SHORT STORIES OF NARAYAN GANGOPADHYAY - KC Das ...

SHORT STORIES OF

NARAYAN GANGOPADHYAY :

AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF

PHILOSOPHY IN BENGALI IN THE FACULTY OF ARTS

GAUHATI UNIVERSITY

SUBMITTED BY

SHRABANI BHADRA

2016

i

PREFACE

Those who have taken post-Tagorian creative literature to a new

height, Narayan Gangopadhyay is one amongst them. He has proved his

niche in almost every field of literature. The arrival of Narayan

Gangopadhyay in Bengali fiction literature has taken place in the 40’s.

The phase can be entitled as the period of transition of one age to

another– concerning the contemporary society of Bengal and totally of

India in particular. Those short-story writers who started writing stories in

Bengal during this phase, also experienced the manifestation of their

literary acumen, and were directly introduced to the agitated as well as

the topsy-turvy situation of the contemporary Age. The social environment

of that specific literary epoch was obviously an unquiet and tumultuous

one-and the veil of that restless surroundings had blurred the vision of the

contemporary writers to some extent; thus turning their view a bit

abstracted, a bit pungent and penetrating and also a bit turbid. So many

vicissitudes of time and chance, so many problems were there-both in the

individual as well as the social life at that time and yet so many distinctive

exceptions emerging amidst all odds-the mighty flow of metamorphosed

circumstances kindled the curiosity of the short-story writers and at the

same time made their perception more pungent than before. One of the

best short story writers of this age of transition was Narayan

Gangopadhyay. His works reveal his keen perception of history, his

socialist learning and his deep sympathy for the exploited marginalized

human beings. His writings are animated by the variety of the prime and

absolute perception of human life-the novelty of the content, an

unrestrained yet simply arrayed style textured with a tragic unison and

sensible niceties–all these aspects helped him to find an exclusive niche

for himself in the realm of Bengali short stories. The stories by Narayan

Gangopadhyay not only touch the right chord but also stir our cerebration.

In his book ‘Sahitye Chotogalpa’, he himself has defined the modern short

ii

stories as the sheer outcome of pain and affliction. He is one of the

renowned writers of the Bengali short-stories reigning in the post-Kallol

era. His pen was active in short-story writing, till his death. He is a class

apart with the power of emotion and clairvoyance in the dominion of

Bengali short-story. His stories are epitome of the fragmented pain and

pleasure of our life.

The content, form and language of his short stories obviously rouse

our curiosity. That is why this theme has captured my attention for a

befitting research work; through which I have ventured to trace the

distinctiveness of the author.

In conveying my research work, my Research Supervisor,

Professor Usharanjan Bhattacharya has tirelessly provided his sincere

illuminating advice, intellectual assistance, wise suggestions and

instructions. Without his co-operation and co-ordination it would not have

been possible for me to complete the research work. I sincerely and

humbly accord my respectful regards and reverence to him.

In preparation of this thesis, I have received ungrudging help and

precious advice from Prof. Amalendu Chakraborty, Head, Department of

Bengali, Gauhati University, who extended help and co-operation during

the entire work. I take this opportunity to express my gratitude and

acknowledge my debt to him. I accord my sincere regards to the revered

Professors Dr. Dipak Sen, Gauhati University, Dr. Biswanath Roy,

Calcutta University, who helped me in many ways in my research work.

In the course of collectively primary and secondary materials, I

must cite the genuine help of quite a few libraries, such as the National

Library, Little Magazine Library and Research Centre, Central Library,

Calcutta University, Kolkata, and K. K. Handique Central Library, Library

of the Department of Bengali, Gauhati University, K.C. Das Commerce

College Library, Guwahati. I also got the chance to use State Library, Port

Blair. I am indebted to all these librarians and extend my genuine

iii

gratitude to them, without their assistance, my dissertation might not have

been as it stands now.

I express my thankful gratitude to Sri Bhaskarjyoti Deb who

rendered a valuable help in course of my work.

I would like to express gratitude and pay my homage to my mother,

Smt. Geeta Bhadra, without her blessings and encouragement, this

research work would not have been possible to complete.

I also take privilege to express my thankful gratitude to my

husband, Sri Nayan Roy Choudhury, and my only son, Rohit. Without

whose inspiration, co-operation and assistance, the work would not have

been possible. They provided strong moral support during the entire work.

Before ending off this prefatory note, I convey my gratitude to all

those who have directly or indirectly provided co-operation in materializing

the present work to whom I could not convey my thankfulness individually.

I beg pardon for all my errors and omission that may occur with or

without my knowledge.

Date: …………….

Place: Guwahati. (Shrabani Bhadra)

CONTENTS

PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION 1-11

Chapter-I : Life and Vision of Life of

Narayan Gangopadhyay 12-63

Chapter-II : Contemporary Short Story Writers

and Narayan Gangopadhyay 64-103

Chapter-III : The Chronological Division and

Thematic Discussion of the Short Stories by

Narayan Gangopadhyay 104-152

Chapter-IV : Social Consciousness in the Short Stories

of Narayan Gangopadhyay 153-210

Chapter-V : The Stylistic Elements in the Short Stories

of Narayan Gangopadhyay 211-239

CONCLUSION 240-243

BIBLIOGRAPHY 244-266

1

INTRODUCTION

A real fiction-writer gives pleasure to the readers through his or her

creation with the fragmented or complete facts of happiness and misery of

human-life. The prose-fiction is divided into two— one is ‘Novel’ and other is

‘Short Story’. A critic has called the novel as ‘Pratima’ (Clay-idol), and the

short-story as ‘Puttalika’ (Puppett)1. But this ‘Puttalika’ is not an ordinary one;

it is that, which is made in Krishnanagar– a reflection of fine Arts.

Bengali literature is rich in fiction-writing— right from Bankimchandra,

till date, many writers has delineated their talent in fiction writing. This attire is

unopposed even today. In the procession of such writers, also includes the

name of Narayan Gangopadhyay. He is an expert in both the branches of

fiction-literature. The short stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay are the gems in

Bengali literature— and it is not a superfluous talk. Narayan Gangopadhyay

belongs to the class of 50’s, as younger one in Bengali short story writing. He

has given words to the expected in human feelings, standing upon it as a

legacy to the posterity as a rich rivers of literary wave. As a writer of short-

story he is a known figure to the readers, though he excels in more areas of

literature. Creation of literature belongs to Time, Space, and Society; one is

connected to the others. The flow of writing short stories belongs to the

causes of social situation, political movement, communal strife, the freedom

movement and many other problems, emerging out of post-independent India.

The age long socio-economic infrastructure of India, political or any other

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turmoil, has played as special perspectives in many of his writings. Literature

is said as the mirror to society, though the saying has become afflicted with

abundant use yet its inherent ethos can’t be gainsaid. Many ups and downs in

time-space and society, is the roots of literature. The two decades, the early

parts, of twentieth-century, Rabindranath reigns supreme in the area of short

stories in Bengali literature. Before world war-II Bengali short-stories

accumulated elements from the divested country and its people. The period of

thirties and forties is the golden era for Bengali literature. After that partition

took place and as an aftermath came communal strife— the 50’s began with

this nightmare. Then began the cry of innumerable rootless people— the pale

face of the mother over the death of her children, the cry of maidens over the

death of their husbands. The writers of the forties have used the elements like

hunger, greed, utterly ruined people, in their own writings. The short stories of

the thirties were based, mostly upon psychology, the unfurling of perversion.

The plots too, were mono dimensioned. The writers of the forties came to

experience the war and the cry of famines and its crisis. The riots were

emerging out of it with the Imperialist rules of British Empire. Along with this

the man and soil of rural Bengal, the euphoria of regional fervor, the wretched

industrialization, the pale light of the suburb and the flaws in middle-class—all

these components were making the Art of short stories rich. The signs of the

40’s, the suggestive language in romanticism, and detachment, the dexterity

in the composition of short stories have given a right voice to the compositions

of literature. The writers of the fifties have placed their attention upon partition,

communal strife, and decay of the moral values. The wretch condition of

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Bengal that has been witnessed was never before in the last century. As if the

Bengalese has taken a new birth in this decade. There emerged a group of

new breed of writers, as a legacy to the end of romanticism by Sharatchandra,

the end of Nature loving Bibhutibhushan. One of them who belong to that new

era of Bengali literature as posterity to Bibhutibhushan, Tarasankar and Manik

Bandyopadhyay is Narayan Gangopadhyay. A critic’s comment is quotable in

this respect :

‘‘˙¬ı˛»‰¬Àf¬ı˛ ‘Ó≈¬… [1938], ø¡ZÓ¬œ ˛ ø¬ıï ´¸˜À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸”‰¬Ú± [1939], ¬ı¬ıœfÚ±ÀÔ¬ı˛

˜‘Ó≈¬… [1941],.... ’±·©Ü ’±Àµ±˘Ú › Œ˜ø√Úœ¬Û≈À¬ı˛ ø¬ıÒ√ı—¸œ ¬ıÚ…± [1942],

¬Û=±À˙¬ı˛ ˜i§ôL¬ı˛ [1943],.....fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬±¬ı˛ √±e± [1946], Œ√˙ø¬ıˆ¬±·,

¬ı˛Mï √¬ı˛ø?Ó¬ ¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬± › Î¬◊¡Z±d Œ¶⁄±Ó¬ [1947-50]— ¤˝◊√√ ¸¬ı øfl¡Â≈√¬ı˛ ˜Ò…

ø√À ˛ ¬ıeÀ√˙ › ¬ıe¸˜±ÀÊ√ fl¡±˘±ôL¬ı˛ ‚È¬˘º ˙¬ı˛»‰¬fœ ˛ Œ¬ı˛±˜±øKI◊fl¡Ó¬± ›

¬ı˛¬ıœfÚ±ÀÔ¬ı ’È¬˘ ø¬ıï ´±¸ Ò”ø˘¸±» ˝√√À ˛ Œ·˘º fl¡À~±˘À·±á¬œ¬ı˛ Œ¬ı±À˝√√˜œ˚˛

¬Û±˘± › ø¬ıˆ¬”øÓ¬ˆ¬” ∏ÀÌ¬ı˛ õ∂fl‘¡øÓ¬˜≈*Ó¬±¬ı˛ ’¬ı¸±Ú ˝√√˘º Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬Ûø¬ı˛¬ıøÓ«¬Ó¬

¬Ûø¬ı˛ø¶öøÓ¬ÀÓ¬ ¤À˘Ú ÚÓ≈¬Ú ¤fl¡√ Œ˘‡fl¡, ˚“±À√¬ı˛ Œ˚Ã¬ıÚfl¡±À˘ ‚È¬˘ ¤˝◊√√¸¬ı

≈·±ôLfl¡±¬ı˛œ ‚È¬Ú±º Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì- ÚÀ¬ı˛f- ÚÀ¬ıµ≈- ŒÊ√…±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛f- ¸˜À¬ı˛ - ¬ı˛ ±¬Û√ -

ø¬ı˜˘ fl¡¬ı˛- ¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛-¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚± ∏-˜±øÚfl¡ ¬ı±—˘± ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ¬Û±˘±¬ı√˘

‚È¬±À˘Úºíí2

But all of them had their originalities. As soon as they entered into the

arena of Bengali literature, Bengal was witnessing decay and loss that gave

impetus to their own writings. When the deadly night of the world war-II

ended, they saw the decayed life, as dead leaves, communal strife and

4

partition, the rootless people that moved the humanity of the other bank and

the procession of evicted people. At such time came the folk of young writers.

Narayan Gangopadhyay was one of them. His collection of novel and short

stories are many. These many collections were embarked with variety of

subjects. No any single topic was excluded from his eye-sight. Though it can’t

be said whether his novels can withstand the taste of time, but his short

stories will remain immortal, it can be said without any second thought. His

short stories were characterized with the insight of social realities, the analysis

of complex process, on the other hand disdain against the cruelties of

exploiters. In this context Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay has said in an

appreciative note :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛±˚˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ‘√ø©Ü øÂ√˘ ø√·ôL ŒÔÀfl¡ ø√·ôL ¬Û «ôL õ∂¸±ø¬ı˛Ó¬º...........Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸

’ÀÚfl¡º ŒÂ√±È¬·ä Ó¬±¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡› ’ÀÚfl¡ Œ¬ı˙œº ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ø˙äœ ø˝√√¸±À¬ı

Œ¬ı±Òfl¡ø¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ ’øÓ¬ ¸≈øÚ¬Û≈Ìº Ó“¬±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ·ä õ∂øÓ¬À˚±ø·Ó¬±˚˛ ¤fl¡¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±˜¬ı˛±

¸fl¡À˘˝◊√√ ¬Û¬ı˛±øÊ√Ó¬ ˝√√À˚˛øÂ√ ±˜ºíí3

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories were not limited within any

specific time. Rather these have been passed over the elapsed time. He

added new dimension to the short stories. Narayan Gangopadhyay was

socially conscious, that is why social realities are delineated in his short

stories. He has been moved by the turmoil in the forties of enraged time as a

socially conscious writer. His short stories are full of personal exclusiveness,

his mind and his thought. He had tried to understand the truth of life as the

Rasa in literature; that is why he can be regarded as a successful writer who

5

has been stuck to realities. He has been driven deep, close to the realities of

life. Life is full of romance, imagination, emotion, love, and struggle. The

author has given thought to all these elements in a mere befitting manner. His

short stories can be regarded as a real literature in combined notes of

emotion and compassion. He has moved on his own into the chamber of

lights and shadows of human psyche. Sometimes he has played with words,

and sometimes a positive eloquence of conversation, sometimes he has

created life with work of painting. Human kindness, disdain over the cruelties

by man, the chaotic society— everything was caught in by him, in his short

stories in more subtle ways. This work of our research is aimed to understand

and look for his exclusiveness apart from others, his contribution and his

place in Bengali literature as well as world literature.

For this research work, we have chosen the collection of ‘Narayan

Gangopadhyay Rachanabali’ (all total 12 Volumes), and the Complete

Collection of Short Stories, ‘Galpasamagra’ (containing 133 short stories),

published by Mitra and Ghosh Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata-73. For the

convenience of discussion the entire content has been classified into five

specific chapters. The title of the dissertation is : Short Stories of Narayan

Gangopadhyay : An Analytical Study .

The sum and substance of the chapters are indicated below :

Chapter-I has been entitled as Life and Vision of Life of Narayan

Gangopadhyay . There are few writers, whose prognosis is tinged with the

absolute delight. Narayan Gangopadhyay is one amongst them. The creator

6

here is associated with the creativities. His personal life, is supposed to be

based on contextual creativities. We find the author’s life and personality in

his creativities. The life, mind and his personality gives him that status which

is based upon his clairvoyance. To understand the creativities, we have to

understand his personal life, too. Here the impact of time and space, acts as

coordinator of his conduct. No one can ignore his environment, the

perspective of his own writing. The mindset of a particular writer is built with

the things– like, his contemporary society, political, economical and cultural

environment. The war, famine, riots, partition and the processor of evicted

people brought a chaotic turmoil in forties. Its reflection also fallen on Bengali

literature of that time. The unpreventable influence of that society can be seen

in the then literature. We have tried to understand how Narayan

Gangopadhyay’s insight has been influenced by the broken life of Bengal, in

his writings.

Chapter –II has been entitled as Contemporary Short Story Writers

and Narayan Gangopadhyay . This chapter will dwell on the distinctive style

of Narayan Gangopadhyay that distinguishes him from his contemporaries.

The young writers observed the rapid change and transformation of Bengal

along with its busy time, violent environment and decay all over with its

putrefied enigma. It may be mentioned that five renowned short story writers

have been selected as the contemporaneous counterparts of Narayan

Gangopadhyay. Although the revelation of the literary acumen of these five

authors was not exactly a simultaneous one, yet the manifestation of their

creative genius almost contemporaneous. These fabulous five are Subodh

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Ghosh(1910-1980), Jyotirindra Nandi (1912-1983), Narendranath Mitra (1917-

1975), Nabendu Ghosh (1917-2007), and Santoshkumar Ghosh (1920-

1985).This chapter aims to show the different viewpoint of Narayan

Gangopadhyay and of the five other authors in question towards their

contemporaneous time, distinctively woven into their diverse representation of

individual feelings. Narayan Gangopadhyay has both similarities and

dissimilarities with them. We have tried to show how all them have seen their

time and how they have given shape and colour to their own feelings.

Chapter-III is entitled as, The Chronological Division and Thematic

Discussion of the Short Stories by Narayan Gangopad hyay . During a

period nearly thirty five years, his proficiency has presented us a great

number of short stories compiled in the twelve volumes, published in between

1945 and 1971. The number of the complied stories is more or less one

hundred and fifty. On the basis of the variation in their content, the stories

have been classified into three distinct phases. The first phase contains the

stories written during the period 1945-1952 and points out depth of the

humanitarianism wedded to the keen social consciousness of Narayan

Gangopadhyay. Five of the collections of short stories authored by him

belong to this phase. The second phase includes four of his collection of short

stories written in between 1954-1960. And the third phase includes rest four of

the collections penned by Narayan Gangopadhyay which were published in

between the time of 1961-1971. We have undertaken a few main subject and

theme. In this chapter we have discussed the issues, subject-wise.

8

Chapter-IV has been entitled as Social Consciousness in the Short

Stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay . In fact, all the writers, writing short

stories have made their advent in this specific time-span, were socially

conscious to a great extent. The then social backdrop was tumultuous and

restless, backing peace and stability. During that time-span, the literati could

not help remaining aware of the contemporary society that kept changing

continuously and facing rift and deterioration. Narayan Gangopadhyay too

was no exception to this. A kaleidoscopic variety of short stories penned by

him reveal the society of his time. A writer is a representative of the society.

Narayan Gangopadhyay emerged as a writer in the 40’s as a socially

conscious person. Almost every social issue has been touched by him. New

elements due to the world war–II came to take place in the stream of Bengali

literature in the thirties, especially in fiction-literature based upon

contemporary tensed life. From the compositions of Narayan Gangopadhyay,

we come to know how he was affected by the socio-economic structure of that

period. In this chapter we have discussed how he has proved his niche as a

socially conscious-writer in his various short stories.

Chapter-V is entitled as The Stylistic Elements in the Short Stories

of Narayan Gangopadhyay . This chapter has dwelt on the author’s

awareness of the content of the stories authorized by him. He felt that the

narrative style of each of the short stories should be different, and this

realization made him represent different short stories by introducing varied

narrative style. The form of short stories determines the point of view of a

writer. It is not possible for a short story to depict perfectly fulfilled life within a

9

limited span. Narayan Gangopadhyay was aware of that. That is why he has

given us brief but deep fervor in his own writings. But it tastes all inclusive

elements. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories have an unprecedented

power with his linguistic excellence. We shall enter into the discussion about

his originality both in form and content, through the short stories written by

him.

After that comes Conclusion. Here the above mentioned five chapters’

subject-matter has been extended in brief. We have seen how the political,

economical, and social realities have stepped into his writings. Narayan

Gangopadhyay has captured these pictures into his own composition through

literature. Here he has been a realist with his kept-faith upon his soil, earth

and humanities through his short stories. The resolution will try to wind up the

above mentioned issues towards a pointed goal.

In my Notes and References, I have mentioned the names of the

authors, the titles of the books and the concerned page numbers only. Details,

such as, year of publication, place of publication etc. would be available in the

‘Bibliography’. Here, in the Notes and references, ‘Page number’ would be

abbreviated as ‘p.’, consecutive pages as ‘pp.’ ‘Published by’ as ‘Pub.’, ‘Edited

by’ as ‘ed.’, ‘Edition’ as ‘Edn.’, ‘Translated by’ as ‘Tr.’, ‘Volume’ as ‘Vol.’. In

keeping with current usage, Bengali year is written as ‘B.S.’ and ‘Ibid’ as used

to refer to the same work.

The extract from the original texts and criticism have been presented in

Bengali so as to retain the original resonance and spirit. I had to draw upon a

10

number of reference books and some journals and magazines in preparing

the thesis. The names of reference books, journal and magazines are given in

the portion titled as Bibliography at the end of this essay.

The life and vision of life of Narayan Gangopadhyay, his similarities

and dissimilarities with the contemporary short story writers, the chronological

division and subject-wise discussion of his short stories, his keen social

consciousness, the stylistic elements in the short stories written by him—all

these sides have been discussed in our dissertation. The main motto of our

research work is to highlight the various aspects found in the short stories of

Narayan Gangopadhyay.

11

NOTE & REFERENCE

1. Arunkumar Mukhopadhyay, Kaler Puttalika, (1891-2010), p.

Introduction, 1st Edn., ¬‰¬/0

õ∂Ô˜ ¸—¶®¬ı˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ˆ¬”ø˜fl¡±˚ øÓ¬øÚ ¬ıÀ˘ÀÂ√Ú, ëë Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸Àfl¡ ˚ø√ ¬ıø˘ fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬˜±,

Ó¬À¬ı ŒÂ√±È¬·äÀfl¡ ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±ø¬ı˛ fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ¬Û≈Ó≈¬˘º Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ Œ√˙fl¡±˘ ’±ø˘øeÓ¬ ¬ı…±ø5 ›

ø¬ıô¶±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ˜ÀÚ Œ¬ıÀ‡ ¬ıø˘ fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬˜±, ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ øÚ¬ı«±ø‰¬Ó¬ ≈ √√”ÀÓ«¬¬ı˛

·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛Ó¬± › é¬Ì-Î¬◊æ√±À¸¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ˜ÀÚ Œ¬ı˛À‡ ¬ıø˘ fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ¬Û≈M√√ø˘fl¡±ºíí

2. Arunkumar Mukhopadhyay, Madhyahna Theke Sayahne : Binsha

Shatabdir Bangla Upanyas, p.-218.

3. Tarashankar Bandyopadhyay, “Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Shachindranath Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 4th year, Vol.-4,

p.-461.

12

CHAPTER – I

LIFE AND VISION OF LIFE OF

NARAYAN GANGOPADHYAY

The impact of the pre-war and the post-war deterioration in life of the

contemporary Bengali people and the thorough change occured in the

contemporary society and it had influenced the writers’ philosophy and view

point towards humanlife. It may be said after a keen observation that some of

the authors write mere stories alone, while a handful of rare writers become

successful in creating spontaneous yet immaculate emanations—which exude

the diversified essence of the feelings of life. Narayan Gangopadhyay is one

of those rare writers. He is one of the prominent figures, amongst the post

world-war Bengali writers. Here, an exceptional talent like him is rare. He is a

different genius, especially in the field of short story. Like others, he did not

limit himself within the barriers of those writers, who only dealt in the lives of

middle class Bengali. He had enlarged his heart in a more extensive and

wider sense and sensibilities. The gamut of his writings, include the area from

the rented house of Calcutta to the Himalayan range, from the woods of the

Santal Pargana to the hilly regions of Assam is his space. Among these, there

are the rivers, fields, village and the rural-people. He had known the variety of

people and society with his experience. He had delineated the characters that

do not belong, directly to Bangladesh, neither in respect of space, which

remains open only to Bangladesh. That is why, if any one does not

13

understand his writings, which remains peculiar to the readers is not the fault

of the author, but to the readers. In the contemporary Bengali literature,

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a lone figure, who tries to understand the spirit of

humanity of his country and its people which is not limited n any particular

local. A big word to him is that even though, he is Bengali yet he had

searches the inns and outs of the people, who lived outside Bengal. We are

proceeding to understand such a literacy figure, through the studies on his life

and clairvoyance.

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a significant short story writer in this

century. His perspectives dealt with the fields of Bangladesh, its open horizon,

the paddy fields, the shrub of basil plants, the golden sky, the forests of

Duars, the moonlight, the grey past of history and the deep romanticism of

Bengal. These had laid an undeniable impact upon the rural Bengal’s life.

Rivers, forests and knoll and dells, the life and culture of North Bengal has

influenced him much as if the then natural perspective of these areas has got

life in his stories and fictions. In an essay, read in the Akasbani, on the 25th

November, 1945, he had gone down memory lane is this way :

ëëŒ‰¬±À‡¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ Œˆ¬À¸ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√ Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛ ¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡È¬± Ú·Ì… ¢∂±˜º ’±˜±À√¬ı˛

¬ı±¸±¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ ¬ı˛Mï ˜?¬ı˛œÀÓ¬ fl‘¡¯û‰”¬Î¬ˇ±¬ı˛ fl≈¡?È¬± ’±fl≈¡˘ ˝√√À˚ ’±ÀÂ√-- Ó¬±¬ı˛

›¬Û±À¬ı˛ ¬ıÀ˚ ˚±À26√√ ’±S±˝◊√√À ˛¬ı Úœ˘ Ò±¬ı˛±º Ó¬±¬ı˛ ›¬Û±À¬ı˛ ¢∂±˜ Â√±Î¬ˇ± ¬ı˛±„√√± ˜±øÈ¬¬ı˛

¬ÛÔ- ‚Ú ¬ı“±˙ ’±¬ı˛ ’±À‡¬ı˛ ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬¬ı˛ ø√À ˛ Œfl¡±Ô±˚˛ Œ˚ ø√fl¡ø‰¬˝ï ˝√√œÚ

ø√·ÀôL ø˜ø˘À˚˛ Œ·ÀÂ√ Ê√±ÚÓ¬±˜ Ú±ºíí1

14

This inner and outer life of the writer gets mingled with his creations.

Sometimes his personal life is associated with his creativities. We recognize

him in his writings. His life, mind, and personality intrude in his writings. We

have to understand his life, in order to get a clear vision of his writings. A

quote from a critic will make it clear :

ëë’À˘±fl¡¸±˜±Ú… õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬±¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛ ŒÓ¬± ’±˜¬ı˛± õ∂± ˛ ˝◊√√ Œ¬ÛÀ˚ Ô±øfl¡

¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…¸±Òfl¡À√¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…fl¡œøÓ«¬ÀÓ¬, øfl¡c ¬Û±Í¬fl¡À√¬ı ø¬Û¬Û±¸± øfl¡Â≈√ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ø˜È¬ÀÓ¬

‰¬± ˛ Ú±, ’±˜¬ı˛± Ù¬±“Àfl¡ Ù¬±“Àfl¡ Î“¡◊øfl¡ ø√À˚ ŒÊ√ÀÚ øÚÀÓ¬ ‰¬±˝◊√√ ¤˝◊√√ ¸±˜±Ú…

Œ˘±fl¡Ê√·ÀÓ¬ ›˝◊√√ ’À˘Ãøfl¡fl¡ õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬±¬ı˛ fl¡Ó¬‡±øÚ ’øÒfl¡±¬ıº ›˝◊√√ ø˙ä¸±ÒÀfl¡¬ı˛

øÚ¬ı˛±˘±Àfl¡› ’¬ı±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ‰¬±˝◊√√ ’±˜¬ı˛±º ˚± øfl¡Â≈√ Œ·±¬ÛÚ ÒÚ- øfl¡Â≈√ÀÓ¬±

Œ·±¬ÛÚ˝◊√√ Ô±Àfl¡—Œ¸‡±ÀÚ› ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ Œ˘±ˆ¬±Ó≈¬¬ı˛ ˜Ú ‡±øÚfl¡È¬±

fl¡±„√√±˘¬ÛÚ±Àfl¡˝◊√√ õ∂| ˛ Œ√ ˛º Ú± ˝√√À˘, ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…ø˙Àä fl¡ø¬ı¬ı˛± ŒÓ¬± ˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ Â√ø¬ı˝◊√√

’±“Àfl¡Ú, Î¬◊¬Û˝√√±¬ı˛ Œ√Ú Ó¬±“À√¬ı˛ ˜À «¬ı˛ Œ·±¬ÛÚ fl¡Ô±&ø˘Àfl¡ºíí 2

Actually every story of his is the expression of his personality. We are

bearing the streams of multiple entities within ourselves. The tortures

existence that he wants to encode is none other than him. Undoubtedly, he is

the representative of such character. Be it a labour worker, farmer, a clerk, or

whatever he may be, is non other than him his creation of a charactrer.

Here, we have dealt with the personal life of Narayan Gangopadhyay

which had shaped his writings. We shall discuss, over the exclusiveness in

our analysis to come, in the subsequent chapter.

Narayan Gangopadhyay was born in February, 1918, 1325, B.S. in the

auspicious day of ‘Shri Panchami’. He said like that :

15

ëëÊ√ij 1325 ¸±À˘º øfl¡ ˆ¬±À¬ı ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…Àé¬ÀS ¤˘±˜—, Œfl¡ ’±˜±Àfl¡

’Ú≈õ∂±øÌÓ¬ fl¡¬ı˛À˘±, Ó¬±¬ı Î¬◊M√√À¬ı˛ ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±ø¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…õ∂œøÓ¬È¬± ’±˜±¬ı˛ ∆¬ÛÓ‘¬fl¡

Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛±øÒfl¡±¬ı˛º ¬ı±¬ı± ’Ó¬…ôL ¬ÛÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬ ˆ¬±˘¬ı±¸ÀÓ¬Úº ¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı √±À¬ı˛±·± ˝√√À˘›

Ó¬“±¬ı˛ Œ˘±ˆ¬Úœ˚˛ ˘±˝◊√√À¬ıË¬ı˛œ øÂ√˘º ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ± Â√±Î¬ˇ± ’±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±Ú ŒÚ˙±˝◊√√ øÂ√˘ Ú± Ó“¡±¬ı˛ºíí 3

His father’s name was Pramathanath Gangopadhyay, and mother’s

name was Bindhyabasini Devi. But elsewhere some critic has mentioned his

mother’s name as Sarojbashini.4 He was born in Baliadingi of Dinajpur. He

was the eighth amongst all brothers and sisters. Another two brothers died

before Narayan Gangopadhyay and his elder brother, Shekhar

Gangopadhyay was born. These two brothers died at very early stage. So

nobody remembered their names in the family later.5 The names of all the

brothers and sisters were found like that – Satirani, Nikhilnath, Nanibala

(Neni), Puturani, Shekharnath, Taraknath, Dabu (Bina), and Anu (Kamala).6

The elder sister of Narayan Gangopadhyay, Satirani Gangopadhyay, was

married to the elder brother of Nemai Bandyopadhyay, Sharat Chandra

Bandyopadhyay in the year 1917. Nemai Bandyopadhyay was one of the

closest friends of Narayan from his childhood. He was about one year

younger than Narayan Gangopadhay. Nemai was born on 31st January, 1918.

In the book ‘Sahityasangi’, edited and compiled by Sisirkumar Das, the date of

birth of Narayan Gangopadhyay is written as 27.01.1917.7

The name Narayan Gangopadhyay is not his actual name, it was his

pseudonym. His original name is Taraknath8. But he is famous and known by

that pseudonym. He was admitted in school by that name. But, the name

Taraknath Gangopadhyay was there right from the matriculation certificate, to

16

a lecturer in the college and in the university documents. He altered this name

in his literary life. We see that the famous book ‘Svarnalata’, was also

published by the name Taraknath Gangopadhyay, who was another already

famous writer. But after that, this name Taraknath has been changed to the

name ‘Narayan’ so, from Shaiba to Baishnaba. As a follow up, the name

Narayan Gangopadhyay to the nickname, ‘Naran Ganguly’ came into reality.

When he was born, his father Pramathanath Gangopadhyay was the

officer in-charge of Nazipur Thana. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s childhood was

spent in that Nazipur. The boy Taraknath had been cruising in the bank of

Atrai River, and played around the field, repleate with the flowers of Bakul,

Krishnachura, Shimul, Palash. He was a lover of nature, from his very

childhood. This had paved the path of his growing-up as a poet. He himself

told about his father as :

ëë¬ı±¬ı± øÂ√À˘Ú ¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı˛ √±À¬ı˛±·±, ’±Ê √Ú ˛, øS˙ ÀÔÀfl¡ ø¬ı˙¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ ’±À· ¤¬ı—

Œ¸ ¸˜À ˛ ›˝◊√√ ¸•x√± ˛È¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ˚±¬ı˛ ‚øÚá¬Ó¬± øÂ√˘, Œ¸ Œ√¬ıœøÈ¬ ’±¬ı˛ ø˚øÚ˝◊

Œ˝√√±Ú øÓ¬øÚ Œ˚ ¸¬ı˛¶§Ó¬œ ÚÚ Œ¸ ¸•§Àg Œ¬ı±Ò˝√√ ˛ ¸±é¬œ õ∂˜±ÀÌ¬ı˛ √¬ı˛fl¡±¬ı˛ ˝√√À¬ı

Ú±º qÀÚøÂ√ Œ¸ ≈À· Œ¬ıø˙ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±À˙±Ú± ¬ı± ˆ¬±À˘± ˝◊√√—¬ı˛±Ê√œ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ é¬˜Ó¬±È¬±

¬Û≈ø˘˙ ø¬ıˆ¬±À· ’À˚±·…Ó¬±¬ı˛ øÚ√˙«Ú ø˝√√ ±À¬ı ·‘ √√œÓ¬ ˝√√íÓ¬º

øfl¡c ¬ı±¬ı± øÂ√À˘Ú ’±(˚« ¬ı…øÓ¬Sï ˜º fl¡À˘ÀÊ√ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±qÀÚ± fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√À˘Ú, ˆ¬±˘ Â√±S

ø˝√√¸±À¬ı ‡…±øÓ¬› Ó“¬±¬ı˛ øÂ√˘ºíí 9

Narayan has admitted that his love to literature, were due to his father,

Pramathnath, who had a good library which has paved the way to his creative

works. According to the writer :

17

ëë ¬ı±¬ı±¬ı˛ ‰¬˜»fl¡±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ˘±˝◊√√À¬ıËø¬ı˛ øÂ√˘ ¬ı±¬ı±Àfl¡ Œ√À‡øÂ√ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ ø√Ú¬ı˛±Ó¬

¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±qÚ± fl¡¬ı˛Ó¬ ¤Àfl¡¬ı±À¬ı˛ øÚø¬ıá¬ ˝√√À˚˛º ............. ¸¬ı¬ı˛fl¡˜ ¬ı˝◊√√À ˛¬ı˛ ›¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ◊√√

Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ’±¢∂˝√ √øÂ√˘ õ∂¬ı˘º Ó¬±“¬ı˛ ø¬ı¬ı˛±È¬ ˘±˝◊√√À¬ıËø¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ˜±À¸-˜±À¸ Ú±Ú± Ò¬ı˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¬ı˝◊√√

’±¸Ó¬º ¬ı±—˘± Œ√À˙¬ı˛ ˚Ó¬ ¬ı˛fl¡À˜¬ı˛ ∆√øÚfl¡ ¸±5±ø˝√√fl¡ ’±¬ı ˜±ø¸fl¡ ¬ÛøSfl¡±

øÂ√˘, ¸¬ı fl¡È¬±¬ı˛ ◊√√ øÓ¬øÚ ¢∂±˝√√fl¡ øÂ√À˘Úº qÒ≈ ¢∂±˝√√fl¡˝◊√√ øÂ√À˘Ú Ú±, ¤fl¡øÚá¬

¬Û±Í¬fl¡› øÂ√À˘Úº ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ˜ÀÀÓ¬± ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ Ê√ÀÚ… ’±¸Ó¬ ’Ò≈Ú±˘≈5

Œ‡±fl¡±‡≈fl≈¡, ¸Àµ˙, Œ˜Ã‰¬±fl¡ ø˙q¸±Ôœº ........................... ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±qÚ± Â√±Î¬ˇ±

Œfl¡±Ú ˙‡˝◊√√ Ó¬±“¬ı˛ øÂ√ Ú±º ŒÚ˙± ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬› ›˝◊√√ ¬ı˝◊√√º ¬Û±Ú, Ó¬±˜±fl¡ ’¶Û‘ … Œ¬ı±Ò

fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬Ú ¤¬ı— Ê√Ú ©Ü≈ ˛±È«¬ ø˜˘ ŒÔÀfl¡ ø˜˘ƒÈ¬Ú, Œ˙'ø¬Û ˛¬ı˛, ›˚˛±Î«¬¸›√ ˛±ÀÔ«¬ı˛

øÚˆ¬«≈ Î¬◊X‘øÓ¬ ‘Ó≈¬…¬ı˛ ’±À·› Ó¬±“¬ı˛ ≈‡ ŒÔÀfl¡ qÀÚøÂ√√ºíí 10

He had a knack to write poetry from his very childhood. He arrived in

the literary arena of Bengal as a children’s book writer. About the inception of

his writing he has said :

ëë¬õ∂Ô˜ ˚‡Ú ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ qï fl¡ø¬ı˛, Ó¬‡Ú ’±˜¬ı˛± Œ˜±È¬±˜≈È¬œˆ¬±À¬ı ¶ö±˚œ ¬ı±d

Œ¬ı“ÀÒøÂ√ ø√Ú±Ê√¬Û≈À¬ı˛ ¤À¸º ˝◊√√¶≈®À˘¬ı˛ Â√±S ¤¬ı— Úœ‰≈¬ flv¡±À¸¬ı˛ Â√±Sº õ∂Ô˜

¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…Àfl¡¬ı˛ ’±¸øMï √ Ê√…±ø˜øÓ¬fl¡ øÚ˚À˜ fl¡±¬ı…-‰¬‰«¬±¬ı˛ ›¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ø·À ˛ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ˘º

’±ø˜ ø‰¬¬ı˛fl¡±˘ øÚ¬ı±˘± ˜±Ú≈ ∏—fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬± Œ˘‡± ˛ ˝√√±Ó¬ ø√À˚˛ øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡ Œ˚Ú ’±À¬ı˛±

Œ¬ıø˙ ¸—fl≈¡ø‰¬Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÙ¬˘˘±˜º Œ˘‡± ¸•§Àg Œ˚˜Ú ¸—˙ ˛ øÂ√˘, ŒÓ¬˜øÚ øÂ√˘

˘7¡¡¡±º ’¬Û¬ı±ÒÀ¬ı±Ò ŒÓ¬± øÂ√˘˝◊√√º Œ‰¬±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬ ø˘‡Ó¬±˜–øÂ“√ÀÎ¬ˇ ŒÙ¬˘Ó¬±˜ ¸Àe

¸Àe˝◊√√º øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ ¤fl¡ø¬ıµ≈ √¬ı˛√ øÂ√˘Ú± ’±˜±¬ı˛ºíí 11

In an essay, Narayan Gangopadhyay has written about his boyhood

years’ poetic activities as :

18

ëëŒ˘‡±¬ı˛ Œõ∂¬ı˛Ì± Œ¬ı±Ò˝√√˚ ’±À¸ ∆˙˙À¬ı¬ı ø˙é¬fl¡ fl≈¡Î¬ˇÚ√±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ ¤fl¡‡±Ú±

ø¬ı¬ı±À˝√√¬ı˛ õ∂œøÓ¬ Î¬◊¬Û˝√√±¬ı˛ Œ√À‡º Œ¸È¬±Àfl¡ ˜ÀÎ¬˘ fl¡À¬ı˛ ‡±ÚøÓ¬ÀÚfl¡ fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬± ø˘À‡

ŒÙ¬ø˘º õ∂Ô˜ Œ˘‡± Œ¬ıÀ¬ı˛±˚ ëë˜±¸¬Û ˛ ±íí ø˙q ˜±ø¸Àfl¡¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ ¸±ø¬ı˛¬ı˛

¢∂±˝√√fl¡À√¬ı˛ ¬Û±Ó¬± ˛º ˜ÀÚ ’±ÀÂ√ ¬ı±À¬ı˛± ’±Ú± ¬Û≈¬ı˛¶®±¬ı˛› Œ¬ÛÀ˚øÂ√˘±˜ºíí 12

At that time ‘Maspayla’ was a very famous magazine. The editor of this

magazine was Kshitish Bhattacharya and Akhil Neogi. The poem which was

known as the first published poem, according to Narayan Gangopadhyay, was

‘Dak’. In ‘Falgun Sankhya’, 1335 B.S., the poem was published.13

Narayan Gangopadhyay was a very good student at all times. But he

never had egoism in him. He never condemned anybody though there was

any matter of reproach. He was soft spoken, opposing to nobody, very polite

type of person from his childhood. We came to know from the remembrance

of his classmate, Haraprasad Shastri, that he got first class first position in

Master Degree examination in Bengali Language and Literature in new

syllabus in the year 1941.14

About his clairvoyance, a learned man has written :

ëëÓ“¬±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… é¬ÀÌ é¬ÀÌ ø¬ı≈√…»-Â√È¬± Œ√À‡øÂ√º√√ fl¡‡Ú› ¬Ûø(˜œ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… fl¡‡Ú›

˜Ò… ≈·œ ˛ ¸—¶‘®øÓ¬, fl¡‡Ú› ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ ¸˜±Ê√˜±Ú¸-˜ÚÀÚ¬ı˛ ¸¬ı˛ ¬ı“±fl¡± ¸˜ô¶

¬ÛÀÔ˝◊√√ øÓ¬øÚ ˘œ˘±26√À˘ ˚±Ó¬± ˛±Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº .............

