The Genre Changing Trends of Bengali Literature from Ancient Period to AI Era: An Overview

Journal of Research and Development Peer Reviewed International, Open Access Journal. ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-10(IV)| October2025 167 The Genre Changing Trends of Bengali Literature from Ancient Period to AI Era: An Overview Dr. Pijush Nandi Assistant Professor, Department of Bengali. Hojai Girls' College, Rabindranath Thakur Vishwavidyalaya, Hojai, Assam [email protected] Manuscript ID: JRD -2025-171041 ISSN: 2230-9578 Volume 17 Issue 10(IV) Pp. 167-169 October 2025 Submitted: 02 Oct. 2025 Revised: 18 Oct..2025 Accepted: 24 Oct. 2025 Published: 31 Oct. 2025 Abstract The Bengali literature is one of the most rich and vibrant literary practices in South Asia and has gone through a renaissance of changes in a period of more than one thousand years. Since the enigmatic poems of the chary pada poets to the artificiality of the digitally woven stories of the current age, the Bengali writing is characterized by the constant adaptation to the shifting social, political, and technological conditions. The subsequent paper examines the historical history of Bengali literature as an oral tradition since the ancient period, the medieval period of the devotional literature, the colonial and modern period, and the post-independence period leading to the present era of digital and artificial intelligence (AI). It brings into the spotlight the various transformations in literary form, theme, the way literature is read, and the identity of the author, which have been caused by print capitalism, nationalism, globalization, and digital innovation. The conclusion made in the study is that technology and AI reforms modes of creativity and dissemination, but the nature of Bengali literature their humanistic perspective, and cultural rootedness, is not entirely lost. KeywordsBengali, Literature, Old, Mediaeval, Modern, Technology, Artificial intelligence. Introduction The Bengali literature stands in a special and a strong position in the cultural and intellectual heritage of South Asia. Being one of the most popular Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali (or Bangla), has passed along the journey of history, evolving and changing along with the political and social processes in Bengal. Since the undeveloped oral sources in its primitive form, the modern prose and the in-fluid expressions of the digital era, Bengali writing has been constantly redefining its purpose and possibilities (Sen, 1992). This is the main goal of this paper, to follow this long path of change, to observe how Bengali literature passed through the path of orality and devotional literature to the digitally mediated and AI-induced form of creativity. The approach here is descriptive and analytical that incorporates historical evidence and critical observations and discussions on artificial intelligence and authorship today. Ancient Bengali Literature Medieval Bengali Literature. Initial Rudiments: Oral and Mystical Traditions. The earliest extant example of Bengali literature is the chary pada (10th -12th centuries), a collection of Buddhist mystical verses by siddhacharyas. Not only are these documents, in proto-Bengali, spiritual records, but linguistic landmarks as well. Their symbolic language and rural imagery help them to show that there is a strong connection between mystic reflection and mundane routine in ancient Bengal (Sen, 1992). The literary identity of the language was in place because the poets of the chary pada, who were usually wandering ascetics, bridged the gap between spiritual insight and folk imagination. Bhakti and Sufi Medieval Influence. The 14th -17th century period was characterized by devotional movement which revolutionized Bengali writing. The Mangal Kavyas such as Manasa Mangal and Chandi Mangal praised the local deities and captured the communal moral ideal of the rural community. Quick Response Code: Website: https://jrdrvb.org/ DOI: Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work noncommercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations ae licensed under the idential terms. Address for correspondence: Dr. Pijush Nandi, Assistant Professor, Department of Bengali. Hojai Girls' College, Rabindranath Thakur Vishwavidyalaya, Hojai, Assam How to cite this article: Dr. Pijush Nandi, (2025) The Genre Changing Trends of Bengali Literature from Ancient Period to AI Era: An Overview Journal Research & Development,17(10(IV)), 167-169 Original Article Journal of Research and Development Peer Reviewed International, Open Access Journal. ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-10(IV)| October2025 168 The Vaishnava Padavali, which was embellished by poets such as Vidyapati and Chandidas attained its emotional climax in the Chaitanya Charitamrita of Krishnadas Kaviraj wherein religious passion blended with the lyrical beauty (Chaudhuri, 1968). Simultaneously with the Hindu devotional tradition, Islamic puthi literature appeared, and Persian and Arabic motifs were adopted in the Bengali narration (Ahmed, 1981). These two traditions showed an excellent coexistence of cultures and faiths. Oral performance was the main focus, poetry and song were social activities, which were able to educate, inspire and bind communities together on a moral and emotional level. Colonial and Renaissance Period (18 th -19 th Century) The Birth of Modern Consciousness and The Arrival of Print. The era of colonialism was a great literary breakthrough. When the printing press came, English education and other philosophical influences came the shape and role of Bengali literature was transformed. Colleges like the Fort William College and the Seram pore Mission Press had critical roles of organizing prose and creating a new reading community (Mukherjee, 1995). The so-called Bengal Renaissance brought about critical sensibility over social reform, rationalism and national identity. Literature was no longer used as an object of amusement or prayer but of intellectual and moral enlightenment. Explorers of Modern Bengali Prose and Poetry. The essays and translations of Raja Rammohan Roy were the first steps to the modern prose, adding clarity and argumentation to the prose in Bengali. Michael Madhusudan Dutt did not adhere to the conventional measure and mythic naivety, and set a heroic contemporary idiom by Meghnad Badhe Kavya (1861). His writing was an indication of a new directiona statement that Bengali literature was open enough to receive some Western expression, to be open to native feeling. This was further enhanced by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay who incorporated in his novels Anandamath and Devi Chaudhurani nationalism with moral philosophy (Dasgupta, 1984). Here the first poetic expression of the idea of the Mother Nation, later to be the focus of Indian nationalism, was given. The literary peak of this century was in Rabindranath Tagore whose poetic and philosophic genius brought international fame to Bengali literature. Tagore in his poems, plays, and novels was able to reconcile the local and the universal, the traditional and the modern. He received a Nobel Prize in 1913 and this was not just an individual honour; it was also the confirmation of the worldwide spread of Bengali humanism. Contemporary and PostIndependence Bengali Literature (20 th Century). Verisimilarity and Psychological Naturalism. Following Tagore, the Bengali fiction began to experience a tremendous shift toward realism. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Manik Bandopadhyay, and Tarashankar Bandopadhyay were writers who had made a formidable attempt to delve into the inner world of the rural Bengal. In Putul Nacher Itikatha (1936) Manik had broken down the psychological and social aspects of poverty, and Hansuli Banker Upakatha by Tarashankar (1946) painted the plight of the marginalized communities in an appallingly realistic way (Ray, 1973). It was a period of further development of social realism-literature turned into a reflection of economic inequality and crisis of morals. Partition and Political Consciousness. The geography and emotion were torn apart by the Partition of Bengal in 1947. Authors such as Sunil Gangopadhyay, Samaresh Basu and Mahasweta Devi reacted to displacement trauma and identity seeking. The gender, class and political power intersected in Mahasweta Devi Hajar Churashir Ma (1974) and in her story, Draupadi (Spivak, 1988). At the same time, the Little Magazine Movement of the 1960s and 1970s created new avenues of the experimental voices. Under the impact of Marxist, existential and feminist thought, this era gave rise to a flood of avant-garde poetry and prose challenging social conformity and linguistic conventions Development of Feminist and Subaltern, Views. Since the 1970s, female authors like Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Suchitra Bhattacharya, and Tilottama Majumdar have started replacing the male experience with the female experience in Bengali fiction. Their writings preempted the themes of emotional labor, domestic alienation and the urge to have independence. Meanwhile, Dalit and indigenous writers have been coming out of the fringe, recovering oral practices and proving the canons to be flawed (Chatterjee, 2009). This expansion of vision gave new idioms of protest and self-expression to Bengali works. Modern and Digital Bengali Literature (21 st century) Online Reading and the New Reader. The advent of the internet took the Bengali literary culture to a totally new stage. The readership and authorship were transformed by the online magazines, e-books and social media groups like Bangla Lekhok Samaj. Authors who previously had difficulties making their works available to print publishers were now able to distribute it instantly among readers worldwide (Bhattacharya, 2017). Digital growth brought the days of the previous “Little Magazine Movement back to life online. Online literature fostered a participatory creativity, due to the interactive aspect of the literature via comments and discussions and instant feedback. There was also the diversity of the diasporic voices: authors residing in foreign countries tried bilingual or hybrid Bengali and the identity of the community as a global village. Challenges of the Digital