396 BENGALI LITERATURE This will indicate not only the uncertainty of author- ship which bears upon many of these songs but also it will probably demonstrate that the Gitarafna does not exhaust all the songs of this prolitie song-writer. Never- theless, published during his life time and directly under his authority and supervision, the Gitaratza must be taken as the original and the most authentic and reliable collection of Nidhu Babu’s songs. To many a modern reader Nidhu Babu is known only his name and reputation ; his tappas are very seldom read or sung and are often condemned without being read or sung. Writing only sixteen years after Nidhu Babu’s death, [svar Gupta ৯৪৮১: অনেকেই ‘fag নিধু" কহেন, কিন্ত নিধু শব্দটি কি, অর্থাং এই নিধু কি শীতের নাম, কি স্থরের নাম, কি রাগের নাম, কি মানুষের নাম, কি কি? তাহা জ্ঞাত নহেন। The established reputation of many a bygone songster has, no doubt, been swept away by capricious change of taste from their venerable basements ; but the chief ground for assigning Nidhu Babu’s works to obseurity and oblivion is said by unjust and ignorant eriticism to be _ its alleged immoral tendeney. Kailas Chandra Ghogs in his pamphlet on Bengali Literature (1885) mechanically echoed this opinion when he wrote ‘ 2é{a অধিকাংশ গীতই অশ্লীলতা ছুষ্ট” and Chandrasekhar Mukhopadhyay is not less severe or with SSita আকার জ্বর ছাড়ি লয়ে 4 AE FSF is given as Nidhu Babu’s; but it was composed by Ananda Narayan Ghos, author of Gitabali, as the &1৫%/৪ আনন্দের নিবেদন মন দিয়া জন Fa would clearly indicate and similarly in Baiigiya saigit ratnamala, the song headed fHdFS Hay aA and attributed to Nidhu Babu is to be found in Michael Madhnsidan’s Padmabati. In the Battald editior. Nidhu Babur Gitabali as well as in Anath Krsna Deb’s Bariger Kabita the ৪০৮৫ তোমার বিরহ সয়ে বাচি যদি দেখা হবে is assigned to Nidhu Babu but its author is Jagannath Praséd Basu Mallik and it is omitted in Gitaratna (See Pritigiti, p. 461).
