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Department of Folklore

Dr. Debolina Debnath

Dr. Debolina Debnath

Head of the Department
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The Department of Folklore under the Faculty of Arts and Commerce was setup in the year 1990 as a subject of interdisciplinary nature. Folklore studies in this university deserve special attention in Indian context in general and West Bengal in particular. The Department of Folklore is an important centre of folklore research in West Bengal as well as in India. We also look forward to present multidimensional approach of our cultural heritage. The Department hosted a series of seminars, lectures to promote the folkloristic discourses. These lectures have provided ample scope for mutual interaction among the experts in the subject and also between the scholars and students. The Department held fieldwork every year to be acquainted with the life and tradition, culture of the rural people and their overall development process in the context of globalization. This Department opened its doors for the public service through offering M.A, Ph.D. and D.Litt. courses from the academic year 1990-1991 and become fully functional with all its aspects. The Department of Folklore is established with the prime objective of promoting the studies in the field of folklore and tribal lore and to conduct research on Tradition, Culture, Folklore and Tribal Lore of Bengal as well as in India. It is also interested in documenting and preserving the rich tradition of folklore and indigenous knowledge and an overall documentation of folk-life & folklore. The Department propagates the study of folkloristics through comparative and cross-cultural methodology with text and contextual understanding and consequently exploring the idea of unity in diversity in Indian situation as well as promoting deep understanding at global level. The Folklore Master’s (M.A.) and M.Phil degree are interdisciplinary. These programs provide students with a strong foundation in Folklore and Tribal Lore while also allowing the flexibility for developing strengths in students’ areas of focus. Apart from these the Department of Folklore introduced One Semester (Six Months) Diploma Course in Folklore, Tourism and Community Development under RUSA Component 10 in the Year 2021. Folklore student’s work in various public and private agencies as educators, archivists, editors, arts and humanities consultants, museum curators, field investigators, researchers and more.

Programmes Offered

Programme Duration Intake Capacity Admission Criteria
M.A. in Folklore 2 Years (4 Semester) 35

*Honours Graduate in Language and literature / Social Science / Fine Arts.
M.Phil in Folklore Two Years (4 Semester) 10

**Post-Graduate Degree in Folklore and other subjects of Humanities, Social Science and Fine Arts
Ph.D. in Folklore 3-5 Years 8 (Professor)6 (Associate Professor) 4 (Assistant Professor)

As per University Ph.D. Regulation (PG Degree with NET/SET/ Eligibility Test)
D.Litt. in Folklore 3-5 Years -

Ph.D.
Certificate Course in Folklore, Tourism & Community Development 6 Months 35

Under Graduate in any subjects

Faculty Profile

(Alphabetical Order)
Ashimananda Gangopadhyay

Ashimananda Gangopadhyay

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Kakali Dhara Mandal

Kakali Dhara Mandal

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Prof. Kakali Dhara Mandal

Prof. Kakali Dhara Mandal

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Sujay Kumar Mandal

Sujay Kumar Mandal

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Tapan Kumar Biswas

Tapan Kumar Biswas

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Debolina Debnath

Debolina Debnath

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Department Details

Theory & Method of Folkloristics, Comparative Folklore, Applied Folklore, Folk Musicology, Folkarts & crafts, Children folklore, Folk performing arts, Traditional knowledge, Folk literature, Folk food, Tribal Lore, Folk Science & Technology, Folklore & Tourism etc.

The Department encourages and promotes research by individual scholars working for the doctoral degree on topics having bearing on the academic areas covered by the teaching. Since the inception of the Department already total number of 111 (One Hundred & Eleven) scholars awarded Ph.D. degree for their research work. Total number of 25 (Twenty Five) Ph.D. projects and 14 (Fourteen) M.Phil projects are also in progress. Interdisciplinary research projects are entertained whenever and wherever possible.

Smart Class Room

The Department functions from its own building with three class rooms including one smart class room. It has a seminar hall with projection facilities and audio-visual teaching aids and an archival centre.