Ecosystem. The digital boom however came in with complications of its own. Selfpublishing has occasionally led to uneven quality and cinched the distinction between literary innovation and content production due to the ease of self-publishing. The attention spans have been reduced and traditional publishers have the existential problems. Cases of plagiarism, copyright, and authenticity have become a more complicated case in this rapid digital market place. However, with the ease of access to online platforms, audiobooks and translation tools, the Bengali reading has never been more noticeable to the readers around the globe. Journal of Research and Development Peer Reviewed International, Open Access Journal. ISSN : 2230-9578 | Website: https://jrdrvb.org Volume-17, Issue-10(IV)| October2025 169 The AI Period in Bengali Literature. AI as a Creative Partner Artificial intelligence entering the literary world is, perhaps, the most radical change that has happened since the development of print. The AI-based systems, e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, or other large-language models, can write poetry, essays, and even stories in Bengali. They are applied intelligently and help writers with translation, editing, and conceptualization, increasing the range of creative experimentation (Chakraborty, 2023). The use of AI is also finding its use in scholarly studies. Digitization and analysis of old manuscripts, such as letters of Tagore and medieval manuscripts, are being accomplished using machine-learning methods of more sophisticated optical character recognition (OCR). These efforts are helping to conserve and rediscover Bengali literature (Das, 2022). authorship and Ethical Concerns. However, this change in technology raises serious ethics. When a text is created through the contribution of a machine, either in part or as a whole, who deserves to be mentioned as the author; the human prompter or the algorithmic composer? Is it possible to portray irony, pathos or spiritual knowledge by a machine? A number of researchers are sceptical, suggesting that AI can imitate the language structure, but not the experience and emotional nuances of living the life of a Bengali person, which makes Bengali literature have its soul (Roy, 2024). Nonetheless, projects by human thinking and machine intelligence are already transforming the creative production. The Bengali literature is defying the language and geographical boundaries because digital archives, AIassisted translations, and interactive storytelling platforms are making it possible. Comparative Discussion The history of the Bengali literature is remarkable in its adaptability when considered through the centuries. Since the esoteric ingenuity of the chary pada up to the algorithmic texts of the digital era, every era has its consciousness that prevails. On the thematic level, Bengali literature has shifted to the idea of collective spirituality to personal self-exploration and currently to a conversation with artificial consciousness. The same has been true of language itself: the archaic style of medieval poets, the supple form of the modernists, and then onwards to the accuracy-focused but inventive Bengali of the digital environment. The reader too has changed, a person in the group of people who listens to voices and now has become a silent reader and a communicative user in online forums. In all these changes, it is the humanistic spirit of Bengali literature that remains. With the change of technology, the literature of Bengal still remains to be powered by the power of lived human feelings including love, sorrow, protest and spiritual longing. The machines can help in composition but not in replacement of moral imagination that drives the human creativity. conclusion Tracing the history of Bengali literature the path of mystical oral tradition to the realities of the AI-era is evidence of how the tradition managed to recreate itself. Each era, ancient, colonial, modern, and digital, added fresh vigor to its themes and methods. Technology is not a threat that should be taken into account in the current age, but rather a partner. Writers, critics, and educators all have a challenge to connect with AI intelligently, preserve the authenticity and ethical richness of the Bengali creativity. Artificial intelligence can be not a competitor but an driver of cultural conservation and change, which is possible to achieve only in the case of sensitive handling. In such a way, the contemporary Bengali literature can be considered to be at the interesting intersection of tradition and digital imagination. The combination of machine ability and human reasoning has potentials that are beyond measure-but again, it is people who have to play a major role in influencing and driving the future of Bengali literature. References 1. Ahmed, A. (1981). Islam in Bengal: The literary and cultural context. Dhaka University Press. Bhattacharya, A. (2017). Bangla digital sahitya: Naba yug o naba madhyam. Kolkata: Ananda Publishers. Chakraborty, S. (2023). AI and Bengali literary creativity: Possibilities and challenges. 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