Abol Tabol

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Abol tabol (Bengali: আবোল তাবোল) (literally translates as "weird and random") is a collection of Bengali children's poems and rhymes composed by Sukumar Ray, first published on 1 September 1923. It consists of 43 named and 7 unnamed short rhymes, all considered to be in the genre of literary nonsense.

Contents

[edit] Significance

The Bengali readers were exposed to a new nonsense fantasy world by the poems in Abol Tabol. This selection offers the best of Sukumar Ray's world of pun-riddled, fun-fiddled poetry.

[edit] Characters

His collection had several characters which became legendary in Bengali literature and culture. Some characters even have found idiomatic usage in the language.

Some of the most famous characters in "Abol tabol" are:

  • Kath Burro
  • Head Officer Burrobabu
  • Kumro Potash
  • Sat Patroe
  • Chandidaser Khuroe
  • Bombagarher Raja
  • Hunkumukho Hyangla
  • Ramgorurer Chhana
  • Tyansh Goru
  • Shashthi Charan
  • Panto Bhoot
  • Nera
  • Katukutuburo

[edit] Bibliography

Editions of Sukumar Ray, in chronological order. Each edition here has its distinct merits.

Nonsense Rhymes. Translated by Satyajit Ray. Calcutta: Writer's Workshop, 1970.

  • This volume by the author's son is the slimmest and is difficult to find.

The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray. Translated by Sukanta Chaudhuri. New Delhi: OUP, 1987.

  • The standard edition for many years.

Abol Tabol: The Nonsense World of Sukumar Ray. Translated by Sampurna Chattarji. New Delhi: Puffin, 2004.

  • This edition, the most complete, also has works from Khapchhada, Bohurupee, Other Stories, Haw-Jaw-Baw-Raw-Law, Khai-Khai, and Pagla Dashu.

The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense, edited by Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007.

  • This volume includes, among other Indian nonsense texts, several Ray translations by Chattarji, including some that are not in her solo edition of Abol Tabol.

[edit] External links


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