Abol tabol (Bengali: আবোল তাবোল); (listen: ); (literally translates as "weird and random") is a collection of Bengali children's poems and rhymes composed by Sukumar Ray, first published on 19 September 1923 by U. Ray and Sons. It consists of 43 named and 7 unnamed short rhymes, all considered to be in the genre of literary nonsense.
| Abol Tabol | |
|---|---|
Cover page of the book. |
|
| Author(s) | Sukumar Ray |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
| Genre(s) | Poetry |
| Published in English |
September 19, 1923 |
Contents |
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 poetry.
আর যেখানে যাও না রে ভাই সপ্তসাগর পার,
কাতুকুতু বুড়োর কাছে যেও না খবরদার!
সর্বনেশে বৃদ্ধ সে ভাই যেও না তার বাড়ি-
কাতুকুতুর কুল্পি খেয়ে ছিঁড়বে পেটের নাড়ি
শিবঠাকুরের আপন দেশে ,
আইন কানুন সর্বনেশে!
কেউ যদি যায় পিছলে প'ড়ে,
প্যায়দা এসে পাক্ড়ে ধরে ,
কাজির কাছে হয় বিচার-
একুশ টাকা দন্ড তার।।
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:
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.
The Select Nonsense of Sukumar Ray. Translated by Sukanta Chaudhuri. New Delhi: OUP, 1987.
Abol Tabol: The Nonsense World of Sukumar Ray. Translated by Sampurna Chattarji. New Delhi: Puffin, 2004.
The Tenth Rasa: An Anthology of Indian Nonsense, edited by Michael Heyman, with Sumanyu Satpathy and Anushka Ravishankar. New Delhi: Penguin, 2007.