Kallol

 
Kallol () refers to one of the most influential literary movements in Bengali literature, which can be placed approximately between 1923 and 1935. The name "Kallol" of the "Kallol group" derives from a magazine of the same name (which translates as 'the sound of waves' in Bengali). "Kallol" was the main mouthpiece for a group of young writers starting their careers around that time including Premendra Mitra, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and Buddhadeb Basu. A number of other magazines that followed "Kallol" can also be placed as part of the general movement. These include "Uttara" (1925), "Pragati" (1926), "Kalikolom" (1926), and "Purbasha" (1932).
History.
In 1921, Gokulchandra Nag, Dineshranjan Das, Sunita Debi, and Manindralal Basu set up the "Four Arts Club" at Hazra Road in Kolkata to discuss and practice literature, painting, music, and drama. The four members published an anthology of short stories in 1922 named "Jhorer Dola" ("The Sway of the Storm").
The Four Arts Club did not last, but Dineshranjan Das and Gokulchandra Nag established a magazine and a literary circle in 1923, which they named "Kallol". The regular "adda", or literary discussion, would be held at Dineshranjan's house at Patuatola Lane, Kolkata.
Influence.
The "Kallol" circle was perhaps the first conscious literary movement to embrace modernism in Bengali literature. However, the general literary atmosphere was not entirely receptive of such a radical break from the critically and popularly acclaimed humanism of Tagore. Another major literary establishment of the day, "Shanibarer Chithi," began a famous literary feud with the young "Kallol" members which lasted for years. Tagore himself joined the debate and published an essay in "Kallol" where he mentioned that he appreciated the literary effort, but found that the demand for realistic literature was just "the flaunting of poverty" combined with the "unrestraint of lust". He described the literary squabbles of the day in "Shesher Kabita", where the protagonist Amit Ray is a modernist who abhors Tagore's humanism but espouses it later. The "Kallol" members, on the other hand, heavily influenced by Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, did not deny that they loathed an idealist's version of a "higher" individual. The discussions of the "Kallol" circle provided ideas for many of the progressive writers of the age.
Perhaps, one of the greatest achievements of the "Kallol" group was in establishing a new generation of writers and thinkers in Bengal. When writing for "Kallol", Kazi Nazrul Islam was only twenty-five, Premendra Mitra under twenty, and Buddhadeb Basu fifteen. Nazrul would establish a rebellious streak in Bengali poetry, Mitra, a Chekhovian grasp of the short story and Basu would inspire a generation of poets with his little magazine group "Kabita".