Folklore Museum Since the inception of the Department has been trying to develop one folklore museum cum archive, which has now been started in a small room and a good number of items of cultural importance have been collected, documented and displayed. Basically, the department gives emphasis to collect materials which are directly connected with folklife. The mentioned department has collected various masks which are used in folk and tribal dances. The department of Folklore is able to collect various silver ornaments, used by the folks, different specimens of Terracotta, scroll paintings of Midnapore, fishing nets and other materials, Suri bowl of Birbhum, wooden dolls, varied folk tools, Naksi kantha, Kalighat paintings, specimens of conch-shell, craft, Dokra and others, rare collection of folk deities etc. In fact, our museum cum archive is the only museum in the University which is visited by scholars, researchers, students for academic purposes. Already this museum cum archive has been found mention in a number of books. This museum has also been appreciated by Ms. Helen G La Fave, US Consul General, Kolkata.

Audio-Visual Unit cum Archive

The Audio-Visual Complex of the department has Slide Projector, Overhead Projector, VCR, TV, Camera (Still Photo), different Audio Systems and other equipment used for audio-visual documentation and teaching.

Library Facilities 

A departmental library with a specialized collection of books and journals, some of them procured from different sources as gifts, has been established mainly for the benefit of the students, research scholars and the faculty members of the department. The library comprises 2000 books, periodicals and journals on various aspects of Folkloristics and traditional culture.

The Department staffs, either independently or in collaboration with other departments or agencies undertake minor and major research projects. Three of our faculty members have completed Minor Research Projects from UGC during the X Plan Period.  Another research project with collaboration of the department of Textile, Govt. of India has also been completed. The department also carries on, an ongoing basis; such research-oriented works as field surveys, field study, collection and documentation of materials related to the folklore as well as traditional genres with cultural and aesthetic significance.

Minor Research Project Title & Principal Investigator Funding Agency Duration of the Project Total Money in Rs. Sanctioned
“Survey on Scroll Painting, Kalighat Painting and Suri-bowl”

Prof B.K. Chakraborty (Completed)

  

Dept. of Textile.

Govt. of India

  

One month

  

90000.00
“Conch-shell Craft of West Bengal”

Dr. Sujay Kumar Mandal (Completed)

  

UGC

  

2 Years

  

25000.00
“Agricultural Science as revealed in our Agricultural Proverbs”

Dr. Kakali Dhara Mandal (Completed)

  

UGC

  

2 Years

  

20000.00
“Astak: Ekti Bilioman Lokoangik”

Dr. Tapan Kumar Biswas (Completed)

 UGC 1 Year 10000.00

Total no. of Five (05) candidates awarded D.Litt. Degree, One Hundred & Eleven (111) Research Scholars awarded Ph.D. Degree and Forty (40) candidates awarded M. Phil Degree during the period of 1990-2020 (April).

  • Communication, Media and Folkloristics – Two-day Seminar in collaboration with C.C.C.A (February 8-9, 1991)
  • One–day Workshop on Psychological Support for Covid Pandemic Condition (Covid Helper’s Skill’s for Student Community) was organized by the Department of Folklore, University of Kalyani in collaboration with Mahatma Gandhi National Council for Rural Education (MGNCRE), Ministry of Education, Government of India on May 29, 2021 through online mode.
  • A campaign on Tree Plantation programme was organized by the Department of Folklore, University of Kalyani in collaboration with AMAR KALYANI (NGO), Kalyani in the premises of the Department of Folklore on June 26, 2021 

The Department of folklore is established with a well-planed academic infrastructure to offer a new exposure to the formal education System and to fulfill the social commitment through action-oriented plan and policy.

Besides offering regular courses, the Department intends to offer orientation and organize national and international seminar, workshop etc. on folklore and folklife. The Department of folklore is keen about the academic awareness in inter- provincial and global perspective and for this intends to establish collaboration among different scholars of India and the foreign Universities / Institutes to felicitate an exchange of views between the scholars in the field of Folkloristics and inter-disciplinary studies. The department intends to undertake exchange programmes at different levels for strengthening the discipline of folkloristics as well as for generating academic interaction and mutual understanding.