Why “Folk Tales of Bihar” Matter Today!

If you travel, travel in company; if you sit down, look where you are going to sit; if you visit strangers, be on your guard!

-Oraon Proverb

My fondest memory of this book is reading its stories while going to bed. It meets one of the purposes for which it’s written, doesn’t it? The book has a lullaby effect, I think!

Title: Folk Tales of Bihar

Editor: P.C Roy Chaudhary

Publisher: Sahitya Akademi (first in 1968)

Genre: Short stories (Fable and Parable)

Price: 80/- (available on amazon)

Pages: 132

Reading Folk Tales of Bihar is like groping my childhood memory to discern whether the tales told by my Nani, Dadi, Bua, Masi, and sometimes my sister, align with the stories in the book. Of course, I was a kid then so most of the memories have been lost, nonetheless, while reading, I felt a sense of belonging, as if I heard it before.

This book collects seventy-eight short stories collected in two parts and extends to 132 pages including the foreword and introduction. The foreword written by Bir Chand Patel, who was once the Revenue Minister of Bihar, expresses the folk culture specific to Bihar. The rather long introduction by Chaudhary introduces his intent behind coming up with this book, the lament and the relevance of such a book in present times.

The book answers (not so scientifically) about the traditions, superstitions and cultures existing in Bihar through several folk stories. The only disclaimer is you shouldn’t try to find logic in the stories told otherwise, you’ll miss the joy of reading it. You’ll feel how innocent the stories are, and perfect for a kid to dive deep into the imagination. The animal-human-nature intervention is quite evident, which still forms the basis of life. Some of the stories are as short as half a page and many extend to a page or two and a few to four or five pages. Regional words have been provided with the closest translation (sometimes they are kept intact) to build familiarity with the tradition. Footnotes have been provided to interested readers if they want to know more about the tale.

Although centred on Bihar, I’ve a reason to believe that Folk tales are not bound to a region. Due to the oral tradition, it transgresses the geographical boundaries and is rendered in some other language while altering the cultural and social contexts. Hence, irrespective of the reason you belong to, you’ll find the stories relatable and intrinsic to your tradition.

I would say it’s a very futuristic vision of Chaudhary who did a painstaking task to collect the folk tales and traditions which are slowly getting lost due to the advent of modernity and technology. The tales can be recited to the children to inculcate imagination skills in them and at the same time, keep them alive to pass it to the generations to come. Hence, I would advise everyone to keep a copy of it.

The only thing I would like to point out is to edit the book once more to get rid of the errors that have crept into the book inadvertently. Also, a children’s edition of the same book can be published with simplified language and illustrations.

©Shashank

P.S. I’ve read a part of the tales in this book at the famous Indian Coffee House, Kolkata. I’ll be posting the review of the place and my experience of reading this book there in my next post.