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ ¤fl¡±Ò±À¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ ø˙äœ › ¬ı˛ õ∂˜±Ó¬±º ¤Àfl¡¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¤˝◊√√ ≈√˝◊√√

ø¬ı¬Û¬ı˛œÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ø˜˘Ú ¬ı±—˘±À√À˙ ‡≈¬ı ¸≈ ˆ¬ Ú˚º ¤fl¡Ê√ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±Ê√ ˆ¬±„√√±À‰¬±¬ı˛±

¤À˘±À˜À˘±Àfl¡ ‹Àfl¡…¬ı ˜ÀÒ… øÚÀ˚ ’±¸±, ’±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡Ê√ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±Ê√ Ó¬±˝◊√√ ø¬ıÀï - ∏Ì

19

fl¡¬ı˛±, ø¬ı‰¬±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛±º ¤˝◊√√ ≈√˝◊√√ ø¬ı- ∏ ø‰¬M√√¬ı‘øM√√ Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…

ˆ¬±˝◊√√À¬ı±ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ø˜À˘ø˜À˙ øÂ√˘ºíí 15

In his early age, he wrote only poetry. But after that he left this vogue.

Now, he is an inhabitant more upon this earth as a story-writer, than a poet,

as a direct correspondent between man to man. Now he is not a poet of

imagination, but a poet of humanity. On the other hand he has analytical

capability that is still a wonder, till date along with his memories. This

component of memories belongs to his manifold quotes innumerable

speeches came to crown in his writings. About his power to memory a critic

has said :

ëëø¬ı¶ú˚fl¡¬ı˛ ¶ú¬ı˛Ì˙øMï √ øÂ√˘º.......... ¤˜Ú ’¸±˜±Ú… ¶ú¬ı˛Ì˙øMï √¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬

’±¬ı±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡˝◊√√¸Àe Œ˜Ãø˘fl¡ ¸‘ø©Ü¬ı˛ ’øÒfl¡±¬ı˛œº Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ ¶ú‘øÓ¬˙øMï √ ¸fl¡˘Àfl

‰¬˜Àfl¡ ø√Ó¬- ¸¬ıÀ‰¬À˚˛ ‰¬˜Àfl¡ ø√À ˛øÂ√˘ ¤fl¡¬ı±¬ı˛ õ∂˜ÔÚ±Ô ø¬ı˙œ ˜˝√√±˙˚Àfl¡ ˚‡Ú

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈ õ∂˜Ô¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ ë˜ÚÊ≈√˚˛±Úí ŒÔÀfl¡ ·Î¬ˇ·Î¬ˇ fl¡À¬ı˛ ’±¬ı‘øM√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ·À˘Ú,

˚± ¶§˚— õ∂˜Ô¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ ˜Ú ŒÔÀfl¡› fl¡À¬ı ˝√√±ø¬ı˛À˚ Œ·ÀÂ√ºíí 16

Due to such strong memory-power Narayan Gangopadhyay brought

uniqueness as litterateur. Glory to his literature and glory to his lecturership

has gone side by side simultaneously, in equal measure. Both as lecturer, and

as a writer, he is unique.

This wonderful memory-power has been the cause of his manifold

capacity to his subjects and knowledge of his several languages. Besides his

forte in his own mother tongue, he knew Hindi and Oriya. Perhaps, Gujrati

and Marathi, he knew to some extent. He was an expert in Sanskrit, the

20

mother of many Indian languages. It is needless to say about his knowledge

in English language. He knew French too, a little knowledge of Russian, a

little Portuguese and perhaps a little bit of Spanish and Italian, at least a few

words of it.17

Such knowledge on languages has made other jealous to him. He used

to give lecture, without any preparation that other could not imagine. Perhaps,

nothing like this could be such in the years to come. Two things are there in

one, memory and the other is talent. Talking about his wonderful memory,

Gajendra Kumar Mitra, has said :

ëë¤˜Ú ’±( « ¶ú‘øÓ¬˙øMï √ ¤˜Ú ¸Ó¬…fl¡±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡ø¬ıõ∂±Ì ’±ø˜ ‡≈¬ı ’ä˝◊√√

Œ√À‡øÂ√ºíí 18

On another occasion, Achyut Goswami too, has said :

ëëÓ¬“±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ’±( « é¬˜Ó¬± ˘é¬… fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√˘±˜º ¬ı˛¬ıœfÚ±ÀÔ¬ı˛ √œ‚«

fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±&À˘± ¤Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ’Ú·« ≈‡¶ö ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ıº ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¶ú¬ı˛Ì˙øMï √

ø‰¬¬ıfl¡±˘˝◊√√ ‡≈¬ı fl¡˜ ¬ıÀ˘ qÒ≈ ¤˝◊√√ fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ˝◊√√ Ó¬±¬ı˛fl¡Ú±Ô ’±˜±¬ı˛ ÷ ∏«±¬ı˛ ¬Û±S ˝√√À˚˛

Î¬◊ÀÍ¬øÂ√˘º ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ fl¡À¬ı˛ ë¬ı˘±fl¡±í ¤¬ı— ë˜U ˛±¬ıí fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±&ø˘˝◊√√ Ó¬“±¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ øõ∂˚˛

øÂ√˘ºíí 19

His students knew the power of his memory. He could memorize many

poems and songs without looking at the text. But in this respect, only these

two things are not enough to justify his creative endeavour. The society,

around him, too, is responsible for that. His childhood, and youth were spent

among the liberal human culture. He has extracted the rasa of all into his mind

set. Though he had keen interest on Marxist philosophy yet, he could not

21

gainsay the civilization in India, under the spell of bubbling youth, he had

strived to talk louder but it did not stand on the his way to understand the

other values of Art and Life, in later years. He had been a keen devotee of

Rammohan, Bidyasagar and Rabindranath too, were his ideal.

He was a radical believer of class struggle. He had participated in any

type of struggle. Everything right from the politics, sociology and the barriers

of intellectual for last forty years, the personality crisis-- everything was the

subject in his creations. He was a socially committed writer. But to, whom

politics, is the main thing, its crude character has pained him much, in later

years. He observed that politics have made life less smooth, less plain. But

his artistics mind is optimistic. It is a sin to lose faith, in humanity, to him. That

is in his every novel, we see the bliss in action. Not everything is morbid. This

is a point of view of his life. His mind was full of variety. Once he told his friend

that he doesnot write any story twice. He had right to speak so, he never felt

tired in experimenting with various subjects, form and style of his novels and

short stories.

Mentioning his memory power, the critic has said more :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚˛¬ı˛ øÚ¬ı˛±ˆ¬¬ı˛Ì ø¬ı¬Û≈ ¬Û±øGÓ¬…- ¬ıU ø¬ı ∏À˚¬ı˛, ¶§À√˙œ ›

ø¬ıÀ√˙œ fl¡À ˛fl¡øÈ¬√ ˆ¬±¯∏±¬ı˛ :±ÀÚ ˚± øÂ√˘ ¸˜‘X, ’±( « ø¬ıÚ•⁄Ó¬± ˛ ¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ

¸˜ô¶ ¬ı˚À¸¬ı˛ øÊ√:±¸≈¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Ó¬± Reference Book ¤¬ı˛ fl¡±Ê√ fl¡¬ı˛Ó¬º

˜øô¶À¶®¬ı˛ ˙øMï √¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ’æ”√Ó¬ ¶£¬≈¬ı˛Ì, ¤˝◊√√ Ò±¬ı˛Ì › ¶ú¬ı˛Ì˙øMï √ øÂ√˘ ¸˜fl¡±À˘¬ı˛

ø¬ı¶ú ˛ºíí 20

22

The man, who is as a whole, cordial, humorous, erudite, always felt to

express himself, this has been expressed in his conversation with men from

different strata. That he dealt deeply in his class-room activities, in front of his

students. That Narayanbabu wanted to teach students came out, not only of

his sense of duty, but also from his will to express himself. He never bunked

his class, rather he regularly took special classes. These activities became his

obsession. Those who attended his lectures knew his eloquence and oratory.

Such an artistics way of talking, such usage of references is rare to find. In a

radical tone, both, his teaching and writing became one when he was in City

College. The twigs of lecture sprouted that became deep when he was

teaching in Calcutta University. He became a legendary figure in teaching.

Everybody, right from his compatriot to the students had admitted Narayan

Gangopadhyay’s, forte as teacher. A critic, while mentioning a humorous

incident, has said :

ëë’±√ « ø˙é¬fl¡ ˝√√›˚±¬ı˛ ø¬ÛÂ√ÀÚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¸:±Ú ¸±ÒÚ± øÂ√˘ øfl¡Ú± Ê√±øÚÚ±º Ó¬À¬ı

¤fl¡øÈ¬ Œfl¡ÃÓ≈¬fl¡±¬ı˝√√ ‚È¬Ú±¬ı˛ Î¬◊À~‡ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±ø¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ õ∂¸Àeº Ó¬±“¬ı˛ Œ˜Ê√√ø√¬ı˛

˜≈À‡ Œ˙±Ú±º ŒÂ√À˘À¬ı˘± ˛ ˝√√±ÀÓ¬ ‡øÎ¬ˇ ˝√√› ˛±¬ı˛ ø√Ú ‚À¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡±˘œ ”øÓ«¬¬ı ¸±˜ÀÚ

Ó“¬±Àfl¡ õ∂Ì±˜ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬ı˘± ˝√√ ˛º ............. õ∂Ì±˜ fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊Í¬À˘ Ó“¬±Àfl¡ ˚‡Ú

øÊ√À·…¸ fl¡¬ı˛± ˝√√ ˛ – ëøfl¡À¬ı˛ Í¬±fl≈¡À¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ fl¡œ õ∂±Ô«Ú± fl¡¬ı˛ø˘∑í Î¬◊øÚ Ó¬‡Ú

¬ıÀ˘Ú, ë¬ı~≈ , ’±ø˜ Œ˚Ú ¬ıÎ¬ˇ ˝√√À ˛ ¤fl¡Ê√Ú ˆ¬±˘ ˜±©Ü±¬ı˛ ˝√√ ◊√√, ’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ˚Ú ‡≈¬ı

Ú±˜ ˝√√ ˛ºíí 21

This prayer was heart-felt, which is well known to them, who have

come in contact with him. Be it in a college or in a university, everybody used

to be mesmerized in his lecture. His teaching was full of allusion, that has

23

added to the lecture, that he used to give instantly. Students amazed in post

graduate classes when he used to refer to the quotation from original French

language while teaching the translated verses of Satyendranath Dutta. These

references have made his lecture more enjoyable. His knowledge of world

literature was understandable when he used to refer these in his teaching on

Bengali short stories and novels.

As because he was a great short story-writer, so his lecturers on short

stories and fiction could reach the highest point of excellence. He was

associated with all kinds of progressive student-movement. Naturally, he

became popular among the students, with his pleasing personality. It is

natural that there would not be any chaos, inside the classroom. He would

take classes on short stories but the students of Drama and Theatre, too,

crowded in his classes. He opined that students, too, know many things. They

are not foolish or idiots. He never laid any contrardictory-view of the students.

Jagadish Bhattacharya has appreciated Narayan Gangopadhyay as :

ëë’Ò…±¬Ûfl¡À√¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ˚“±¬ı˛± ‡…±Ó¬Ú±˜± ¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡ ø˝√√¸±À¬ı ‡…±øÓ¬ ’Ê«√Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú

Ó“¬±¬ı˛±˝◊√√ Â√±S-Â√±Sœ ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ ’±fl¡ ∏«ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¬Û±Sº Œ˚˜Ú ø‰¬M√√±fl¡ ∏«fl¡ ¬ı…øMï √Q

ŒÓ¬˜øÚ ’¸±Ò±¬ı˛Ì ¬ı±ø¢¨Ó¬±º Œ√‡ÀÓ¬› ¸≈¬Û≈ï ∏º ¶§ ¬±¬ıÓ¬˝◊√√ fl¡À˘ÀÊ√¬ı˛

ø˙é¬fl¡˜˝√√À˘ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ê√Úøõ∂ ˛Ó¬± øÂ√˘ ¸fl¡À˘¬ı˛ ÷ ∏«±¬ı˛ ø¬ı ∏˚ºíí 22

Students used to come to him, with scholarly curiosity or for any other

difficulties that he solved for them; he never refused to help the students

whether he felt illness or tiredness. In this regard, Shankariprasad Basu has

said, after his death, in a sorrow heart :

24

ëëÎ¬◊øÚ øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡ ˝◊√√À26√ fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ˜À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº Î¬◊øÚ ˙˝√√œ√ ˝√√¬ı±¬ı˛ Ò±µ±˚ øÂ√À˘Úº ÚÀ‰¬»

’Ó¬‡±øÚ ˙¬ı˛œ¬ı˛ ‡±¬ı˛±¬Û øÚÀ˚ Œfl¡Î¬◊ flv¡±¸ fl¡À¬ı˛, Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ fl¡ÀÎ¬±¬Û±˝◊√√ø¬ı˛Ú ø·À˘

ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ¬ıÀ¸/ Î¬◊øÚ ø˙é¬fl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˙˝√√œ√, ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ ˙˝√√œ√ºíí 23

He is known at a time he used to toil hard lectureship, professional

writing, and kindness. He is expert also in lectureship. He is artistic not only in

philosophical bent of mind, but also as a spoken language expert, a rare man

as he is good in every way, such as in clairvoyance, knowledge and

creativities. He had actualized all these things in his artifact. That has been

added by the romantic bent of mind. The light that is not found in a sea, in soil

this unreached light has been subject of his creativities. Another quality of his

mind is that he had been very modest with sweet and polite behaviour. His

students do not gainsay his teachership. One of his students has said like

that :

ëë¤fl¡˜±S Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ flv¡±À¸ ’±˜¬ı˛± fl¡‡Ú› fl¡Ô± ¬ıø˘øÚº Œ·±˘˜±˘ fl¡¬ı˛± ŒÓ¬±

”√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡Ô±, Ó¬‡Ú ’±˜¬ı˛± ¸¬ı ’øÓ¬ ˙±ôL ø˙©Ü¬ ¸≈À¬ı±Ò ¸˝√√¬ıÓ¬ ø¬ıø˙©Ü ø¬ıÚœÓ¬

Â√±ÀS¬ı˛ √˘, Ó¬‡Ú ¸ÀÓ¬…Ú √ÀM√√¬ı˛ fl¡œÈƒ¬À¸¬ı˛ ’Ú≈¬ı±√ Â√±Î¬ˇ± ’±˜¬ı± ’±¬ı˛ øfl¡Â≈√

Ê√±øÚÚ±, ’Ô‰¬ ’Ú… ¸˜ ˛ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ fl¡±À¬ı˛± flv¡±À¸ ’±˜¬ı˛± Ú±Ú± ’±À˘±‰¬Ú± ˛ ¬ı…ô¶

ŒÔÀfl¡øÂ√, Œfl¡Î¬◊ ¬ı± ‚≈ø˜À˚˛øÂ√ºíí 24

Narayan Gangopadhyay was certainly a good writer. It is not necessary

that a good writer would be a good man. But these two aspects of a good

character came to adore his life. Few such men came like him.

The things that were there behind his success as a lecturer, has been

quoted by Shankariprasad Basu. First, his attractive attire, sharp pointed

25

nose, a soft picture of smile in his face, secondly, it comes his deep voice,

where words rang, melodiously, thirdly, his easy excess to the world literature.

He has quoted things from world literature made easy to his students.

Fourthly, his power of memory, fifthly, his excellent oratory and lastly, a deep

sense of love to his students.25

As he loved his students by heart, he loved his country too. He was

born in undevided Bengal. His own words about this :

ëë¬ı±—˘±À√˙Àfl¡ ¤Ó¬ ˆ¬±˘¬ı±ø¸º Œ˚‡±ÀÚ˝◊√√ ˚±˝◊√√ ¬ı±—˘±À√˙Àfl¡ ˆ¬≈ ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±ø¬ı Ú±º

’±¬ı˛ Â√±S-Â√±Sœ¬ı˛±º ¤¬ı˛± ’±˜±¬ı ¸M√√±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ø˜À˙ ’±ÀÂ√º ¤¬ı˛± ’±˜±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√

’ÀÚfl¡ øfl¡Â≈√ºíí 26

That is why he could not forget his left over mother land, that is referred

his own writings. He felt, this partition, was due to politics. A critic has said in

another occasion.

ëë˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ Œfl¡±Úø√Ú˝◊√√ ¸•Û”Ì« ¸Ó¬… fl¡Ô± ¬ıÀ˘ Ú±º.... Î¬◊¡Z±dÀ√¬ı˛ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸›

Œfl¡±Ô±› ¬Û≈À¬ı˛±¬Û≈ø¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± ŒÚ˝◊√√º ˚‡Ú ÒÀÚ Ê√ÀÚ ˜±ÀÚ øÚ–À˙ ∏ ˝√√›˚±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬ÛSï ˜

˝√√˚ Œ√˙ø¬ıˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ’±˝3√√±ÀÚ Ó¬‡Ú Î¬◊¡Z±d¬ı˛± ø√fl¡ø¬ıø√fl¡ :±Ú˙”Ú… ˝√√À˚˛

¬Û±ø˘À˚ÀÂ√º fl¡Ó¬ ˘é¬ Ò¬ı˛± ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇÀÂ√, fl¡Ó¬ ˘é¬ ¬Û±˘±ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±˘±ÀÓ¬ ¶§Ê√ÚÀ√¬ı˛

˝√√±ø¬ı˛À˚˛ÀÂ√ ’±¬ı˛ ˝√√“±¬Û±ÀÓ¬ ˝√√“±¬Û±ÀÓ¬ ¤¬Û±À¬ı˛ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ ¤À¸ÀÂ√ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¸—‡…± Œfl¡Î¬◊ øfl¡

¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛∑ Œ˘‡± ’±ÀÂ√ øfl¡ Œfl¡±Ô±›∑ ’±¬ı˛ ¤À√À˙ ¬ı± ˝◊√√øG˚± ¤À¸˝◊√√ Œfl¡±Ú

¬Ûø¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ Œfl¡˜Ú øÂ√˘ ¬ı± ’±ÀÂ√ Ó¬±› Œ˘‡± ŒÚ˝◊√√ Œfl¡±Ô±›ºíí 27

Narayan Gangopadhyay has felt this in his every vein. We know of his love to

that country. He loved Bangladesh, that is why the perspective of his stories

and novel were about Bangladesh. Everything right from the Duars, Charai,

26

Arakan, Padma, Meghna, Kalabadar, Arialkha, Atrai, Mahaganga, along with

the streets of Neogi para, jostled side by side. In this respect, he is perhaps

unparallel. We get evidence of these, in his writings. But the novel ‘Lalmati’,

published in 1358 B.S., stands as a more perfect one. His experience in birth

place’s education, whole East Bengal and West Bengal, has laid impact upon

his writing.

Narayan Gangopadhyay joined politics, in his very childhood. Like

other students of that time he also plunged into the Swadeshi and Satyagraha

movement. He, himself told about this :

ëëŒÂ√±È¬À¬ı˘±ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ’±ø˜ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬ÀÓ¬ Œ˚±· ø√˝◊√√º õ∂Ô˜ õ∂Ô˜ √±√±À√¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√

Ú±Ú±¬ı˛fl¡˜ ¸±˝√√À¸¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛œé¬± Œ√›˚± , ¬ı±ÀÊ√ ˛±5 ¬ı˝◊√√ ˘≈øfl¡À˚˛ ¸¬ı˛¬ı¬ı˛±˝√√ fl¡¬ı˛± ¤¬ı—

øÚÀÊ√ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±º ’Ú… ¬ı±Î¬ˇœ ˝√√À˘ ¤fl¡ fl¡Ô±º ¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı˛ √±À¬ı˛±·±¬ı˛ ¬ı±øÎ¬ˇ¬ı˛ ŒÂ√À˘¬ı˛

¬ÛÀé¬ ¤¸¬ı fl¡±Ê√ fl¡¬ı˛± &ï Ó¬¬ı˛ ’¬Û¬ı˛±Ò ¬ı˝◊√√ fl¡œºíí 28

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s political life was shaped by his elder brother,

Shekhar Gangopadhyay. This young elder brother was his torch bearer to

politics in his adolescent period. With the Indian rebels of freedom Narayan

Gangopadhyay could lay faith upon this brother, in his talent and character.

His Sejda, was behind all types of communist activities in later life, in his

teaching profession, and in the progressive movement. A critic has said in this

regard:

ëëøÓ¬ø¬ı˛ -‰¬ø~À˙¬ı˛ Ê√±Ó¬œ˚˛ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ ’±¬ıÀ˝√√ ∆Ó¬ø¬ı˛ ø¬ıõ-¬ı¬ı±√, ø¬ıÀ˙¬ı˛

˜Ò…¬Û «±˚˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ é≈¬ø√¬ı˛±˜, fl¡±Ú±˝◊√√˘±˘, ¸”˚«À¸ÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ˚ ø¬ıõ-À¬ı¬ı˛ ’±&Ú ;À˘

Î¬◊Í¬˘, Ó¬± ≈¬ı¸•x√±À ˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… Â√øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ˘ Ó¬œ¬ıË ˆ¬±À¬ıº ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛±Àé¬ Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì

27

·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛› øÂ√À˘Ú Œ¸˝◊√√ ’±Àµ±˘ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¤fl¡Ê√Ú ˙ø¬ı˛fl¡º Ê√ø˜√±¬ı˛ õ∂Ô±¬ı˛

ø¬ıÀ˘±¬Û, Œ¬∏CÎ¬˝◊√√Î¬◊øÚ˚˛Ú ’±Àµ±˘ÀÚ¬ı˛ ø¬ı ∏ ˛&À˘± ¤˝◊√√ øÓ¬ø¬ı˛À˙˝◊√√ Ê√±Ó¬œ ˛

’±Àµ±˘ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¸— ≈Mï √ ˝√√À˚ÀÂ√ Œ¸˝◊√√ ø¬ıõ-¬ı¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ¬ÛÀÔº Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¶ö± ˛œ õ∂ˆ¬±¬ı

Ó¬±˝◊√√ ’øÚ¬ı± « øÂ√ Œ¸fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ Ê√Ú˜±ÚÀ¸¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…º Ó¬ï Ì Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì

·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ¸—À¬ı√Ú˙œ˘ ˜±Úø¸fl¡Ó¬± ˛›º Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ › ˜ÚÀÚ ø¬ıõ-¬ıœ

Œ˙‡¬ı˛Ú±Ô ·±e≈˘œ˝◊√√ ŒÓ¬± Ó¬‡Ú Ó¬“±¬ı ¸¬ı«é¬ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¸eœºíí 29

He was involved in political struggle while he was studying in Faridpur

College. Two of his nearest mate, at that time was Achyut Goswami, and

Narendranath Mitra. Narayan Gangopadhyay was spied upon by the then

policemen of the government. But, he had already joined in Jugantar Group

and under its spell he wrote a few political poems. The protagonist Ranjan, of

the novel, Shilalipi, (Jaistha, 1356 B.S.) came into contact with Jugantar

Group. As if the political thought of ‘Ranjan’ was the thought of Narayan

Gangopadhyay, too. This is proved when he used to talk to the leader of the

group, Benuda. Narayan Gangopadhyay got involved in politics in student-life

could be seen from view point of a critic :

ëë¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı˛ Ó¬±Î¬ˇ± Œ‡À˚ ¤fl¡ø√Ú ¬ı˛±Ó¬±¬ı˛±øÓ¬ ø˙äœ˘À= fl¡À¬ı˛ ¬Û±ø˘À ˛ ˚±Ú

¬ıø¬ı˛˙±À˘ ¤¬ı— Œ¸‡±Úfl¡±¬ı˛ ¬¬ıËÊ√À˜±˝√√Ú fl¡À˘ÀÊ√ ˆ¬øÓ«¬ ˝√√Úº ¬ıËÊ√À˜±˝√√Ú fl¡À˘Ê√

ŒÔÀfl¡˝◊√√ Ó¬±¬ı˛fl¡Ú±Ô ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ ˆ¬±˘ˆ¬±À¬ı ’±˝◊√√. ¤. ¤¬ı—. ø¬ı.¤. ¬Û±˙

fl¡¬ı˛À˘Úº 1933 ¤ õ∂À¬ıø˙fl¡± ¬Û¬ı˛œé¬±˚˛ Î¬◊M√√œÌ« ˝√√› ˛± Â√±S ¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡ˆ¬±À¬ı

1935 ¤ ’±˝◊√√.¤. ¬Û¬ı˛œé¬±˚˛ ¬ı¸±¬ı˛ ’øÒfl¡±¬ıœ–ø˝√√À¸¬ı ’Ú≈ ± ˛œ Ó¬±˝◊√√ 1935 ¤

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚¬ı˛ ¬ı±ÀÊ√f fl¡À˘Ê√ ŒÔÀfl¡ ’±˝◊√√.¤ ¬Û¬ıœé¬± Œ√¬ı±¬ı˛ fl¡Ô±º

28

øfl¡c øÓ¬øÚ ’±˝◊√√.¤.¬Û±˙ fl¡À¬ıÀÂ√Ú 1936 ¸±À˘º ¤¬ı fl¡±¬ı˛Ì ëŒ¬ı˛Àˆ¬±ø˘Î¬◊ Ú±¬ı˛œ

¸±¸ƒÀÛfl¡ƒÈ¬í ø˝√√À¸À¬ı ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ ’ôLø¬ı˛Ú øÂ√À˘Úºíí 30

If we study his life, it is known that all his political activities, was in his

student-life, before the independence movement. But this politics was

different, it can’t be said that Narayan Gangopadhyay’s had no political vision.

He did not plunge into the movement with flags and festoons. He took sides in

favour of exploited masses, it seems matured, to him. His readers know, the

liberation of his country, the right of common people, inspired his writing.

Many came under the umbrella of anti-fascist movement, many shed of the

paths, on their own. But Narayan could not. He never left anything against

humanity which was full of his ‘rasa chetana’ and logical understanding.

Narayan studied, understood, examined and tried to take life as a whole. He

laid faith upon this philosophy of life which proclaims to conquer evils, in

general. He felt, one has to take side in the crisis of civilization. To him the

politics, in India has to be directed towards every caste, every race, certainly

national freedom is one such endeavour. But the nationalist movement too, is

a part of resistance struggle in international arena. And nationalist movement

of India too, is also a way towards nationalist liberation. Not only the

exchange of power, not about in the administrative comfort, it was limited.

Had there been no such feelings, Narayan would have been diverted, after

1945. He would not have been committed to his comrades, even though there

were Chinese invasion in 1962. But Narayan was not an active political

worker, nor, he was a member of any political party. But politics, to him, was a

part of his life. To such the path of politics, is to gainsay the glory of life, and

29

humiliating, too, his writing entity. Without any love to humanity it is impossible

to take part in revolution.

A critic has said in this regard :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ¬Û±øÈ«¬·Ó¬ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬ÀÓ¬ ¸øSï ˛ øÂ√À˘Ú Ú±, øfl¡c øÂ√À˘Ú ’±˜±À√¬ı˛

¸¬ı«±eœÌ, ¸¬ı«Ê√ÚœÚ, ¸—¶‘®øÓ¬¬ı˛ ¶§Àõü › ¸±ÒÚ± ˛ ¸˝√√Œ˚±·œ, ¸Ó¬œÔ«ºíí 31

A critic has quoted from famous German poet and dramatist Bertolt

Brecht (10th Feb 1898-14th Aug, 1956) who has instructed to the writers of

new era that:

ëëFight through writing! Show that you are fighting vigorous realism!

Reality is on your side, be on the side of reality! Let life speak!íí 32

Again the critic has said that, Bertolt Brecht then wrote about the

necessity of taking the role of teachers by the writers as:

ëëThe writers will learn best by teachers at the same time.íí 33

If we look at his work, from Brechtian point of view, we see that

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s writing too is a voice of protest, the mouthpiece of

exploited masses. Here Narayan Gangopadhyay is consciously working to

imbibe the socialist feelings in the mind of his readers.

The author who was born a few months after Russian revolution and

died in the beginning of Naxalite movement could not remain silent. He had to

take the camp of reaction or progress. Narayan that is why joined in

progressive movement and till his death he had been there. A contemporary

critic, Susnata Das, has said :

30

ëë¸¬ı«Ê√Úøõ∂ ˛ ¤˝◊√√ ˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬ fl¡‡ÀÚ±˝◊√√ øÂ√À˘Ú Ú± ¬Û±øÈ«¬ ¸√¸… ¬ı± ¸øSï ˚˛

¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ fl¡ «œº øfl¡c Œ√ Àõ∂˜, ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±, Œ˚ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

Œ˙± ∏Ì øÚ¬ÛœÎ¬ˇÀÌ¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ó¬œ¬ıË ‚‘Ì± Ó“¬±Àfl¡ ŒÈ¬ÀÚ ¤ÀÚøÂ√˘ fl¡ ≈…øÚ©Ü ¬Û±øÈ«¬¬ı˛

fl¡±ÀÂ√º’’ 34

Narayan Gangopadhyay was an antifascist writer and a compatriot to

the ‘Pragati Lekhak Sangha’. He frequently used to visit the cultural

pilgrimage of 46, Dharmatala Street. At times he used to visit the meetings, of

this cultural hub. He frequently went to the gathering of IPTA. He used to take

periods of the novoice, political worker to educate them in Marxist’s

philosophy. Narayan has performed this duty in a smiling face. He was honest

to portray his philosophical beliefs, when he was writing stories or novels or in

any other acts. As such he was a social realist, with a conscious pen. Though

he was not a direct member of any communist party, yet he was loyal

throughout his life, to its cause and endeavour.

Narayan Gangopadhyay was a curious political worker. He kept his

faith upon socialist. He was a supporter and critic to communist party. He

never was blind supporter to any communist party that is seen in any

uneducated political worker. He had taken what is good and gave up what is

bad. He could sustain his right to freedom. Though he was not a card-holder

to any political party, he had always searched for the meaning of politics,

sociology and equality. He never supported any prevented politics. He

believed that to reach any desired goal of human understanding one has to

battle hard. The battle in between the good and bad and love and hate that is

based upon difficult experience. He learnt this from Marx and his allied

31

socialist thoughts. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s power of imagination and mind

was based upon his belief, in romanticism, historical consciousness and

scientific materialism. His romanticism was associated with social realities. He

is a passer by of life, who is constantly searching the path to truth, path to

liberation and all round development. He had a rich store house of

experiences. He had witnessed the both non-violence philosophy of Gandhiji

and the violent arm struggle, but never, got any clear answer, the clear

absolute, with his realistic experiences; he understood that freedom can be

achieved neither by the Gandhiji’s way nor by killing few Britishers. To

achieve freedom the need of the hour is to unite all peasant and industrial

workers from all strata of life.

With these feelings, Narayan came under the umbrella of communist

party. He became as a compatriot to communist worker, with this feelings,

which shaped his short stories and novels. ‘Lalmati’ bears truth to this

concept. This novel was published in 1358 B.S. This novel is a chronicle of

political activities a voice of protest to restore the rights of the native from

Barendrabhumi. In this novel, we see that turio Santhal stands as a barrier to

the torture, along with Ranjan Alimuddin master, Kaloshashi, Uttama- Nagen-

Doctor, Parimal and Mita. In this novel, a few days, before partition, he

penned the protests of those tortured people who were united against the

censesonist. Revolution is a constant process. Revolution changes its colour

from age to age due to political situation from country to country. People,

irrespective of Hindus and Muslims, were united to protest against the Feudel

Lord that paved the way to Britisher’s colony.

32

‘Lalmati’, by Narayan Gangopadhyay, was an epitome of a class-

struggle. The central character of ‘Lalmati’ is Ranjan, he is a revolutionary

leader. He has been grown up as a political worker day by day. On one hand,

he grew up in age, and became acquainted to the people outside. Ranjan was

well known to Swadeshi movement, Gandhisim, Satyagraha, Revolution and

ultimately to Russian Revolution and Marxism. It seems that Ranjan, was a

picture bearing writings, all these concepts in his own writings. In this respect,

a critic’s comment is quotable :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ Œ˚ ¸¬ı˛±¸±ø¬ı˛ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬ÀÓ¬ √œé¬±¢∂˝√√ÀÌ¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À ˛ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛

ø¬ı¬ıÓ«¬ÀÚ˝◊√√ ’øÒfl¡Ó¬¬ı˛ ’±¶ö±˙œ˘ øÂ√À˘Ú, ¬ı˛?Ú˝◊√√ Ó¬±¬ı˛ õ∂˜±Ìº Œ‰¬±À‡¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ

‚ÀÈ¬ ˚±›˚˛± ¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ’±Àµ±˘Ú&ø˘ Ó¬±¬ı˛ øfl¡À˙±¬ı˛ø‰¬M√√Àfl¡ Œfl¡¬ı˘ ø¬ı‰¬ø˘Ó¬˝◊√√

fl¡À¬ı˛øÚ, Ó¬±Àfl¡ ˜ÀÚ ˜ÀÚ ∆Ó¬¬ı˛œ› fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√˘ºíí 35

As because, humanity is in politics, and not politics is in humanity, is to

be observed, so is the version of Ranjan’s character as a protagonist in the

novel. He could not succumb to any political credo, but stood beside the

human concern. This type of character is a known face to Narayan

Gangopadhyay’s own creative vision. India, the sub-continent, has come

through many ups and down. But communal and fundamental forces are still

active in this region. Struggle against them is to be sustained. For that matter

the unity amongst the farmers-labourers and middle class-people is essential.

