sempozyum_bildiri_kitabi

The available biographical tools brought out by big companies are formal and structured; as a
result they lose the touch of heart. Since the very essence of little magazines lies in rather frank and
honest spontaneous writings‐ the remembrances and biographical writings published in little
magazines are not confined to or dictated by strict norms or patterns. Many contributions came to
light as a result of constant effort from the Editors or their good vibes wıth the writers. Generally,
these magazines have an informal close circle of writers‐editors‐intellectuals. There is the genuine
effort to discover unpublished or unrecorded writings‐ the hidden treasures. Many times they reprint
or republish old documents which are not otherwise available.
The present study helped us to record women’s contributions and initıatives in this particular
genre of writing and also to know women’s role as biographers.
Auto/biographical writings by Bengali women
There is a rich heritage of autobiographical literature produced by Bengali women. Many of these
writings were published first in magazines, too. Significantly, the first printed full‐fledged
autobiography in Bengali ‘Aamar Jeebon’ was written by an Octogenarian common woman named
Rasasudari Dasi. After Rasasundari Dasi, we get a steady stream of writings in this genre by women
coming from a large variety of backgrounds and professions‐ house wives, mothers, members of
royal families, actors, singers, writers, prostitutes, political activists who dared to tell their stories.
There were some real‐life based fictional autobiographies, too, e.g., Foyezunnesa Choudhurani’s
‘Roopjalal’.
The diaries or journals maintained by women have also added a special dimension to
autobiographical literature. Some of the old writings have been discovered very recently and printed
or reprinted in magazines. The writings are full of interesting experiences – as diverse as the
personalities themselves. The women who went abroad also recorded their experiences, for
instance, ‘Bangamahilar Japan Jatra’ by Hariprabha Takedar. Apart from their emotional value, this
kind of writings is also important historical document. The memoirs may or may not include
autobiographical elements. But in case of Bengali women writers, the intense personal feelings and
emotions in the memoirs cannot be missed. Bengali women somehow have not been attracted to
the art of writing authentic biographies. A Yogesh Chandra Bagal or Brajendranath Bandyopadhyay is
not found among contemporary women. Chitra Dev or Geeta Chattopadhyay and a few others have
made some sincere efforts, but more contributions from women are awaited.
Content Analysis: scope and methodology
For the purpose of content analysis, some representative magazines from late 19th c. up to the
latest publications of 21st c. have been chosen. The geographical coverage is West Bengal, India.
Although the title suggests the paper is about memoirs and biographies of women, it included
autobiographies also, since these are basically memoirs and self‐biographies.
As representative samples, from amongst the very reputed, most available and long‐surviving
magazınes, 10 have been selected ın such a way that a systematic, continuous study over different
time‐periods is possible. In addition to these, 25 Special issues and/or Supplements on the themes
relevant to the study have been selected from 17 magazines. The list of selected magazines is given
in Annexure I.
In total, 511 issues have been browsed ‐ 187 relevant items were found out of 7665 pieces of
writings. The texts from the selected magazines have been categoriesed and organised following a
codification scheme, specially devised for this analysis (Annexure‐II) and then have been critically
examined. It was not intended to limit the findings to dry quantification‐ rather it has been a
sympathetic attempt to fınd out the emotional and intellectual conents of writings, variety and
richness of style and form, and discover the trends, ıf any.
Findings of the analysis: discovery of new truths and verification of the old.