Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/776

 734 BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. [ Chap. were in the mouth of every one in Eastern Bengal, and even now, though about a century has passed since the publication of the poem, there is higher classes of that place who has not at least some songs from the book by heart. In a country where a lyrical element predominates, and where devotional feelings are preferred to action, songs are bound to occupy the same place in the popular estimation, as does drama in other countries where work and not sentiment is the motto. We cannot look for a Garrick here. A Krisha Kamala or a Govinda Adhikari will better fulfil the natural cravings of the soul that longs to hear of lofty sentiment and of the highest flights of love. In the preface to Vichitravilasa, a subsequent yatra poem by Krisna Kamala, the author writes about Svapnavilasa. *‘‘ The public probably liked the book; otherwise why should there be a sale of nearly 20,000 copies within so short a space of (1100 211 The sale of 20,000 copies of the book within a few weeks in Eastern Bengal, where a demand for printed books had not yet been created, was quite a phenomenon at that time, and showed the wonderful popularity which the poem had attained. The best vatra by Krishna Kamala, however, was his Rai Unmadini which appeared shortly after the Svapnavilasa. After this poem hadseen the light, aya গ্রায় বিংশতি সহম্স পুস্তক স্বল্প দিনের মধ্যে নিঃশেষিত হওয়ার সম্ভাবনা কি ?"
 * | | | scarcely any old man or woman amongst the
 * cayy By ears ataracaa শ্লীতি সাধিত হইয়াছে,