Generating a Readership: A Study of Rajbanshi Children’s Little Magazine Soyda

Abstract

My paper will do a detailed study on Soyda, a Rajbanshi Children’s little magazine. The first issue was released in March 2023, and there have been four issues since. Rajbanshis are an ethnic community, and they mostly hail from parts of West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Bangladesh, and Nepal. They speak the Rajbanshi language. Although this language is spoken by a comparatively large population, it is still in a very nascent state in its written form. However, this has not stopped the Rajbanshi people from creating literature. Rajbanshi writers have been engaged in writing poetry, short stories, dramas, and novels, and the last few years have seen a considerable increase in the production of Rajbanshi literature. Moreover, the interest in this corpus of literature has also increased. Little magazines have played a crucial role in generating this interest and at the same time, they have also ensured the circulation of these texts. Major Rajbanshi little magazines include Dagor, Chitolgang, Ujanbhui, and Puli. Soyda is an exception to the major little magazines because it is solely catered to children. As a language which is constantly under the fear of being erased, it becomes important to ensure that the knowledge of the language is sustained. By exploring the various aspects of Soyda including its contents, designs, and form, this paper will explore how this magazine tries to sustain the Rajbanshi language by catering to a new generation of Rajbanshi readers.