About this novel, a critic has said :

ëëë˘±˘˜±øÈ¬í Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ Œ√˙ˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ¬Û”¬ı« ≈ √√”ÀÓ«¬ “√±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ Ú±¬ı˛±˚˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚˛

Œ¸˝◊√√ ‹fl¡…¬ıX Ê√±¢∂Ó¬ Ê√Ú·ÀÚ¬ı˛ ≈√¬ı«±¬ı˛ ¸—¢∂±À˜¬ı˛ ◊√√ Ê√ ˛·±Ú Œ·À ˛ÀÂ√Úº Œ¸˝◊√√

33

fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ˝◊√√ ë˘±˘˜±øÈ¬í ’±Ê√› ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ Ê√±Ó¬œ˚ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ õ∂±¸øefl¡Ó¬± ˝√√±¬ı˛± ˛øÚ,

¬ı¬ı˛— ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú ¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ¤¬ı— ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ’¬ı¶ö±¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛Àõ∂øé¬ÀÓ¬ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸øÈ¬¬ı˛

õ∂±¸øefl¡Ó¬± ¬ı‘øX Œ¬ÛÀ ˛ÀÂ√ºíí 36

He, in this way has used his pen, but not any sword, for the cause of

human liberation. In one occasion in Desh, 5th January, 1969 issue, he has

criticized the doctrine which uphelds the politics that is totally based upon

theoretical creed only. He never wanted to shun the path of Art in the name of

crude credo. That is why he said as :

ëë ’±˜±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Ó¬N˜≈‡… ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ¸±Ô«fl¡Ó¬± ŒÚ˝◊√√-- Ó¬±¬ı˛ Œ¬ÛÂ√ÀÚ Œ˚

Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ë˝◊√√√√Ê√˜í ˝◊√√ Ô±fl≈¡fl¡ Ú± Œfl¡Úº ’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ√À˙¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈ ∏Àfl¡ ’±ø˜ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±ø¸

|X± fl¡ø¬ı˛º............... ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…˝◊√√ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬, ¬ı±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ˜±Ú≈ ∏ Ú ˛º

Œ˚‡±ÀÚ Œ√‡¬ı Œ√À˙¬ı˛ fl¡˘…±Ì, Œ√‡¬ı qˆ¬-Œ‰¬Ó¬Ú±—Ó¬±Àfl¡ ¸±ÚÀµ ¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛

fl¡¬ı˛¬ıº øÚÂ√fl¡ ˜Ó¬¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ï X õ∂±‰¬œÀ¬ı˛ ø˙ä ¬ı…øMï √QÀfl¡ ’±ø˜ ø¬ı¸Ê«√Ú ø√ÀÓ¬

õ∂dÓ¬ Ú˝◊√√º ’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ√À˙¬ı˛ fl¡Ô±˝◊√√ ¸¬ı«±À¢∂ ¶ú¬ı˛Ì Œ¬ı˛À‡ ’±ø˜ ¸Ó¬…Àfl¡ ’±‰¬¬ı˛Ì

¤¬ı— ø˜Ô…±Àfl¡ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ √√±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛¬ıº ...............’±˜±¬ı˛ ø‰¬ôL±˚˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ’¶Û©ÜÓ¬±

ŒÚ˝◊√√º ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˚ø√ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± √˘ Ô±Àfl¡- Œ¸ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¶§À√˙ , ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˚ø√ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬ Ô±Àfl¡ Œ¸ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ı ∏« ¤¬ı— ˜±Ú¬ıÓ¬±º ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˚ø√ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

¬ıMï √¬ı… Ô±Àfl¡ Ó¬± ˝√√À˘ ¤À√¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… øÚÀ¬ıø√Ó¬ºíí 37

In his later life, Narayan came in contact with the Leftist ideology. That

is why the negative aspect of Indian religion could not find space in his

writings. Instead this became the subjects of humour in him. In this respect,

we can notice the words of a critic :

34

ëëŒ¸ø√Ú Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ’ÀÚfl¡é¬Ì ’±˘±¬Û ’±À˘±‰¬Ú± ˝√√À˚øÂ√˘º Ê√±ÚÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛ ±˜

Œ¸ ¤‡Ú ˜±fl«¡¸ƒ¬ı±À√¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ ’Ú≈¬ı˛Mï √º ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ıÀ ∏« Peoples War Ú±˜fl¡

¬ÛøSfl¡±øÈ¬Àfl¡˝◊√√ Œ¸ ¤fl¡˜±S ¸≈¶ö ˜øô¶À¶®¬ı˛ ¬ÛøSfl¡± ¬ıÀ˘ ˜ÀÚ fl¡À¬ı˛º ¬Û”¬ı«Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛

Œ¸ ÷ï ´¬ı˛¬ı±√œ ø‰¬ôL±Ò±¬ı˛±Àfl¡ Ó¬…±· fl¡À¬ı øÚ¬ı˛œï ´¬ı˛¬ı±√œ ø‰¬ôL±Ò±¬ı˛± ¢∂˝√√Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√

¬ıÀ˘ ø¬ı¶úÀ˚˛¬ı˛ øfl¡Â≈√ ŒÚ˝◊√√º Œ¸ Ê√±Ú±À˘, Ó¬±¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Ò˜« ”˘fl¡ ø˙é¬±

øÚ©£¬˘ ˝√√ ˛øÚº Œ¸˝◊√ ø˙é¬±Ê√œ¬ıÚ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÚ Œ˚ øÚá¬±¬ı˛ Ê√ij ø√À ˛øÂ√˘

Œ¸˝◊√√ øÚá¬±˝◊√√ Ó¬±Àfl¡ ˜±fl«¡¸ƒ¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ø√Àfl¡ ŒÍ¬À˘ ø√À˚˛ÀÂ√ºíí 38

In Naxalbari movement, we don’t see him supporting the revolutionary

youth. But Professor Narayan Gangopadhyay did not stand beside the

students, who went on having tortures or their death in custody. This truth was

painful to those who wrote and stood beside the Naxal, in their own writings,

especially by those who were leftist. He had stood beside his own favour, in

an essay dated 7th Nov, 1970, in the Journal, titled “Sunandar Journal” :

ëë ¸ø¬ıÚÀ˚˛ ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ ¬ıø˘, ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ Œ‚±¬ı˛¬Û“…±À‰¬ ’±ø˜ ŒÚ˝◊√√º ’±Õ˙˙¬ı fl≈¡ø˙é¬±¬ı˛

Ù¬À˘ øÚÓ¬±ôL˝◊√√ ø¬ı ”ÀÏ¬ˇ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ√˙È¬±Àfl¡ øfl¡ø=» ˆ¬±À˘±À¬ıÀ¸ ŒÙ¬À˘øÂ√–

Ó¬…±À· ≈√–À‡ ¸±ÒÚ± ˛ ˜Úœ ∏± ˛ “±¬ı˛± ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬˚ ’±¬ı˛ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ ·ÀÎ¬ˇ

Ó≈¬À˘ÀÂ√Ú, Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ ’±˜±¬ı˛ øfl¡Â≈√ |X± ’±ÀÂ√º ’±Ê√ øÚø¬ı«‰¬±À¬ı˛ Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛

Â√ø¬ı ’±¬ı˛ ˜”øÓ«¬¬ı˛ fl¡äÚ±Ó¬œÓ¬ ’¬ı˜±ÚÚ± Œ√À‡ Ò±¬ı˛Ì± Ê√ÀijøÂ√˘–¤ ¸˜ô¶ Î¬±˝√√±

¬Û±·À˘¬ı fl¡±G, Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ √ , ˚Ó¬ ø¬ıõ-¬ıœ˝◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛± Œ˝√√±Ú Ú± Œfl¡Ú, Œ˚

Î¬±À˘ ¬ıÀ¸ ’±ÀÂ√Ú, Œ¸˝◊√√ Î¬±À˘¬ı˛ Œ·±Î¬ˇ±˚ fl≈¡Î¬≈ ¬ı¸±À¬ıÚ- ¤˜Ú fl“¡±Í¬±À˘ ¬ı≈øX

Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ Ô±fl¡ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú±º Œfl¡±ÀÚ± Œ√À˙, Œfl¡±ÀÚ± fl¡±À˘ ¤˜Ú ¬Û¬ı˛ ±(˚«

∆¬ıõ-ø¬ıfl¡ fl¡˜«ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ Î¬◊√±˝√√¬ı˛Ì ¬Û±› ˛± ˚±À¬ı Ú±ºíí 39

35

Though he started with romantic vein, in his early writings, yet he has

penned the writings, with class-struggle concept. In his first novel Upanibesh

he had delineated a new type of code and with socialist expression.

No sign of a new life could be seen in such a book by him, who was

twenty four years old, but took a mature turn. In his works it still to come. But

Narayan Gangopadhyay wrote not only for the individual, but for a crowd, a

mass, as if he was on his way to unveil the truth behind mystery.

The children-literature that Narayan Gangopadhyay has written, too,

won recognition and immortality. Those writers who are great do not forget

their childhood. They always love children. With this, Bidyasagar has written

‘Barnaparichay’ for children, though he was great scholar of Bengali literature.

Narayan Gangopadhyay, too, was not exception. He loved children. In his

writing carrier he panned down children-literature, in his busy schedule. Here,

he is unparallel. Of this a critic has said as :

ëëŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ’±ø˜› fl¡˜ Œ¬ıø˙ ˝√√±ø¸¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± ø˘À‡øÂ√ ¬ıÀÈ¬ øfl¡c Œ¸ ¸¬ı

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ √“±Î¬ˇ±ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ¬Û±À¬ı˛ Ú±–¤ fl¡Ô± ’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À˚ Œ¬ıø˙ Œfl¡

’±¬ı˛ Ê√±ÀÚØ√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± qï ˝√√Ó¬ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ˜±¬ı˛ ¬Û“…±‰¬ Ú± fl¡À ∏ ◊√√, fl¡Ô±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

¬Û± ˛Ó¬±¬ı˛± Ú± Œˆ¬ÀÊ√˝◊√√-¬ı±˝√√±≈√ø¬ı˛ Œ√‡±¬ı±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬©Ü± øÂ√˘ Ú± Œ¸ ¸¬ı Œ˘‡±˚, fl¡± ˛√±

Œfl¡¬ı˛±˜øÓ¬ fl¡¸¬ı˛» Œ√‡±ÀÚ±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± õ∂ ˛±¸ Ú ˛º ’±¬ı˛ fl¡Ó¬ ¸˝√√ÀÊ√ Œfl¡˜Ú

’¬ı˘œ˘±˚˛ Œ˚ Œ˙ ∏ ˝√√À ˛ Œ˚Ó¬º ’±¬ı˛ fl¡œ¬ı˛fl¡˜ ˜Ê√± ˘±·Ó¬ Œ˚ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬, fl¡œ

¬ı˘¬ıºíí 40

At first, he began writing stories and novels for the grown-ups. After

that he came to write for children on request by Bishu Mukhopadhyay, the

36

editor of a children-magazine, Mouchak. In this regard Narayan

Gangopadhyay has said by himself :

ëë¬ıÎ¬ˇÀ√¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ·ä ø˘‡øÂ√˘±˜º ˝√√Í¬±» ¤fl¡ø√Ú ø¬ıq ≈À‡±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ ¤À˘Úº

....¤À¸˝◊√√ Ù¬¬ı˛ ±¸ fl¡¬ı˛À˘Ú, ëŒ˜Ã‰¬±Àfl¡í ·ä ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ı ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…º

ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ ·äº Œ¸ ŒÓ¬± ≈√¤fl¡øÈ¬ ø˘À‡øÂ√ ∆fl¡À˙±À¬ı˛º.......... Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ’±¬ı˛› ¬ıÎ¬ˇ

˝√√À ˛ ¬ıÎ¬ˇÀ√¬ı˛ ¬ÛøSfl¡± ˛ ‰¬À˘ ¤À¸øÂ√√√º ¤‡Ú ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ ·ä Œ¸ ˜Ú

Œfl¡±Ô± ˛ ¬Û±¬ı-- ŒÂ√À˘À¬ı˘±¬ı˛ Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬‡≈ œ¬ı˛ Ê√·»È¬±Àfl¡ Œfl¡±Ô±˚ ¬Û±˝◊√√º..........

¤¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ø¬ıq√± qï fl¡À¬ı˛ ø√À˘Ú ’±¬ı˛ Ô±˜ÀÓ¬› ø√À˘Ú Ú±º Ù¬¬ı˛ ±˙ ø√À˘Ú,

˝√√±ø¸¬ı˛ ·ä Œ˘À‡± ¤fl¡È¬± ¬ı±ø¯∏«fl¡œ¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…º ’±¬ı˛› ≈ø¶®˘º Œ·±˜ƒ¬ı˛± ≈‡ fl¡À¬ı˛

˜±©Ü±ø¬ı˛ fl¡ø¬ı˛– ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ Œ·À˘ ŒÂ√À˘À√¬ı˛ ˝√√±ø¸ ¬ıg fl¡¬ı˛±˝◊√√ ’±˜±¬ı˛ fl¡±Ê√, ˝√√±ø¸¬ı˛

·ä Œfl¡±ÀOÀfl¡ ’±¸À¬ıº

Ó¬‡Ú øÚÀÊ√¬ı ŒÂ√±È¬À¬ı˘± ˛ øÙ¬À¬ı˛ ¤˘±˜º ¶ú‘øÓ¬¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ ‡“¬≈ÀÊ√

’±ÚÀÓ¬ ˘±·˘±˜ Œ¸˝◊√√ ¸¬ı ‚È¬Ú±Àfl¡- ˚±À√¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ˆ¬±¬ıÀ˘ ¤‡Ú› Ó¬¬ı˛ ˝√√±ø¸

Ù≈¬ÀÈ¬ ›ÀÍ¬ ŒÍ¬±“ÀÈ¬¬ı˛ Œfl¡±Ì± ˛º ¤˜øÚ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ·ä ø√˘±˜ ø¬ıq√±Àfl¡º Œ¸˝◊√√ Œ˚

˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬¬ı˛ ˝√√±ø¸¬ı˛ Œ¶⁄±Ó¬ ¬ı˝◊√√√√˘, ’±Ê√› Ó¬± ’±¬ı˛ Ô±˜˘ Ú±ºíí 41

In fact, as a man Narayan Gangopadhyay was a man of good humour.

For that, no work to him was difficult. He was as simple as a child, with a tinge

of naughty affairs. He used to compose humorous stories with the name of his

friends. His smile was pure, the smile that is rare, No type of follies got in his

own writings.

It is very difficult to write for the children. Some people are there, who

are known for their children-writing. Though they are expert in this field, but

these are devoid of children psychology. That is why though these books are

37

taken by them in their hands, they don’t read those books or if they are forced

to read these by the dictate of the elders, yet, they don’t enjoy those books,

written by the grown-ups.

There are three characters, which has left an undeniable mark upon

writings of children-literature. They are ‘Ghanada’ by Premendra Mitra,

‘Harshabardhan’ by Shibram Chakraborty and after that ‘Tenida’ by Narayan

Gangopadhyay. ‘Tenida’ is his immortal creation. His neighbour in

Pataldanga, Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, was the inspiration to form the

perspective of his ‘Tenida’. About this, a critic has said :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ¬ı˛¸À¬ı±ÀÒ¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬˚ ¬ı˛À ˛ À·ÀÂ√ ŒÈ¬øÚ√±¬ı˛ fl¡±ø˝√√ÚœÀÓ¬º

øÚÂ√√fl¡ Â√…±¬ı˘±ø˜ÀÓ¬ Œ˚ ¬ı˛ ¸‘ø©Ü ˝√√˚ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ’±ø¬ı˘Ó¬± ’Àä˝◊√√ ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Ò¬ı˛±

¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇº.......ŒÈ¬øÚ√±¬ı˛ Œ˚ Î¬± ˛±˘· qÀÚ qÀÚ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡ Œ˝√√À¸ ˘≈ÀÈ¬±¬Û≈øÈ¬ ‡±˚ Ó¬±

Œfl¡±˘fl¡±Ó¬±¬ı˛ ‰¬˘ƒøÓ¬ ˆ¬± ∏± ˝√√À˘› Œfl¡±Úˆ¬±À¬ı fl¡˜øÓ¬ Ú ˛ºíí 42

A few words have got access to greater Bengali Literature with Tenida,

such as ‘Ek Gattai Chandi Chandpur-e’, ‘Kan Karnatak

Pradesh-e’, ‘Dant dantane’,‘Nak Nasike’ etc. Especially, ‘Mother-para’

(a short version of Motherland) slogan will remain immortal. With keen

observation of human life, he could understand the psyche of child. That is

why Tenida, appears to us as a hero of worship, in part of the children

readers. With the help of his keen inner eyesight, Narayan Gangopadhyay

could understand his younger readers’ mental state. So for them he has

created the famous character—‘Tenida’. In class X Tenida has been sitting fix

like the monument for several years, no body can scare him away from this

38

class. Because he has to manage the new boys and girls coming in class X.

About this man, Tenida, the writer has said :

ëë¤ Œ˝√√Ú ˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛± ¬Û“±‰¬ ˝√√±Ó¬ ˘•§± ‡È¬‡ÀÈ¬ ŒÊ√±˚±Úº ·ÀÎ¬ˇ¬ı˛ ˜±ÀÍ¬ Œ·±¬ı˛±

ŒÍ¬ø„√√À ˛ ¤¬ı— Œ‡˘±˚ Œ˜±˝√√Ú¬ı±·±Ú ˝√√±¬ı˛À˘ Œ¬ı˛Ù¬±ø¬ı˛ ø¬ÛøÈ¬À ˛ ¶§Ú±˜ÒÚ…ºíí 43

It is a, all-permissible, truth that Narayan Gangopadhyay’s children-

literature is unique, of its own. But in respect of the characterization of Tenida

it has gone beyond the limit. So ‘Tenida’ is unparallel, one and only, Tenida is

comparable to Tenida only. His speech today is proverbial, the saga of the

Charmurti of Pataldanga’s, is legendery. Tenida’s permanent place is the

portico of Chatterjee’s. He defalcates from others’ pocket, out of which he

survives. He feels hungry even after any good meal, because, Tenida never

knows how to shut his mouth up. Though, at first sight he falls in danger with

Kabla, Habul and Pela, yet ultimately this situation turns into pleasure. With

utter expertise he shows us why we all, are the lover of Tenida. This can be

realized in the novel, ‘Charmurtir Abhiyan’. Charmurti went on excursion, in

times of Christmas vacation to Kuttimama’s house in Duars at the end of

examination. As soon as they arrived there, Mama took them to hunt leopard

which cruted horror. Then went Tenida rode upon a running elephant, cried by

telling that they all have lost their Tenida, adieu, adieu, Habul, Kabla, Pela. At

that time they all also started crying together. Because to them :

ëëŒÈ¬øÚ√± ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ˜±Ô± ˛ ˝√√±Ó¬ ¬ı≈ø˘À˚ ’ÀÚfl¡ ø˜ø©Ü ’±¬ı ø¬ıô¶¬ı˛ Î¬±˘ ≈È¬

Œ‡À˚ÀÂ√º ‰“¬±øÈ¬ ·±A± ˘±ø·À˚ÀÂ√ ˚‡Ú Ó¬‡Úº øfl¡c ŒÈ¬øÚ√± Ú˝◊√√À˘ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ Œ˚

¤fl¡øÈ¬ ø√Ú› ‰¬À˘Ú±º Œ˚˜Ú ‰¬›Î¬ˇ± ¬ı≈fl¡ ŒÓ¬˜øÚ ‰¬›Î¬ˇ± ˜Ú .......... ¬Û±Î¬ˇ±¬ı˛

39

fl¡±À¬ı˛± ø¬ı¬Û√-’±¬Û√ ˝√√À˘ ŒÈ¬øÚ√±˝◊√√ ø·À ˛ “√±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ÀÂ√ ¸¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±À·º Œ˘±Àfl¡¬ı˛

Î¬◊¬Ûfl¡±À¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ˜≈ √√”ÀÓ«¬¬ı Ê√Ú… Ó¬±¬ı˛ flv¡±øôL ŒÚ˝◊√√- ˜≈À‡ ˝√√±ø¸ Ó¬±¬ı˛ Œ˘À·˝◊√√ ’±ÀÂ√º

Ù≈¬È¬¬ıÀ˘¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… Œ¸¬ı˛± Œ‡À˘±˚±Î¬ˇ, øSï Àfl¡ÀÈ¬¬ı˛ fl¡…±ÀõI◊Úº ’±¬ı˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ ¬ı˛±Ê√±º

¤˜Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ ·ä ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ Œfl¡Î¬◊ Ê√±ÀÚ Ú±ºíí 44

That children reader was entertained by Tenida’s world, it is due to the

ingenuity of Tenida’s articraft which they have become familiar laughter was

the way, with which he sketches the ins and outs of their psyche. This

laughter was spontenous. Tenida is the president in every meeting in the

portico of Chatterjee’s. This book became best seller among the list of Bengali

children-literature which is full of fun. It is true that Narayan Gangopadhyay,

wrote other type of books for children too, but it is in such of comedy which

gave him lasting popularity amongst children readers. Here, he is original. But

it was written in a classical vein, a kind of detachment could be seen here in

such type of writing. He was undoubtedly a good reader of human mind with a

sweet tongue, and untalkative. He had keen respect for his elder writers. He

was a naughty boy, the experience of childhood which shaped his own

writings, which is drawn in his characterization and incidents of the naughty

act of the troops in Pataldanga. In this regard he said as follows :

ëëŒ˘‡±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… Ú±Ú± ≈√©Ü≈¬ı≈øX Ó¬‡Ú ŒÔÀfl¡˝◊√√ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˜±Ô± ˛º ¬Û¬ı˛¬ıÓ«¬œfl¡±À˘

’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± ˛ ¤¬ı˛± ¤À¸ ˝√√±øÊ√¬ı˛ ˝√√À˚ÀÂ√–ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ Œ˘‡±˚˛ºíí 45

A remarkable piece of talent, is Narayan Gangopadhayay’s ‘Sunandar

Journal’, it was serialized in weekly ‘Desh’. It gained popularity by the readers

of ‘Desh’. It was published from the year 1963 till his death in 1970.

40

Apparently, it was written by a journalist, yet it has crossed the barrier of mere

dull reportage. Every reader was curious, before its appearance in the

subsequent issues. This period was a remarkable one in the political history of

West Bengal. People then went through the period of economic turmoil, at

that time the people of Bengal could not seat in peace.

The philosophy of stagnation loomed large over the psyche of the

Indian society. In this political age of turmoil West Bengal had to succumb.

The failure of congress government, the internal conflict within the left front

and the short lived Govt. and their whimsical decision left havoc upon the

shoulders of the common people of West Bengal. The failure to control the

sky high price of essential commodities left the people of West Bengal in front

of uncertainty. That is why any incident, got space in ‘Sunandar Journal’. Its

point of view, the humour and over and above its diction has won over the

mind and curiosity of the readers. If any one wants to portray the

contemporary social limbo, credibly then, one has to keep herself or himself

detached from his materials. Man comes near the subject of unconsciously,

into the treatment of the written the difficult task, and then is that the writer

has to face problems, being too much involved in his personal crisis that

comes from the turmoil of society. But ‘Sunandar Journal’ is a little bit

different. Here, though his subject of context embarks socio-economic crisis

and the contemporary problems yet the author never derailed from his comic

word at heart. In face with the touch of comic relief it has gained a character

of singularity. Added to this were his civilized taste sagacity and sometimes

the touch of foreign literature. This legendary teacher has taught and gave a

41

colour in his own writing in field of education as the saint ‘Dadhichi’. Here

Narayan Gangopadhyay could not conceal himself behind the act as a

Reporter, in ‘Sunandar Journal’. The spices, presented in palatable dishes of

‘Sunandar Journal’, were a matter of curiosities to the reader. Sunanda, as we

see him from in the journal is taken as one, victim of the contemporary

government and its whimsical activities at that age.

Nothing could escape from the eye of the author, in ‘Sunandar Journal’.

Even the decay of contemporary society, its values, could find spaces there.

The critic has said in this regard :

ëë¤˝◊√√ ¢∂Lö ¤fl¡±Ò±À¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ¸˜À˚¬ı˛ ¬ı±„√√±ø˘¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ-˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ ¤¬ı— ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛

√¬Û«Ìºíí 46

In fact, ‘Sunandar Journal’ is the history of an age. Those who were not

able to understand and feel that age, the author has made them understood

its spices. Week after week, month after month, ‘Sunandar Journal’ has

entertained its readers. It was never monotonous. Everybody was eager to

read this. In this respect, one of the critics of Narayan Gangopadhyay, Manas

Mazumdar’s statement is citable :

ëë ¸≈Úµ¬ı˛ Â√ΩÀ¬ıÀ˙ Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚˛ Œ¸ ¸˜ ˛ õ∂˜±Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ øÂ√À˘Ú Œ˚,

Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ fl¡˘˜ ¸Ó¬…¸Ó¬…˝◊√√ ˚±≈√√G ˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊Í¬ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı , ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Œ˘‡fl¡

’±√±˚˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ øÚÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú Œ¬ÛÃ¬ı±øÌfl¡ ¬ı˙…Ó¬±º õ∂˜±Ì fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√À˘Ú Œ˚, ŒÊ√±¬ı˛±À˘±

fl¡˘˜ Ê√ij Œ√ ˛ ¸» › ø¬ıÀ¬ıfl¡œ ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛º

¸≈Úµ¬ı˛ Ó”¬ÌœÀ¬ı˛ Ó”¬ÀÌ¬ı˛ ’ˆ¬±¬ı øÂ√˘ Ú±º ˝√√5±-’ÀôL øÓ¬øÚ ’ÀÚfl¡Àfl¡˝◊√√

ø¬ıX fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº ¤˜Ú øfl¡ øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡›º ’±¬ı Œfl¡Î¬◊ Ó“¬±Àfl¡ Ó¬±˝◊√√ ˙Sn∏ ¬ıÀ˘ ˆ¬±¬ıÀÓ¬

42

¬Û±À¬ı˛øÚº ¸≈Úµ Œ˚ ¤fl¡ Ê√±¢∂Ó¬ ø¬ıÀ¬ıfl¡, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ê√±Ú«±˘ Œ˚ √¬Û«Ì-¸‘√˙–Œ˚‡±ÀÚ

Sï ˜±i§À ˛ ‰¬À˘ÀÂ√ ’±R¬ıœé¬Ì ŒÔÀfl¡ ø¬ıï ´¬ıœé¬ÀÌ¬ı ¬Û±˘±ºíí 47

There is a difference between literature and journalism. Though by

name, it was journal, yet it is not so infact. His subject was of a chronicler, yet

it has never been a report. It has got its literary values. Report is short lived,

informative. But the institutional literature does not live in reporting. Its appeal

is upon its Rasa. Facts can be his shelter of writing but its main aim in its

Rasa. The aim of literature is to raise emotion. A classic literature is

permanent in its appeal. The demand, of the contemporary reader, is not its

aim only, rather one of the various aims, it can be said. The love and respect

of the reader forever is its aim. That is why the authorship is aimed at winning

the heart of the readers yet to come in future.

In literary, classification, ‘Sunandar Journal’ can be said a ‘Comedy’.

Many things, right from the gossiping environment, a clear vision, to move the

reader, correspondence among text and context, the primacy of emotion to

cerebral act are the moot point of Narayan Gangopadhyay’s articraft. It is

undoubtedly clear that to give pleasure, to the reader is the main aim of the

author. Here in this respect, Sunanda is successful. Week after week the text,

‘Sunandar Journal’ has given the Bengali reader a lasting space. He has

imbibed laughter and sprayed thorns into readership.

Narayan Gangopadyay is a two fold genious. Both as a teacher and as

a writer, he excelled himself. But first he is a writer, and then a teacher. But

there is no contradiction between a teacher and a writer. As a teacher he had

43

excessed to philosophy both eastern and western, his thinking was a

combination of Art and philosophy. In Sunandar Journal we get its clear

picture. On the one hand, it has a literary value and on the other hand it is a

document of social values. It is pedagogy of the people living in every social

stratum.

Actually Sunanda is not only a commentator or a poet; he is a

philosopher, too. That is why in his own composition of Sunanda, he has

forecasted his death in the following words :

ëë’¸≈¶ö ˙¬ı˛œÀ¬ı˛ Ê√±Ú«±˘ ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ˆ¬±¬ıøÂ√, ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸—‡…±˚ ¸≈Úµ¬ı˛ ¬Û±Ó¬±øÈ¬

˚ø√ Ú± Ô±Àfl¡, Ó¬±˝√√À˘ Ê√±ÚÀ¬ıÚ, ’±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ fl¡˜Ú˜…±Ú ¬ı±„√√±˘œ¬ı˛ ’¬ı˘≈ø5 ¬ı±

’±Rø¬ı¸Ê«√Ú ‚È¬˘ºíí 48

The journal was published in 7th November, entitled as ‘Asustha

Sharirer Bhabna’, the last journal, was published in 14th November, 1970.

Before that he had taken leave from this earth on 8th November. The last

writing of Sunandar Journal was published in Desh, along with an obituary.

Narayan Gangopadhyay was there extensively with the mind of whole

Bangladesh. Here, Narayan came with the creative appeal, long back in his

youth. It was seen at that very time, coming along with the literary quriosity

and clairvoyance. As a writer he was closed to everybody. Many came to be a

compatriot upon any type of meeting and gathering. Everybody used to be

entertained by him. His speeches were spontaneous, wonderful, but never

was a gimmick. As if his pointed nose, bright eyes are the emblem of his own

mind. His personalities and mindset helped him to release thing around him.

44

Sometimes referential, sometime in cases of recitation, sometimes in

companion added to the words he spoke about. Always he was easy, lifeful in

enthusiasm without any effort. He was a friend to everyone. Gopal Haldar has

said :

ëëŒ¶ß √√ ¶§26√µÓ¬±˚˛ ŒÂ√±È¬À√¬ı˛ ’±¬ÛÚ±¬ı˛ fl¡Àé¬ Ó≈¬À˘ ¤ÀÚ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛

’±Rõ∂fl¡±À˙ ¸±˝√√¸ Ê√±ø·À˚ ø√ÀÓ¬Úº ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ ¬ıÎ¬ˇÀ√¬ı˛ ’fl‘¡øS˜ Œ¸Ã˝√√±À«√…

’±¬ÛÚ±¬ı˛ fl¡Àé¬ Ò±¬ı˛Ì fl¡À¬ı› ø¬ıÚ•⁄ ¸zÀ˜ Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ø¬ıø˙©Ü ˜˚±«√± ø√ÀÓ¬›

ˆ¬≈ ÀÓ¬Ú Ú±º Ú±¬ı˛±˚˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¸±˝√√‰¬À « ¸fl¡À˘¬ı˛ ◊√√ õ∂fl¡±˙ ’¬ı…±˝√√Ó¬º Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√

¶§±26√µ… ŒÊ√±·±Ó¬ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ õ∂œøÓ¬, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ê√ij·Ó¬ ˙±˘œÚÓ¬±À¬ı±Ò, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛

˜Ò≈¬ı˛ ¶§ ¬±¬ıºíí 49

Though, there may be difference of opinion, yet, ultimately Narayan

Gangopadhyay has embarked upon a philosophy of life, that was his own.

Narayan Gangopadhyay was a seeker of life. He was an artist of life.

He went on conversation with many people, accumulated both sweet and sour

of life, which found spaces in his own writing. His writings were lifefull, and

active. He had added jewels to the Bengali literature. In his critical writing too,

he excelled much to the delight of the people. Even erudite thinking, has got

easy excess to his simplicity. The book ‘Sahitye Chotagalpa’ was a big work

to his credit. This book is a treasure of Bengali literature on criticism which is

rare in Bengali literature. With studies on authorship their feelings and

surprising techno craft a few works of criticism on the several litterateurs in his

critique ‘Sahitya O Sahityik”, leave much to the Bengali literature. ‘Bangla

Galpa Bichitra’, too, is added to such activities.

45

He delivered a lecture titled as ‘Chotagalper Simarekha’, given on the

occasion of ‘Sharatchandra Chatterjee Smriti Baktritamala’, speaks words of

erudite thinking.50 His ‘Kathakobid Rabindranath’ has added another feather

upon the works on Rabindranath. It is not only a ‘critique’ but also a book, with

rare distinction with lyricism. He has also composed a few dramas which

stand as a testimony to the Bengali Dramaturge. The enacted version,

‘Bharate Chai’ and ‘Agantuk’ has created uproar him in the Bengali

readership. The main thing beside this was his envious experience that helps

the writers stand upon their own. In this respect, a critic’s appreciation can be

cited :

ëëqÒ≈ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… Ú˚˛ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚¬ı˛ ˙±ôL ¸≈ ¬^ ¬ı…øMï √ÀQ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…› øÂ√˘

¤˜øÚ ¤fl¡ ¬ı<fl¡øÍ¬Ú ŒÊ√√, Ê√˚œ ˝√√í¬ı±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ’Ú˜Úœ ˛ ˙øMï √º ¶§œ ˛ ’ôLÀ˘«±Àfl¡

˚± ¸Ó¬… ¬ıÀ˘ ’Ú≈ ¬”Ó¬ ˝√√˚˛ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı ’Ó¬…±‰¬±¬ı˛ ◊√√ ˙øMï √, ˜øµÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛

¬ı± ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛ ¤fl¡‰¬é≈¬ ¸—¶®±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ’Ú≈ ±¸Ú ’±¬ı˛ ˙±¸±øÚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ fl¡Ó«¬¬ı…À¬ı±ÒÀfl¡

ˆ¬œï Ó¬± ˛ ¸Ç≈ø‰¬Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛øÚ, Ó¬±¬ı˛Ê√Ú… Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ˙¯∏ ¬ı˛Mï √ø¬ıµ≈Àfl¡› ¬ı±øÊ√ ¬ı˛±‡ÀÓ¬

Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ø¡ZÒ± øÂ√˘Ú±º ¤ ‰¬ø¬ı˛S ø‰¬ø˝ï Ó¬ ˝√√À˚øÂ√˘ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ ∆fl¡À˙±À¬ı ŒÊ√À· ›Í¬±

ø¬ıõ-¬ıœ ¬ı…øMï √ÀQ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…º.......... ¤‡±ÀÚ˝◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı…øMï √ÀQ Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬ı˛+¬ÛøÈ¬ √œ¬Û…˜±Ú

ëë¬ı<±√ø¬Û fl¡ÀÍ¬±¬ı˛±øÌ ˜‘≈√øÚ fl≈¡¸≈ √ø¬Ûºíí Œ√À˝√√ ˜ÀÚ õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬± ˛ ‡±¬ÛÀ‡±˘±

Ó¬À¬ı˛± ˛±À˘¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± Î¬◊8˘ ¤˝◊√√ ˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬ ¬ıÎ¬ˇ Œ¬ı˙œ Ú•⁄ ’±¬ı˛ ¬ıÎ¬ˇ fl¡øÍ¬Úº Ÿ¬Ê≈√√,

¸≈¬ı˛± ¬ı± õ∂øÓ¬¬ÛøM√√ Œfl¡±Ô±› ÚÓ¬ ˝√√› ˛± Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ÀMï √ Œ˘À‡ øÚºíí 51

If we notice, we can understand that Narayan Gangopadhyay’s works

are not complex. But it is also not expected that a fiction writer will walk only

along the easy path of life. That is why he will celebrate the victory bed of

thorns in literature of life. That is why the dryness of a desert has also touched

46

him. But, for the sake of truth it must be said that, it was not that pungent and

wide extensive, that we find in his literature. In fact he seeks a beautiful

perspective. He, who is having a wild-character, is himself will search for

another self. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s accumulated knowledge and

understanding has covered all through his writing carrier, which sometimes

was responsible for the extension of fiction writing, sometimes it crosses the

romantic subjectivity. But when perspective is ready, the environment is

conducive then it became excellent.

