ARTICLE

MADE FOR EACH OTHER

AMIT GANGULY*

ur country is blessed with a colourful blend of am not going further back in time since I have rather communities that we boast of. A visitor from any limited exposure to them. That is precisely one of the Oother part of the globe is easily and invariably reasons that in ‘shuddha’ Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi, taken aback at the variety of cultures, languages, food- Oriya, Assamese etc., we find many common words. But habits, physical features, history and geography of such a the style underwent gradual change with Tagore and Sarat huge conglomerate of communities tied under one national babu , reflecting a kind of tilt towards modernity , thus constitution for decades. Enthralling and glorious! banking itself more on the easily intelligible versions and common dialogues. This was carried forward for decades, But is that all ? Are we concerned about the extent by a large number of litterateures , who were novelists of interactions and exchanges between them ? Or are we and poets of repute in their own might, thus raising the relieved enough that each one of these communities live popularity bar amidst the common readers. Finally, today happily by themselves, without interfering into each other the language has almost been transformed into a kind of ? I have a feeling that the latter is true. Unfortunately , we commonplace mix of vocabularies, that conspicuously but may not have analysed in-depth, what could be gained cleverly rests on the sublime form of the good Bangla as by making in-roads to each other, not to exploit or ridicule well as a part of the raw street language, may be to provide but to enrich and flourish. a ubiquitous touch of ‘realism’. .Nevertheless, the fact Incidentally and interestingly today, the spate of inter- remains that any good form of literature, for it’s intrinsic state marriages in every city or even in small towns and value, has always demanded attention, nationally and villages( whether they go punished or rewarded!) , besides sometimes even internationally, whether it is Tagore’s the inter-caste and inter-religion and inter-national, have Gitanjali, Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Shei Shomoi, Saratbabu’s unmistakably opened our eyes wide enough to the Devdas or Mahashweta Devi’s Hazaar Churashir Maa. undeniable realization that such inter-relationships have Whether people flocked to theatre or cinema halls to watch come to stay, community ‘divides’ may soon be history. the film-version of Tagore’s Kabuliwalla through the eyes In such a situation, should’nt we do our best, as the so- of Bimal Roy or Bankim’s Anandamath through the called intellectual class, to harness the power of Language stirring patriotism ignited by Hemant-Lata’s Vande Mataram in our literatures, study the impacts if any in the past , is immaterial; the point of discussion is how a work of and subsequently recommend how can that influence be art(in the present context :literature) can draw hordes of enhanced and gainfully utilized for the common masses ? admirers, provided the masses can relate to it. The medium The Bengali language , like many other major of language then becomes irrelevant, people can always languages in India, having largely been derived from dive for the translated versions. Sanskrit, has been found to be relying more on the use of We have also witnessed the local influence on Bengali Sanskrit –oriented terms in early literatures, starting with literature : for example in the writings of Subodh Ghosh, Bankimchandra, in most of the novels and short stories.I Bonoful, Satinath Bhaduri, Bimal Kar and such others, the local terms, scenes and societies of small towns in Bengal- Bihar border like Purnea, Hazaribagh, Koderma, Palamou, * Ministry of Steel Chair Professor NIT, Durgapur, e-mail : Chaibasa, Maithon, Giridih, etc., are obvious. Influence of [email protected]

