Volume 5 : Issue 2 (2018)

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AND INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

The term Children’s Literature is loaded with multiple nuances and to begin the unpeeling of these many layers calls for the deliberation on its range, types and availability in different literary traditions. As far as the literary history of Indian subcontinent (that necessarily includes the present day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) is concerned, the term has modern relevance to its antique status. To begin with its historical implications and its vividness in terms of scope demands the discussion of its region specific dimension and hence when one looks at it in the specific context of the Indian subcontinent, it is certainly improbable to undermine and overlook its rich traditions of folklore, myths, legends, and tall tales as the sacred fountain of traditional literature. The oral tradition of Children’s Literature goes back more than five thousand years, and the world’s oldest collection of stories for children, India’s Panchatantra, derives from this. In the case of India, though children are treated as the nucleus of family, literary scenario contradicts this pattern. The concept of Children’s Literature as a distinct literary category has its origin in the Occidental tradition and by the time it arrives in its Eastern counterpart, the functionality of its purpose and the modalities of its frame attain a maverick flavor.

Grenby, Matthew. Children’s Literature: A Critical Guide. 2nd Print Hanh, Daniel. The Oxford Companion to Children’s Literature. Oxford UP: 2017. Print. Khorana, Meena. The Indian Subcontinent in Literature for Children & Young Adults. Greenwood Press: 1991. Print. Reynolds, Kimberley. Children’s Literature: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP: 2011. Print