In his creative personality Narayan is a visionary romantic. In his own

mind, he had been reciting poems one after another amidst the din and bustle

of the daily busy schedule. Such a poetic person, left poetry in his early carrier

if asked, he would say :

ëë ëfl¡ø¬ıÓ¬± ¬ıÎ¬ˇ ’øˆ¬˜±Úœ, ¤fl¡¬ı±¬ı Ó¬±Àfl¡ ”√À¬ı˛ ŒÍ¬À˘ ¬ı˛±‡À˘ ’±¬ı˛ øÙ¬À¬ı˛ ¬Û±› ˛±

˚±˚˛ Ú±º fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¸•§gÈ¬± õ∂±˚˛ Ó¬±˝◊√√ ˝√√À˚˛ √“±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ÀÂ√ºí ’±¬ı±¬ı˛

fl¡‡Ú› ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬Ú, ë’±˜±¬ı˛ fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±˝◊√√ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ¬ı˛+¬Û±ôLø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À˚˛ÀÂ√, fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛

˜ÀÒ…˝◊√√ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ ¬ıœÊ√ ˘≈Àfl¡±Ú Ô±Àfl¡ºí íí 52

Truly, Narayan Gangopadhyay was a great artist of short story. His first

story got published in Desh, titled ‘Nishither Maya’, the number of the issue of

Desh was 2nd year, 38th issue, 1935. Immediately after that he took up the

task of writing stories. He forgot poetry and his stories were published in

regular interval from Desh to Bichitra, and Shanibarer Chithi along with other

magazines. Poet Narayan Gangopadhyay became short story-writer Narayan

47

Gangopadhyay. As a well wisher he got Sajanida, of Shani Graha and Upen

Gangopadhyay of Bichitra. 53

As a whole, Narayan Gangopadhyay started writing in Bichitra. Here he

came to conquer the heart of his reader, mainly as a short story-writer and

less as a poet. His remarkable stories that appeared in Bichitra were, Bar

Asitheche, (Chaitra, 1342 B.S.), Antahshila (Ashar, 1343 B.S.), Pratistha

(Magh, 1343 B.S.), Mayapuri (Baishakh, 1344 B.S.), Banchibar Adhikar

(Jaistha, 1345 B.S.), Bhitti (Magh, 1345 B.S.), Tantrik (1346 B.S.). His

poetries too, were published in ‘Bichitra’- Aami Eka Batayane (Phalgun, 1343

B.S.), Chaitali Hawa Path Bhuliache (Phalgun, 1343 B.S.). Regarding his

infatuation over such poetry a critic has said :

ëëfl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˛ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ˙ ∏ õ∂˝√√¬ı˛ ¬Û˚«ôL ¬ı˘¬ı» øÂ√˘º ‘Ó≈¬…¬ı˛

≈√ø√Ú ’±À· ¢∂±˜ÀÙ¬±Ú Œ¬ı˛fl¡ÀÎ«¬ ≈√øÈ¬ ¶§¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬± ’±¬ı‘øM√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº

fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±≈√øÈ¬¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¤fl¡øÈ¬¬ı˛ Ú±˜ ë¬ı˛¬ıœfÚ±ÔÀfl¡íº ¬ı±—˘± fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¤˜Ú ¤fl¡øÚá¬

¤¬ı— |n∏øÓ¬Ò¬ı˛ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡ ¸˝√√¸± Œ˜À˘ Ú±ºíí 54

That night, when he was admitted to the hospital, on 6th Nov.,1970,

before two days he has passed away, just that day’s morning he composed

two poems; one of which is titled as, ‘Swapna’, dedicated to the solemn death,

and another one, to his lifelong companion, Rabindranath Tagore, titled as,

‘Rabindranathke’. Both in his works, in writing or teaching, Tagore was

present silently. Rabindranath has given him the immortal touch of poetry, a

glow of romanticism, a feeling for humanity. That is why Rabindranath is

present in his every vein. In the composition of his works to entitled, ‘Urbashi’,

48

‘Chitrarekha’, ‘Chokher Bahire’, ‘Nil Diganta’, ‘Megher Opar Prasad’ etc.

belong to Rabindrik ethos. He has written a good short story on Rabindranath,

engraved with the name as-Baishe Shraban, too.

According to him, the loss and wound is not the last word. Love to life,

is the only truth. Especially in short stories, he is an expert in characterizing

the story protagonist. The story writer like him never forgets his time. To him

man is the sound of the heart, his love to life is all embarking. He had the

capability to mesmerize his readers. Human life is complex, society and

civilization is never stagnant, the life is a process in transformation which is

reflected in literature. A critic so has said :

“The novel is concerned directly with life with men and women,

and their relationships with the thoughts and feelings, the

passions and motives by which they are governed and impelled,

with their joys and sorrows, their struggles, success, failures.’’55

This is true, also in respect of short stories. Here and there we perceive

the battle between life and death of humanbeing.

An artist’s life, the time in his creation and his personal life― all these

elements help to know about a creator completely. That is why the life is not

out of his Art in creation. It is true, especially in cases of the life-conscious

men. Narayan Gangopadhyay believed that this world is full of Geographic

barriers. There are differences of contradiction, more than unison. But there is

a universal touch in respect of Art, literature and culture. Every caste, every

creed, every country has shaped this major component of culture with their

49

esoteric, traditional spaces. Countries and castes have sought for the ways to

beautiful life. His appearance includes his experience over perspectives even

though they are singular in respective personalities. What he wants to tell, is

his voice, full of words, that is why he says :

ëë¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…¸‘ø©Ü ˚“±¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ¬ıËÓ¬ øÓ¬øÚ ¸˜±Ê√ ¸—¸±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¬ıø˝√√ˆ¬”«Ó¬ Œfl¡±Ú›

’¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ Œfl¡Î¬◊ ÚÚ, ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛ ◊√√ ˜±Ú≈ ∏, ¸fl¡À˘¬ı ˜ÀÓ¬±˝◊√√ ¸±—¸±ø¬ı˛fl¡º ¤

¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ GÀ˘˝◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ õ∂±Ó¬…ø˝√√fl¡ ø¬ı‰¬¬ı˛Ìº Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬±À‡ Œ√‡± Ê√·ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ Ú¬ı˛-

Ú±¬ı˛œÀfl¡ øÚÀ˚, ∆√Ú±øµÚ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬-¬ıÎ¬ˇ, ¸±˜±Ú…-’¸±˜±Ú… Ú±Ú± ‚È¬Ú±Àfl¡

øˆ¬øM√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ ◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ó¬¬Û(˚«±ºíí56

He could understand that only literature is not able to appreciate the

world around us. He did believe this, beside literature, there are politics,

economics, philosophy, social science and many such things to know about

humanity. For the people, for the necessity of the people, literature is created.

It must be seen in totality. Every writer has to sharpen his or her mind to reach

the ultimate absolute; therefore we should raise the love for man and love for

life. Perhaps Narayan Gangopadhyay is the only voice, who has understood

the country and the people better, but not about a particular region.He has

seen the people in totality. Moreover, he has also seen people and its society

outside Bengal on his way to life; he had observed the variety of people and

their society. That has immense literary values, with their characterisation,

that is not only limited in urban paraphernalia. He has spoken the words of

people.

50

According to him, we are human being and we have set out our journey

in morning day light under the sun. After that we have grown up in physical

and mental spaces, towards the ultimate quest, that is not understood by any

philosophical barrier. That is why he has defined his ideals, ideas that are

necessary in creation of literature. He has said in this regard :

ëë¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ’±√˙«¬ı±√ ¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛± ˚±fl¡ ¬ı± Ú± ˚±fl¡ Œ¸ ¶§Ó¬La ’±À˘±‰¬Ú±º øfl¡c

Œ˚ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± √‘ø©Ü˜±Ú ¬ı…øMï √Àfl¡ ’±Ê√ ¤È¬± ¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ˝√√À¬ı Œ˚ ëë’—˙Ó¬íí

¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ’±√˙«¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ¤fl¡±ôL õ∂À ˛±Ê√Ú ’±ÀÂ√ ¤¬ı— ¬ı±d¬ı¬ı±√œ¬ı √ ¤˝◊√√

’±√˙«Àfl¡ ’À‰¬Ó¬Ú ¬ı± ’¬ıÀ‰¬Ó¬Ú ˆ¬±À¬ı ¬Û±˘Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ ‰¬À˘ÀÂ√Úº ˚ø Ú± fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬Ú,

Ó¬± ˝√√À˘ Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… õ∂±Ì Ô±fl¡Ó¬ Ú±, ˙øMï √ Ô±fl¡ÀÓ¬± Ú±º ·œÓ¬±¬ı˛ ë˜± Ù¬À˘ ∏≈

fl¡√±‰¬Úí ˜LaøÈ¬ ’±¬ı˛ ˚±-˝◊√√-Œ˝√√±fl¡ Ú± Œfl¡Ú, ø¬ı—˙ ˙Ó¬±sœ¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√

≈√À¬ı«±Ò…, ¤¬ı— ¤Àé¬ÀS¬ı˛ ëfl¡ «í ’Ô«±» ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ Œ˚ ëÙ¬˘í, Œ¸ ˝√√À26√ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

ø¬ıø˙©Ü ’±√À˙«¬ı˛ ¸±øißÒ… ˘±ˆ¬ fl¡¬ı˛±ºíí 57

Let us discuss over his personal life. Because, the variety of human life

that is moving with point counterpoint is reflected in literature. His life, mind or

personality takes shape in his own writing. Narayan was married in an early

age to a girl from his own village whose name was Renu Mukherjee. Her

father was Gopal Mukherjee. He was married when he was studying in M.A.

class; the date of the marriage was 9th May, 1940. Their only child, Basabi,

was born in 1941. His wife, Renu Devi was in her family way when his

examination of M.A. was going on. When Basabi was six month’s old, he

joined in Ananda Chandra College at Jalpaiguri. He joined in this college

51

where the environment was fully conducive to his own literacy life. After that in

1945, a few years later he came to Kolkata in Pataldanga. A Critic has said :

ëë˝√√…±ø¬ı˛ Ú Œ¬ı˛±Î¬ ’±˜« √√±©Ü ©Ü™œÀÈ¬¬ı˛ Œ˜±ÀÎ¬ˇ ¬ı±È¬±¬ı˛ Œ√±fl¡±ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¬Û±˙ ø√À˚˛

’ÀÚfl¡&À˘± ¬ı±Î¬ˇœ Ù“¬≈ÀÎ¬ˇ Œ˚Ú Œ¬ıø¬ı˛À ˛ Œ·ÀÂ√ ¤fl¡È¬± ï ¬ı˛±ô¶±º ¬ÛÈ¬˘ Î¬±„√√±

©Ü™œÈ¬º ›˝◊√√ ¬ı˛±ô¶± ˛ Ï≈¬Àfl¡ Î¬±Ú ø√Àfl¡ Œ¬ı“Àfl¡ ¬ı“± ø√Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛±ÀÚ± ≈√Ó¬˘

¬ı±Î¬ˇœº Œˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛ Ï≈¬Àfl¡ ‡±Î¬ˇ± ø¸“øÎ¬ˇº ≈√Ó¬˘±¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ‚À¬ı˛ ◊√√ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ Œ‰¬˚±À¬ı˛ ¬ıÀ¸

Ô±fl¡± ’¬ı¶ö± ˛ fl¡Ô±ø˙ä¬ı˛ Œ¶®À‰¬ Œ√‡± ˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬¬ı˛ ¸Àe ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ Œ√‡± ˝√√À˘±º

ø¸øÈ¬ fl¡À˘ÀÊ√¬ı˛ ’Ò…±¬Ûfl¡ Ó¬‡Ú øÓ¬øÚ, ¬ı±Î¬ˇœÀÓ¬› fl¡øÈ¬ Â√±SÀfl¡ øfl¡ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±¬ı˛ ø¬ı ∏À ˛

Œ¬ı±Á¡±ø26√À˘Úºíí 58

Renu Mukherjee was Narayan Gangopadhyay’s first wife. In relation,

his elder sister, Satirani was Renu’s aunt, ‘Mamima’. That their marriage was

the result of love is known from Narayan Gangopadhyay’s childhood friend,

the younger maternal uncle of Renu Devi, Nemai Bandyopadhyay:

ëë’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ¬ı±øÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬˝◊√√ Œ¬ı˛Ì≈¬ı˛ ¸Àe Ú±¬ı˛±˚˛ÀÌ¬ı ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬˚º Ú±¬ı˛±˚˛Ì ’±˜±À√¬ı˛

¬ı±øÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±À˙±Ú± fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√, Œ¸ fl¡Ô±› ¬ıÀ˘øÂ√º Œ¸˝◊√√ˆ¬±À¬ı˝◊√√ Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛

[Œ¬ı˛Ì≈ › Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì] ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛ ¤¬ı— Œ¸˝◊√√ ¸”ÀS Ó¬±¬ı˛± Œ¬ı˙ fl¡±Â√±fl¡±øÂ√ ’±À¸ºíí 59

But this relationship did not last long. Prabhatkumar Mukhopadhyay

remembrance goes thus :

ëë’Ó¬…ôL ¸√±˙˚ ˜±Ú≈ ∏ øÂ√À˘Ú Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì√±º Œfl¡¬ı˘ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ¬ı…±¬Û±À¬ı˛ ’±˜±¬ı˛

Œfl¡˜Ú ˘±À·º Œ¬ı˛Ú≈À¬ıÃø√ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ øÓ¬øÚ øÂ√À˘Ú Œ˚Ú ¤fl¡È≈¬ Œ¬ıø˙√ ˜±S±˚˛

fl¡ÀÍ¬±¬ı˛º.......... Œ¬ı˛Ì≈À¬ıÃø√¬ı˛ ¸Àe Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì√±¬ı˛ ¬ı…¬ıÒ±ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛ÌÈ¬± Œ¬ı±Á¡¬ı±¬ı˛

52

Œ‰¬©Ü± fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√º ˜ÀÚ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ Œ¬ı˛Ì≈À¬ıÃø√ ŒÓ¬˜Ú Œ˘‡±¬ÛÎ¬ˇ± Ê√±ÚÀÓ¬Ú Ú±–¤È¬±˝◊√√

fl¡±¬ı˛Ìºíí 60

Though he had a few enemies in his life, yet sometimes, he was not

above controversy. In his utter personal life, he was controversial in regards to

his first and second wife. Why he left Renu, is not clear. As he got married to

his second wife he was mentally at that time was not sound. After that he had

to lead an auster life. His life, by then was devided into two, both outside and

inside. He was on the way to decay. His inner strife was expressed in his

letter, he wrote to Renu Devi on 27th July, 1945 as :

ëë≈√ ¬«±·± ¬Û±¯∏G ¶§±˜œ¬ı˛ ˝√√±ÀÓ¬ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ ˛±Â–¤ fl¡©Ü ŒÓ¬±˜±Àfl¡ Œˆ¬±· fl¡ø¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ˝√√˝◊√√À¬ı-

˝√√˚ÀÈ¬± ˝◊√√˝√√±˝◊√√ ’‘√À©Ü¬ı˛ ø¬ıÒ±Úº ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÚ¬ı ˜ÀÒ… õ∂øÓ¬ ˜≈ √√”ÀÓ«¬ ’±&Ú

;ø˘ÀÓ¬ÀÂ√–Œ¸ ;±˘± øfl¡À¸ øÚø¬ıÀ¬ı Ê√±øÚ Ú±º øÚÀÊ√ ¬Û≈øÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬øÂ√–ŒÓ¬±˜±À√¬ı˛

¸¬ı±˝◊√√Àfl¡ Œ¬Û±Î¬ˇ±˝◊√√ÀÓ¬øÂ√º ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˜‘Ó≈¬… Â√±Î¬ˇ± ¤ ’±&Ú ’±¬ı˛ øÚø¬ıÀ¬ı Ú±ºíí 61

For many reasons, Renuka Devi was depended upon his husband,

Narayan Gangopadhyay, mainly for financial support, even after his marriage

to Ashadevi. But Narayan Gangopadhyay was not that able to provide her.

For this, tussles with Renuka Devi went on. In a letter dated Nov., 1946 to

Renuka, he said :

ëëŒÓ¬±˜±¬ı˛ ’ÀÚfl¡&ø˘ ø‰¬√øÍ¬ ¬Û±˝◊√√ ˛±øÂ√º È¬±fl¡±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ¬ı±À¬ı˛ ¬ı±À¬ı˛ Ó¬±ø·√ƒ ø√ÀÓ¬Â√º

¤fl¡˜±¸√ ’±À· 100˚- ‡¬ı˛‰¬ fl¡ø¬ı˛ ˛± ŒÓ¬±˜±Àfl¡ ¬Û±Í¬±Ú ˝√√ ◊√√ ˛±ÀÂ√º ˜±À¸ ’±ø˜

‰¬±ø¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ fl¡ø¬ı˛ ˛± ˜±ø˝√√Ú± ¬Û±˝◊√√ Ú± ¤¬ı— ’±˜±¬ı˛ Ê√ø˜√±¬ı˛œ› Ú±˝◊√√ ¤fl¡Ô± Œ¬ı±Ò ˝√√ ˛

Ó≈¬ø˜ Ê√±ÀÚ±º ¬ı‘ √√¶ÛøÓ¬¬ı±À¬ı˛ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ fl¡À˘Ê√ ‡≈ø˘À¬ıº Œ¸ø√Ú Œ¬ıÓ¬Ú ¬Û±˝◊√√¬ı

53

¤¬ı— ŒÓ¬±˜±¬ı˛ È¬±fl¡± ¬Û±Í¬±˝◊√√¬ıº ’±˙±fl¡ø¬ı˛, ¤˝◊√√ ≈√˝◊√√ øÓ¬Úø√Ú ∆Ò˚«…

¸ø˝√√À¬ıº..........................

¬Û≈Ú( – ’±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ fl¡Ô±º ¬Û‘øÔ¬ıœqX Œ˘±Àfl¡¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ø‰¬øÍ¬ ø˘ø‡˚˛± fl“¡±≈√øÚ

·±ø˝√√À˘ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ˘±ˆ¬ ’±ÀÂ√ øfl¡∑ È¬±fl¡± ˚Ô±¸±Ò… ¤˝◊√√ ’Ò˜˝◊√√ ø√À¬ı- Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛±

fl¡‡Ú› ø√À¬ıÚ Ú±–¤fl¡Ô±È¬± ˜ÀÚ ¬ı˛±ø‡À˘ ˆ¬ø¬ı ∏…ÀÓ¬ Î¬◊¬Ûfl¡±¬ı˛ ◊√√ ˝√√ ◊√√À¬ıºíí 62

Asha Devi, his second wife, was versatile in literature, in household

activities, musical and expertise in sports that she excelled. This marriage, to

him was a milestone in his life, a speciality in such a hectic whirlpool. Narayan

Gangopadhyay at that time was a lecturer in Jalpaiguri College. Asha Sanyal,

the elder daughter of her late father, who was a Zamindar, was his favourite

student. Throughout his life, he was weak, in nature and a little bit

irresponsible too. But Asha Devi’s arrival in his life was a turning point.

Sometimes in a positive role, sometimes in a negative role she was able to

solve any problem, which came against her and her husband with sheer

intelligence, workability, courage, longsightedness and patience. Shefali

Sarkar, a friend to Asha Devi, says as :

ëë¬ı¬ı˛±¬ı¬ı˛ ◊√√ Œ√À‡øÂ√, Ó“¬±¬ı ¶§±˜œ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ¸•ú±Ú › ˜˚±«√±¬ı˛

ø¬ı ∏À ˛ øÓ¬øÚ ¸¬ı¸˜ ˛ ◊√√ ¸À‰¬Ó¬Úº ˜ÀÚ ˝√√ ˛ øÓ¬øÚ [’±˙±À√¬ıœ] Ó“¬±¬ı˛ [Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì

·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛] Intellectual Companion øÂ√À˘Úºíí 63

In another occasion, Sunil Bandyopadhyay, one of his colleague in

Jalpaiguri Aananda Chandra College, has remarked about Asha Devi as :

ëëfl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬±˚˛ ¤À¸ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬±¬ı˛ ’±À¬ı˛± ¶£¬≈¬ı˛Ì ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√, ’Ò…±¬ÛÚ± ’±¬ı˛

¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡ ‡…±øÓ¬¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ ˙œÀ ∏« Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√Úº ø¸øÈ¬ fl¡À˘Ê√ ÀÔÀfl¡ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬±

54

ø¬ıï ´ø¬ı√…±˘À˚ Œ·ÀÂ√Ú, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ˚Ô±À˚±·… ¶§œfl‘¡øÓ¬ ø˜À˘ÀÂ√º øfl¡c ˝◊√√øÓ¬˜ÀÒ… Ó“¬±¬ı˛

¬ı…øMï √Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ› ¤fl¡ ø¬ı¬ı˛±È¬ ¬Ûø¬ı˛¬ıÓ«¬Ú ‚ÀÈ¬ Œ·ÀÂ√º qÚ˘±˜ øÓ¬øÚ ø¡ZÓ¬œ ˛¬ı±¬ı˛ √±¬ı˛

¬Ûø¬ı˛¢∂˝√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº Œ˜À˚øÈ¬¬ı ¸Àe ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛ Ê√˘¬Û±˝◊√√&øÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬, Œ˜Ò±¬ıœ Â√±Sœ,

¸≈ø˙øé¬Ó¬±º øÓ¬øÚ ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ’Ò…±ø¬Ûfl¡± ˝√√À ˛øÂ√À˘Ú, ¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡ ‡…±øÓ¬¬ı˛ Œ·Ã¬ı˛¬ı

øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬± ˛ ’Ê«√Ú fl¡À¬ıøÂ√À˘Úºíí 64

After a few days in the month of January, 1961, a letter to Sunil

Bandyopadhyay, we see him confessing that a turning point with sorrow has

occurred in his life. We have come across his fatigue, a kind of hopelessness,

is there in his writing at that time. But he rarely unleashed it to anyone else. A

kind of sorrow and solitude left watermark in his later part of literacy life. We

see that, the anxiety of his first married- life has fallen in his stories like, ‘Sei

Pakhita’, ‘Haito’, and in a few other stories and in novels, like ‘Svarnasita’,

‘Alokparna’, and ‘Nirjan Shikhor’. He had been suffering from Insomnia for a

long time. He suffered out of this disease for many days. The topic of ‘Night’,

which came in his writings, was due to this Insomnia. No other writer could

describe with such occasional survivor of night like him. Perhapes we don’t

find a great writer like him who described the beauty of midnight-Calcutta.

Beside this, in his later life, he suffered out of high diabeties, high sugar, and

blood-pressure. Yet he never considered himself as a patient. Youthful

activity, the passion to create a demand to gentleness and delight in teaching,

has sustained him in his writing life.

Avoiding his illness he laboured inhumanly. He brutally assaulted

himself in the name of over work. We can quote a critic’s version in this

regard :

55

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ ¸Àe ‚øÚá¬ ˝√√í¬ı±¬ı˛ fl¡Ó¬fl¡&À˘± fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¤fl¡øÈ¬ fl¡±¬ı˛Ì øÂ√˘

¤fl¡È≈¬ ’Úøˆ¬Àõ∂Ó¬, ’Ô‰¬ Œ¬ı˙ &ï Q¬Û”Ì«º Œ¬ı˙ øfl¡Â≈√fl¡±˘ ŒÔÀfl¡ ’±˜¬ı˛± ≈√Ê√ÀÚ

¤fl¡˝◊√√ Œ¬ı˛±À· ˆ¬≈·øÂ√˘± , Œ¬ı˛±·øÈ¬ ”¬ı˛±À¬ı˛±·… ¤¬ı— øÚ¬ı˛Ç≈˙ ˝√√¬ı±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± Î¬◊¬Û±˚˛

øÂ√˘Ú±º...

˜±S±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛Mï √ ¬Ûø¬ı˛|˜ ¤˝◊√√ Œ¬ı˛±À·¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ õ∂Ò±Ú fl¡±¬ı˛Ì , ’±˜¬ı˛± Î¬◊ ¬À ˛ ◊√√

¤˝◊√√ ’¬Û¬ı˛±ÀÒ¬’¬Û¬ı˛±Òœ øÂ√˘±˜, øfl¡c Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈¬ı˛ ’¬Û¬ı˛±ÀÒ¬ı˛ ˜±S± ¸¬ı ¸˜˚˛ ◊√√

’±˜±Àfl¡ Â√±øÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬ ¬Œ˚Ó¬, Œ¸˝◊√√Ê√ÀÚ… øÓ¬øÚ ˜ÀÒ… ˜ÀÒ… ¤˝◊√√ Œ¬ı±À· ˙˚…±˙±˚˛œ ˝√√À ˛

¬ÛÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬Úºíí 65

After that, on 8th Nov., 1970, Sunday at evening 6.30 (23rd Kartik, 1377

B.S.), Narayan Gangopadhyay breathed his last in Sheth Suklal Karnani

Hospital, Kolkata. He was attacked in 6th Nov., 1970, by cerebral thrombosis.

That day, he returned his home, from the university with severe headache.

After swallowing four codopirine tablets he sat to write ‘Sunandar Journal’.

With this, after long days torture on himself he faced death. In this regard in a

compassionate note, Bijanbihari Battacharya has said :

ëë˜±øÊ«√Ó¬ ˜Ò≈¬ı˛ ø˙©Ü ¸¬ı˛ ¬ı…¬ı˝√√±À¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ ¸Ó¬œÔ«, ¸˝√√fl¡˜«œ › ¬ıg≈·ÌÀfl¡ ¤fl¡±ôL

’±¬ÛÚ fl¡À¬ı øÚÀ˚˛øÂ√À˘Úº Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈ Œ˚ Œ·±á¬œÀÓ¬ Œ˚±· ø√ÀÓ¬Ú Ó¬± Ê√œ¬ıôL

˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊Í¬Ó¬º Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ’ˆ¬±À¬ı Œ√À˙¬ı˛ ¤fl¡È¬± ’—˙ ˙”Ú… ˝√√À˚˛ ¬ı˛ ◊√√˘, Œ¸ øfl¡

Œfl¡±ÀÚ±ø√Ú ¬Û”Ì« ˝√√ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛À¬ı∑íí 66

He never demanded immortality. He was conscious about his limit.

That is why on 25th November 1945, he consoled himself in a conclusive note:

ëë ’±˜±¬ı˛ fl¡œøÓ«¬À¬ı˛ ’±ø˜ fl¡ø¬ı˛Ú± ø¬ıï ´±¸º

Ê√±øÚ fl¡±˘ ø¸g≈ Ó¬œÀ¬ı˛

56

øÚ ˛Ó¬ Ó¬¬ı˛e±‚±ÀÓ¬ ø√ÀÚ ø√ÀÚ ø√À¬ı ˘≈5 fl¡ø¬ı˛º

..... ¤ ø¬ıÀï ´À¬ı˛ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±ø¸˚˛±øÂ√

¤ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±˝◊√√ ¸Ó¬… ¤ Ê√Àij¬ı˛ √±Úº

ø¬ı√±˚˛ ŒÚ¬ı±¬ı˛ fl¡±À˘

¤ ¸Ó¬… ’•°±Ú ˝√√À ˛ ˜‘Ó≈¬…À¬ı fl¡ø¬ı˛À¬ı ’¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ºíí 67

By the rule of God the man who has started his life as litterateur with

poetry, has ended also in a poetic note. After that Bijanbehari Bhattacharya

has paid his homage that goes there :

ëëfl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì fl¡ø¬ı Ú±¬ı˛± ˛ÌÀfl¡ Œ˚Ú øÚÀÊ√˝◊√√ ’±Î¬ˇ±˘ fl¡À¬ı˛

Œ¬ı˛À‡øÂ√À˘Úº øfl¡c ø¬ıÒ±Ó¬±¬ı˛ ’±(˚« ø¬ıÒ±Ú, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ˙ ∏ fl¡Ô±&ø˘ fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛

¸”ÀS˝◊√√ ·“±Ô± ¬ı˛ ◊√√˘º 6 ÚÀˆ¬•§¬ı˛ qSï ¬ı±¬ı˛ ¸fl¡±À˘ øÓ¬øÚ ≈√øÈ¬ ¬Û≈¬ı˛±Ó¬Ú fl¡ø¬ıÓ¬±

¢∂±À˜±ÀÙ¬±ÀÚ Œ¬ı˛fl¡Î«¬ fl¡À¬ı˛Úºíí68

He never got any significant award in his life as litterateur. Yet among

them, remarkable were ‘Ananda Puraskar’ (1964), ‘Basumati Sahitya

Puraskar’ (1968). He was conferred ‘Sarajini Basu Golden Award’ by Calcutta

University, and the ‘Best Story-writer Award’ by ‘Kathashilpa’. But from all

types of acknowledgement and awards, Narayan Gangopadhyay was

detached. The love and respect that he received from his readers is bigger

than that. He was not only writer-man but a man of writing. His last identity

that is why he is romantic, optimistic, and an idealistic. He reached that goal

by extracting both black and white life of a common man. In this way

‘Commonman’ Narayan Gangopadhyay so is uncommon.

57

NOTES & REFERENCES :

1) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Ki Kare Lekhak Holam”, in Tapas Bhowmik,

et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya,

Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-2 (Part- III ).

2) Alok Roy (ed.) : Sahityakosh: Kathasahitya , p.-15.

3) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Amar Katha”, in Asha Devi, et al. (ed.),

Narayan Gangopadhyay Rachanabali , Vol.-I, p.- ‘Gha’.

4) Nirmalendu Bhowmik: “Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in Ashutosh

Bhattacharya, et al. (ed.) Subarnalekha , Golden Jubilee

Commemoration Vol., C.U., p.-515.

5) Saroj Dutta : Kathasahityik Narayan Gangopadhyay, p.-149.

6) Ibid, p.-13

7) Sisirkumar Das (ed.): Samgsad Bangla Sahityasangi, pp.-114-115.

8) Subodhchandra Sengupta (chief ed.), et al., Samsad Bangali

Charitabhidhan (Vol. –I), p.-352.



Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-1 (Part-III)

10) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Chotobelar Smriti”, in Asha Devi, et al (ed.),

Samagra Kishore Sahitya , 2014, p.- 989.



Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-2 (Part- III ).

58

12) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Amar Katha”, in Asha Devi, et al. (ed.),

Narayan Gangopadhyay Rachanabali , Vol.-I, p.- ‘Gha’.

13) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Chotobelar Smriti”, in Asha Devi, et al. (ed.),

Samagra Kishore Sahitya , 2014, p.- 991.

14) Haraprasad Mitra: “Priyabandhu Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S., 4th year,

Vol.-4, p.-508.

15) Asitkumar Bandyopadhyay : “Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in Sachindranath

Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,4th year, Vol.-4, pp.- 514-

515.

16) Shankariprasad Basu : “Amar Smritir Alok, Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Gajendrakumar Mitra et al. (ed.), Kathasahitya, 22nd year, Vol.-2 ,1377

B.S., p.-320.

17) Ibid, p.-451.

18) Gajendrakumar Mitra: “Ekti Madhur Smriti, Kathasahitya”, in

Gajendrakumar Mitra et al. (ed.), Kathasahitya, 22nd year, Vol.-2, 1377

B.S., p.-305.

19) Achyut Goswami : “Kishor Taraknather Smriti”, Kali O Kalam, in

Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,4th year,

Vol.-4, 1377 B.S., pp.-619-620.

20) Jayanti Saha : “Ekti Bismaykar Pratibha: Narayan Gangopadhyay”,

Sahitye O Byaktitve , p.-12.

21) Ardhendu Mukhopadhyay : “Shishirbindu : Akash Bimba (Amar

Mastermashay, Narayan Gangopadhyay)”, in Sachindranath

59

Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,4th year, Vol.-4, Kali O

Kalam , 1377 B.S., p.-647.

22) Jagadish Bhattacharya : “Naran Katha Rakheni”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et

al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya,

Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-46.

23) Shankariprasad Basu : “Amar Smritir Alok: Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Gajendrakumar Mitra, et al. (ed.), Kathasahitya, 22nd year, Vol.-2

,1377 B.S., p.-461.

24) Pralay Shur: “Amader Sir: Amader Mastermashay”, in Sachindranath

Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S., 4th year, Vol.-4,

P.-579.

25) Shankariprasad Basu: “Amar Smritir Alok: Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Gajendrakumar Mitra, et al. (ed.), Kathasahitya, 22nd year,

Vol.-2, 1377 B.S., p.-320.

26) Arunkumar Sengupta : “Chatrabandhu Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in


Vol.-4, p.-643.

27) Narayan Paul : Deshbibhager Bali Bangali (2nd part), pp.-41-42.

28) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Chotobelar Smriti”, in Asha Devi, et al. (ed.),

Samagra Kishore Sahitya , 2014, p.-995.

29) Koushik Haldar : Ouponyasik Narayan Gangopadhyay , p.-44.

30) Prabhas Roychoudhury : Jiban Uponibesher Drasta Narayan

Gangopadhyay , p.-14.

60

31) Gopal Haldar : “Sanskritir Satirtha”, in Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay

(ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,4th year, Vol.-4, p.-496.

32) Dakshinaranjan Basu : “Uponibesh Theke Sandeher Abakashe”, in

Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,

4th year, Vol.-4, p.-528.

33) Ibid, p.-528.

34) Susnata Das : “Pragati Sahitya Andolan O Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Tapas Bhowmik, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan

Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-72.

35) Biswabandhu Bhattcharya : “Manusher Janya Rajniti”, in Tapas

Bhowmik, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay

Sankhya, Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-151.

36) Netai Mukhopadhyay : “Lalmati, Nabajuger Spardhita Padadhvani”, in

Biren Chanda (ed.), Uttardhvani , 25th year, Sharada Shankhya, 1409

B.S, p.-467.

37) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Shilpir Swadhinata”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al.

(ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya,

Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-21 (Part-III).

38) Achyut Goswami : “Kishore Taraknather Smriti”, in Sachindranath

Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S.,4th year, Vol.-4, P.-624.

39) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Asustha Sharirer Bhabna”, Sunandar

Journal, p.-484.

61

40) Shibram Chakraborty : “Lekhak Manusher Madhye Ek Manush Lekhak”,

in Gita Das (ed.), Roshnai , Narayan Gangopadhyay special issue, 11th

year, 3rd-4th issue, 1377 B.S, p.-213.

41) Asha Devi, et al. (ed.), Samagra Kishore Sahitya , by Narayan

Gangopadhyay p.-17.

42) Sudip Basu : “Tenida―Narayan Gangopadhyay Ebong….”, in Tapas

Bhowmik, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay

Sankhya, Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-79 (Part-I)

43) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Matsyapuran”, in Pranabkumar

Mukhopadhyay (ed.), Tenida Samagra , 1996, p.-299.

44) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Charmurtir Abhiyan”, in Asha Devi, et al (ed.),


45) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Chotobelar Smriti”, in Asha Devi, et al (ed.),


46) Sabitendranath Roy : “Prakashaker Nibedan”, Sunandar Journal ,

Narayan Gangopadhyay, p. ‘Ga’.

47) Manas Mazumdar : “Sunandar Journal”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al. (ed.),

Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Baimela,

Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-33 (Part-I).

48) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Asustha Sharirer Bhabna”, Sunandar

Journal, p.-484.

49) Gopal Haldar: “Samskritir Satirtha”, in Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay

(ed.), Kali O Kalam, 1377 B.S., 4th year, Vol.-4 , pp.-493-494.

62

50) Narayan Gangopadhyay: “Lekhaker Katha”, Chotogalper Simarekha ,

p.-5.

51) Jayanti Saha : “Ekti Bismaykar Pratibha: Narayan Gangopadhyay”,

Sahitye O Byaktitve, p.-17.

52) Ibid, p.-14.

53) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Ki Kare Lekhak Holam”, in Gita Das (ed.),

Roshnai, Narayan Gangopadhyay special issue, 11th year, 3rd-4th

issue, 1377 B.S , p.-255.

54) Nirmalendu Bhowmik: “Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in Ashutosh

Bhattacharya et al. (ed.), Subarnalekha , Golden Jubilee

Commemoration Vol., C.U., p.-516.

55) William Henry Hudson: An Introduction To The Study Of Literature ,

p.-163.

56) Amalendu Chakrabarty: “Narayan Gangopadhyayer Sange Sakshatkar”,

in Anilkumar Singha (ed.), Natun Sahitya, 7th year, Vol.-2, Bhadra, 1363

B.S., p.-51.

57) Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Sahitya O Adarsha”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al.


Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992 , p.-12 (Part-III).

58) Biswanath Dey : “Ashcharya Alor Parash”, in Gita Das (ed.), Roshnai ,

Narayan Gangopadhyay special issue, 11th year, 3rd-4th issue, 1377

B.S., p.-277.

59) Saroj Dutta : Kathasahityik Narayan Gangopadhyay, p.-156.

60) Ibid, p.-159-160.

63

61) Ibid, p.-139.

62) Ibid, p.-140.

63) Ibid, p.-180.

64) Ibid, p.-183.

65) Ashutosh Bhattacharya : “Sahakari Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in


Vol.-4, p.-484.

66) “Adhyapak Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in Bijanbihari Bhattacharya (ed.),

Bangla Sahitya Patrika , 2nd year, Calcutta University, 1970, p.-02.


Sourav Bandyopadhyay, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan

Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992 , p.-8.

68) “Adhyapak Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in Bijanbihari Bhattacharya (ed.),

Bangla Sahitya Patrika , 2nd year, Calcutta University, 1970, p.-02.

