Vol. 5 No. 8 (2008): Children’s oral literature and modern mass media in India with special reference to gradual transformation in West Bengal - By Lopamudra Maitra

Literature for children in India draws heavily on mythological themes. This literature has been translated into various forms with the advancement of mass media in India. As digital technology takes over, stories in particular collections of children’s stories from Bengal, like the 100-years-old Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother’s Bag of Tales) are not exempt from change. Through the changes in time and modes of expression and the changes through transcribing and digitisation, however, one distinct quality makes these stories resemble their ancestors from the days of oral tradition - they continue the same process of learning and training of the younger generation.