Volume-I, Issue-III, March 2025
Volume-I, Issue-III, January, 2025 |
বাঙালির হিমালয়-প্রবজ্যা: ভারতাত্মার
সন্ধান (নির্বাচিত ভ্রমণকাহিনি অবলম্বনে)
সুস্মিতা দে, অতিথি অধ্যাপক, সংস্কৃত
কলেজ এবং বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ,
ভারত |
Received: 15.01.2025 | Accepted: 25.01.2025 | Published Online: 30.01.2025 | Page No: 851-858 |
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.1.issue.03W.076 | |||
Bengalis' Himalayan Pilgrimage: In Search of the Soul of India (Based
on Selected Travel Narratives)
Susmita Dey, Guest Lecturer of Sanskrit College & University, West
Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
Bengalis are a travel-loving
people, and Bengali literature reflects this passion. From ancient to medieval
and modern periods, travel literature in Bengali has left its mark. This
travel, however, is not merely driven by the urge for self-satisfaction; it
extends further to embrace the distant with an aesthetic fondness. It
represents a journey from the small to the expansive, an embrace of the greater
world. This personal consciousness, transformed into a collective sentiment, is
vividly expressed in Bengali travel literature.
Since the dawn of civilization,
the Himalayas have been deeply intertwined with our existence, not just for
spiritual reasons but also for the grandeur of their natural beauty. The
Himalayas have become synonymous with the Indian soul, woven into Indian philosophy,
literature, and culture. References to the Himalayas can be found in works like
the Mahabharata, Kumarasambhavam, and Meghadutam. Situated in the northern part
of India, the Himalayas form the backbone of numerous sacred sites, rivers, and
other mountain ranges. For instance, in Kedarkhand, the Himalayas are divided
into five distinct sections, which are discussed in greater detail elsewhere.
Bengali travellers have
endeavoured to comprehend the existence of the Himalayas through their own
experiences. Notable figures such as Jaladhar Sen, Umaprasad Mukhopadhyay, and
Probodh Kumar Sanyal have contributed significantly to this tradition. However,
these adventurers did not seek to envision an abstract divine realm or attain
metaphysical realization of the infinite cosmos. Instead, their journeys were
fuelled by an unspoken, sublime longing, a euphoric thirst for the majestic,
whose true source is known only to the Himalayas themselves. | ||
Keyword :
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