64

CHAPTER-II

CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORY WRITERS AND


A radical change has been noticed in the social, cultural, and political

life of Bengal in the 40’s. The world war-II seemed to be a dark period to the

contemporary Bengali middle-class society, at that period, could not cherish

their values. The degeneration to humanity occurred at that time. They could

not sustain that period of time. Nothing could survive — neither taboos nor the

rule and regulation and the ritual of their society. The terror of war loomed

large everywhere. Amidst this crisis, the Bengalese have fought for freedom,

every corner of Bengal saw the peasant movement like ‘Tebhaga’. That

period was a darken one as the struggle for freedom went everywhere, the

riots of Noakhali in 1946, and Kolkata in the 40’s, have pushed Bengali race,

towards a dark horizon. They could not see any ray of hope even after

independence. Partition took place in the name of religions and the evicted

victims of partition came in procession to West Bengal. They were deprived of

love and compassion from the people living in India. A new struggle of life

began, the battle of survival. Before that the Bengali has been the victims of

famine, war, price-rise and the crisis coming out of war. They were devoid of

values and humanities. And side by side partition and riots and the migration

of displaced persons followed that left people rootless. World war-II and

famine is undoubtedly a memorable event at that time. A new era, was

65

launched in Bengali fictional literature. Even though Swaraj was gained with

hopes and aspiration of the people but it could not last long, it brought also

hopelessness and purposelessness. Bengali fiction literature has gained

variety as it moved across the complex situations. Modern mind have become

more difficult. On the other hand, politics, social consciousness, and the social

ideal have become more vocal. The short story writers at that time made

Bengali stories more purposeful and powerful. Perhaps it is true of any and

every writer that they will spend their experiences into the cataclysm of their

writings, which they have collected from their observation. Those eminent

writers who have enlightened the Bengali literature in post-war period,

amongst them a significant name is Narayan Gangopadhyay. In this regard a

critic’s quotation is citable:

ëë¬ıdÓ¬ ø¡ZÓ¬œ ˛ ø¬ıï ´ ≈X˝◊√√ Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚¬ı˛ ·äfl¡±¬ı˛ ˜ÚøÈ¬Àfl¡ Ú±Ú±ˆ¬±À¬ı

ÚÓ≈¬Ú˜±S± ˛ ø‰¬ø˝ï Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛º ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ ¸Àe õ∂Ó¬…é¬ ˆ¬±À¬ı Ê√øÎ¬ˇÓ¬ ˝√√›˚˛±, Ê√œ¬ıÚ

¸•ÛÀfl«¡ ÚÓ≈¬Ú √œé¬± Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬Ûfl¡¬ı˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ Œ˜±Î¬ˇ Œ‚±¬ı˛±˚˛º ≈X, ˜i§ôL¬ı˛,

·Ìø¬ıÀé¬±ˆ¬-- ¤¸À¬ı¬ı˛ ˚≈X-¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ Œõ∂é¬±¬ÛÀÈ¬ ¤˝◊√√ Œ˘‡fl¡ ø¬ıqX ¸˜˚-

¸À‰¬Ó¬ÚÓ¬±, Ê√œ¬ıÚ-Œõ∂˜, ˜±Ú≈ ∏Àfl¡ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±–— ˚±, ¬ı˘± ˚± ˛ øÓ¬ø¬ı˛À˙¬ı˛

√˙Àfl¡¬ı˛ Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛±øÒfl¡±¬ı˛ ¸”ÀS ¬Û±› ˛±–— ¤¸¬ıÀfl¡˝◊√√ ·Àä¬ı › Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸¬ı˛

˜˚±«√± ˛ √œø¬ÛÓ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛Úºíí 1

The young writers have observed the changes in Kolkata and its

outskirts in the 40’s. They have experienced the busy moments’ chaotic

situation and the decay and perishable form. The five writers amongst those

who have excelled side by side with Narayan Gangopadhyay, are now our

66

subject of study of this chapter. They have arrived in the beginning of the 40’s.

Their talents have loomed large at the same period. They are Subodh Ghosh

(1910-1980), Jyotirindra Nandi (1912-1983), Narendranath Mitra (1917-1975),

Nabendu Ghosh (1917-2007) and Santoshkumar Ghosh (1920-1985). They

have recorded the displacements of humanity that went wrong, in their

writings.

Now let us dive deep into their perspective, their vision of life, in a

nutshell.

Subodh Ghosh (14th Sep., 1910- 10th March, 1980) :

Subodh Ghosh owes a significant place into the arena of modern

Bengali literature. He has set an example of high philosophy in life. The

dexterity to the composition of short stories, verity of subject and the new

experimentation, to the writers, were yet to come, at that time. His forte lies in

his variety and the metals that he collected from his expenses these

experiences he gathered from myriad of sources. Such as the circus worker,

bus conductor, the forest of Chotonagpur, journalism, private tuition, bread

seller-job and many such professions. Here his literary ethos has been

dependent mainly upon his experiences in the sharp eyes of Subodh Ghosh.

We get many naked realities, cruel code of conduct and hollow, empty

aristocracy that have changed radically our point of view. A critic has rightly

said :

ëë...........¸±ø˝√√Ó¬… ¸‘ø©Ü¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚±À ∏¬ı˛ ≈Mï √ ˝√√À ˛ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ±È¬± øfl¡¬ ¤Àfl¡¬ı±À¬ı˛ ◊√√

˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ Ó¬±ø·À√¬ı˛ ¬ı±˝◊√√À¬ı ‚ÀÈ¬øÂ√˘∑ ˝√√Í¬±» fl¡À¬ı˛ ◊√√ øfl¡ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ˘‡Úœ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¤˜Ú

67

¸‘ø©Ü ¸y¬ı ˝√√À ˛øÂ√˘∑ ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ˝√√˚, ’øˆ¬:Ó¬± ˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛¬Û”Ì« ¤˝◊√√ Ê√œ¬ıÚº ;˘;À˘

≈√ÀÈ¬± Œ‰¬±‡ ø√À ˛ øÓ¬øÚ Œ˚ø√Àfl¡˝◊√√ Ó¬±øfl¡À˚ÀÂ√Ú, Œ¸‡±ÀÚ˝◊√√ ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇÀÂ√ ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛

’±À˘±º ˜…±Î¬ˇÀ˜ÀÎ¬ ‘√ø©Ü ø√À˚˛ Ó¬± Ò¬ı˛± ˚±À¬ı fl¡œ fl¡À¬ı˛∑ ∆¬ıø‰¬ÀS… ˜øGÓ¬

’øˆ¬:Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˆ¬“±Î¬ˇ±¬ı˛ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬Û”Ì« ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ ¤˝◊√√ˆ¬±À¬ıº ˙s øÚÀ˚› øÓ¬øÚ Œˆ¬À¬ıÀÂ√Úº

˙Às¬ı˛ ›Ê√Ú ¬Ûø¬ı˛ ±¬Û› fl¡À¬ıÀÂ√Ú øÓ¬øÚº Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ˝√√±Ó¬ ˜flƒ¡À˙± fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº ˝√√Í¬±»

fl¡À¬ı˛ ¤¬ı— ’fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ ø¬ıÀ¶£¬±¬ı˛Ì ‚ÀÈ¬Ú±º ¤¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ˜±˘ ˜˙˘± ˘±À·º fl¡± «fl¡±¬ı˛Ì

¸•Ûfl«¡Àfl¡ ’¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛± ‡≈¬ı˝◊√√ fl¡øÍ¬Úºíí 2

A vivid knowledge about time and space and deep insight with artistic

feelings give the writer a creative status. He recovers the past only due to the

fact that he has adequate knowledge about his own country and own time. He

observes his future without any difficulty which makes his work of art, glorious,

timeless. In this way the creators reflect the lives around him, though they

may be the subject to a documentary or theoretical error. But a writer with his

own vision is unparallel. These may be viewed in cases of the short stories by

Subodh Ghosh under the perspective of world war-II. His two story-

collections, ‘Ayantrik’ and ‘Fossil’ were published at a time, in 1940. In the

story ‘Fossil’ he delineated how a capitalist civilization reduces people into

non-human entity as tools and machines. It has had indirect effect acting like

a reptile.

Today, people have the friendship with money only. He is

uncompromising to go any extent to further his monetary greed. We get a

glimpse of it in Subodh Ghosh’s story titled ‘Kanchan Sangsargat’. In the short

stories, written by Narayan Gangopadhyay, too, we find such materialistic

spirit and soul, in stories entitled, ‘Bitangsa’, ‘Top’, ‘Had’ etc. In the story ‘Top’,

68

we see a child is used to allure a tiger by the ‘ Rajabahadur’ in hunting at

primordial pre-historic perspective. The exploitation of feudalism and the

ruthless expression make everyone wonder and happy. As if, it was pre-

conceived. The story ‘Fossil’ is a landmark in the history of Bengali literature.

The conflict between capitalism and feudalism, between the Maharaja of

Chandannagar and the owner of factory Sahabs, and making all Kurmi-

subject in laborers and then by them agricultural lose was made. ‘Fossil’ is a

story about feudalism and capitalism, about the murder of workers’ leader,

Dulal Mahato. A critic has said about this story :

ëë....¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚±À¯∏¬ı˛ ˙øMï √˜M√√±¬ı˛ øÚ–¸—˙˚ õ∂˜±Ì õ∂Ô˜ ¬Û±› ˛± Œ·˘ ëÙ¬ø¸À˘í-

¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…˝◊√√º Ú±Ú± fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ˝◊√√ ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ ¬ı±—˘± fl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ¤˝◊√√ ·äøÈ¬ ‹øÓ¬˝√√±ø¸fl¡

˜˚±«√± Œ¬ÛÀ ˛ÀÂ√º ¤Ó¬ø√Ú ÒÀ¬ı˛ ¸±˜…¬ı±√œ ¸˜±Ê√ø¬ı:±ÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ˚ ¬ıø˘á¬ ˆ¬¬ı˛ ±

¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… qÒ≈ õ∂‰¬±¬ı˛fl¡± « ◊√√ ‰¬±ø˘À ˛ ˚±ø26√˘, ëÙ¬ø¸À˘í ¤À¸ Ó¬± õ∂Ô˜ ø˙ä

ø˝√√¸±À¬ı ¸±Ô«fl¡ ˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊Í¬˘ºíí3

Subodh Ghosh is the example of a remarkable contributor of short-

stories of Bengali literature. But after that he is not found a legacy which is not

sustained the temperament. He himself has said in this regard :

ëë’±˜±¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…fl¡À˜«¬ı˛ ¸±Ò ’±Ê√ ÷ï ´¬ı˛ø¬ıï ´±À¸¬ı˛ ÚÓ≈¬Ú õ∂√œÀ¬Û¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ¤À¸

ÚÓ≈¬Ú ’±À˘±¬ı˛ ’øˆ¬À ∏fl¡ ‡“≈Ê√ÀÂ√º Ó¬±˝◊√√ Ô˜Àfl¡ Ô±fl¡ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À26√√º ˚ø√ Œ¸˝◊√√

’øˆ¬À ∏fl¡ ¬Û±˝◊√√, Ó¬À¬ı˝◊√√ ¬ı˛+À¬Û &ÀÚ ˆ¬±À¬ı › õ∂fl¡±À¬ı˛ ÚÓ≈¬Ú ¬ıÀ˘ Œ¬ı±Ò ˝√√À¬ı, ¤˜Ú

·ä › Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛À¬ı± Ú±º..... ·ä › Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡

fl¡ « ¤fl¡ Ò¬ı˛ÀÌ¬ı˛ ø¬ı˛‰≈¬ ˛±˘ Ó¬Ô± ø¬ıï ´±À¸¬ı˛ Ó¬¬Û«Ì ¬ıÀ˘ ˜ÀÚ ˝√√À˚˛ÀÂ√ºíí 4

69

Hence he had dived deep into the human psyche the came out of his

quest for life as interrogation. If we look from the story, Ayantrik and Fossil to

Tilanjali and Ekti Namaskare, he had become a wayfarer to Indian ways

gradually. He had seen life not from the viewpoint of materialism but from

view point of emotion. His motto is to unveil the unknown and undiscovered

mystery like Columbus, who had been delighted to discover new land and

new life in his creation. As a reader we become irritated sometime. Subodh

Ghosh, seems to be extremely extraordinary, who has made alive the

perspective with the knack of creating situation. That is why a critic has said :

ëë¬ı±—˘±˚˛ õ∂˜Ô Œ‰¬ÃÒ≈¬ı˛œ¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬ ¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚± ∏Àfl¡› ÚÓ≈¬Ú ë©Ü±˝◊√√ í ¬ı± ·√…¬ı˛œøÓ¬¬ı˛

¶⁄©Ü± ¬ıÀ˘ ’øˆ¬ÚøµÓ¬ fl¡¬ı˛± Œ˚ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛º Œï - ∏ › ¬ıÀSï ±øMï √¬ı˛ Ó¬œéÆ¬Ó¬± ˛,

¬ı≈øX√œ5 ¸˜±À¸±øMï √¬ı˛ ¬ı…?Ú±˚, fl¡±¬ı…˜øGÓ¬ ¬ıÌ«Ú± › ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛ ˆ¬±¬ıÀ√…±Ó¬fl¡

˜ôL¬ı…À˚±Ê√Ú± ˛ Ó“¬±¬ı ¬ı±·ƒÕ¬ı√*… ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ ø˙ä¬ı˛+¬ÛÀfl¡ ¤fl¡ ’øˆ¬Ú¬ı Œ¸ÃµÀ˚«

ø¬ıˆ¬”ø ∏Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√º Ê√œ¬ıÚÀ¬ı±ÀÒ¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛26√ißÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¤˝◊√√ ’¸±˜±Ú… ø˙ä± ˛Ú-

¸≈ ∏ ±¬ı˛ ¸˜i§À ˛ ◊√√ ¬ı±—˘± ˛ fl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚±À ∏¬ı˛ øÚÊ√¶§ ’±¸Ú õ∂øÓ¬øá¬Ó¬

˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ºíí 5

That human’s greatness is not based upon any character’s purity, was

understood by Subodh Ghosh, which he learnt from life. He has made such

observation with his meeting to Sureshda, wearing half-dirty kamiz, which was

made of twill-cloth. Sureshda always bore a bottle of wine into his own

pocket. He was frequently nabbed by police as he made chaos in the

prostitute colony. This Sureshda, who is a culprit, characterless in the eye of

society, has rescued an old man and woman, a couple, from their house,

which was gutted down by fire, when the so-called civil society, only stood

70

and observed the heroic deed of Sureshda. The world of feeling by Subodh

Ghosh was not built only in a direct ways and means. He had developed a

new world of feeling with constant practice and accumulation of knowledge.

These two things have shaped his philosophy of life. Though variety of

choices has given new height to the creation of Subodh Ghosh’s writing, yet

he never gave vent to acute agony and ruthlessness in his literature in the

name of reality. Subodh Ghosh had very clear thinking about that. He

believed that it is not wise to write reportage, like a court, about anti life and

anti social activities. Here, both the person Subodh Ghosh and the artist

Subodh Ghosh become one.

Bengali literature does not have any anecdote or stories based upon

legends. And Subodh Ghosh has written many such stories based upon life of

legends, which is unparallel in comparison to his contemporaries or the

predecessors. In these stories we get the rituals and history, folk-tales, and

literary rasas. Here we are informed about the country and social life of

Bengal, which is spanning about last five centuries. The ambidextrous story

writer has culled his experiences from his close contact with variety of people

belonging to variety of classes in society. Here, though he had been a writer

in post-Tagorian and Kallol-era, yet he never wanted to confine himself to any

group. His mind did not want to stop in any cage which does not give freedom

to its literary life. The writer did not want to keep secret his alliance with

Gandhi and Gandhism. But it did not contradict with any leftist or Marxist’s,

principles. Though the leftist- intellectuals have dealt in an adverse way to

many writers with their critique, Subodh Ghosh was neither a leftist nor a

71

rightist in his own personal life. Here, this writer of the twentieth century was

solely a man of fellow-feeling, whose humanity, sense of human value was

above all kinds of acknowledgement. The first story, ‘Ayantrik’ by Subodh

Ghosh deserves much attention in the arena of Bengali literature. So, about

this story a critic has said :

ëë’ø¬ıï ´±¸… ¬ıÀ˘˝◊√√ ˜ÀÚ ˝√√À¬ı øfl¡c ë’˚±øLafl¡í ¤¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ¸¬ı«±e¸≈µ¬ı˛ ·äøÈ¬˝◊√√

Ú±øfl¡ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±º ë’˚±øLafl¡í-¤ ˚La ≈· Œ˚Ú fl¡Ô± fl¡À ˛ Î¬◊Í¬À˘±º

Ê√ÀÎ¬ˇ ’±¬ı˛ Ê√œÀ¬ı, ˚ÀLa ’±¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ ¤ ≈À·¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ Œ˚ ’ø¬ıÀ26√√… ˆ¬±À¬ı

¢∂øÔÓ¬, ¤ ¸Ó¬…˝◊√√ Œ˚Ú ÚÓ≈¬Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊æ√±ø¸Ó¬ ˝√√˘ ¤˝◊√√ ·Àäºíí 6

Where machines are the matters of an age, their ‘Ayantrik’ became a

protest against it. It gave materialism a new dimension with values among

human beings against the unknown and the uncertainties. This is truly

reflected in the story ‘Ayantrik’. It is a story as if, against the opposite path of

the era. ‘Ayantrik’ deals with a protest against the misuse of matter that is

made by man, to serve its’ slavish purpose. Transformation and change is the

law of time, so it is natural that, this world too, will be changed. But the scale

of this change was unimaginable. This change in point of view, teaches us to

look at ‘Ayantrik’ from a different angle. In another occasion a critic has said,

commenting the story ‘Ayantrik’ :

ëëˆ¬±¬ıÀÓ¬ ’¬ı±fl¡ ˘±À·,Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ ¸‘Ê√Ú˙œ˘ Œ˘‡±ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚±¯∏

¤ÀÓ¬±È¬± ˆ¬øÌÓ¬±˝√√œÚ ¸±˝√√À¸¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛ ø√À ˛ÀÂ√Ú, Ó¬“±¬ı˛ ë ’˚±øLafl¡í ·Àäºíí 7

Apparently it seems that this man, Subodh Ghosh, is very proud,

solemn and sentimental. But those who have come near him has to gainsay

72

this, he was very friendly and sweet tongued. Subodh Ghosh, was totally

conscious over his behaviour. The detachment to his self expression became

the subject of his foibles. Subodh Ghosh has felt the life in a variety of

choices. He saw the world with inquisitive sight and composed stories that

were based upon sorrows and happiness, laughter and tears of human-life.

Subodh Ghosh went on a different scale against these who has written upon

subject such as the marchentile capitalism, class-conflict, chaos and decay.

With this more was added to his immortal creativities, such as his philosophy

of life and its myriad concepts and feeling. Out of which as a reader we can

experience a kind of belief and faith upon all human activities, and this

philosophy of Subodh Ghosh has made his creation greater with his own

writing.

Jyotirindra Nandi (20th August, 1912 -1st August, 1983) :

Jyotirindra Nandi was a writer of the beginning of 40’s. He had

scientific understanding of broken values of middle class society, the social

decay and illness etc. of the people of Bengal. He is an urban story writer. He

delineated the disintegration of society among the riches, upper-class, middle-

class and lower middle-class people. He, too, is a writer of the masses. The

world war-II has brought decay in human values and thrashed the old system

of Feudal society. Though people have consciousness but they are helpless.

So the demand for a new lease of life have to be out of crisis against all kind

of hollowness, that has to be the follow up of an effort by the protagonist of

Jyotirindra Nandi, Santoshkumar Ghosh and such other writers.

73

Not only the Saratchandrian middle-class people, not only the families,

not only the social consciousness, not only the middle-class picture of Kallol-

yug, but the protagonists of Jyotirindra Nandi are found as those who are

defeated by all kinds of clairvoyance and emotion from middle-class and lower

middle-class. In a society divided into two classes, people welcome all kinds

of artificialities by the riches. The relationship amongst people was artificial

in the name of responsibilities, in helping the financially poor—that have been

voiced by Jyotirindra Nandi during the period of world war-II, caught in various

symbols. Jyotirindra Nandi though has not had any turning point in the late

40’s, yet his stories have embarked the contemporary issues. That benign

values from self-hood, it is the eternal flux or only a sapless one, to

understand this the writer has dived deep into the darkness to meet a goal

which is permanent. To meet the demand of stories he has brought sex,

cordial life- fullness and spiritualism. A critic has said :

ëëŒÊ√…±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛f Úµœ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ·ä ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜ ŒÔÀfl¡˝◊√√ ¤fl¡˝◊√√ ¸Àe øÂ√À˘Ú õ∂¸e ›

õ∂fl¡¬ı˛Ì-- Î¬◊ˆ¬˚˛Ó¬˝◊√√ ¤fl¡Ê√Ú øÚá¬±¬ı±Ú, ¸À‰¬Ó¬Ú ¬Û¬ı˛œé¬fl¡ › øÚ¬ı˛œé¬fl¡ºíí 8

Jyotirindra Nandi did not owe his debt to any one, neither to any of his

predecessors nor to any of his contemporaries in literary field. When he was

at school level, a student of Annada H.S. School of East Bengal, he wrote an

essay on the topic, “A Fair in Meherkalibari”. His the then Bengali teacher, a

scholar of Bengali literature, Harendra Bhattacharya, highly appreciated that

essay. He also made other students to listen that essay in the classroom. It

was presented as an answer to an examination at school level. To speak the

truth, it has paved his way to future creativities.

74

There is no action of any incident, or any dramatic equilibrium in

Jyotirindra Nandi. There is neither so-called romanticism nor any dogmatic

passion nor any union, attracted him in his creation. It has smooth and sail

flux, in a deferred way. He takes his readers to his world of protagonist bit by

bit. Jyotirindra Nandi loved solitude. He was an introvert, always liked to stay

aloof. That is why he was a lover of nature. ‘Jyotsna Ray’ so, is his

appropriate pseudonym.

Though he lived in the din and bustle of a metro city, yet he was more

at home in natural outskirts. Naturally, when ‘Nadi O Nari’ was first published

in ‘Parichay’, it created sensation amongst the Bengali readers. His other

works, too, dealt with nature which are also very popular. But his

understanding with the woman protagonist has given a new lease of life to his

entire works in psycho analytical spaces. That is why ‘Nadi O Nari’, is

immortal with eternal love, as conjugated in after- world. Jyotirindra has dealt

more with love-less human predicament than love itself. But here he does not

differentiate any persona of love— neither the male nor the female. They are

not individual here; they are the adherence of consciousness or a subject.

But he never moved from here to there in search of the materials of his

stories, nowhere, neither in any local culture nor in any separate and alien

culture. Though he was confined within his own chamber of thoughts yet he

had such original point of view that made him restless. Love, hate, sexual

urge, acute sex passion, psychology and ruthless poverty or human existence

has roles to play in his writing.

75

But his real charisma also lies in creating a story out of insignificant

materials is delineated in ‘Raicharaner Babri’. We can analyze this through

the mirror of stories like ‘Pasher Flater Meyta’, and ‘Parbatipurer Bikel’, etc.

His stories based upon nature which made him very popular in Bengali

literature, have been created by his faculty of perception. He was deeply

engrossed in nature’s form of Rupa, Rasa, Shabda, Gandha and Barna.

Imageries in his writing brought a new dimension to his writing that derived

from his five sense organs. About this a critic has said:

ëëŒfl¡Î¬◊ Ó“¬±Àfl¡ ¬ıÀ˘Ú ¸≈µÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ fl¡±ø¬ı˛·¬ı˛, ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ Œfl¡Î¬◊ ˆ¬±À¬ıÚ ˙Às¬ı˛ Ê√±≈√fl¡¬ı˛,

Œfl¡Î¬◊ ¬ı± Ê√±ÀÚÚ ·Àg¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛¬ı±ø¬ı¬ı˛+À¬Ûº Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı‰¬Ú± ˛ Œfl¡Î¬◊ ¬ı± Œ√À‡Ú

õ∂·øÓ¬˙œ˘Ó¬±, Œfl¡Î¬◊ ¬ı± ¬Û±Ú ˜ø¬ı«øÎ¬øÈ¬º ........... ŒÊ√…±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛f Úµœ ≈À·¬ı˛

Ó≈¬˘Ú± ˛, fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ øÚøMï √ÀÓ¬ ¬ıD Œ¬ıø˙ ¤…±Î¬ˆ¬±k, ¬ıDÀ¬ıø˙ ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡º ¬ı±—˘±

¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ ¸¬ı ¸˜À ˛¬ı˛ ¸¬ı ‰¬±˝◊√√ÀÓ¬ ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ ·ä Œ˘‡fl¡ ŒÊ√…±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛f Úµœº √œ‚«

¬Û=±˙ ¬ıÂ√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…fl¡ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ Ú±Ú±Ú ø‰¬ôL±ˆ¬±¬ıÚ± ˛ ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬… ’eÚÀfl¡ ˆ¬ø¬ı˛À˚˛

Ó≈¬À˘ÀÂ√Úºíí 9

His stories, based upon nature, are lyrical, the structure of the stories is

psychological and the protagonists suffer out of helplessness. His protagonist

has to cope-up with this. But Jyotirindra Nandi’s yardstick is not differentiated

among his childhood, youth and old age people to analyze the characters.

There is a peculiar similarity between a dream-girl driven out of memory and

the heart of tinged with color of an elderly woman. His stories here can be

said to be the significant heir of Manik Bandyopadhyay.

76

Dark life of the human, the effort to come out of this darkness towards

light, the defeat and success, are the hallmark of Jyotirindra Nandi. Jyotirindra

Nandi is successful over his characterization of pristine impulse, a detached

point of view rebelling against all kinds of posh-luxuriant process. He is not

politically, socially conscious artist like Manik Bandyopadhyay. Rather he is an

introvert in his personal life and literary life. He has a world of inner

complexities, here lies his ascension. Yet he is, to some extent a vital force in

unveiling the complex inner space of his protagonist like Manik

Bandyopadhyay. He takes his protagonists from the real world and places

them within the form of Arts. He likes to see his protagonists in totality. He is

unparallel and creative in weaving the net of human relationship. Not that we

don’t find this type of psychological or subconscious mind of human being is

not created by any other writer before him. Yet Jyotirindra Nandi has enlarged

the circle in creating the psychological subconscious mind of human being in

Bengali literature. There are none who could be an awful and romantic and

detached writer. Perhaps, this is why many critics have said that he is a

naturalist story writer. It is not possible to limit him within the barrier of a

naturalist, because he had not written prose in only a single style. He had

been a gifted writer whose usages of mockery and similes are peculiar. It

does not give any jerk to mind. Rather it takes us slowly into his work of prose

in intoxication and then the reader has to wait for the unexpected. His span of

creative works in his entire life time of more than fifty years includes fifty

seven novels and twenty six books on collection of short stories, which has

more than two hundred fifty short stories. Besides this, there are many works

77

that in several magazines and journals that needs to be collected yet.

Basically the social inequalities find spaces in his stories. People have

become lonely in their craze to maintain their livelihood. People are conscious

but due to adverse situation they become lonely. Jyotirindra’s another

characteristic is his choice of subjects, which often is insignificant out of which

Jyotirindra Nandi has made time-honored short stories.

In Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short-stories, we find that there is a rebel

protesting mind against social inequalities. Sometimes people voiced their

protest and found the measures to get rid of the problems. But we do not find

any story of mass-movement or analysis of social inequalities in

Jyotirindanath Nandi. Perhaps, nobody has written so much on self-

continence, like him.

The mind of the people is peculiar, very fickle. It is subject to change,

and it changes its decision from time to time. The things that was supposed to

be unsolved, now gets a new dimension. His famous story ‘Chor’ deals with

mental chaos, restlessness and a sudden change and the situation arising out

of a new challenging environment. The story starts with Mintu, who is the first

person story-teller here. Critics have said that Mintu is a self-conscious

person, a youth who had planted a papaya sapling. He dreams to make a tree

out of it. The papaya tree is personified here to analyze class-conflict along

with Mintu and Madan. Madan is here the representative of the downtrodden,

he is totally helpless. The class conflict that is the offshoot of the Bourgeoisies

society’s ploy, that has an effect upon the human mind is being dealt in this

story—‘Chor’. The characters of his stories are directly taken out of realities.

78

Here between Mintu and the servant, Madan, Mintu has gained the bigger

place. Like papaya tree, he too, here is the subject of class consciousness.

He is allured with the happiness of a big house and their affluences. The

situation of Madan’s family is the subject of Sukumar’s sympathy. The comfort

for Madan’s economic craze, his materialism is nothing but a plan through

which he exploits the masses. Madan will not understand this, because he is

uneducated and an ordinary boy. To him the comfort as a rich man is the

ultimate goal of life. On the other hand Mintu is a self-conscious boy that is

why he is sentimental; Mintu’s mother shows sympathy to the lower middle-

class family. She has self-respect as a rich man. On the other hand his clerk

father too, is a self conscious person. He is conscious about his social status.

He is detached without any passion. In the way Jyotirindra Nandi has reached

his goal through his many dimensional characters. About this story, a critic

has said :

ëë·Àä fl¡±ø˝√√Úœ õ∂Ó¬œfl¡œ ∆¬ıø˙À©Ü… ¤fl¡ ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ Dimension Œ¬ÛÀ ˛ÀÂ√º ¤˝◊√√

·Àä¬ı˛ ‰¬ø¬ı˛S&À˘±Àfl¡ Œ˘‡fl¡ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ ¬±À¬ı ¬ıÌ«Ú±˚˛ ’±ÀÚÚøÚ, ‰¬ø¬ı˛S&À˘±¬ı˛

‰¬˘±ÀÙ¬¬ı˛±¬ı˛ õ-È¬ ÒœÀ¬ı˛ ÒœÀ¬ı˛ ø˙ä¬ı˛+¬Û Œ¬ÛÀ ˛ÀÂ√º ¸—˚À˜¬ı˛ Ù¬À˘ ·Àä¬ı˛ Œfl¡±Ô±›

’øÓ¬fl¡ÔÚ Ò¬ı˛± ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇøÚº ·Àä¬ı˛ fl¡±ø˝√√Úœ ¬ı˛À¸¬ı˛ Ê√˜±È¬-¶§ˆ¬±¬ı ø˙ä ”À˘…

ø¬ı¶ú ˛fl¡¬ı˛ºíí 10

Madan is a direct thief in this story; indirectly it is the affluent society.

We will commit mistake if we call it a commentary of class conflicts. In fact it is

the story of an innocent boy whose innocence of childhood has been stolen.

Jyotirindra Nandi is a skilful writer of middle-class tragedy due to his

compassionate mind. Though in many cases, his readers find difficulty to

79

grasp his compassionate mind. He had never thought of any specific form of

his stories. He himself said that he wants to make his technique like light and

air which will make his characters akin to the middle-class perspectives.

Jyotirindra Nandi is not so-called realist writer. He is more than that.

Actually he is an artist who unfolds the human psyche in respect of aesthetics.

He is in search of a total aesthetics and impersonality. The style of his writing

is different and new. That is why he is unparallel and powerful in the world of

modern Bengali short story writing.

Narendranath Mitra (30th Jan., 1917-14th Sep., 1975):

Another bright star in the world of Bengali short-story amongst short-

story writers, during the period of world war-II, is Narendranath Mitra. He is a

genius story writer, an apart. By this time Kallol, Kalikalam have already

started its journey. His first story, ‘Jiban O Mrityu’ was published in Desh, in

the year 1936. As a writer Narendranath Mitra was more personal rather than

collective. He had not any eagerness to create any wonder in any subject of

his writing; rather he had the style full of calm and gentle voice. His forte

belongs to his clairvoyance. He dealt with this eyesight when he was writing

the life of his characters. His stories and novels have created havoc during

the last two decades in post independence period. He dealt chiefly with the

middle-class crisis in his stories. In his stories we find sweet and calm voice in

action though he had not described the darker side of lives amongst the cruel

and ruthless strata of society. Critics have compared his writings along with

Maupassant, Chekhov and Rabindranath Tagore.

80

Like his novels Narendranath’s short stories too, are based upon

human psychology. His charisma is a correspondence between in-families

and out-families. The protagonists of his stories are taken from his direct

experiences of reality. The daily life of middle- class people and their

problems have become the subject of his stories. The difference between

Narendranath Mitra and others is that, Narendranath, like others does not

focus his attention upon the darken aspect of human life .He is conscience-

ridden and hearty writer though he does not protest, if any, it is tinged with

sympathy and softness. Known Bengali faces are there in his writings as

subject. Here he is detached, a classicist, there is love, hate, rivalry in his

stories but not as loud or full of excitement. He wrote once in ‘Galpa Lekhar

Galpa’, as :

¬ëë‚‘Ì± ø¬ıÀ¡Z ∏ ¬ı…e ø¬ı^”¬Û ∆¬ı¬ı˛œÓ¬± ’±˜±Àfl¡ Œ˘‡±˚˛ õ∂¬ı‘M√√ fl¡À¬ı˛øÚº ¬ı¬ı˛— ø¬ı¬Û¬ı˛œÓ¬

ø√Àfl¡¬ı˛ õ∂œøÓ¬ Œõ∂˜, Œ¸Ã˝√√±«√,Œ¶ß √√, |X±, ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±, ¬Û±ø¬ı˛¬ı±ø¬ı˛fl¡ ·øG¬ı˛

øˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛ › ¬ı±˝◊√√À¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ¸Àe ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ø¬ıø‰¬S ¸•Ûfl«¡, ¤Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸Àe ’ÀÚ…¬ı˛

ø˜ø˘Ó¬ ˝√√¬ı±¬ı˛ ≈√¬ı«±¬ı˛ ’±fl¡±„√√é¬± ¬ı±¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ ø¬ı ∏ ˛ ˝√√À˚˛ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√º

........... øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ¶§ ¬±¬ıÀfl¡ Œ√À‡ øÚÀ ˛ øÚÀÊ√¬ı õ∂¬ı‘øM√√ ’±¬ı˛ õ∂¬ıÌÓ¬±Àfl¡ ¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛

fl¡À¬ı˛ ’±ø˜ ¸±¬ı˛±Ê√œ¬ıÚ qÒ≈ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±¬ı˛ ·ä˝◊√√ ø˘À‡øÂ√ºíí 11

Though he started his writings at the beginning of war, yet he is a post-

war writer. The regular writers were moved by the war. After the war we face

the decay, helplessness and the devaluation of human lives. Other writers

such as Nabendu Ghosh, Jyotirindra Nandi and Santoshkumar Ghosh have

taken up such afore-mentioned subjects. But Narendranath is a different

voice. He had not experienced the muddy objects of lives. He has a mindset,

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which is romantic and beauty-driven. That is why greatness in human

protagonist attracted him mostly. He is a man of heart in writing, not in his

daily life. Here cleverness has dealt a lot as a classicist. His social

consciousness has been depicted in the collection of short stories, titled

‘Asamatal’. We find it in his content and form of the stories. He did not depict

the fallen fits of middle-class mindset; rather he had sympathetic, adorable in

his creativity, more than any other writers of his time. A critic has said :

ëë ˙¬ı˛»‰¬Àf¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛ ¬ı±„√√±ø˘ ˜Ò…ø¬ıM√√ ¸•x√±˚˛Àfl¡ øÚÀ ˛ ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô ø˜S ˚Ó¬ ·ä

ø˘À‡ÀÂ√Ú Œ¬ı±Ò˝√√˚ ’±¬ı˛ Œfl¡Î¬◊ Ó¬Ó¬ Œ˘À‡ÚøÚº ˙˝√√¬ı˛¬ı±¸œ ˜Ò…ø¬ıM√√ Ú¬ı˛Ú±¬ı˛œ¬ı˛

˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ’ø˘·ø˘ÀÓ¬ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¶§26√ ø¬ı‰¬¬ı˛Ìº ...........ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ Œ˚ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±

’±À˘±‰¬Ú±˚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ õ∂¸e ’øÚ¬ı± «º fl¡±¬ı˛Ì Œ¬ı±Ò˝√√ ˛ ¤˝◊√√ Œ˚

ÚÀ¬ıfÚ±ÀÔ¬ı˛ ø˙äœ¸M√√± ˝√√ ˛ÀÓ¬± Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À ˛ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä˝◊√√ øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡

øÚ¬Û≈ÌÓ¬¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ õ∂fl¡±˙ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ºíí 12

He had dealt extensively the hopes and aspiration, happiness and

sorrow, victory and defeat of the middle-class. In fact, there are few writers

who had dealt them with middle-class. That middle-class people have such

mystery within their lives and minds, was first caught in details by

Narendranath. The success of a short story depends upon its illumination

sometimes with a jerk at the end. Here both these aspects have been dealt by

Narendranath Mitra. It is without any excitement, without any questions,

without any explanation. Here, in this art, he is unparallel. Narendranath’s axis

is the rise and fall of middle-class people. But this had an adverse effect upon

his own writings which follows with the flaw of mannerism though there is no

such variety in his creative surge. Yet it did not put barriers in his creative

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surge. In general, his characters have been culled from middle-class and

lower middle- class people. He had dealt these from the myriad angle in his

point of view regarding to his experience. The society where he lives has

given him the impetus to his own writings. He could be said as an expert in

picturisation of the middle-class. A greater portion of Narendranath Mitra

belongs to his rural Bengal. That is why Rural Bengal has been entered in to

his own writing. He was pained in coming by leaving his rural life behind. His

environmental consciousness begins with rural outskirts and later grows into a

huge tree in urban metamorphosis. He loved rural perspective equal to

Calcutta’s life-style. The life of East Bengal touched him mostly. Which

otherwise did not get much attention into the din and bustle at Calcutta, where

he had lived his later life. A few short stories bear the testimony to that. In

Narendranath’s story, war has got a significant place. The rural people do not

rack their brains to war or such problems of the society. But when war brought

up extreme miseries in their social life, they could not keep dumb. After the

partition, people rushed to Kolkata in thousands from East Bengal. Many kits

and kin of Calcutta residence came to their relatives to abode at Calcutta city.

