Tuntunir Golpo

Singer Srikanta Acharya reads from Upendra Kishore Roychowdhury's Tuntunir Golpo

Srikanto Acharya Productions brings to you a bunch of stories from Upednra Kishore Roychowdhyry's classic 'Tuntunir Boi' read by singer Srikanta Acharya. The book 'Tuntunir Golpo' was first published in 1910. Dwelling around the tales of a 'Tuntuni' or a Tailor bird and other animals and human beings, 'Tuntunir Boi' is one of the finest representatives of Children's literature ever written in the Bengali language. Instances of talking birds and animals abound in our folk lores. Upendra Kishore culled out selectively from these oral tales, added some elements and created an end-product that was uniquely his.

The Tuntuni Stories revolve around the theme that the false and empty pride and negligence often seen among the mighty and the powerful, ultimately succumb to the honesty and sincerity of the small and the marginal. The other theme that reverberates through the stories is the use of intelligence. It makes tiny birds and insects triumph over powerful and mighty Kings. And then, we have humor and satire that appeal equally to the child and the sensitive adult.

Before Upendrakishore, children's literature in Bangla was replete with tales of Kings, Queens, ghosts and the supernatural. With him, came the animals, birds, insects, other elements of nature and protagonists from marginalized sections of the human society ('Jola,', 'Ukune Buri,'). Here humans and animals interact in a social space and exchange emotions. Upendrakishore, therefore, was the first to connect children to nature and reality in his ‘fairy tales.’

Our ancestors realized long ago that the world does not belong to humans only, Our folk tales, therefore, are filled with tales of birds, insects and animals inhabiting this space equally with humans. This is a truth we have now almost forgotten. And hence , the relevance of 'Tuntunir Boi,' in this day and age...as much for the thinking and sensitive adult as for the child.

In this app Srikanto Acharya reads five stories from 'Tuntunir Golpo,' adapting the story-telling style of the Kathak who emotes all characters through one voice. Although known primarily as a singer, Srikanto has always nurtured a parallel passion as a voice actor and this production ushers in the beginning of many such in days to come. The story telling is accompanied by some illustrations in the style of Upendrakishore by artiste Mayukh Chatterjee. Debangshu Mukherjee has assisted with the research. Technical support has been provided by AQB Solutions Private Limited. Concept, visualization, co-ordination and production is by Dr. Arna Seal.