Written in an eminently readable style this work of a devoted scholar traces the history of human fertility cults and rituals of Bengal from the earliest times to the present day. Mainly based on folklore materials and the data collected from field investigation, the author makes this study authentic, systematic and interesting. In this study many parallel rites, ceremonies and cults of other parts of India and of the world have been quoted for comparative Study and analysis. This new approach has not been followed earlier by any explorer of the popular religious cults of Bengal, nay India. This is a careful and well-documented study of a little-known topic of absorbing interest and therefore, an outstanding contribution to our knowledge. This work will be useful to the persons interested in social sciences especially of Folklore study.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR P.K. Maity
Himself well-grounded in History and trained up in research under the able guidance of late Prof. A. L. Basham, P. K. Maity, M.A., Ph.D. (London) is a well-known name in scholarly world for his contributions to different branches of Socio-Religio-Cultural History of Bengal. He has to his credit a number of research papers. He also contributed papers in many collected works namely Tree Symbol Worship in India (1965), A Guide to Field Study (1965), Women in Indian Folklore (1969), The Patas and the Patuas of Bengal (1973), Indological Studies (1987), Studies in Orientology (1988) etc. His publications include: Historical Studies in the Cult of the Goddess Manasa-A Socio-Cultural Study (1966), The Goddess Bargabhima-A Study (1971), Popular Cults, Legends and Stories in Ancient Bengal (1971), Biyalliser Tamluk - O - Tamralipta Jatiya Sarkar (1981), Tamralipta-Tamluker Samaj-O-Sanskriti (1987), Banglar Loka Dharma-O-Utsav Parichiti (1988), Folk Rituals of Eastern India (1988) and Some Aspects of Indian Culture (1988). He enjoyed U.G.C. research grant four times to carry out different research projects. He has also completed two other works: Social History of Mediaeval Bengal (1575-1765) and The Pir Cult of Bengal-An Aspect of Hindu-Muslim Religion, financed by U.G.C.
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