Many evicted people have come to take shelters in the refugee camps of

Calcutta city. A critic has said :

ëë¸˜±Ê√Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ Œ√˙ˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ¬ıÎ¬ˇ ¬ı˛fl¡˜ ’±‚±Ó¬ ¤À¸ ˘±·˘ 1950 ¸±À˘¬ı˛

√±e±¬ı˛ Ù¬À˘º ¤˝◊√√ √±e±¬ı˛ ˆ¬ ˛±¬ı˝√√Ó¬± ø¬ı¬Û≈ ¸—‡…fl¡ ˜±Ú≈ ∏Àfl¡ ¬ı˛±Ó¬±¬ı˛±øÓ¬ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛

¬Û”¬ı«¬Û≈ï À ∏¬ı˛ øˆ¬ÀÈ¬˜±øÈ¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ Î¬◊»‡±Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊¡Z±d › Œ√˙±ôL¬ı˛œ fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÓ¬±À˘º

¸±Ó¬‰¬ø~˙-Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛ ¬ı±„√√±ø˘ ’øˆ¬:Ó¬± ˛ ë¬Û±øÈ«¬˙Úí ˙s¬ıÀg¬ı˛ ¸Àe Œ˚±· ˝√√ ˛ ’±¬ı˛

¤fl¡ ˝◊√√—¬ı˛±Ê√œ ˙s ëø¬ı˛øÙ¬Î¬◊øÊí√ºíí 13

83

Many good people had to do lots of ill work as they enrolled their name

in those refugee camps to sustain hand to mouth food. Almost half of

Narendranath Mitra’s stories deal with those struggle for survival. Stories like

‘Palataka’, ‘Dvicharini’, ‘Ak Po Dudh’, ‘Kathgolap’,etc. have the reflection of

such ups and downs in the politics of Bengal, in the persona of women . In the

short stories of Narendranath Mitra, the unchaste women characters of the

40’s have been focused. In Narendranath, the plight of women, have been

dealt which was long sought after. The main reason of this was the breakage

of joint-families that gave way to the nuclear of middle-class family. That is

reflected in the devaluation of women-life.

To gain the right to live in society is the empowerment of a person with

economic solvency. That is why the procurement of jobs to the woman has

come in his stories as leit-motif. When some succeeds and some fails. In this

type of stories, like ‘Pataka’, ‘Abhinetri’, ‘Abhisar’, ‘Abataranika’, ‘Setar’ are

remarkable. Among the readership of Narendranath Mitra it is the female

readers who love him much more than male readers. About his stories he

himself has said, which was written in third person, as :

ëë ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±ÀÔ¬ı˛ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú± ˛ Ú¬ı˛Ú±¬ı˛œ¬ı˛ õ∂Ì ˛¸•ÛÀfl«¡¬ı˛ õ∂±Ò±Ú…º Œ¸ õ∂Ì ˛ fl¡‡ÀÚ±

¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ fl¡‡ÀÚ± ’¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ fl¡‡ÀÚ± ø¬ıøÒ¸•úÓ¬ fl¡‡ÀÚ± ø¬ıøÒø¬ıÒ±ÀÚ¬ı˛

’Ú≈À˜±√ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¬ı±˝◊√√À¬ı˛ , fl¡‡ÀÚ± ¬ı…Ô« fl¡‡ÀÚ± ‰¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬±Ô«º øfl¡c øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ˆ¬≈À˘˝◊√√ Œ˝√√±fl¡

’±¬ı˛ ’ÀÚ…¬ı˛ Œ√±À ∏ ◊√√ Œ˝√√±fl¡ ˜±Ú≈¯∏ Œ˚‡±ÀÚ ¬ÛœøÎ¬ˇÓ¬ õ∂¬ıø=Ó¬ ¬Û¬ı˛±øÊ√Ó¬ Œ¬ı√Ú±Ó«¬

ÚÀ¬ıfÚ±Ô Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ¬ıø˙¬ı˛ ˆ¬±· ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±˚˛ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ◊√√ ¸±øißÒ…fl¡±˜œº ¬ı‘ √√M√√¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ ≈ÀX

Ú± À˝√√±fl¡ õ∂¬ı‘øM√√¬ı˛ ≈ÀX ˚±¬ı˛± ’Ò« ‘Ó¬ ˘±ø>Ó¬ ˚±¬ı˛± Œfl¡±ÀÚ±ø√Ú Ê√˚˛ ±˘… Œ¬Û˘ Ú±

84

’øˆ¬ø¯∏Mï √ ˝√√í˘ Ú± ¸˝√√±Ú≈ ¬”øÓ¬ø¸Mï √ ˝√√+√ ˛ øÚÀ ˛ ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô Œ˚Ú Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ¬Û±À¸

¤À¸ ¬ı¸ÀÓ¬¬ Œ¬ıø˙ Î¬◊»¸≈fl¡º ¤˝◊√√ Ê√Ú…˝◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛ ¶§±À√¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¤fl¡ ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛

ø¬ı ∏±√ Ê√Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ±ºíí14

Narendranath Mitra’s perspective of his stories ranges from 1936 to

1975. Three years of spaces raft with their ups and downs, have been caught

in his stories in a befitting manner that reflects the political and social turmoil

that has effected in human mind and his society. He is pained at the painful

existence of middle-class lives. The story, ‘Ek Po Dudh’, is one of such

stories. It is a story about an economically insolvent family of lower middle-

class life. The origin of the story belongs to the difficult reality of a lower

middle-class family. ‘Ak Po Dudh’ is one such testimony that entails the cruel

fate in the life of a lower middle class family. That muddy sight is not the

ultimate answer. That there remains a pure pedestal in the heart of a human-

being has been delineated in the stories of Narendranath Mitra.

But Narendranath Mitra accepted his limitation in a candid manner. He

has more a macro observation power, not a micro one. This is one of the

hallmarks that can be found in his early and later portion of writing. These are

unique in form too. The mind of Narendranath Mitra is analytical. The starting

point is insignificant which surpasses all barriers of perspective. The reader

has to wait for the final moment. His characters are those individuals who live

in a world more in an original catastrophe than social enigma, as the mystery

unveiled. The critic compares his writings with his contemporaries as :

85

ëë¸≈À¬ı±Ò Œ‚±À¯∏¬ı˛ ëÙ¬ø¸˘í øfl¡—¬ı± Ú±¬ı˛±˚˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı ëŒÈ¬±¬Ûí ·Àä¬ı˛ fl¡Ô±

’ø¬ı¶ú¬ı˛Ìœ˚ ˝√√À ˛ ’±ÀÂ√ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ¶ú‘øÓ¬ÀÓ¬º øfl¡c ¤¬ı˛fl¡˜ Œfl¡±Ú õ∂‡¬ı˛ ¬±À¬ı

Œ¬ı˛‡± ø‰¬ø˝ï Ó¬ ¸˜±Ê√À‰¬Ó¬Ú±¬ı˛ ·ä ’±˜¬ı˛± ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô ø˜ÀS¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± ˛ ¸˝√√¸± ˜ÀÚ

fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±ø¬ı˛ Ú±º Ó¬±¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛Ì˝◊√√ Œ˝√√±˘ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ ˆ¬øeøÈ¬ ’±‚±Ó¬õ∂¬ıÌ Ú ˛º

Œ¸‡±ÀÚ fl¡ÀÍ¬±¬ı˛ ˆ¬±¯∏±, Ó¬œéÆ¬ ¬ı…Àe±øMï √ ¬ı± ¬ıÌ«Ú±˚ ’øÓ¬fl¡±øÍ¬Ú… øÓ¬øÚ ¤fl¡È≈¬

¬Ûø¬ı˛ √√±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ ‰¬˘ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸ÀÓ¬Úº ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡ ¸±Ò±¬ı˛Ì Ê√œ¬ıÚ

Œ˚˜Ú øfl¡Â≈√È¬± øÚô¶¬ı˛eˆ¬±À¬ı õ∂¬ı±ø˝√√Ó¬ ˝√√ ˛ Œ¸ˆ¬±À¬ı øÓ¬øÚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ·ä&ø˘Àfl¡ øÚ˜«±Ì

fl¡À¬ı˛Úºíí 15

The freedom belongs to a world with individual and with society. The

change belongs only with the individual and not with any political belief or

party politics. That is why Narendranath shuns himself all kinds of so called

social activities, though he was socially conscious. He is an artist of humanity.

Each people is equal and valuable to him. Beside this, nothing is exposed in

his writing. This artist did not adhere to his own experience in delineating his

characters. He had an eye of his protagonist, who had delved deep to wipe

away the tears from his characters’ eyes. The accompaniment with the human

being, his mixing with different class of people, speaks volume for his literary

characteristics. Perhaps this side had gone behind the appreciation of his

readership.

But every writer has his or her original point of view in the path of

creation and a source of inspiration. This has been added to the psychotic

observation in Narendranath Mitra. Date-fruit has been one of the natural

sources of the art that has been associated to it. Such has been seen in the

86

story ‘Rasa’ This rasa has emerged out of the ethos, collaborated to a couple

and their mind. The story is a good inclusion to the world literature. That is

why a critic has said :

ëë¬ı˛À¸¬ı˛ øÚ¬Û≈Ì ;±À˘ Œ¸¬ı˛± &Î¬ˇ ∆Ó¬¬ı˛œ ˝√√ ˛, Ê√œ¬ıÚ¬ı˛À¸¬ı˛ øÚ¬Û≈Ì ;±À˘ ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô

‡“±øÈ¬√ Œõ∂˜ ¸‘ø©Ü fl¡¬ı˛À˘Úº.......... ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±ÀÔ¬ı˛ ’ÀÚfl¡ ·Àä¬ı˛, ’ÀÚfl¡

Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸¬ı ¤˜Ú ’Ê√¶⁄ ¸y±¬ı˛ ¸±øÊ√À ˛ Œ√›˚˛± ˚± ˛ ˚± ¬ı˛ø¸fl¡ ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ ˜ÚÀfl¡

¬ı±¬ı˛ ¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±fl¡ ∏«Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√, ˜≈* › ’øˆ¬ˆ¬”Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ºíí 15

During the war, crisis in cloth along with the crisis in food became

acute in India. These have been delineated significantly in Bengali short

stories, right from Manik Bandyopadhyay to Subodh Ghosh. Narendranath

Mitra belongs to the same stream. His story ‘Abaran’ is one such story.

Humanity here is not defeated in the hand of hunger. This is his own-singular

forte. Here the character Duhshasan, from the short story ‘Duhshasan’, by

Narayan Gangopadhyay, became aware of the outcome.

But we do not get such type of protest in Narendranath Mitra. In fact,

Narendranath Mitra’s main intention was to justify the human relationship that

is based upon social situation. Nothing like inhibition or desire is there in his

stories.

Nabendu Ghosh (27th March, 1917-15th Dec., 2007) :

Another significant short story writer in Bengali literature is Nabendu

Ghosh. He is a writer of the early forties. Different ways were sought into the

process of story writing that was launched from the Kallol-yug. Till then the

authors did not lose faith on life. In such perspective Nabendu Ghosh is

87

another addition, along with Narayan Gangopadhyay and Narendranath Mitra.

In him though the perspective was brittle, yet he had never pessimistic. These

were taken in totality as a holistic manner in the turmoil of war torn Bengal,

when war brought famine, black- marketing, and communal strife in the

forties, then a few people had kept faith in optimism.

Nabendu Ghosh was another committed writer along with others who

wrote stories upon that time’s social crisis. A critic has said about his

appearance in Bengali literature as :

ëë¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ Œ‰¬±V-¬ÛÀÚÀ¬ı˛± ’±À· ë˙øÚ¬ı±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ø‰¬øÍí-¬ŒÓ¬ ˝√√Í¬±» ¤fl¡Ê√Ú Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛

¸±é¬±» ¬Û±› ˛± ø·À˚˛øÂ√ , “±¬ı˛ ·ä ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇ Œ¸ø√Úfl¡±¬ı˛ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡fl≈¡˘ øÚø(Ó¬¬ı˛+À¬Û˝◊√√

Œˆ¬À¬ıøÂ√˘ ¬ı±—˘± ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ˆ¬ø¬ı ∏…Ó¬ ’Ó¬…ôL Î¬◊8˘º Œ¸ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ Ú±˜

ÚÀ¬ıµ≈ Œ‚± ∏º Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ¤-fl¡ ˛ ¬ı»¸À¬ı˛ Œ√‡± Œ·˘ ÚÀ¬ıµ≈ Œ‚± ∏ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡À√¬ı˛

˝√√Ó¬±˙ fl¡À¬ı˛ÚøÚº ·Ó¬±Ú≈·øÓ¬fl¡ ·ä Œ˘‡fl¡√À√¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬˝◊√√ ˚ø√ ˝√√ÀÓ¬Ú |œ ≈Mï √ Œ‚± ∏,

Ó¬±˝√√À˘ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¸•§Àg Œfl¡±Ú› ’±À˘±‰¬Ú±¬ı˛ ◊√√ ’¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛Ì± fl¡¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ ’¬ıfl¡±˙ ø˜˘Ó¬

Ú±º øfl¡c ¬Û¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ fl¡À ˛fl¡øÈ¬ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ › ŒÂ√±È¬·ä ø˘À‡ øÓ¬øÚ õ∂˜±Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú

ø‰¬¬ı˛±‰¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ¬ı˛œøÓ¬õ∂Ì±˘œ¬ı˛ ¬¬ı“±Ò±Ò¬ı˛± ¬ÛÔÀfl¡ ¸˚ÀP ¬Ûø¬ı˛ √√±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛› ÚÓ≈¬Ú ¬ÛÀÔ¬ı˛

¸g±Ú ŒÚ› ˛± ‰¬À˘, Ó¬±ÀÓ¬ ¬ı¬ı˛— ¬Û±Í¬fl¡À√¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ÚÓ≈¬Ú ¤fl¡È¬± ’±¶§±√Ú›

Œ¬ÛÃ“√√ÀÂ√ Œ√› ˛± ˚±˚ºíí17

His first novel, ‘Nayak O Lekhok’ (1942) is unique in Bengali literature.

Before its fragrance became fade, he had given another new composition,

‘Dak Diya Jai’ (1946). Any and every reader of Bengali literature, on reading

the two above mentioned text has to admit that, Nabendu Ghosh has proved

88

a niche in this respect. Nabendu Ghosh has written in an obituary for his

friend, Narayan Gangopadhyay, about his the then condition of life :

ëë ≈X › ˜i§ôL¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı¬ıÓ«¬œ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬± ˛ Ó¬‡Ú ¸¬ı øfl¡Â≈√ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ;˘ôL ¬ı±ï À√¬ı˛ Ó¬±¬Ûº

‰¬±fl¡ø¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¬ı±Ê√±À¬ı˛ Œ‚±¬ı˛±¬ı˛ ˜±Úø¸fl¡Ó¬±› Ó¬‡Ú ’¬ı˘≈5º qÒ≈ fl¡˘˜ ø√À ˛ ◊√√√ Ó¬‡Ú

Î¬◊¬Û±7¡¡«¡Ú fl¡¬ı˛± ¤¬ı— ¸˜±Ê√ ¬ı…¬ı¶ö± ¬ı√˘±¬ı±¬ı˛ ¶§õü Œ√‡øÂ√ºíí18

Like Narayan Gangopadhyay he too was associated with Progressive

Writers’ Association and IPTI. Naturally revolution to him was not matter of

dream; rather he had a determination to life. He had reigned in Bengali

literature in almost two decades onwards.

In the 40’s people had come to know that the world belongs only to a

few. The protagonist Dilip in ‘Dak Diya Jai’ by Nabendu Ghosh, comes to a

big situationto whom literature belongs. He could admit that literature is the

reflection of beauty of life. But they are the unsuccessful homo-sapiens in the

twentieth century, who will write on their defeat, upon their tragedy. This is the

question that Nabendu Ghosh wanted to share with his readers. Common life

has been tainted with selfishness, cruelties and contemptible darkness.

Nabendu is secured in this society, nobody castes any look to any one,

nobody thinks for nobody, killing here is the law, violence here is the ideology,

greed, here, is natural. Standing upon this perspective the writer has strived to

find a solution. He has shown that man seeks liberation in religion. But he too

observed the game of power. Power took its place in the name of religion. He

felts that without humanism there can’t be any religion.

89

He believed that only integrated conscious power can abolish the

defeat, defeat from pains. That is why we see in him a kind of mockery

against so-called social system, a humiliation against upper class society and

the administration and sympathy towards exploited downtrodden masses. A

critic has said about his mind-set, found in his stories :

ëëÚÀ¬ıµ≈ Œ‚±À ∏¬ı˛ ·Àä ¸±Ò±¬ı˛Ìˆ¬±À¬ı ÒÚœ˜±ÀS˝◊√√ ’Ó¬…±‰¬±¬ı˛œ, ˜±ø˘fl¡ ˜±ÀS˝◊√√

Œ¶§26√±‰¬±¬ı˛œº Ó¬±¬ı˛± È¬±fl¡±¬ı˛ ŒÊ√±À¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ˝◊√√7¡¡¡Ó¬ Ú©Ü fl¡À¬ı˛, ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ

øÚÀ˚˛ øÂ√øÚø˜øÚ Œ‡À˘º Œ˚ ’ôL…Ê√ ŒÎ¬±˜À√¬ı˛ Ó¬±¬ı˛± ‚‘Ì± fl¡À¬ı˛ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ◊√√

õ∂À ˛±Ê√ÀÚ ¬ı…¬ı˝√√±¬ı fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ø¡ZÒ±À¬ı±Ò fl¡À¬ı˛Ú Ú± ’±¬ı˛ øÚÀ¬ı«±Ò ˜±Ú≈ ∏&ø˘ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ◊√√

Ê√Ú… õ∂±Ì ø¬ı¸Ê«√Ú Œ√ ˛ºíí 19

But Nabendu did not portray only the darker side of life. He has been

committed with the aesthetics that leads to life. That is why he had delineated

the characters of blind, lame, and beggars into his own writings with

sympathy. They too, had the intuition that takes them towards a

consciousness against the riches, as because their lives have been depended

upon their mercy. They are treated like animals by the riches. To come out of

this inequality one has to depend upon socialism, and it can be established

only by spreading love to humanity. In the stories of Nabendu Ghose, we

discover such type of love to their compatriot, eagerness of desire to get final

beatitude and the dream of love. But in his novel, ‘Banka Taloar’ written in the

year 1946, we see Parbati could not save the life of her husband and son

after selling her body as she had been tortured within an existence that leads

to nothingness. Here this novel is a reflection of tragedy that had engulfed the

lives of couples and their conjugal life in middle-class families. In each of his

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stories, we have seen the social consciousness, deep intuition, sympathy to

the exploited masses and the political identity. A few of his remarkable

collection of short stories are ‘Ei Simante’ (1945), ‘Postmortem’ (1946), ‘Ispat’

(1948), ‘Kanna’ (1950), ‘Sindi’ (1957), ‘Pancham Rag’ (1960) etc. There we

get pictures of epidemic, famine, the communal riots in the stories of ‘Ulukhar’

and ‘Kanna’. Though in Nabendu Ghosh’s story we notice pictures of crude

reality, yet we have some kind of optimism, too. In his story we have seen

world of collective struggle. In some of his stories we have seen the designs

of allegory. Such as, is found in his story ‘Aranye’, we have human behaviour

depicted in the persona of animals. In his story ‘Kalki’, published in

‘Shanibarer Chithi’ in 1350 B.S., we have seen the curses of world war. We

have class discrimination in haves and have-nots there, which is reflected in

the procession by the hungry-people. In a few of Nabendu Ghosh’s story we

have macabre resonance. The story ‘Postmortem’ is one such example. In the

story ‘Kalki’, mentioned earlier, we have seen gorily picture of famine with

flaws. In his story ‘Shyamrayer Mrityu’, we have seen how to protest against

religious fundamentalism. We have people here united against exploitation in

the name of religion, by the working people. After that there will not be any

exploitation by the ruling people in the name of religion upon the religious

fear. Under the leadership of people like Trilochan, people were united under

their shelters to voice protest always. In the story ‘Kanna’ we have seen

glimpses of catastrophe during the war. Here, the author has delineated their

character with pangs and sympathy with all the have-nots. This has become

philosophy of downtrodden people in general. In the story ‘Kanna’ by

91

Nabendu Ghosh we have seen a labourer, which has a family with an old

mother-in-law, wife Mala and an infant child; on the other hand there is a

sense of duty towards the working life of a compatriot worker of a mill. Up to

where this can lead, has been depicted by the author, in a suggestive of

allegorical nuances. Here, Nabendu Ghosh did not keep any kind of plot in the

story ‘Kanna’. The plot is broken out of the thread of hunger and emotion, as if

the plot is not essential, it is less than the sentiment. Words of a critic, in this

respect, are remarkable :

ëë ëfl¡±iß±í ·äøÈ¬ ¸•Û”Ì«Ó¬ ¸˜±Ê√ ¸˜¸…±˜” fl¡ ·Àä¬ı˛ Œ|ÌœÀÓ¬ ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇº Œ˚

¸˜±ÀÊ√ ’ÀÔ«¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ ø¬ı¬Û « ˛ ’¬ıÒ±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√ ˛, Œ˚ ¸˜±ÀÊ√ ÒÚœ¬ı˛± √±˘±˘ ø√À˚˛

˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ¸„∏‚¬ıX ˙øMï √Àfl¡ ¬ı±Ú‰¬±˘ fl¡¬ı˛±¬ı˛ é¬˜Ó¬± ¬ı˛±À‡, Œ¸ ¸˜±ÀÊ√ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛

’¸˝√√± ˛Ó¬± Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¸¬ı«±¬ı ˛¬ı Ê√œ¬ıÚÒ√ı—À¸¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛Ì ˝√√ ˛ºíí 20

Just as mass protest, in his story, is discernible, so is his delineation of

social decay. On writing about love relationship Nabendu Ghosh did not

portray ordinary romantic stories, but its decay, as the off short of Bourgeois

effect upon lower middle- class and have-nots with sympathy and

compassion. In a word, it can be said that Nabendu Ghosh is a strong and

remarkable writer in the field of short story, a narrator of life and its battle.

Santoshkumar Ghosh (19th September, 1920-26th February, 1985):

Another bright star of contemporary writers’-group is Santoshkumar

Ghosh. The 40’s was affected by world war, communal riots, famine,

epidemic, and partition, the immigrant people achieved a broken

independence with pangs and troubles this was the real story of Bengali life

92

and society in the forties. These aforementioned things have changed the life

of the Bengalese. Together with this were added barren politics and broken

economics. All kinds of values were lost. There came an end to healthy

maintenance of life. Human relationships were affected by corruption,

opportunism, and hopelessness. Along with the male counterpart, women,

too, had to come out of their own home from social and family situation with

life-struggles. Santoshkumar Ghosh has arrived at this juncture as a multi-

dynamic one. Gainsaying the decaying society and life, its pain and distress,

Santoshkumar Ghosh felt it with his acute feeling of mind and expressed

these in his sharp compositions with ruthless expertise. Santoshkumar

Ghosh’s talent lies in his feelings for finer life, consciousness about the

society, ruthless analysis upon his heart, the delineation of personal

existence, and suggestive language. Though he has hailed from his own

home at Faridpur, his literary perspective was Calcutta city and life with its

urban consciousness. How his artistic mind developed, was caught in

remarkable syntax by a critic :

ëë1936 ‡‘©Ü±Às fl¡√À˘Ê√ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ Ï≈¬Àfl¡ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬± ˛ ¤À˘Ú ¶ö± ˛œˆ¬±À¬ı ¬ı±¸

fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬º ¬ıe¬ı±¸œ fl¡À˘ÀÊ√ ’±˝◊√√.¤.-ø¬ı.¤. ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇÚº 1938 ŒÔÀfl¡ 1948

‡‘©Ü±s, ’±Í¬±¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¸±Ó¬±˙ ¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ ¬ı˚¸ ¬Û «ôL Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ˚ ¸¬ı ’øˆ¬:Ó¬±

¸—¢∂˝√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú Œ˙ ∏ ¬Û «ôL Ó¬± ¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ·ä Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸¬ı˛ ¶ö±˚˛œ

Î¬◊¬Û±√±Ú¬ı+À¬Û ¬ı…¬ı˝√√+Ó¬ ˝√√À˚˛ÀÂ√º ¬ıdÓ¬ ¤˝◊√√fl¡±À˘ Ê√œ¬ıÚ ¸g±Úœ øÚ ˛Ó¬-’Ó‘¬5

¸√±Ài§ ∏œ ¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛ øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡ ·ÀÎ¬ˇ Ó≈¬À˘ÀÂ√Úºíí 21

93

He had used his sharp pen to depict the individual and social life. He

had great sympathy on human life. It had been tinged with a portion of pain

and a flaw against flows and foibles. Along with this, it is seen that his desire

for life is fall of death consciousness. This death sometimes, is the

culmination of compassion, sometimes end to the waiting, and sometimes a

fear to self annihilation. Along with Manik Bandyopadhyay and Narendranath

Mitra the other two who have tried to depict the inns and outs of their middle-

class and lower middle-class family are, Jyotirindra Nandi and Santoshkumar

Ghosh. He is tired-less with subject-form and analytical inner world of his

protagonists. The writer of today has to return the act of story writing this

was his literary wisdom. In general his concept comes in mind before his

stories are written. The thread of his story developed around his concept. In

his story we have seen unfathomable taste of a sea, where the glimpses of

broken moments are seen in functional mystery. Fine is his pen with stern,

steady and less spoken if it occupies him, and then it is not his flaw. Rather

this flaw belongs to the age and broken concept of the country and society

where to work for others left much to be pained.

In fact, he is more interested in his biographical portray of his

protagonists and characters. His search is for the truth of life. His method is

self analytical. Depiction of his characters are analytical, this self-biography is

the prime-motif in his own writing. It is full of death-consciousness. He is

careful with his self-referential experience and memory. He is expert in

delineating the flawless middle-class characters of Calcutta’s urban life. He is

expert in using it in details. He makes his characters, subjects and incidents

94

memorable. Linear portray of characters are there. Actually his subject comes

first around which his stories grow. He had no interest with plots. He neither is

interested in the craft of story writing. Santoshkumar, like other writers is not

an exception. He had started his writing from his early-college days. He had

marked his debut with poetry writing. A critic has said about his nature as :

ëë˜±Ú≈ ∏øÈ¬ ‡≈¬ı ·yœ¬ı˛ øfl¡—¬ı± Œ¬ı¬ı˛ø¸fl¡ ÚÚ ¬ı¬ı˛— ’±D±¬ı±Ê√ , ‰¬=˘, ¬ı≈øX¬ı˛

Ó¬œéÆ¬Ó¬± Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¶§ ¬±¬ı·Ó º Ó¬À¬ı ¤fl¡È¬± ø¬ı ∏À˚˛ øÓ¬øÚ ‡≈¬ı ¬ı˛±·œ¬¬Û≈ï ∏ ∏º Ù“¬±øfl¡ ø√À˚˛

øfl¡Â≈√ fl¡¬ı˛± Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¶§ ¬±¬ı ø¬ıï Xº øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ˚˜Ú Ù“¬±øfl¡ Œ√› ˛±ÀÓ¬ ’¬ÛÂ√µ, ’¬ÛÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛

Ù“¬±øfl¡› Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¬ÛÂ√µ ˝√√ÀÓ¬± Ú±º ¬ı±øÚÀ ˛ øÓ¬øÚ ¬ı˘ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛ÀÓ¬Ú Ú±, ŒÓ¬˜øÚ ¬ı±øÚÀ ˛

Œ˘‡±ÀÓ¬› ’Úˆ¬…ô¶ºíí22

He had many sides of his stories. He himself said that most of his

stories are auto-biographical. That is why he is not exception to other writers

of his time. Those who came before him and after his time are, Subodh

Ghosh, Achintyakumar Sengupta, Narayan Gangopadhyay, Narendranath

Mitra, Premendra Mitra, Jyotirindra Nandi, Sunil Gangopadhyay etc. The

writers who belonged to that time have some original ethos. Such as

Tarasankar’s belief in folk motif in Radh-society, Premendra Mitra’s urban

concern, Rameshchandra Sen’s emphasis on the riots of 46’s. In

Narendranath Mitra, we have seen suggestions of unspoken words, sharp

observation and his commentaries all these are remarkable in each of

them. In Narayan Gangopadhyay, we have seen social decay, along with

animalistic desire. In Santoshkumar Ghosh we have seen decay and mental

crisis in middle-class society, which is individualistic and based on his time.

His stories can be divided into three parts. In the early stage it is emotional

95

and romantic, in the youth he had become realistic. He had observed the

lower depth of Calcutta life; the crisis in middle-class society, everyday’s

failure and defeat. He had known the deep mystery behind society and human

mind. He had depicted pangs, compassion conflict, and human-fall in middle

class life with sharp observation. In the third stage, Santoshkumar became

more matured. He had proved his niche in delineating life and its world, man

and relation between man and its society, where we face uncertainty,

nothingness and helplessness.

Santoshkumar Ghosh is an urban writer building his stories thread by

thread in a different style. At that period, Calcutta was a space of blackout,

bombs with smells everywhere with gun powder. A war was over and

emerged communal riots. Partition took place, refugees crowded the Calcutta

streets. People took shelter in the footpaths of Calcutta. Economy broke down

with population explosion. Everywhere decay loomed large. Womanhood,

virginity, motherhood and positive qualities gave way to animalism.

Santoshkumar Ghosh is such type of writer depicting this urban life. We can

see the pictures of pre-independent and post independent Calcutta in his

stories. Those collections of short stories for which he will be remembered

forever are ‘Bhagnangsha’ (1939), ‘Shukshari’ (1953), ‘Parabot’ (1953),

‘Chinamati’ (1953), ‘Badir Jhanpi’ (1956), ‘Paramayu’ (1958), ‘Kusumer Mas’

(1959), ‘Dui Kananer Pakhi’ (1949), ‘Chirorupa’ (1961), ‘Amar Priya Sakhi’

(1960), ‘Phuler Name Nam’ (1961), ‘Chaya Harin’ (1961), ‘Trinayan’ (1964),

Bahendri (1964), ‘Baire Dure’ (1976), ‘Yubakal’ (1976), ‘Sandhya O

Shal’(1979), ‘Dupurer Dike’ (1980) etc. Santoshkumar Ghosh’s short stories

96

were collected in the volumes. In the first one there are 34 stories, in the

second volume there are 46 stories and in the third volume, the number of

stories is 35. He has written his stories from 1939-1952 in archaic language,

many of his remarkable short stories of this kind, were ‘Shit Basanta’,

‘Dakshiner Baranda’, ‘Kshana Nid’ etc.

Santoshkumar Ghosh excelled in diction, form and subject matter. His

language is moving, clairvoyant. He is deft in his choice of words, its usage

and suggestively. His words are musical. His success in short stories is

laudable, as modern society is not predetermined, it changes frequently by

various incidents, so is his writing which is not based on plot. A remarkable

picture and tune gain ground in his stories. It seems that the end of his stories

is a prime and to give it a clear shape, many words come along with

characterization. Everywhere we feel his clear insight and fine-psychic orders.

Here modern liberalism and progressive compassion is the main. A sharp

magnifying glass is in his foresight, social consciousness is covered

throughout his mind. He is ruthless in dissecting individual and society, though

he is compassionate on his society, yet it includes disdain, jealousy, and

sympathy. In his mind, there is a kind of materialistic consciousness along

with ideological insight, equally. He had seen women from lower middle-class

family, who are torn with poverty and driven by fantasy, in his inability to gain

her love that seems real in his creativities only, though with his breaking

hopes. In this earthly limitation this imagination is shirked and not ready to

accept anything. In comparing his individuality along with his contemporary

writers, a critic has said :

97

ëë¸Ó¬œÔ« ¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ Œ˘‡fl¡ ¬ıg≈À√¬ı˛ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ ¸ÀôL±¯∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛ Œ‚±À ∏¬ı˛ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛

mental attachment øˆ¬iß Ò¬ı˛ÀÚ¬ı˛º ŒÊ√…±øÓ¬ø¬ı˛f Úµœ¬ı˛ ëŒ‡˘Ú±í Ú±À˜¬ı˛ õ∂Ô˜

·ä¢∂Lö Œ¬ıÀ¬ı˛±˚˛ Î¬◊øÚ˙À˙± ‰¬ø~À˙º Ó“¬±¬ı ‘√ø©Ü ø¡ZÓ¬œ ˛ ø¬ıï ´ ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ˆ¬¶úd¬Û ŒÔÀfl¡

’Ú… øÓ¬˚«fl¡ Œfl¡±Ì øÚÀ˚˛ Œ√‡± Œ√ ˛º ¸˜fl¡±À˘ ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ¬ıÀ¸ ÚÀ¬ı˛fÚ±Ô ø˜S

Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ-¬ı‘ÀM√√¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛øÒÀfl¡ ø¬ıô¶œÌ« fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛ÚøÚ ·Àäº Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì

·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ ø¬ı¯∏ ˛ ø¬ıô¶œÌ« ˝√√À˘› Œ˘‡fl¡ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ¤fl¡ ’:±Ó¬ fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ

õ∂±Ì¬ıôL ¬˝√√ÀÓ¬ Œ˚ ¬Û±À¬ı˛ÚøÚ, Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ë·g¬ı˛±Êí√ ˝◊√√Ó¬…±ø√ ·ä Ó¬± õ∂˜±Ì fl¡À¬ı˛º Œ˘‡fl¡

¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛ Œ‚± ∏ ¤“À√¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ¸•Û”Ì« ¶§Ó¬La ¬ÛÀÔ¬ı˛ ¸øg»¸≈

¬ÛøÔfl¡ºíí 23

Among his remarkable stories, the popular one, ‘Kanakadi’ was written

in the post-independence period. That a tainted disaster came in the heart of

Bengal and in its pity decay has been caught in a deft manner, by

Santoshkumar Ghosh, in this story. That a cruel selfishness and dropped out

values have broken the human ideologyhave been caught by him in the

conjugal life and in the persona of Manmath and Sabitri.

A sharp social analysis, bright, neat, suggestive language and indirect

diction, sharp mental chaos, one side integrity, steady voice and

characterization have elevated the story ‘Kanakadi’ in class of literary values.

The story, ‘Bhebechilam’ get sky-high height with its central voice along with

its form and content. This story seemed to be a ‘Baul song’ in the world of

universal middle-class people. The writer has cited the age in the middle of

the year 1930. The class picture of this story is a clash between the middle-

class and lower middle-class people and their mental turmoil. It is directed by

the decadent of the Bengalis’-world in the two wars with its effect upon

98

relationship, that is fate-oriented and commodity driven, as it seems in the

primary reading. In the world of Bengali short story writing, ‘Bhebechilam’ is a

class-apart writing. With its subject matter and form, it reflects the author’s

expertise in words and clarity of thoughts. As the story has no plot, no

ordinary narrative, that is why there is no central character. No personal

human being in specialty but a complex city has recognized itself with its

simplicity to the aliens.

Another famous story of Santoshkumar Ghosh is ‘Dvija’, which is

refugees’ life oriented. For a small shelter, women came out of their home

leaving all their respect along with the man to earn their livelihood, with broil to

their male compatriot. Male were busy to earn whatever they got in front of

them, with the recognition of a refugee only. Nishikanta, from the story ‘Dvija’

has delineated the voice of those refugees. Aniket and helpless Nishikanta

have recovered their lives and values in the hand of the author in his own

composition during the 40’s. We don’t know how much the disaster in financial

crisis lead the protagonists into oblivion in our society. In this society our

values are lost due to many reasons. There are many people like Shashanka,

Sabitri, Manmatha and Mallika in our society. In these stories the characters

are representing the society. A critic’s comment regarding this goes thus :

ëë·äfl¡±¬ı˛¬ı˛± qÒ≈ ø¬ıÀÚ±√ÀÚ¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ·ä Œ˘À‡Ú Ú±º Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛› ¤fl¡È¬± ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡

√±ø˚˛Q ’±ÀÂ√º ¬Û±Í¬fl¡Àfl¡ Ó“¬±¬ı˛± ¤˝◊√√ ¸˜±Ê√ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ ¸À‰¬Ó¬Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÓ¬±À˘Úº

¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ·Àä Œ¸˝◊√√ √±ø ˛Q˝◊√√ ¬Û±˘Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº øÓ¬øÚ ¤˝◊√√ ·Àä ¤fl¡

Ê√œ¬ıÚ√˙«ÚÀfl¡ Ù≈¬øÈ¬À ˛ Ó≈¬À˘ÀÂ√Úº Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ Ê√œ¬ıÚÀ¬ı±Ò ¤¬ı— ‘√ø©Üˆ¬øe

ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ ¬±À¬ı Î¬◊À~‡À˚±·…ºíí24

99

Another important short story by Santoshkumar Ghosh is ‘Chinemati’.

This story was written after the war. A kind of artificial life has been

fictionalized here to hide the social decay, just as a pottery of Chinemati

(Porcelain) is susceptible to break with its attractive clay cover; such is the

characters of the story. Here the urban people are artificial in midst of rural

simple life. External glamour of the urban people is brittle, it is breakable. One

day it becomes clear like day light, bit by bit love breaks like brittle glasses. A

kind of concentration is required on the part of the reader to understand this

story.

