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{{Short description|Indian Dalit poet and feminist}}

'''Kalyani Thakur Charal''' (born 1965) is a Dalit feminist poet from India writing in the [[Bengali language|Bengali]] language. Charal was born in [[Bagula]], [[Nadia district|Nadia]] District, [[West Bengal]], within the [[Matua Mahasangha|Matua]] community.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Ghose|first=Amita|title=Why Bengali Dalit feminist poet and writer Kalyani Thakur added Charal (for Chandal) to her name|url=https://scroll.in/article/872273/why-bengali-dalit-feminist-poet-and-writer-kalyani-thakur-added-charal-for-chandal-to-her-name|access-date=2020-12-26|website=Scroll.in|language=en-US}}</ref>

Charal cites her parents as an early influence in her interest in feminism, describing an incident in which her father intervened to prevent a caeseof domestic abuse in their village, as well as her mother's commitment to ensuring all her children were given an equal opportunity to gain an education.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Sarangi|first1=Jaydeep|last2=Pal|first2=Bidisha|date=2020-08-02|title=Bangla Dalit Womanist Speaks: Interview with Bengali Dalit Writer Kalyani Thakur Charal|url=https://journals.flinders.edu.au/index.php/wic/article/view/78|journal=Writers in Conversation|language=en|volume=7|issue=2|doi=10.22356/wic.v7i2.78|issn=2203-4293|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Her father worked as a security guard, but also took employment as a farmhand and woodcutter.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Through the ceiling of silences|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/dalit-women-literature-through-the-ceiling-of-silences/cid/1764097|access-date=2020-12-26|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref> She adopted the name 'Charal', signifying her membership in the marginalised Matua community, after facing discrimination on the grounds of caste for it.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> She completed a bachelor's degree in Commerce and began working as a clerk in the Indian Railways after qualifying through an exam, later resigning after experience discrimination and harassment based on caste.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=They are using Dalit votes for selfish ends|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/people/they-are-using-dalit-votes-for-selfish-ends/cid/1801105|access-date=2020-12-26|website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref>

Charal has published four volumes of poetry: ''Dhorlei Juddho Sunischit'', ''Je Meye Adhar Gone'', ''Chandalinir Kabita'', and ''Chandalini Bhone''. In addition to these, she has published a volume of critical essays titled ''Chandalinir Bibriti,'' and a collection of short stories, and an autobiography, ''Ami Keno Charal Likhi'' (Why I Write Charal),.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kalyani Thakur Charal|url=https://www.monash.edu/arts/monash-indigenous-studies/literary-commons/literary-commons-participants/kalyani-thakur-charal|access-date=2020-12-26|website=Monash Indigenous Studies Centre|language=en}}</ref> Her autobiography, as well as her essay and poetry collections titled 'Chandalini' (tr: 'the [[Untouchability|untouchable]] woman') are widely popular, containing accounts of the discrimination that she faced for reasons of caste, while working in government service.<ref name=":0" /> In 2017 she won the Sparrow Literary Award for her autobiography.<ref name=":3" /> She edited the volume ''Dalit Lekhika: Women’s Writing from Bengal.''<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-09|title=Why Dalit Lekhika Is Women's Writing That Delivers A Punch In The Gut|url=https://www.womensweb.in/2020/12/dalit-lekhika-womens-writings-from-bengal-by-stree-samya-dec20wk2sr/|access-date=2020-12-26|website=Women's Web: For Women Who Do|language=en}}</ref> Her work has been received to critical acclaim, with one essay on Dalit women's writing from Bengal applauding her "strong and powerful voice".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ray|first=Panchali|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q2GlDwAAQBAJ&q=Kalyani+Thakur+Charal&pg=PT134|title=Women Speak Nation: Gender, Culture, and Politics|date=2019-07-24|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-000-50727-0|language=en}}</ref> Her adoption of the pen-name 'Charal' has also been praised for 'recovering space' for Dalit writers.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Banerjee|first1=Supurna|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6Tn3DwAAQBAJ&q=Kalyani+Thakur+Charal&pg=PA179|title=Caste and Gender in Contemporary India: Power, Privilege and Politics|last2=Ghosh|first2=Nandini|date=2018-09-17|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-429-78396-8|language=en}}</ref>

In 2003 Charal began publishing a multlingual magazine called ''Nir,'' which contained recordings of folklore, poetry, plays, and fiction, as well as non-fiction writing focusing on Dalit experiences. The magazine included contributions in Bengali as well as local languages and dialects including [[Santali language|Santali]], [[Kamtapuri language|Kamtapuri]], [[Rarhi dialect|Rarh]], and Dapno.<ref name=":1" /> The magazine continues to be in wide local circulation, and has provided a platform for people belonging to marginalised communities to record personal experiences.<ref name=":2" /> Charal is a member of the editorial board of Chaturtha Duniya, a Bengali publishing house that focuses on works by Dalit writers, and is also on the board of the Dalit Sahitya Sabha.<ref name=":3" /> In an interview, Charal cited Bengali poets and writers including Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Purnendu Patri, Binoy Majumder, and Rabindranath Tagore, as her early influences.<ref name=":1" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Charal, Kalyani Thakur}}

[[Category:Dalit feminists]]
[[Category:Dalit writers]]
[[Category:Bengali-language poets]]
[[Category:Bengali-language writers]]
[[Category:Writers from West Bengal]]
[[Category:People from Nadia district]]
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Kalyani Thakur Charal - Revision history