian languages. Generally speaking,
the translations were the product of urban areas, under the
patronage of the courts or of high officials. These were in
no sense a faithful rendering of the original, but a recounting
of the story in Bengali verse-forms which were standardized
by the fifteenth century. The ancient world of the epics was
much changed in accordance with the Bengal of the poets' own
times, and the mysticism of the tales thinned out to stress
the human elements - often the love-episodes. More significant
in the last respect were the Vaisnava lyrics portraying the
divine love of Radha for her paramour, the lord Krsna. Vaisnava
lyrics were composed both by the Vaisnavas and the non-Vaisnavas
- the Muslims included - and both in urban and rural areas.
The biographies, in verse, of Caitanya and of early Vaisnava
missionaries were mainly composed in the urban areas. In these
biographies, the life story of a human being was documented
in Bengali for the first time.
The principal genre of Bengali poetical works
produced in the rural areas was the mangal kavyas, sung in
praise of the local deities. These works bear ample testimony
to the life and conditions of the contemporary people, and
also reflect a spirit of defence against authority. The folk
ballads of east Bengal deserve special mention because of
their genuine rural atmosphere, their fullness of life and
liberal humanism, and their simplicity of style and diction,
which stood in sharp contrast to the erudition and conscious
ornamentation of the urban poets.
Parallel to the works in praise of Puranic
and local deities, there appeared several groups of poems
in which the prophet Muhammad was eulogized, the tenets of
Islam preached, the glories of Muslim heroes recounted, and
the Muslim folk deities venerated. The Sufi-Yoga tradition
also found significant expression in poetry.
Until the end of the eighteenth century,
poetry was practically the only vehicle of literary expression
in Bengal, and like their verse-forms, the works were repetitive.
Once the genres were established, the poets unhesitatingly
followed one of them; therefore, there were scores of translations
of the Ramayana - in full or in part, -several poets repeated
the the fables of Candi, and the pangs of separation of Radha
from Krsna were endlessly recited for centuries. Not only
did the themes follow laid-out patterns; even the physical
descriptions of the heroine of one episode exactly fitted
that of another. Since the established social values restricted
the scope of free love, love poems were dressed as trysts
of the human soul for the Supreme Being, where the accepted
social norms did not apply. The romantic tales were likewise
explained as allegories or stories of a course of life predestined
by the divine will.
New literary trends were developed by the
popular poetasters, who appeared in the eighteenth century,
lived through the nineteenth and catered to the taste of new
consumers who were growing up in the commercial and administrative
centres. The Kaviwalas threw the accepted literary canons
to the wind, brought in the excitement of verbal duels, employed
the Vaisnava and Sakta themes divested of their religious
connotations, and rendered a picture that was essentially
worldly and sensuous. Another group of poets produced tales
of romances and of legendary Muslim heroes employing a new
diction that had a preponderance of Perso-Arabic elements
and reflecting antagonism to non-Muslims. With the development
of what is usually termed as modern Bengali literature, these
trends found popularity in the rural areas. In distinct contrast
to these stood the Bauls, the last generation of the syncretic
tradition. Their mystic songs sought a complete withdrawal
from the world, but at the same time, conveyed a message of
the unity of man.
Poems were meant to be sung by a group of
singers, rather than by individuals, and in several sessions
if it were a tale or a longer poem. A mangala kavya, for instance,
was sung from the beginning to the end in eight successive
nights. The poets used to indicate, at the very beginning
of the verses, the particular raga (mode of music) and the
tala (time-measure) that should accompany the words. It appears
that with the exception of the bamboo flute, musical instruments
were meant to accompany the songs. The principal stream of
Bengali music was, therefore, the vocal one in which words
were predominant and the singer was required to follow the
prescription of the poet.
It was during this period that the development
of the Kirtana, Vaisnava lyrics in tune, took place. The immense
popularity of this school of Bengali songs is demonstrated
by the growth of its regional varieties and by the fact that
several musical instruments became totally identified with
its singing. Later, the Sakta cult evolved its own devotional
songs in the Syma-sangit. Although there is no definite proof
as to the time of their origin, the Jari, songs on the tragedy
of the Karbala, seem to have developed in this period, giving
vent to a theme popular with the Bengali Muslim. Sari was
perhaps the only secular group of songs of the time - sung
by the oarsmen engaged in a boat-race.
The classical music of north India - which
by that time assimilated a great deal from the music the Muslims
brought into India, including a repertoire of new musical
instruments - was greatly patronized by the courts and the
elite. This source also contributed to the general world of
Bengali music where the scheme of ragas and raginis was well
adhered to.
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