In a word it can be said that Santoshkumar Ghosh is a powerful writer

in Bengali literature. He is unparallel in the field of short story; he is a skilful

short story writer. He will be remembered for his short stories for long. A

critic’s comments can be remembered here :

ëë¸ÀôL± ∏fl≈¡˜±¬ı˛ Œ‚± ∏ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ˘‡±¬ı˛ ø¬ı ∏ ˛ Î¬◊¬Û¶ö±¬ÛÚ± › ¬ı˛œøÓ¬ øÚÌ«À ˛ ¸Ó¬fl«¡

¸À‰¬Ó¬Ú › ‚øÚá¬ |À˜¬ı˛ ¶§±é¬¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˛À‡øÂ√À˘Úº ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ

¬ÛøÔfl‘¡» Ú± ˝√√À˘› ’Ú…Ó¬˜ õ∂±: ¬Û≈ï ∏ ’¬ı˙…˝◊√√º ¸±˜ø¢∂fl¡ˆ¬±À¬ı Ó¬±“¬ı ·äÀfl¡

Œ·±È¬± Ê√œ¬ıÚ-˜Ú¶®Ó¬±¬ı˛ √¬Û«Ì ¬ı˘± ˚± ˛ºíí 25

Subodh Ghosh, Jyotirindra Nandi, Narendranath Mitra, Nabendu

Ghosh and Santoshkumar Ghosh these five writers along with Narayan

Gangopadhyay have been recognized as gifted short story writers of 40’s. But

they had been recognized as matured writers in the post independent period.

Subodh Ghosh too, had changed his position and gained maturity. He has

become more interested in composing ‘Bharatprem-Katha’ than the analytical

100

studies of Fossil. He is no more seen in his forte that he had been shown

before. No such story now is found with sharp concept of life, as it was before.

He himself believed that later on he turned to the faith of God with new,

absolute illumination. Narendranath Mitra always was a writer who loves

solitude. We don’t get in him any kind of shrill and high pitch ethos. Rather

here, we get a silence, a silence that reflects his compassion with the lower

middle-class and middle-class people. The writers of the post independent

era, who were famous in writing Bengali short stories, were not interested in

plot-oriented stories; rather in creating the environment in sharp contrast with

narration, philosophy and intuition which is praiseworthy. One such author,

who belongs to this group, is Jyotirindra Nandi. Santoshkumar Ghosh has

given importance upon the complexities in human life during the war-torn

period with analytical studies on conflicts in the life of his society around him,

in his composition of short stories. He had a magnifying sight to dissect the

characters and their perspective. In his later life, we have seen him giving

importance to psychology and existence with broken psychosis and wise

diction. As a result, the stories have become self-centred. With Narayan

Gangopadhyay and Narendranath Mitra, there had been the presence of

Nabendu Ghosh, who had been in search of other subjects. On the one hand

he had been a leftist, yet emotional. Therefore his stories always had been

full of emotion.

There are both similarities and dissimilarities in Narayan

Gangopadhyay with these five contemporary short story writers as well as

101

with his antecedent writers. In this context a critic’s comment can be

remembered :

ëëŒÂ√±È¬·äfl¡±¬ı˛ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¬¬Û”¬ı«¬ıÓ¬œ« ¬ı±„√√±˘œ ·äfl¡±¬ı˛À√¬ı˛

’ÀÚfl¡&ø˘ ∆¬ıø˙©Ü… ¸øijø˘Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√º Ó¬±¬ı˛±˙ÇÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ Œ¬ÛÃï ∏√œø5,

’ø‰¬ôL…fl≈¡˜±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜±øÈ¬ ’±¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ¬ıø˘á¬ ø˜˘Ú, ˜±øÚfl¡ ¬ıÀµ…±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ øÚ˜«˜

Ê√œ¬ıÚ±¸øMï √, Œõ∂À˜f ø˜ÀS¬ı˛ Ê√øÈ¬˘ ˜Ú·˝√√ÀÚ õ∂À¬ıÀ˙¬ı˛ ¸Ó¬fl«¡ ¬Û√Àé¬¬Û

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ±¸øMï √Àfl¡ ÚÓ≈¬Ú ¬ÛÔ Œ√ø‡À˚ÀÂ√, ÚÓ≈¬Ú ˙øMï √

ø√À ˛ÀÂ√ºíí 26

Every one of them has picturised their own time and space, on their

own. Writers like Subodh Ghosh, Narendranath Mitra, Narayan

Gangopadhyay, Santoshkumar Ghosh, Nabendu Ghosh, Jyotirindra Nandi,

have represented their characters with all their mental complexities and new

subject-matters, a sharp observation and crude realities that itself speak

volumes of their contribution to the world of Bengali literature. Their subject-

matters were famine, epidemic, riots, independence, exodus the mental decay

in middle-class people, which were the result of war and its macabre

condition. In fact every writer, here is socially conscious. They were interested

in coalescence of Art and social consciousness. The short stories of 40’s have

brought us the understanding of protest, tension, chaos and a question on life

in that time. In the last, we can say that those short story writers, who were

contemporary to Narayan Gangopadhyay, were self-willed on their own field

in the time of 40’s. All of them were absolute and talented writers with their

representative narration upon the text and context, point of view and with

different forte.

102


1. Birendra Dutta : Bangla Chotogalpa: Prasanga O Prakaran,

Vol.-II, pp. 283-284.

2. Nirmal Das : Bangla Chotogalpa Prasanga, p.-38.

3. Jagadish Bhattacharya (ed.) : Subudh Ghosher Shrestha Galpa,

Introduction, p.-7.

4. Subodh Ghosh: “Sediner Alochaya” in Swapankumar Mukhopadhyay

(Pub.), Subodh Ghosher Manimukto, Janma Shatabarshiki

Sankalan, 2009, p.-29.

5. Jagadish Bhattacharya (ed.) : Subodh Ghosher Shrestha Galpa,

Introduction, p.-18.

6. Jagadish Bhattacharya : Amar Kaler Kayekjan Kathashilpi,

p.-139.

7. Himabanta Bandyopadhyay : Subodh Ghosher Duti Galpa: Kritagwata-

Akritagwatar Katha, (Article), Galpa Niye Upanyas Niye, p.-99.

8. Birendra Dutta : Bangla Chotogalpa: Prasanga O Prakaran, Vol.-II,

p.-126.

9. Pratapkumar Sen : “Panyachetanar Galpakar: Jyotirindra Nandi”, in

Ashish Pandey (ed.), Banglar Abhash, Sharada Sankhya, Vol.-VI,

Issue-III, 2009,1416 B.S., p.-266.

10. Nilotpal Jana : Nirbachita Chotogolper Nibir Path, p.-111.

11. Narendranath Mitra : Galpamala-1, Vol.-1, p.-11.

12. Arunkumar Mukhopadhyay: Madhyahna Theke Sayahne: Binsha


13. Semanti Ghosh (ed.) : Deshbhag: Smriti Ar Stabdhata, p.-44.

14. Narendranath Mitra : Bindu Bindu, Abhijit Mitra, (ed.), p.-7.

103

15. Anjushree Bhattacharya : Narendranath Mitra: Jiban O Sahitya,

p.-20.

16. Jayanti Saha : “Narendranath Mitra : Bhalobasar Jiban Shilpi”, Sahitye

O Byaktitve, p.-70.

17. Amalendu Chakraborty : “Nabendu Ghosher Sange Sakshatkar”, in

Anilkumar Singha (ed.), Natun Sahitya, Bhadra, 1363 B.S., 7th year

Vol.-II, p.-59.

18. Nabendu Ghosh: “Bandhubareshu”, in Sachindranath Mukhopadhyay

(ed.), Kali O Kalam, Agrahayan, 1377 B.S., 4th year, Vol.-IV, p.-609.

19. Sarojmohan Mitra : Banglai Galpa O Chotogalpa, p.-290.

20. Birendra Dutta : Bangla Chotogalpa: Prasanga O Prakaran, p.-281.

21. Arunkumar Mukhopadhyay : Madhyahna Theke Sayahne: Binsha


22. Dipesh Mandal : “Kanakadi O Chinemati: Chhaposha Bangalir Jibaner

Sankat”, in Shrabani Paul (ed.) Bangla Chotogalpa Paryalochana:

Bish Shatak, p.-240.

23. Birendra Dutta : Bangla Chotogalpa : Prasanga O Prakaran, Vol.-II,

p.-376.

24. Sarojmohan Mitra : Rabindrottar Chotogalpa Samiksha, p.-172.

25. Mo. Kutubuddin Molla : “Santoshkumar Ghosher ‘Kanakadi’”, in Dost

Mahammad (ed.), Adhunik Chotogalpa: Mane O Manane, p.-296.

26. Ujjalkumar Mazumder: “Narayan Gangopadhyay O Bangla Sahitya”, in

Sanjibkumar Basu (ed.), Sahitya O Samskriti, 6th Year, Vol. II, 1377

B.S., pp.-261-262.

104

CHAPTER - III

THE CHRONOLOGICAL DIVISION AND THE

THEMATIC DISCUSSION OF THE SHORT STORIES BY


The short story writer Narayan Gangopadhyay was a versatile genius.

Various subjects found spaces in the gamut of his short stories. Modern lives

have put the man in myriad and complex limbos. These complexities have a

considerable impact upon human mind. That is why the talk about mysterious

mind found words, in the hands of the writers, like Narayan Gangopadhyay,

that is not free from time space quantum in the process of life with reflection in

experiences. The entire mind of a writer thus gets its required literary element

from time-space. Short-stories with its small canvas reflect the contemporary

world, and its psychodynamic perspective. Narayan Gangopadhyay is a

writer, who is conscious about both time and Arts. His stories deal with

incident that happened in his spaces and time. He has delineated human life

along with their direct and indirect results in his short-stories.

His stories are the reflection of issues related to political perspective,

native politics, economics, social identity, science, philosophy, Arts with

renewed ethos and new-meaning. With the international perspectives, he

never forgot his own time in his composition. To him man is a resonance to

the heart, his quest of life is full. A critic, on his talent, has said :

105

ëëÊ√ø˜À ˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛À¬ı˙ ∆Ó¬¬ı˛œ fl¡À¬ı˛ ·ä ¬ıÀ˘ ˜≈* fl¡¬ı˛±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ’¸±Ò±¬ı˛Ì é¬˜Ó¬±

Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À˚˛¬ıº ¸≈µ¬ı˛ ±˘ [ë¬ıœÓ¬—¸í], ˝◊√√¬ıË±ø˝√√˜ √±À¬ı˛±·± › øÚø˙fl¡±ôL

fl¡ «fl¡±¬ı˛ [ëÚSï ‰¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬í], ¬ıv…±fl¡˜±Àfl«¡øÈ¬ ˛±¬ı˛ Œ√¬ıœ√±¸ [ë≈√–˙±¸Úí], ¬ı˛±˜·e±

¤À¶ÜÀÈ¬¬ı˛ ¤Ú. ’±¬ı˛. Œ‰¬ÃÒ≈¬ı˛œ [ëŒÈ¬±¬Ûí], ¬Û¬ı˛±Ì ˜G˘ [ë’±¬ı±√í], ¬ı≈ øfl¡ ¬ı˛±˚˛

[ëÊ√ij±ôL¬ı˛í], ’øÚï X › ˜˜Ó¬± [ë˜·«í], fl¡±øÙ¬˘±øV ˜±øÁ¡ [ëfl¡˜˘±¬ı√Úí],

˝◊√√Ó¬…±ø√ Œ√±À ∏-&ÀÌ, ˆ¬≈˘w±øôLÀÓ¬ Ê√Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ± ˜±Ú≈ ∏&ø˘¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ¤˜Úˆ¬±À¬ı ’±“fl¡±

˚±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ¬Ûø¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ ˝√√› ˛±¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛ ¶§ ¬±¬ıœ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡ ¤À√¬ı˛ øfl¡Â≈√ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ø¬ı¶ú‘Ó¬ ˝√√ÀÓ¬

¬Û±À¬ı˛ Ú±ºíí1

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a witness to the contemporary, chaotic

times. He had started his journey out of such chaotic moments which came in

his creation, both as direct and indirect ways. He has tried to catch the

incidents like, freedom movement, world war-II, epidemic, political riot,

partition, Tebhaga movement, eviction, language movement, etc., in his short

stories. But the writer never lost his hope and we get words of optimism, even

at times, when he was dealing with the crisis and decay, which has been

reiterated in his own composition. A critic has said in this context :

ëëÓ“¬±¬ı˛ ·Àä ˜±Ú≈ ∏Àfl¡ ÚÓ≈¬Úˆ¬±À¬ı ¬ı“±‰¬±¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ¬ı˘± ˝√√À˚ÀÂ√º ¤˝◊√√ ¬ı“±‰¬± ø¬ıfl‘¡Ó¬

Œ˚ÃÚ é≈¬Ò± ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ı“±‰¬±,Œ¬ÛÀÈ¬¬ı˛ é≈¬Ò± ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ı“±‰¬±, ˜±Ú¬ıÓ¬±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ¬ı“±‰¬±,

Ú¬ı˛Ú±¬ı˛œ¬ı˛ ¸≈¶ö ¸•ÛÀfl«¡¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ¬ı“±‰¬±ºíí 2

The social realism changes from time to time and age to age. His

stories has caught these transforming world with all its complexities as the

author has sought to delineate many waves and their thoughts, with all their

psychoanalytical perspectives, that was his original forte. He was a man of

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experimentation and proved his niche in creating something new. A critic’s

comment in this context is remarkable :

ëë.....................’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ ≈·Ê√œ¬ıÚ › ˚≈·˜±ÚÀ¸¬ı˛ ¬ıUÒ± ø¬ı ∏˚Àfl¡ ’¬ı˘•§Ú

fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú ·äfl¡±¬ı˛º ‹øÓ¬À˝√√…¬ı˛ ’Ú≈ ¬ı˛Ì, ¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ õ∂¸Àe ø‰¬¬ı˛ôLÀÚ¬ı˛ ø¬ıô¶±À¬ı˛,

ø˙äœÀ‰¬Ó¬Ú± ŒÔÀfl¡ Î¬◊»¸±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ÚÓ≈¬Ú ˆ¬±¬ıÚ± ˛ Ÿ¬X ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛

·äº....................... ¬ı±—˘± ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ ø¬¬ı˙±˘ ‹ï ´À «¬ı˛ Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛±øÒfl¡±¬ıœ Ó“¬±¬ı˛

¬Û «À¬ıé¬Ì‘√ø©Ü, ’Ú≈ ¬”øÓ¬˙øMï √, Î¬◊¬Û¶ö±¬ÛÚ±¬ı˛ ∆Ú¬Û≈Ì… › ’¸±˜±Ú… ‰¬ø¬ı˛S¸‘Ê√ÀÚ

ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ ¸œ˜±Ú±Àfl¡ ”√¬ı˛ õ∂¸±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úºíí 3

Narayan Gangopadhyay had been writing short stories in between

1935-1970, in almost thirty five years. The number of stories in thirteen

collections of short stories is about one hundred and fifty. These were

published in between 1945-1971. A few topics we have chosen from many

issues and subjects. These subjects have been dealt separately in a few

groups. But, there is more than one issue that can be found in many stories.

The title of these thirteen collections of short stories are - (1) Bitansa

(1945), (2) Bhanga Bandar (1945), (3) Bhogabati (1945), (4) Kalabadar

(1948), (5) Duhshasan (1952), (6) Svetkamal (1945), (7) Gandharaj

(1955), (8) Urbashi (1957), (9) Shubhakshan (1960), (10) Exhibition

(1961), (11) Chayatari (1966), (12) Banajyotsna (1969), and (13) Ghurni

(1971). These stories can be categorized in the following ways :

(1) First Part (1945-’52) − Here we are having the collection of short

stories, namely, ‘Bitansa’(1945), ‘Bhanga Bandar’(1945), Bhogabati

(1945), ‘Kalabadar’ (1948), and Duhshasan (1952).

107

(2) Second Part (1954-’60) − In this part the collection of short stories

are, ‘Svetkamal’ (1954), ‘Gandharaj’ (1955), ‘Urbashi’ (1957),

‘Shubhakshan' (1960).

(3) Third Part (1961-’71) − Here we are having ‘Exhibition’(1961),

‘Chayatari’ (1966), Banajyotshna (1969), and ‘Ghurni’(1971).

These stories can be regrouped upon the main subjects, which are as

follows :

1. Contemporary context- world war-II, epidemic, riot, partitions,

August movement, communal riots, eviction.

2. Love- conjugal love, pre-marital love, post-marital love - its success

and failure.

3. Psychological – normal, abnormal.

4. Politics – human welfare, party ideology.

5. Educational – students’ community, teachers’ fraternity.

6. Supernaturalism- creation of perspective and mystery.

7. Values – crisis and ascension.

8. Protest consciousness – exploited against the exploiters.

9. Nature – regionalism and crude gory circumstances.

10. Optimism and mass consciousness – dream and expectation.

11. Class conflicts– social exploitation.

But this division can’t be said final. There are also other inns and outs

in his stories. Many topics have been repeated. Again, more than two things

have been jostled into two. Though the two subjects are mixed together, one

subject remains as prime issue other issues plays minor role throughout the

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stories. Now, by studying various short stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay,

we shall try to highlight the subjects mentioned above.

Contemporary context :

Narayan Gangopadhyay had been moved by his age and

contemporary events, which have been reflected into his stories. That is why

a critic has said about him :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛± ˛Ì qÒ≈ õ∂øÓ¬ˆ¬±¬ı±Ú˝◊√√ ÚÚ, ¸˜¸±˜ø ˛fl¡ ≈À·¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬øÚøÒ ¶ö±Úœ ˛›

¬ıÀÈ¬Úºíí4

In fact, the world war-II had left a watermark into his writings with new

dimension. Though he had no direct contact with politics, yet, the new choices

had given him new impetus in the composition; war, epidemic, and mass-

protestin this war-torn perspective along with time-consciousness. Love to

life and love to human being, have arrived in his stories and novels. The most

famous novels and short stories written by Narayan Gangopadhyay, belongs

to the 40’s. Two memorable events in the 40’s are world war-II, epidemic and

famine. These two events moved human beings at large. These events, like

others, have been given impetus to Narayan Gangopadhyay’s writing.

In his own words :

ëë¬ı±—˘±À√À˙¬ı˛ ’±¬ı˛› ’ÀÚfl¡ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬˝◊√√ ’±ø˜› õ∂Ô˜ fl¡˘˜ ÒÀ¬ı˛øÂ√˘±˜

¬Û¬ı˛±ÒœÚ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ıÀ ∏«¬ı˛ ≈√–¸˝√√ ’ø¢ü˚LaÌ±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…º ’±ø˜ Ó¬‡Ú ¶≈®À˘¬ı˛ Â√±Sº øS˙

¸±À˘¬ı˛ ¸Ó¬…±¢∂˝√√ Œ√À‡øÂ√, Œ√À‡øÂ√ ‰¬A¢∂±À˜¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ¶£¬±¬ı˛Ìº ........... Œ¸ø√ÀÚ¬ı˛

Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬ı±˘fl¡˜ÀÚ Ó¬‡Ú ¤fl¡øÈ¬˜±S ¸—fl¡ä˝◊√√ ’±&ÀÚ¬ı˛ ’é¬À¬ı˛ Œ˘‡± ˝√√À ˛

109

ø·À˚øÂ√˘º ˚ø√ fl¡˘˜ Ò¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ˝√√ ˛ Ó¬À¬ı Ó¬± Œ√À˙¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… , ˚ø√ ø˘‡ÀÓ¬ ˝√√˚˛ Ó¬À¬ı

Ó¬± ¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¸—¢∂±˜Àfl¡ ¤ø·À ˛ Œ√¬ı±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…º ..... øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ‰¬±À‡ Ú± Œ√‡À˘

Ê√±ÚÀÓ¬› ¬Û±¬ı˛Ó¬±˜ Ú± Œ¸±Ú±¬ı˛ ¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛ ’±¸À˘ Œ‰¬˝√√±¬ı˛±È¬± fl¡œº Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ø¡ZÓ¬œ˚˛

˜˝√√± ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ≈√–¶§Àõü¬ı ˜Ò…ø√À ˛ fl¡Ç±À˘¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ’¬Û”¬ı« Œ˙±ˆ¬±˚±S±º Œ¸ø√ÀÚ¬ı˛

Œ¸˝◊√√ ’¸˝√√… ’±R¢-±øÚ ’±¬ı˛ ˚LaÌ±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¸˜ô¶ ¬ı±„√√±˘œ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸Àe ’±ø˜›

·Ê«√Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬øÂ√, ë˚≈·±ôLÀ¬ı˛í ø˘À‡øÂ√ ëÚSï ‰¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬í, ë’±Úµ¬ı±Ê√±À¬ı˛í ø˘À‡øÂ√

ë≈√–˙±¸Úí, ëŒ√À˙í ø˘À‡øÂ√ ë¬Û≈¶®¬ı˛±í ’±¬ı˛ ëˆ¬±„√√±‰¬˙˜±íº ’±À¬ı˛± ’ÀÚfl¡·ä- øfl¡Â≈√

øfl¡Â≈√ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸º Œ˜±È¬ fl¡Ô±, ’±˜±¬ı ¬ı±—˘± Œ√ - ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ı ∏«º ’±ø˜

¬ı±„√√±˘œ ’±¬ı˛ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ı±¸œ¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ø˘‡¬ı—ø˘‡¬ı Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ≈√–À‡¬ı˛ fl¡±ø˝√√Úœ,

Œ¬ı√Ú±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛+¬Û, ¸—¢∂±À˜¬ı˛ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ , õ∂fl¡±˙ fl¡¬ı˛¬ı Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ’±˙±, ’±Úµ, ¶§Àõü¬ı˛

fl¡Ô±ºíí 5

World war-II in the 40’s have found spaces in the writings of Subodh

Ghosh, Narendranath Mitra, Nabendu Ghosh, etc., along with Narayan

Gangopadhyay with complex psychosis, the newness and realities in a new

wave that they had been living. This voiced a clear process into the world of

Bengali short story writing. The entire decade of 40’s has moved the chapter

of history with the war and its subsequent fate in the world of his protagonist.

War has robed off the entire life giving element from the human beings,

thereby started control and rationing system, black-marketeers gained

ground, even then with the crisis in common products. With this, a few

conscienceless people became rich, because they are the black marketeers,

being the kings of today. When the wretched human being had lost all their

survival belonging then the black kings own treasure and became richer. One

110

of the remarkable stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay is ‘Khargo’ which

reflects the all devouring danger and helplessness.

Through this story, Narayan Gangopadhyay has shown that war has

snatched all human values from the affected human being and made them

demon. That is why when Khetu wanted from his friend Nilai, Rs. 2/- on his

way to Rohanpur station; Nilai welcomes him with country liquor. The cool

‘tari’, the country liquor, gave a sense of satisfaction to Khetu. With the

mixture of poison he had killed his two cows to peel off the skin of the cows.

On his way beside, Khetu, had seen a human skeleton which is not only a evil

omen to his own life but also a warning to the whole life of Bengal. With this

omen ward way, people like Harilal, became suckers and exploiters. Like

satanic idol, faith, love the hopefulness of life has mingled in the orchestra of

bugles with corruption, where from no one could escape— neither Khetu, nor

Bhomra. The Goddess of wealth, Bengal’s Lakshmi, became beheaded

(Chinnamasta) with the blood of human being. The author had delineated this

act of selfishness in his own writing.

With the world war-II there came famine, in the heart of Bengal decay

loomed all over. Food crisis gained ground peasants, wage laborers, have to

pass their life with half-food or nothing to eat. Out of starvation they swallowed

ill-foods, they died, and some of them came in exodus to Calcutta. Calcutta

witnessed the large number of people, migrating from their villages. The

starving people went door to door in search of starch extracted from boiled

rice. A critic has said over the crisis as :

111

ëëÎ¬±©Üø¬ıÀÚ ŒÙ¬À˘ Œ√› ˛± ˙˝√√¬ı˛¬ı±¸œ¬ı˛ Î¬◊ø26√©Ü ‡±√…¬ıd¬ı˛ ’øÒfl¡±¬ı˛ øÚÀ ˛ fl≈¡fl≈¡¬ı˛

’±¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ˜¬ı˛Ì¬ÛÌ ¸—¢∂±˜ ‰¬˘À˘±º ˙˝√√¬ı˛ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬± ˜‘Ó¬À√À˝√√¬ı˛ fl¡Ç±À˘¬ı˛

ø˜øÂ√˘ Œ√‡À˘±, ¬ı˛±Ê√¬ÛÀÔ Ê√À˜ Î¬◊Í¬À˘± ˜‘Ó¬À√À˝√√¬ı˛ ô¶”¬Ûºíí 6

Those who were not behind the war, have to pay the price. War

brought not only tears, starvation, not even physical death, but also mental

loss and the premature death of values. The epidemic not only brought crisis

in food, but also broke down the familial lives in Bangladesh. The famine was

caused by human being. The greedy hoarders and black-marketeers have

created artificial crisis. Here, an intellectual’s comment is quotable :

“Foodstuffs became scarce and starvation was the result. There

was no complete disappearance of foodstuffs from the market.

Had it been the case it would have affected the poor and the

rich, the black and the white like in villages and cities....... It is

clear that it was the high cost of foodstuffs that killed more men

than did its actual non-availability.” 7

Though the production of rice in 1942-’43 was meager in Bengal, yet it

was not sufficient to create famine, Amartya Sen could not accept the dictum,

‘Famine due to food crisis’; because the production and distribution of food

products to cause famine in determining the perspective is regarded to be

important. According to him :

‘‘It seems safe to conclude that the disastrous Bengal Famine

was not the reflection of a remarkable overall shortage of food

grains in Bengal.’’ 8

112

The arrival of Narayan Gangopadhyay belongs to this period. Many of

his stories have dealt with the issue of famine. His story ‘Had’ has been

written in the occasion of the famine of 1350 B.S. On the one hand he saw

the affluence and on the other the starving peoples’ cry. On the one hand we

see the big palace of Raybahadur H.L.Chatterjee, stepping stones studded

with marble, silk screen in the window, a fragrance of scented Grandiflora in

the garden; on the other hand we see people starving beside enchanting park.

People of entire Bangladesh had to dwell in the footpath in search of a lump

of food. His story ‘Had’ has been on the one hand a depiction of helpless cruel

livelihood, on the other hand, the life of the riches a contrast picture to each

other.

Another important issue, which came due to the world war-II is, crisis of

cloths. That found space in the story ‘Duhshasan’. The crisis too, was man-

made. The price, in the market was sky high which the common people could

not afford. It was artificial. Here the writer has shown that those rich people

like Debidas, who are today’s Duhshasans, living upon the toil of the poor, do

not get punishment. The author has identified the criminals. His forte here

rests upon the dissection of their characters at large. Upon this a critic has

said :

ëë....... Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚ Œ¸˝◊√√ Œ¬ÛÃ¬ı˛±øÌfl¡ ≈· ŒÔÀfl¡ ’±Ê√ ¬Û «ôL ‰¬˘˜±Ú ¤

≈À·¬ı˛ ’Ú…± ˛ ’ø¬ı‰¬±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸”S Î¬◊ƒ√‚±È¬Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úº ....... Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚˛

ë≈√–˙±¸Úí ·Àä¬ı˛ ˜±Ò…˜ ¬Û≈¬ı˛±fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ’Ú…±˚ ’ø¬ı‰¬±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ‰¬˘˜±Ú ¬ı˛+¬ÛøÈ¬

õ∂·øÓ¬˙œ˘ ¸˜±ÀÊ√ ¸ˆ¬…Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˜≈À‡±¸ ˘±ø·À ˛ ’Ú…ˆ¬±À¬ı õ∂√˙«Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Úºíí 9

113

These people, affected by the world war could not understand who had

been behind this curse. Those, who had been hidden there, as enemies of the

people, could not be divulged. That is why they had engaged at war amongst

themselves. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s story ‘Izzat’ has been depicted with

human values in self annihilation. The communal riot at that period moved the

rural people like infectious disease, who had so long been living in peaceful

co-existence. People at that period lost the power of judgment. People’s

dormant animalistic characters were exposed in these riots. In fact, communal

strife came out of religious fundamentalism. Sometimes it sheds blood. Non

existence of co-operation and disdain with other people belonging to another

religion is called religious fundamentalism. A critic has said :

ëë’‡G ¬ı±—˘± ˛ ø˝√√µ≈-˜≈ ˘˜±Ú ¸±•x√±ø˚fl¡ √±e± Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ø¬ıøÂ√iß ‚È¬Ú± øÂ√˘

Ú±º ·Ó¬ ˙Ó¬±sœ¬ı˛ Œ˙ ∏ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬± ˘±ˆ¬ ¬Û «ôL õ∂± ˛ ¬Û“±‰¬√˙fl¡ ¸˜ ˛ Ê≈√ÀÎ¬ˇ

¸±•x±√±ø ˛fl¡ ø˝√√—¸± ˛ ¬ı±¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ ◊√√ ˘±ø>Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ ø˝√√µ≈- ≈ ˘˜±ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ø˜ø˘Ó¬

¬ı±¸ˆ¬”ø˜ºíí 10

These stories, written under the riot perspective, show that

communalism, cast conflicts have no relation to religion. Cast discrimination is

the result of society and communalism is created by the black hand of

imperialists. A few people are benefited due to the clashes amongst humans.

A critic has rightly said :

ëë ≈Mï √ ¬ıÀe ø˝√√µ≈ ¬ı±„√√±ø˘ › ≈ ˘˜±Ú ¬ı±„√√±ø˘¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ø¬ıÀˆ¬√ øÂ√˘, ˜Ú±ôL¬ı˛ øÂ√˘,

øfl¡c ¸±•x√±ø˚˛fl¡Ó¬± øÂ√˘ Ú±º ≈√øÈ¬ ¸•x√±À˚˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…˝◊√√ Ò˜« øÂ√˘,

….…‹øÓ¬À˝√√…¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ’ˆ¬…±À¸¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛º ˝◊√√—¬À¬ı˛Ê√ ¬ı˛±Ê√˙øMï √ ø˙é¬± ›

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¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… Ò «œ˚˛ ¸±•x√±ø˚fl¡Ó¬± ’±˜√±øÚ fl¡À¬ı˛º Ó¬±¬ı˛± Œ˚˜Ú

ø˙é¬±¬ı…¬ı¶ö±¬ı˛ ¡Z±¬ı˛± ø˙øé¬Ó¬ ’ø˙øé¬Ó¬ ’±˙¬ı˛±Ù¬ ’±Ó¬¬ı˛±Ù¬À√¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¬ı…¬ıÒ±Ú

∆Ó¬ø¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ Œ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛øÂ√˘ ŒÓ¬˜øÚ Œ‰¬À ˛øÂ√˘ ø˝√√µ≈-˜≈ ˘˜±Ú ’ÕÚfl¡…ºíí 11

Socially conscious writers, like Narayan Gangopadhyay, have

appealed to the civil society and its well wishers. With these stories the author

had taken his readers into the roots of communalism.

These stories were written in view of making people conscious about the

communal strife.

After that, much awaited Independence came ultimately, on 15th August

1947. Along with this, partition took place. After the partition Hindu’s and

Muslim’s life were at stake in both Pakistan and India. People from both

communities went in search of life towards protected areas. Both eastern and

western India was torn due to geographical reason. On remembering those

days, a critic has said :

ëë¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬± ø√¬ı¸ Î¬◊ƒ√˚±¬ÛÚ ˝√√˘, ˆ¬±¬ı˛ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ŒÓ¬¬ıe± Ê√±Ó¬œ˚˛ ¬ÛÓ¬±fl¡± Î¬◊Í¬˘

‰¬A¢∂±À˜ 15 ’±·©Ü ¤¬ı— ˆ¬±¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ŒÓ¬¬ı˛e± Ê√±Ó¬œ˚˛ ¬ÛÓ¬±fl¡± Î¬◊ÀM√√±ø˘Ó¬ ¬ı˛ ◊√√˘ 21

’±·©Ü ¬Û˚«ôLº øfl¡c ¤fl¡ ¸˜˚ fl¡ø˜øÈ¬ Œ‚± ∏Ì± fl¡¬ı˛À˘ ‰¬A¢∂±˜ ¬Û±øfl¡ô¶±ÀÚ¬ı˛

¤¬ı— ¬ı±˘≈‰¬ Œ¬ı˛øÊ√À˜KI◊ ¬Û±øÍ¬À ˛ ˆ¬±¬ı˛ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ¬ÛÓ¬±fl¡± Ú±ø˜À ˛ Œ√ ˛ ¬Û±øfl¡ô¶±Ú

¸¬ı˛fl¡±¬ı˛º Ù¬À˘ ¬ıU ø˝√√µ≈ › Œ¬ıÃXÒ˜«±¬ı˘•§œ Œ˘±fl¡À√¬ı˛ Î¬◊¡Z±d ˝√√ÀÓ¬ ˝√√ ˛ Œ√À˙

¸—‡…±&ï ˝√√À˚›ºíí 12

Those who were evicted due to partition had borne the brunt of living in

new perspective. People, who came from East Bengal, could not accept this

country as their own and vice versa. A story like ‘Adhikar’ included in the short

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story collection ‘Svetkamal’ highlighted this issue. In this story the author has

shown that exodus came into force in partition in the year 1947, evicted

people in thousands came to crowd from East Bengal. Here in this story those

evicted people have took possession of uncultivated land. They not only

voiced protest against the ‘Jotdar’, but also put barriers against them. Most of

the stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay ended at last, with flogging canes. So,

a respected critic has said :

ëë……...øÓ¬øÚ› ˜ÀÚ ˝√√ ˛ ‰¬±¬ı≈fl¡ ˝√√“±fl¡Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ± ¸˜±ø5¬ı˛ ¬Ûé¬¬Û±Ó¬œ º ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡

√±ø˚˛Q ¬Û±˘ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¤¬ı˛ ¤fl¡È¬± Œ˚±· ’±ÀÂ√ºíí13

After that India had to face another pathetic tragedy. Though India, the

secular nation, has given the Muslims shelters, but the evicted Hindus from

East Bengal has fled to India to survive along with their little belongings. That

British wanted rift between Hindus and Muslims was successful. The Hindus

and Muslims momentarily went against to their true self. Those educated

people forgot their human lessons; common people were affected by the

venom of partition. Faithlessness loomed large. This led to a rift between the

two communities. With the passage of time, emotional rift led to mutual

disbelief and mistrust. Writers at that period sketched the decay of values that

went due to caste discrimination.

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s stories were also of no exception. He taught

the other upcoming writers human values. That should be nurtured even at

the time of crisis. In fact communal riots have polluted the native environment.

Such an experience could be seen in the story ‘Ustad Mehera Khan’ from the

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collection of short stories, ‘Kalabadar’ (1948). Time goes by, ages change.

But at the backdrops of such crisis creates havoc in the life of an artist, have

been depicted by the author. In his stories, Narayan Gangopadhyay has

delineated fine philosophy of life, artistic consciousness and social sensitivity.

This story deals with the death of an artist by some animalistic beings that

were blind with religious barbarism.

Narayan Gangopadhyay has wanted to delineate such issues related

to his time, in many of his stories. The humanitarian writer expresses his

anger, hatred, rebuke, disdain, ridicule, through his various short stories.

A special time along with the soil of his motherland, man, society,

economics and administration are present in these stories. That is why

sociologists and historians have gained feedback by these short stories. But

though, his short stories were written from a particular perspective, these

have surpassed the acts of time and spaces.

Love conjugal love, pre marital love, post marital love - success and

failure:

ëëÒÚÓ¬±øLafl¡ ˜˝√√±Ú·À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ˝√√+√˚˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛Ó¬…Mï √º Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ ¤˝◊√√ ¬ıdøÈ¬¬¬

Ó¬±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± fl¡±ÀÊ√ ˘±À· Ú±º .................. ¤fl¡‡G ˝◊√√È¬, ’Ô¬ı± ¤fl¡È¬± Œ˘±˝√√±¬ı˛

¬ı˛Î¬ ’Ô¬ı± ¤fl¡¬ıô¶± ø¸À˜KI◊, ¤¸À¬ı¬ı˛ √±˜ ’±ÀÂ√ øfl¡c ˝√√+√À˚˛¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± √±˜

ŒÚ˝◊√√ºíí 14

Though Binay Ghose has said this, yet love to the world of art and

culture is an important matter. Love brings to the life mixed ebb and tide of

happiness and pain in the boredom and tiredness. Modern life is full of

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complexities and crisis. Here the real life is so contradictory, that none can

weave the words of love but even then man cannot forget or leave his feelings

of the heart. That is why with changes in time, the feelings for love also

changes. These have found spaces in the fictional literatures, like short

stories and novels of many writers. That is why a critic has said :

ëë‰¬ø~À˙¬ı˛ √˙Àfl¡¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ø‰¬øSÓ¬ Œõ∂˜ ˜±Ú¬ı˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ Œfl¡±˜˘ ’Ú≈ ¬”øÓ¬¬ı˛+À¬Û

Œ√‡± Œ√ ˛øÚ, Ó¬± Ú˚˛ ˙±¶§Ó¬ › ø‰¬¬ı˛ôLÚº ¬ı¬ı˛— Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ·Àä ø‰¬øSÓ¬ Œõ∂˜

é¬Ìˆ¬e≈¬ı˛, ¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ ’ø¶ö¬ı˛Ó¬± Œ¸˝◊√√ Œõ∂˜Àfl¡ ¢∂±¸ fl¡À¬ı˛º Œ˚À˝√√Ó≈¬ ¤˝◊√√ Œõ∂˜

ø¬ı˙-øÓ¬ø¬ı˛À˙¬ı˛ √˙Àfl¡¬ı˛ Ú ˛, Ó¬±˝◊√√ õ∂Ê√ij·Ó¬ ¬ı…¬ıÒ±Ú õ∂¬ı˘ ˝√√À ˛ ›ÀÍ¬ ‰¬ø~À˙¬ı˛

√˙Àfl¡¬ı˛ Œ˘‡fl¡À√¬ı˛ Œõ∂˜øÚˆ¬«¬ı˛ ·ä&ø˘¬ı˛ Œé¬ÀSºíí 15

Modern life is full of problems, crisis and pain. This type of short stories

and novels give lease of delight temporarily to both, the writer and the reader,

equally.

