Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/394

 All phases of Bengal- life. 358 people. In Dhanapati and his rich kinsmen we have a picture of high life, with side-lights on the flourishing condition of Bengal when trade brought hoards of wealth to her people. In Lahana and Khullana,—two distinct types of women, we find the feelings of jealousy and envy which sometimes rend Hindu families in twain and also the great de- votion and fidelity which characterise the patient Hindu wife. When we come down from the higher ranks of the Hindu community to the lower, we find our hero Kalaketu and his wife Phullara, repre- senting all stages of poverty-stricken rustic life, but the manliness of Kalaketu and the chaste-woman- hood of Phullara exemplify the noble qualities which, with all their ignorance and superstition, characterise the masses of Bengal. The poet was a lover of village-life and did not fail to observe the good traits in the characters of humble rustic folk, whom he vindicates in his vivid sketches. The knaves Bharu Datta and Murari Gil are true types andthe maid servants of the class of Durvala who cheat their masters of money, while entrusted with marketting and poison the hearts of the in- mates of the house against one another, are not even now difficult to find. Ina word, all phases of Bengali life in the 16th century from the king of Kalinga with his autocratic temper to Vulanmandal anxious for the safety of his fellow Rayats, are picturesquely represented. We find in the poem, the crystal columns of the wealthy man’s mansion, side by side with the hut of the poor-folk having a single ricinus post and roofed with palm leaves, the hole made in the earth to ferment the rice- water, andthe abundance of gold plate at the BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap, ০০