KABIWALAS 35] But Rasu Nrsimha, Haru Thakur, Nitai Bairagi and Ram Basu (we hear little of Bhabani Banik ' the fame of his disciple, Ram Basu, having over- aoe ৭ shadowed his own re utation), who were the great champions of this generation of Kabi-poetry, were not mere versifiers and their productions were not wholly destitute of poetic merit. Of these Rasu and Nrsitha come earliest in chronology. The mysterious double personality of Rasu and Nrsiiiha the two brothers who lived and worked together, is a fascinating figure of this group of 5 Kabiwalas. They were so united in 1809 ?) their work, which bear their dhantta in joint names that it is difficult and inequitable to separate them. It has been plausibly premised *? that one of them was the poet, the other
Mayara who was a disciple of Haru Thakni, ‘bid p. 148. See also
Anath Krsna Deb, Batiger Kabita, pp. 317-3825 ; Bharati, loc. cit. ete.
‘ Of Bhabéni Banik who lived somewhere in Bagbazar, Calcutta,
and had some reputation as a Kabiwalain his time, we practically
know nothing except what I%var Gupta tells us in the Sambad
Prabhakar, Pous, 1261. This is what he says ভবানে বেশে
ও নীলুঠাকুর cot ময়র! প্রভৃতি প্রভৃতি প্রথমে হরুঠাকুরের দলে জিল,
fas: পরে দোহার অর্থাৎ গাঁয়কের পদে নিযুক্ত হন। এইরূপে কিছু দিন
গত করিয়া সকলে ভিন্ন ভিন্ন রূপেন্বন্থ নামে দল স্থাপন করিলেন। তৎকালে
হরু সকলকেই গীত ও সুর প্রদান করিতেন। অতি অল্প দিবস পরেই
ভবানে বেণে রামজির অনুগত হইয়া তাহারই নিকট গীত লইতে আরম্ভ করিল,
সর্বশেষে রামবন্থর আশ্রিত হইয়! সমূহ হ্ৃখ্যাতি সংগ্রহ করিল। In the
anthology of Bengali love-songs eutitled Pritigiti (ed. Abina$ Chandra
Ghos), three or four songs are attributed to Bhabani Banik at pp. 612,
665, 809, 878-79. These songs however, although sung by Bhabdani
Banik in his party, are not of his own composition but have been
attributed to Rim Basu or Haru Thakur in all other collections or
anthologies. (See Prachin-Kabi-samgraha, pp. 18-20, 30, 60,80). Of
Bhabani'’s own composition, nothing has survived.
2 Nabyabharat, 1311, p. 647.