VOL. 81, NOS. 5–6 131 Jhargram, Ghatsila on Bibhuti Bhushan’s immortal novels Bengali babu got a touch of Marathi folk tune, even if or the jungles of MP-Rajasthan belt on Buddhadeb Guha’s subconsciously. Many of us here are well aware of Tagore’s award-winning novel are distinct, even if discrete. Thus a romantic melodies like Shedin Dujone sung in Hindi film Mumbai-based Bengali novelist today may reflect his by Suraiya as Naina Diwaane in early fifties, to Hey Bombaiya DNA in his writings. But unfortunately, these Khhoniker Atithi by Talat for Dev Anand’s Taxi Driver as trends remain restricted to those who read Bengali, not the Jaayen Toh Jaayen Kahaan, down upto Tomaar Holo Shuru neighbouring communities, till the product is universally in the seventies sung by Kishore for Bollywood as Chhukar appealing, urging translation. It reminds me of the flavor Mere Manko and the list goes on. Only sad part is that of Shimla hills in Ruskin Bond’s English novels that most the all-India audience could enjoy the flavor of his tune Indians miss because of non-translation! but missed out on the priceless verse or lyrics. That is what I indicated earlier that language learning is a little Thus , if the power of the mighty pen could help different ball game, even if one gets the touch. entry of a Bengali novel into the Marathi or Telugu Nevertheless, Bengal’s influence kept penetrating unabated drawing room, because of its sheer popularity and human into the post-independence Indian music scene, with oldies appeal, the concerned family members might even pick like Juthika Roy, Kamala Jharia coming out poignantly with up a few additional poetry books in Bengali desperate Hindi Sugam Sangeets, to Pankaj, Kananbala, Pahari Sanyal though they might be for the sought-after translation. In inflaming the New Theatres’ Hindi Productions with the the process, when their daughter gets married to the son effervescent Saigal in the lead, what with the likes of of a Bengali family, it may not sound too obscure. Similarly K.C.DEY, R. C Boral around. Relatively modern times saw the other way round. The exchange of greetings or gaalis Hemant, Talat, Lata, Asha, Geeta joining the series of may not sound too Greek, after all ! There may be those exchanging or giving new shape to their Bangla-Hindi common echoes of “…ohh, Bengali is so sweet ..,!” The versions, with Kamal Dasgupta in the scene. Thus a cultural doors of interactive living on the principles of “Love Thy paradigm shift through audio-visual exercise ? Yes, and Neighbour” can then open up. Come to think of how at through an immensely popular route, even for the illiterate one point of time (as I was discussing with Sri Amol masses, who can’t digest literature. Would you deny this? Palekar in a kirana shop in Juhu, both of us buying sugar) No ! As my Gujarati friends lament : those days in the Bengali version of the intrusive and audaciously intense Mumbai’s smaller cinema halls, no film would start without Marathi play “ Shantata, Court Chalu Ahe” was the centre playing on the gramophone record at least a couple of point of Adda, in most drawing rooms of Kolkata or the popular Hindi non-film geets of Jagmohan(i.e. Bengal’s Mararhi version of Badal Sircar’s “Ebong Indrajit”? The Jogonmoy Mitra) ! While Hemant’s Gujarati and Marathi powerful scripts of a Shambhu Mitra there or a Vijay songs gained popularity , Sandhya Mukherjee and Shyamal Tendulkar here could impact the cross-cultural genre Mitra’s Oriya songs sold like hot cakes in Cuttack, immensely in a society hungry for quality. Translation or somewhat akin to the Bangla records of the legendary conversion of one to the other may not satisfy the reader Assamese folk singer Bhupen Hazarika, to the express with the truest form of the original (that way even Tagore displeasure of some of Kolkata’s veterans in the music was’nt totally happy with the Gitanjali in English) but world. Salil, Sachin Dev, Hemant and later R.D. Burman one gets a passport into that world in question and thus kept up the tempo of dishing out lilting Bengali musical familiarize with the pattern of living and thinking of that fare to the all-India audience through our only irrefutable community, even if the language learning can be rather national medium , that is Hindi films(with which even limited. Ironically, you may not be fortunate to find a Hollywood is infected today !) and the interaction teary-eyed Gujarati housewife, overwhelmed with continued. Saratbabu’s Mejdidi or Srikanto, unless it is a translated version! But is that the modus operandi ? Can only Salil Choudhuri’s “O Sajna” from its Bengali version “Naa If I am allowed to take an excursion here and bring Jeona” or Burmandada’s “Hum Bekhudi Mein” in Dev up the issue of communities coming closer through music, saab’s Kalapaani from it’s Bengali original “Ghoom it opens up another vista. If Hrudayanath Mangeshkar Bhulechhi” or for that matter Salil’s experiment with the composed the ever popular folksong Dolkara, Dolkara for Konkanese folk song Chio-Chio-Chi into Kishore’s Munna his Marathi bhai, Salil Choudhuri was quick to put Bengali Bada Pyara for Bimal Roy’s Naukri bring the communities words to that and finally Lata-Hemant brought up the closer or enhance interaction, even if they are a kind of hugely popular number of the sixties ( De do-dol-dol), musical landmarks ? played out in every Puja pandal of Kolkata. Thus the

132 SCIENCE AND CULTURE, MAY-JUNE, 2015 We wanted an exchange that would run much deeper, This is vital. Obviously , initially there would only be a into the psyche of the other communities. And not only few takers, since this is not a commercially professional for a ‘Happily-lived-ever-after’ kind of divine wedded lives proposition and hence only those who fall in love with the of our next generation but for an integrated nation, sharing other would come forward, I mean love for the new each other’s concern and pleasure. When a Parsi friend language or the little known community, not all. But that’s pronounces ever so sweetly…” Bhaalo Aachhi ,…or fine. Amongst my classmates at IIT Kharagpur, only one Rosogolla Khaabo,…”, etc., I do enjoy that and in turn Sardarji had picked up Bengali exceedingly well, even the tell my Gujju neighbour…”Soo chhey, saaru Chhey ?” or intonations and the colloquial vibes, while amongst my to my Muslim student, “ Tarakki Mubarak Ho…”, but only faculty colleagues at University Of Minnesota, only one these extraneous exchanges can’t constitute a literary Japanese had developed the American terms and accent interaction. Satyajit Ray’s brilliant script for Shatranj Ke supremely well. Thus it can’t be forced but spontaneous. Khilari would’nt have been possible, if it were destined to Of course, reading from a translation should not lead be deduced directly from the Urdu-Hindi original of to a noted playright or novelist degrading another in the Munshi Premchand, because Ray never could read that! most derogatory fashion, after a span of a century, without Hence, my point of view is two pronged, based on attributing any reasons, as we saw recently ! It should which a movement can be initiated :, rather be when a non-English- reading reader reads a translated version(if at all) of a Ruskin Bond novel, he  Intensification of extensive Translation activities invariably should get the flavor of Shimla hills, as portrayed by Government agencies, like the National Book in that; otherwise so much remains unknown ! Trust and others, who need to take up the works of modern day authors (e.g. in Bengali starting with I often find it amusing that the Purohit chanting Sunil, Shirshendu, Buddhadev Guha, Samaresh and Sanskrit Mantras during Pushpanjali in Puja Pandals or others, Shankar, Bimal Mitra being already popular during our wedding rituals, knows fairly well that he amongst translators due to mass appeal). wields the power, because a large percentage of his audience is ignorant and hence oblivious of the words he  Establish Language Classes in Universities (like the is reciting, thus vindicating once again the power of Chinese classes and the other Afro-Asian language language. But with the moves elucidated above on classes in USA), because after all without grammar language classes and popularization of translation books, a language would remain a half-baked technology, hopefully the inter-state couples ( ref. Chetan material, indigestible and popularize them through Bhagat’s best-selling “Two States”) will not bank totally various media. on a foreign language to communicate or interpret love Not for becoming a phonetics exponent, but even or abuse !! India would strive to be a One Nation.  for knowing a community closely through its literature.

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