406 BENGALI LITERATURE not meant to be read with tone and feeling but really demand to be sung. And what has been said with regard to the musical quality of the songs of the Kabiwalas apply with greater force to tappa-writers who were primarily musicians. Of these later tappa-wniters, Sridhar Kathak stands next to Nidhu Babu in popularity, Sridhar Kathak. poetic merit and probably in chrono- logy. Informations about his life and character are uncertain, indefinite and mostly un- realiable. He was born in the village of Bansbedia, Hughhi, probably in 1816 (1223 B.S.). His father was Pundit Ratankrsna Siromani and his grandfather was the famous kathak Lalehand Bidyabhusan. Sridhar himself was a kathak of considerable power having learnt the art from Kalicharan Bhattacharyya of Berhampore but from his youth he was attached by natural proclivi- ties to Aabi and pamehali parties. The songs which are now attributed to Sridhar are, however, all of the tappa type and for these he is justly cele- Bien Se eae brated. Unfortunately the rival repu- Nidhu Babu. tation Kamnoidhi has created much confusion and led to the general attribution of many of Sridhar’s songs to Ramnidhi and it is almost impossible to-day to disentangle satisfactorily this question of disputed authorship, The famous song ভালবাসিবে বলে ভালবাসিনে। আমার স্বভাব এই তোমা বই আর জানিনে ॥ বিধুমুখে মধুর হাসি দেখতে বড় ভালবাসি তাই শুধু দেখিতে আসি দেখা দিতে আসিনে ॥ is popularly assigned to Nidhu Babu—for none but Nidhu Babu was supposed capable of producing such a beautiful
