Abstract:
The Bengali folktale of Kironmala from the book (compilation) Thakurmar Jhuli (Grandmother’s
Bag of Tales) from Bengal (India) speaks of a story of a ‘homely and dutiful’, yet a
brave princess who battles all evil to save her two brothers and her kingdom- finally reuniting
with their long-lost father- the king. As the story has been transcribed and also adapted
across various audio-visual formats over the last hundred years, Kironmala speaks of changing
times within its patriarchal mould. This paper looks into the original folktale and its format
and how it has evolved over the years- incorporating changing roles of the female lead
character- Kironmala- finally rendering a break away from the stereotypical mould- which is
typical in representations across all other folktales from contemporary Bengal.
