''Khirer Putul'' () is a children's

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...

written by

Abanindranath Tagore Abanindranath Tagore (Bengali language, Bengali: অবনীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 August 1871 – 5 December 1951) was an Indian painter who was the principal artist and creator of the Indian Society of Oriental Art in ...

in 1896. Khirer Putul is considered a masterpiece and landmark by writers in Bengali language children's literature. Khirer Putul is a simple and touching tale about the sugar doll, the fate of Duorani and a tricky and extraordinary monkey. Aadi Brahmosamaj press first published this book. Later on, it was translated into other languages. The story was adapted into a film of the same name by Indian writer and director

Purnendu Pattrea Purnendu Patri (often anglicised as Purnendu Pattrea; 2 February 1931 – 19 March 1997) was an Indian poet, writer, editor, artist, illustrator, and film director. He was best known for his poems and stories, particularly for his poetry colle ...

in 1976. ''Khirer Putul'', an Indian television soap opera based on the novel aired on

Zee Bangla Zee Bangla is an Indian Bengali-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. History The channel was launched on 15 September 1999 as ''Alpha TV Bangla'', along with Alpha TV Marathi, Alpha ...

in 2020. It was also adapted into a play by the Indian theatre group

Nandikar Nandikar () is a theatre group in India. The group has its headquarters in Kolkata in the state of West Bengal, but works around the world. History Nandikar's story begins on 29 June 1960 at maternal uncle's house of Asit Bandopadhyay at B K Pal ...

in 2017, with Anindita Chakraborty as its director.

Plot

The king of Deepnagar had two queens, Suo

Rani ''Rani'' () is a female title, equivalent to queen, for royal or princely rulers in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It translates to 'queen' in English. It is also a Sanskrit Hindu feminine given name. The term applies equally to a ...

and Duo Rani. The king gave Suo Rani 7 palaces, 700 female slaves, best ornaments from 7 kingdoms, 7 gardens, 7 chariots. He neglected Duo Rani and gave her a broken home, a deaf and dumb maid, torn clothes and a dirty bed.

Translations

The work has been translated into several languages: *

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

– ''La poupée de fromage''. *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

– ''Ostdockan''. *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

– ''The Make-Believe Prince''; ''Caramel Doll''.

Development

Abanindranath who was

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

's nephew found this story in Rabindranath's wife

Mrinalini Devi Mrinalini Devi ( born Bhabatarini Roy Choudhury; 1 March 1874 – 23 November 1902) was a translator and the wife of Nobel laureate poet, philosopher, author and musician Rabindranath Tagore. She was from the Jessore district, where her fathe ...

's diary after her death. The novel is based on the story written in her diary. The illustrations were done by Abanindranath Tagore.

Analysis

According to scholar Sanjay Sircar, the tale can be classified in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index as tale type ATU 459, "The Make-Believe Son (Daughter)", a tale type "widespread throughout

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

and other Asian areas, but never found in Europe". Similarly, German scholar listed four Iranian variants of the same type, which he named ''Der Prinz verliebt sich in eine Puppe'' ("The Prince falls in love with a Doll").Marzolph, Ulrich.
Typologie des persischen Volksmärchens
'. Beirut: Orient-Inst. der Deutschen Morgenländischen Ges.; Wiesbaden: Steiner n Komm. 1984. pp. 93-94.

References

External links