In the short stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay, too, we witness the

variety of love. Though he was born as a writer in the 40’s, yet his fictions

have depicted context of love, and romance. But it is rooted in the realities,

along with romantic passion. World war-II, famine and freedom movement’s

perspectives in his stories have been reiterated again and again. But love

could not a gain momentum in such crisis. That is why most of his short

stories on love do not have happy ending. There are conflicts, complexities,

crisis and sadness in love. Neither social love nor unsocial love there are

failure. Though conjugal love is sought, yet it is beyond apparent concern in

most cases. And sometimes, love has a tragic consequence by selfishness in

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its world, with new light of union in other occasion. In many stories love has

arrived in new dimension. A few short stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay,

such as ‘Nila’ included in ‘Bitansa’ (1945), here the heroine protagonist

compelled her lover to obey the general condition of love. In the story,

‘Shaibya’, included in ‘Kalabadar’ (1948), the writer has shown that there are

whirlpools, as a follow up of crazy love which brings the lover out of their

home. Yet with chance of meeting of a good man, positive inhibition raises in

the mind. Yet love has to lose its identity behind the background of class and

caste discrimination. Again the story ‘Ghasban’ (1954), from the short story

collection ‘Svetkamal’, is a tale, told of unsuccessful love when twenty years

old Shyamlal wants to build a family with Rukni, then Rukni’s father,

Ghatowal, told Shymal that his daughter, Rukni is already married when she

was only two years old, and now she will go to her in-laws’ house .

He could not forgive his lover’s trickery. He retaliated by killing her by a

buffalo. Not only that, he had also planned to kill her husband by the poison of

venomous snakes. With the primitive barbarization, Shaymlal is crazy,

stubborn. His retaliatory method, too, is uncivilized and full of violent

animalistic act. It may seem unnatural on his part but he had done this job

under the loving spree, because he will never give to anyone his lover. The

psycho words of Shyamlal have been told by the writer as :

ëë¬ı±Ó¬±À¸ ¬ı±ø˙ ¬ı˛±ø˙ ‚±À˜¬ı˛ ’±ÚøµÓ¬ ’±Àµ±˘ÀÚ ˙s Î¬◊Í¬ÀÂ√ ø˙¬ı˛ø˙¬ı˛Œ˙“±

Œ˙“±óº ¤ Œ¸˝◊√√ ô¶tÓ¬± Œ˚‡±ÀÚ øÚÊ«√ÀÚ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸± ‰¬À˘, ’±¬ı˛ó ’±¬ı˛ó ˝√√Ó¬…± fl¡¬ı˛±

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‰¬À˘ øÚ–˙Àsº........ ‚±¸¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ø˝√√—¸± ‚±¸¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ˆ¬±À˘±¬ı±¸±¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬˝◊√√ Ú¢ü ’±¬ı˛

øÚ¬ı˛±¬ı¬ı˛Ìºíí 16

Adolescent love has found spaces in a story titled, ‘Ekti Chithi’ included

in the short story collection, ‘Subhakshan’, 1960. But this love has been lost

from the heart of the protagonist due to the crude realities. The play with dolls,

its marriage has built a dream-land into the mind of the girl. The pure love of

adolescence is lost from one’s mind and if it is sought to keep in memory, it is

called funny by the other. The dream of lovely doll’s house brings disasters to

her life.

In respect of conjugal love, by Narayan Gangopadhyay, it is seen that

there are gulf of mental differences between the husband and wife in post

marital stages. And again, in an ultimate moment love is found from the both

side. The story, ‘Dhvas’ is one of such stories (included in the short story

collection, ‘Gandharaj’, 1955). Standing in front of destruction both husband

and wife reconciled each other newly and imbibed with a new consciousness.

In the story, ‘Sei Pakhita’, (included in the short story collection

‘Chayatari’, 1966) too, shows the picture of the complexities of conjugal love.

Man losses the love from his own woman due to his own faulty act and again

returns by begging pardon. Though once he is turned down by his woman, yet

she can’t leave him forever. A sense of compassion took him back as a life-

companion. The wife is moved by the ill and confessing husband. His

husband is revived thereby. The story, ‘Madhubanti’ (included in the short

story collection, ‘Exhibition’, 1961) exhibits the separation of two lovers due to

partition in between two families.

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The consequences love ends with the stroke of selfishness. The

maiden sees everything as barrier, with the news of a job in a village that her

man has got. The condition of their union was a job. But this job became the

cause of separation between these two. His story ‘Halde Chithi’ (included in

the short story collection, ‘Chayatari’, 1966) is a delineation of such things. To

describe the inns and outs of conjugal love, Narayan Gangopadhyay has

shown a distance from the couple, without any romanticism. This context has

been dealt in the story, ‘Kandari’, (included in the short story collection,

‘Exhibition’, 1961). Rich man, wood-merchant, Akhil who is a middle aged

man, has married twenty three year old girl Alaka. But Akhil could understand

that Alaka is ‘cool’, disgusted to her husband and without any passion. Akhil is

torn with these complexities of conjugal love. Akhil feels thus :

ëë¸—¸±À¬ı˛ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ¶aœ¬ı˛ ˆ¬±˘¬ı±¸± ¬Û±› ˛± Œ¬ı±Ò˝√√˚ ¸¬ı‰¬±˝◊√√ÀÓ¬ fl¡øÍ¬Úº ’ˆ¬…±À¸¬ı˛

˜Ò…ø√À ˛ ¬Û¬ı˛¶Û¬ı˛Àfl¡ ¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÚ›˚˛± ˚± ˛ -‰≈¬øMï √ fl¡¬ı˛± ‰¬À˘º øfl¡c Œ¸˝◊√√

’±( « øÊ√øÚ¸∑ ˚±¬ı˛ ’±À˘±¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬ ¶Û©Ü Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ¬ı˛+¬Û ŒÚ˝◊√√ ’Ô‰¬ ˚±¬ı˛

ŒÊ√…±øÓ¬˜«˚ ¬ı…±ø5 , ˚± ˙±ôL ’gfl¡±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬±- ˚±¬ı˛ ˙œÓ¬˘ ø¬ı|±À˜¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛

¸˜ô¶ ¶ß± ˛≈&À˘± ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛ ˙±øôLÀÓ¬ ‚≈ø˜À˚ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇÀÓ¬ ‰¬±˚˛∑ ’øÚ26≈√fl¡ √±•ÛÓ¬…

Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛ Ó¬±Àfl¡ Œfl¡±Ô± ˛ ¬Û±›˚± ˚±À¬ı∑íí 17

The story ends with a dramatic note. Husband and wife could

understand the true spirit of love, standing in front of death. A critic, over this

story, has said :

ëëõ∂±Ó¬…ø˝√√fl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¢-±øÚÀÓ¬ Œ˚ Œõ∂˜ ’Ú±ø¬ı¶‘®Ó¬ Ó¬±Àfl¡˝◊√√ ÚÓ≈¬Úˆ¬±À¬ı ’±ø¬ı¶®±¬ı˛

fl¡¬ı˛± ˚± ˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ¬ÛÀÔ¬ı˛ Ú±È¬fl¡œ˚Ó¬±˚º ’±¸À˘ Œõ∂À˜¬ı˛ ’Ú≈ ¬”øÓ¬ÀÓ¬› ›Ó¬Àõ∂±Ó¬

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˝√√À ˛ Ô±Àfl¡ øÚ¬ı˛±¬ÛM√√± ’±¬ı˛ øÚˆ¬«¬ı˛Ó¬±¬ı˛ õ∂ï üøÈ¬º ¤˝◊√√ ·Àä ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ Œ¸˝◊√√

õ∂ï ü±øÈ¬Àfl¡˝◊√√ Â“√≈ÀÎ¬ˇ ø√À˚ÀÂ√Ú Œ˘‡fl¡ºíí 18

Love has been found no small space in Narayan Gangopadhyay’s

short stories. Complexities within self, the self analysis of the aged, the pain of

unfulfilled desire, or sometimes the reunion have been enlightened into his

own artifact. The deep crisis in the age, human mind is torn with doubt. So,

we find complexities and sadness in love, and we never get a smooth, fine

and easy sail in love. It is not possible for everyone to achieve what love is as

it is dreamt by the protagonist. In many stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay,

this failure has found spaces too. He has shown that love is a complex affair.

Here, it is difficult to understand what one gets and what one does not get.

Psychology normal, abnormal:

In a few stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay, we get mental

characteristics. In these stories, we get a clear picture with psychological

complexities. The myriad complexities in modern life, too, are reflected in

many of his short stories.

Human mind, its doubt, chaos, hopelessness, happiness and festivity

these create complexities in human life which is shown along with instincts,

inhibition and desire. Modern short stories want to unveil the mystery of

human mind. In this context Freud is applicable for his psychoanalysis

method. That is why a critic has said :

ëëøÊ√· ≈G ÙË¬À˚˛Î¬, fl¡±˘«˜±'«, ’±˘À¬ıÈ«¬ ’±˝◊√√Ú©Ü±˝◊√√Ú › ˜±' õ-±Ç— ’ôLÓ¬ ¤˝◊√√

fl¡-Ê√Ú ¬ı…øMï √Q ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ fl¡Ó¬fl¡&ø˘ ¬ıX ”˘ ¸—¶®±¬ı˛Àfl¡ Œˆ¬À„√√ ø√À˚˛

122

ø·À˚øÂ√À˘Úº ˜±Ú≈À¯∏¬ı˛ ˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ø¬ı˛¬ı˛—¸±-‰¬±ø˘Ó¬ øÓ¬ÚøÈ¬ ô¶¬ı˛, ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ

Œ|Ìœ¸—‚±Ó¬ › Ó¬»õ∂¸”Ó¬ ·øÓ¬˜ ˛ ¸—Àï - ∏ ±ÒÚ, ¬Û√±Ô«Ê√·ÀÓ¬ ¬ı˝√√ø¬ıÒ ‚Ú ¬ı±

’± ˛Ó¬ÀÚ¬ı˛ ’øô¶Q¶§œfl¡±¬ı˛ › ø¬ı√œÌ« ’Ú≈¬ı˛ õ∂‰¬G é¬˜Ó¬±— ¤˝◊√√¸¬ı ø‰¬ôL± ›

’±ø¬ı¶®±¬ı˛ Ê√·ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ø√Àfl¡ Ó¬±fl¡±¬ı±¬ı˛ ˆ¬øeÈ¬±˝◊√√√√ ¬ı√À˘ ø√À ˛ ø·À ˛øÂ√˘º..........

¤¬ı— Ó¬±¬ı˛ Ù¬À˘˝◊√√, ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±fl¡±À˘, Œfl¡±ÀÚ±-Ú±-Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ˆ¬±À¬ı ¤À√¬ı õ∂ˆ¬±¬ı ¬ı±

’øˆ¬‚±Ó¬Àfl¡ ¤Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ± ¸y¬ı ˝√√ ˛øÚºíí 19

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) tried to unveil the mystery of human mind

in a scientific way. A new discipline as psychosis which is based on

consciousness, sub-consciousness and unconsciousness came to be

established. We notice the application of this in Bengali literature. We observe

this discipline that aims at unfolding the inner mind of man and woman, more

than any outer space, in Bengali literature. That is why a critic has said :

“A narrative that focuses on the emotional lives of its characters,

and explores their varied levels of mental activity. A

psychological novel concentrates less on what happens than on

the only and wherefore of action."20

It is applicable about short stories also. A few of Narayan

Gangopadhyay’s short stories deal with personal complexities, cruelties,

abnormalities, consciousness and primitive wilderness. A few stories which

has given importance upon psychosis are- ‘Durghatana’, ‘Phalashruti’, ‘Tas’,

‘Hariner Rang’, ‘Amanonita’, ‘Sheshchura’, ‘Banatulsi’, ‘Chalanamayee’,

‘Exhibition’, ‘Atmahatya’, etc.

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Decreased black shadow loomed large in the conjugal life due to an

animalistic and suppression. In the story ‘Durghatana’ depicts such condition

in the life of a couple with psychoanalytical credo.

The middle-class psychology has been delineated in modern terms

through the story, ‘Phalashruti’. A couple-writer got shelter in the house of an

unknown girl when they were cruising at Rajgir with a turn of incident; there

have been clashes between the instinct and inhibition. With this, there have

been psychic complexities and changes.

The main subject of the story, ‘Hariner Rang’ is the act of

consciousness and sub-consciousness of a dying female patient. Sometimes

she falls unconscious in pain, and sometime she is lost with the thought of

happy moments. As if it is a play of sorrow and joy between consciousness

and sub-consciousness. The presence of conscious mind does not last long

here.

The protagonist of the story, ‘Sheshchura’ is endangered by the

complexities of his mind and the act of sub consciousness. His sadness

comes out of his dream. It is a kind of obsession. Theory of dream and

analysis of dream is another branch of psychology. The protagonist of this

story is a matured man; aged about fifty years, named Bhupen Sen. He is

attracted by one of his neighbour-girls, Anakshi. Psychic abnormalities are

seen in his attire. Sometimes it turns into psychic disorder; he behaves

unnaturally which is incomprehensible. His sub-consciousness of mind is

caught in his dreams. As the impulsion is suppressed, so the dreams become

complex and suggestive. In ‘Tas’ and ‘Amanonita’, we have the

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psychoanalytical character of an educated man. The author has deftly dealt

with the psychoanalytical characters in the story, ‘Tas’. The task of a writer is

to exhibit his characters alive. In the language of a critic :

ëë‰¬ø¬ı˛SÀfl¡ ’±¬ı˛› ¬ıMï √ ˜±—À¸¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ Ó≈¬˘ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À˘, fl¡±ø˝√√ÚœÀÓ¬ ¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛

õ∂Ó¬œøÓ¬ ’±ÚÀÓ¬ ˝√√À˘, Œ˘‡fl¡Àfl¡ øÚ « › ¬Ûé¬¬Û±Ó¬˙”Ú…ˆ¬±À¬ı ˜ÀÚ±ø¬ıÀï - ∏ÀÌ¬ı˛

’±|˚ øÚÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ıºíí21

With an axis of a simple game of Tas, an illicit relationship grows

between a man and a woman. Both are moved by symbolic gesture, forbidden

happiness, over act of theft in the game of Tas (Playing Cards). A kind of

addiction occupied them. A conscious mind occupies the sub-conscious mind.

They are forbidden by the consciousness and returns from a space without a

consequence.

‘Amanonita’ is a story of personal psychosis and the mental crisis.

Suspicion is a natural component in human being. It is covered in the depth of

sub-consciousness. It brings abnormalities and complexities with a stroke. It

makes the life of human beings ill and venomous.

The stories like ‘Durghatana’, ‘Bhanga Bandar’, ‘Lal Ghora’, ‘Tinjan’ are

the depiction of complexities of human mind. We find variety of people with

more variety of mood and motifs.

In the story ‘Bhanga Bandar,’ we do have the optimism, of Sridhar Mittir

with the dream of past confluence, who hopes, naturally that it will be revived

once again in the future. But when the direct reality breaks his hopefulness his

sadness gives him acute sadness. In acute crisis, Shridhar Mittir blamed the

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prostitutes for his present poor-condition, but later he himself had come to

seek their help. Here he is defeated, this mentality, is undoubtedly abnormal.

In these stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay, mental abnormalities do

not come alone; it also brings kind of gory circumstances. Here in these

stories, the author has dealt with the human crisis that brings disaster to the

human being with traces of psychological symptoms, which is sometimes

lethal. Actually the author has tried to unveil the mystery of unfathomable

spaces of human mind.

Politics human welfare, party ideology :

Any and every Art or literary works in some sense is political. Because,

it is impossible, to create a fictional literature, avoiding the present social and

political situations. It has to depict a particular people or particular life either in

a micro or macro canvass. It is doubtful whether there is any pure and a non-

political literature. A political fictional literature is that type of literature where

we find political conflicts, problems, crisis of a class and caste, socio-

economic situation and its disputes with plots and space of a country. It is not

aimed at propagating any political ideology, but an all-inclusive euphoria in a

country and its life. The growth of a human being’s consciousness depends

upon self consciousness. In modern times politics is essential for the

livelihood of a human being.

An artist, a writer is nurtured in this time and space, in its society and

country. That is why no artist can avoid political perspective. Narayan

Gangopadhyay, too, is of no exception. In fact, world war-II gave him a new

126

impetus to write stories in a new dimension. Direct relationship to life, a new

wisdom upon it, gave him new elements with a great turning point. His stories

have got fresh social thought, Marxism and social realities, in a finer mood.

According to him politics is for man, not man for politics. He is a tireless

passerby. He has sought meaning from his student life. He is a tireless seer of

truth of liberation of development. He had a rich experience of life. He had

observed from a close quarter both the philosophy of Gandhi and the politics

with bomb and pistol. But he never got the path of ultimate truth. To find

solace he had taken proximity in communist party, with this feeling he had

been introduced in mass movements.

The birth of political consciousness and its development rose from

liberal humanism and love to his people. His political consciousness is not

limited to any single party policies. He had written a good number of political

novels, too. Such as, ‘Timir Tirtha’, ‘Svarna Sita’, ‘Shilalipi’, ‘Mandramukhar’,

‘Mahananda’, ‘Sroter Sange’, and ‘Lal Mati’. The fiction ‘Lalmati’ is a

successful political novel. On his novels based on politics, a critic has said :

ëë ... ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬-øÚˆ¬«¬ı Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±˚ Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ ˚Ó¬È¬±

’±À¬ı·õ∂¬ıÌ Ó¬Ó¬È¬± ¸¬ı¸˜ ˛ ¬ıô¶øÚá¬ ÚÚº ˜±Ú¬ı˜≈øMï √¬ı˛ ¸±ÒÚ±Àfl¡˝◊√√ øÓ¬øÚ

¸±˜…¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ¸±ÒÚ± ¬ıÀ˘ ø¬ıï ´±¸ fl¡À¬ı˛ ¤À¸ÀÂ√Úº Œ˚ ¸¬ı Œé¬ÀS Œfl¡±Ú ø¬ıÀ¬ı˛±Ò

‚ÀÈ¬øÚ, Œ¸‡±ÀÚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ ¸±˜…¬ı±√œ ˜Ó¬±√À˙« ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛ ø¬ıï ´±¸, ’±¬ı˛

Œ˚‡±ÀÚ Ó¬ÀN¬ı˛ ‰¬±À¬Û ˜Ú≈ ∏…ÀQ¬ı˛ ˘±ø>Ó¬ ˝√√¬ı±¬ı˛ ¸y±¬ıÚ± ¬ı˛À˚ÀÂ√ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ øÓ¬øÚ

˜Ó¬±√˙«Àfl¡ ’øÓ¬Sï ˜ fl¡À¬ı˛ ‰¬À˘ Œ˚ÀÓ¬ ‰¬±Úºíí22

127

His political thoughts, belief and faith have been delineated in some of

the short stories, these are, ‘Nishachar’, ‘Itihas’, ‘Nila’, ‘Mami’, ‘Kalnemi’,

‘Banduk’ etc. The protagonist of ‘Nishachar’ (included in the short story

collection, ‘Bitansa’, 1945) is an ideologue and a political worker who is the

active member of communist party. For many, a world with variety, he goes

on working; in keeping the proclaiming notice, inside his chest in a cool,

winter night he roams in the path of Calcutta. In the proclaiming notice, there

lies the power to spark the downtrodden.

‘Itihas’ (included in the short story collection ‘Bhogabati’, we see the

history is making its own stories in ups and downs, in vicissitudes, from past

to present and from present to future. Each incident is like a footstep in the

endless journey to the future. These footsteps are burning bright in Sebagram

of Jalianwala Bagh, Rangamati of Medinipur. A kind of way here, is telling its

future. This history is being told by Amaresh. From his voice, hymns are

chanted in the devotion of ‘Deshajanani’, like a priest.

In ‘Nila’ (included in the short story collection, ‘Bitansa’, 1945) two

communist party-workers, a young man and a young woman are seen

organizing communist movement. They organize the farmers against the

exploitation and torture. A clash took place against the owner of the sugar

mill. And ultimately the collective people won.

In the story ‘Mami’ (included in the short story collection, ‘Duhshasan’,

1952) we find that the hero of the story is a fresh, young and an active political

worker, who is indoctrinated into a communist party. This story tells the

beginning of socialism. He hears from the far away, certain echo of an age to

128

come. He distributes all the landed property of his father among the farmers.

He dreamt of establishing socialism in the state. Manindra foresees in his

dream the golden harvest in thousands of bigha lands with the wheels of

tractors.

In the story ‘Kalnemi’ (included in the short story collection,

‘Svetkamal’, 1954) we see the country still under torture, even after

independence. Though the tea garden authority is able to put barrier in ‘Red

flag’, but they can’t obstruct the movement for freedom, and democracy.

Ultimately what wins, is the right of the people and consciousness of freedom.

The political consciousness and the protest and rebellion have taken

ground in the story ‘Banduk’ (included in the short story collection,

‘Kalabadar’, 1948). People irrespective of Hindus and Muslims had joined

together in the movement of ‘Tebhaga’ against the feudal lord. The people of

‘lower depth’ begin revolutions. Single person one by one in collective groups

begin the task of socialism society.

In the politically conscious stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay, we see

his liberal outlook, humanism and a communal mentality. It is the educated

middle-class society, who comes to lead the poor, lower depth people in most

of the times. Here, Narayan Gangopadhyay gives more stress upon human

relationship, more than theoretical politics in human well-being and their

liberation. This has made him great. This voice of the people is the voice

human beings, who are taken under careful scrutiny in social observation.

129

On Education – students’ community and teaching fra ternity :

Narayan Gangopadhyay had delineated in his few short stories the

emptiness of so-called education system, its trickeries and corruption. In his

personal life a man like him was compassionate, heartiest to his students.

About this, a critic has said :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛±˚˛Ì¬ı±¬ı≈ ’Ò…±¬Ûfl¡ ø˝√√¸±À¬ı ¸≈‡…±øÓ¬ ’Ê«√Ú fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√À˘Úº Â√±SÂ√±SœÀ√¬ı˛ Œ˚

|X± › õ∂œøÓ¬ øÓ¬øÚ ˘±ˆ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√À˘Ú ¤ ˚≈À· Ó¬± ≈√˘« ¬ºíí23

That is why he was aware of the defects of educational system and the

injustice done to the students. The stories which dealt with the education

system are, ‘Mananiya Parikshak Mahashay Samipeshu’ and ‘Svet Kamal’.

The story ‘Mananiya Parikshak Mahashay Samipeshu’ is included in

the short story collection, ‘Exhibition’ (1961). In the story we see a talented

student, Svadhinkumar, has chosen the path of suicide, due to poverty.

Svadhinkumar has fared well always in his school time. He won a scholarship

in minor. But he could not purchase costly books for higher studies. That is

why it became impossible for him to come over to Calcutta for studies in

higher classes. He secured a job with shelter at Barabazar, in a tobacco shop,

in exchange of which he helped running of the shop all day long. That is why

Svadhinkumar did not get proper environment for his studies.

Naturally he was not able to write proper answer appearing in the

examination hall. Instead of it he addressed the examiner with his grief, telling

him the words of his mind and divulged that he is going to commit suicide

under the wheels of train.

130

This story deals with the injustice in society, along with compassion

and sympathy. In the answer script of the examination, Svadhinkumar has

written the words of his struggling life and its failure, instead of answering the

questions. He had a desire in higher education, but could not afford to

purchase books and study materials. With the utter failure, he decides to

commit suicide. Dreams remain unfulfilled. In this education system poor

students can’t study. This concept has been delineated by Narayan

Gangopadhyay, with a sympathetic eye. The appeal of this story is heart

rendering.

The story ‘Svet Kamal’, too, is one of such stories. The short story

collection, ‘Svet Kamal’ was published in the year 1954. Here, in this short

story, the author has portrayed the faulty education system and the desire of

the poor students to study, though they cannot do so. A protagonist named

Siddhartha could not complete his education due to poverty. To fulfill his

desire to study, his mother had to sell the ornaments that his mother had

owned, to collect the fees for examination. Talented student, Siddhartha had

fared well in the examination. But when the result was declared, he saw that

he got failed in English for only two marks less. But the rich man’s son got

distinction, by cheating from book who sat just behind him. Here, through this

story, Narayan Gangopadhyay, as a social reformer, has voiced his protest

against the utmost limit of corruption in education system.

With these stories on education, the author has penned down the

situation, which prevented the poor talented students to study. How social,

131

economical pressure breaks a poor student’s dream for higher education is

depicted by the author in these stories.

Supernatural creation of perspective and its mystery :

The beginning of human civilization is marked by spirit demon, god,

heaven, and hell. Though it was overcome by the establishment through logic,

yet those supernatural things could not be totally discarded. Though rationality

got upper hand in rituals, yet side by side many superstitions are also situated

in human mind. That is why we can’t differentiate between unearthly and

supernatural belief from human spirit.

Supernatural consciousness has been mixed with literature, and

consciousness of realities. Though in reality there is no unnatural things yet it

has taken ground in people’s mind. Supernatural gods and its unearthly

stories deserve attention on part of the reader. The mystery behind such

stories attracted attention with curiosity. Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories,

‘Nishithe’, ‘Manihara’ or ‘Kshudhita Pashan’, deal with such mystery in stories.

About this type of story Narayan Gangopadhyay has said :

ëë¸±ø˝√√Ó¬… ¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Œˆ¬ÃøÓ¬fl¡ ·Àä¬ı˛› ¤fl¡È¬± ø¬ıø˙©Ü ˜” … ’±ÀÂ√º ¤¬ı˛± qÒ≈

’øÓ¬À˘Ãøfl¡fl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛ Ê√·» ¸‘ø©Ü fl¡À¬ı˛—’ø¬ıï ´±¸…Ó¬± › Œ¬ı˛±˜±À=¬ı˛ Œ˚ÃÔ ‰¬±Ó≈¬À˚«

¬Û±Í¬Àfl¡¬ı˛ ˜ÚÀfl¡ ’øˆ¬ˆ¬”Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ ¤fl¡È¬± ¸≈ ˆ¬ ’±Úµ˝◊√√ ¬Ûø¬ı˛À¬ı˙Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ Ú±º

’À˘Ãøfl¡fl¡ ·Àä¬ı˛ ’±¸˘ Œ¸Ãµ « Œ¬ı˛±˜±À= Ú ˛—’±¬ı˛› ·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛‰¬±¬ı˛œ

Œ¬ı˛±˜±Àk¬ı˛ ·˝√√ÀÚº Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ¸œ˜±ôL ¬Û±¬ı˛ ˝√√À˚˛ Œ·À˘ fl¡œ ’±ÀÂ√ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ∑ Œfl¡±Úƒ

’¬Û¬ı˛+¬Û ’:±Ó¬ ø¬ı¶ú ˛ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ’À¬Ûé¬± fl¡¬ı˛ÀÂ√∑ õ∂fl‘¡øÓ¬¬ı˛

132

’ôL¬ı±À˘ ’±¬ı˛› Œfl¡±ÀÚ± Œ·±¬ÛÚ ˙øMï √ øÚø˝√√Ó¬ ’±ÀÂ√ øfl¡∑ Œ¸ øfl¡ S≈ï ¬ı˛ ˆ¬˚—fl¡¬ı˛,

’Ô¬ı± ˜±Ú≈À¯∏¬ı ¬ÛÀé¬ fl¡˘…±Ì˜˚∑

Î¬◊M√√¬ı˛ Œfl¡Î¬◊ Ê√±ÀÚ Ú±º Ó¬±˝◊√√ ’øÓ¬-õ∂±fl‘¡ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ fl¡äÚ± ˛ Œ¬ı˛±˜…±øKI◊fl¡

Œ‰¬Ó¬Ú± ¬ı±¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±Àµ±ø˘Ó¬, ø˙˝√√ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ºíí24

In a number of the stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay such issues of

supernaturalism are found. Among them remarkable are ‘Puskara’, ‘Hat’,

‘Bitansa’, ‘Had’, and ‘Type writer’. ‘Puskara’, deals with issues of

contemporary, cruel situation. Due to the war-torn famine, village from village

was driven into crematorium. Procession of death loomed large everywhere.

Kalipuja was organized to come out of such, epidemic, in Sukla Chaturdashi

in the month of Ashwin. A kind of supernatural reigned everywhere. A gory

perspective took place as association of ghostly darkness in moonlight night,

crematorium, and stinking rotten and half burnt corpse. The nasty smell of

floating corpse, a gory idol of goddess Kali, cry of jackals and dogs with all

these, ‘Kali’s Shibabhog’ is swallowed by a half naked woman, with curled

hair, in darkness with deep black skin. The author had created a supernatural

situation to depict the contemporary picture of the society.

In the story ‘Hat’, we too, become witness to the experience of an

accident that took place by Punjab mail. In the entire narration there had been

supernatural perspective. The story teller, here is the listener to the gentleman

who had narrated the experience along with his senseless body and a cut

hand with a ring. With the touch of the hand he felt terror of adventure and

death. After that he heard gory laughter and then falls senseless. Entire home

133

was dumbfounded in hearing the story. The supernatural Rasa is injected into

the readers mind.

In the story ‘Type writer’, by Narayan Gangopadhyay, we too, have the

feelings of supernatural Rasa in a finer adequacy. The discussion of the

vanished unmarried Sulata Paul, who was an office secretary of Das, were on

but this was put to an end with the arrival of rain, in the office. By this time

Das wanted to complete his task by the type-writer. It was amazing that the

name Sulata Paul, has been typed under the word ‘Tender’ without his

knowledge, whom Das had murdered and kept the dead body in a big cabin

‘trunk’ at the old garage in the farm house of Barakpur. When the narrator

asked him about that then he cried loudly saying ‘It’s not me! Not me’. In the

next moment when he comes out the road, he got killed in an accident. There

is no outer expression of the spirit entity but situation of supernatural is there.

The culprit has confessed his crime sub-consciously. In the story ‘Bitansa’ and

‘Had’ too, we face the supernatural situation. The uneducated Santhal of the

forest, believe in ghosts witches, chanting hymns and trickeries. The collie

supplier, agent Sundarlal, wanted to make them fool through unnatural

trickeries. Roy Bahadur seating in a big palace tells an unnatural story to an

unemployed youth, in the story ‘Had’. As the young man listening to the story

by the Raybahadur sitting in front of him being spell-bound vision of

supernatural elements. These elements included the beheading of unmarried

girls in total solar-eclipse, the power of the spirit, the fire breeze in ‘Tahiti

Island’, and the blood- showers, in the story ‘Had’.

134

In these stories, reality breaks the cover of romance or supernatural.

Yet the supernatural elements have got a permanent place to the readers.

About this a critic has rightly said :

ëë˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ˜ÀÚ±¬ı˛±ÀÊ√… Œõ∂Ó¬±R±¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ ø¬ıï ´±¸ Ô±fl¡±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…˝◊√√ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ˆ¬”ÀÓ¬¬ı˛

’±¸Ú› ¶ö±˚œ¬ı˛+¬Û ˘±ˆ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√º ˝√√˚Ó¬ ’g ø¬ıï ´±¸ øÚÀ ˛ ◊√√ ˆ¬”ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ·ä&ø˘

¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ºíí25

Values – its crisis and upliftment :

The stream of Bengali short story has a turning flow in the world war-II

and post-independence period. On the one hand war followed by exodus,

freedom movement, riot, famine, that put the Bengalese and Bangladeshis

into utter trouble; on the other hand the discovery of psychoanalysis by Freud

and Socialism in Russia, were giving the Bengalis’ mind the information of

new world. Money was the regulator of the society and human mind at that

time.

Due to this, the Bengalese had to face the crisis in values. Side by side

the effort to regain new values with new possibilities, all these have been

reflected in the short stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay.

The crisis of values in the individual in the short stories of Narayan

Gangopadhyay could be categorized into a few segments. For example :

1. The power of the individual upon one another in socio economic

perspective and its subsequent crisis in values.

2. The clashes between the man and nature, where nature is an

opponent of the individual the human being. Here, man, being

135

defeated by the nature, with all their hopes and aspiration, creates a

crisis.

3. The clashes among divided selves and the conflict between inner

and outer life which creates the crisis in values.

In many stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay we observe the horrible

picture of decay and crisis. His first and second collection of short stories

,‘Bitansa’ (first edition, Bengali New-Year, 1352 B.S.) and ‘Bhanga Bandar’

(first edition, Bhadra, 1352 B.S.) were published at the time of world war-II.

The chief characteristic of these stories is that they are the mirrors of

contemporary social condition. The story ‘Had’, included in ‘Bitansa’, is a case

to be cited. In this story the crisis of values in individual being, due to the

discrimination between two classes, i.e. haves and have-nots between two

classes have been shown. In the story, ‘Had’ we find the selfish greed to

money by the rich people, when all over the country unemployment, the crude

war, with no option to survive by the middle-class people.

The crisis in values in the class consciousness of the upper classes

has been clearly delineated in the story ‘Bhanga Bandar’, in the collection of

short stories, by the same name, ‘Bhanga Bandar’ (1945). A financial port with

its glorious heritage and contemporary decay is the main theme of the story.

Here, Sridhar’s character is of a positive values – he wants to evict the

harlots, who are polluting the youth. He wants to escape the youth from the

grip of the harlots.

136

But the contemporary society of the youth is avoiding their tradition in

values and consciousness. Here the crisis in person and society in sad

feelings of Sridhar is seen in this story.

The crisis in values that engulfed middle-class mentality was deeply

rooted in war, famine, partition and eviction that gave an assault to the

Bengali’s economic condition. In this respect a critic has said :

ëë‰¬ø~À˙¬ı˛ √˙fl¡ ¤fl¡ ≈√–¶§Àõü¬ı˛ √˙fl¡º......¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛ ·“±À ˛¬ı˛ ¸Àe ˙˝√√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸•Ûfl«¡

Œ¸˝◊√√ ’±fl¡±À˘ ÚÓ≈¬Ú fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ˚Ú øÚÒ«±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ Œ·˘º ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ¸Àe ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛

¸•Ûfl«¡ Œ˚ fl¡Ó¬‡±øÚ Œ˜øfl¡ Ó¬±› õ∂˜±øÌÓ¬ ˝√√À˚˛ Œ·˘º Œ¸È¬± Ù“¬±¬Û± È¬±fl¡± ’±¬ı˛

Ù“¬±¬Û± ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ fl¡±˘º fl¡±¬ı˛± Î¬◊Í¬ÀÂ√ ’±¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛± Ó¬ø˘À˚˛ ˚±À26√ ’gfl¡±À¬ı˛, Í¬±˝√√¬ı˛

fl¡¬ı˛± ˆ¬±¬ı˛º ¬ı˛±ô¶±¬ı˛ Ò±À¬ı˛ qÒ≈ fl¡Ç±˘ Ú ˛, ¬Û±˙±¬Û±ø˙ ·ÀÎ¬ˇ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬øÂ√˘ Ê√?±À˘¬ı˛

˜ÀÓ¬± Â“√≈ÀÎ¬ˇ Œ√› ˛± ˚±¬ıÓ¬œ˚˛ ” …À¬ı±Òº &øÈ¬fl¡˚˛ Œ¬ı±˜± Œ˚Ú ø¬ıÒ√ıô¶ fl¡À¬ı˛ ø√À ˛

Œ·˘ ÚœøÓ¬À¬ı±Ò, ¬Û±¬Û-¬Û”Ì…À¬ı±Ò, ˜±Úø¬ıfl¡Ó¬±À¬ı±Ò ¤¬ı— ˚±¬ıÓ¬œ˚˛ Œ¬ı±Òºíí26

The perspective of this story ‘Nakracharit’ has dealt with one such

crisis of values, is vehemently illustrated. Nisikanta Karmakar purchases the

stolen gold from the dacoits. He deprives not only the dacoits but also hoards

eight hundred mound rice which has been snatched from the common people,

for black-marketing. This rice is perished due to the summer water, and stink.

Actually what is perished and stink is nothing other than the humanity. The

then dark period and the degradation of human values are reflected in the

character of Nishikanta. The dark side of a human life is has been deftly

crafted in the story.

137

With the perspective of the crisis in values, such other stories are

there, in the short story collections ‘Kalabadar’ (1948), and ‘Duhshasan’

(1952). A significant story in the short story collection ‘Kalabadar’, is ‘Top’.

The teller of the story, tells how the rich people’s representative, Rajabahadur

has swallowed the lower-class people with the socio-economic perspective.

The story, ‘Top’ deals with the recklessness of rich people and the clash

between mental conflict and human values of middle -class people.

‘Bhanga Chasma’ is a significant story with the backdrop of world war-

II, included in the short story collection ‘Duhshasan’. Though world war-II is

not directly related to this country, yet the decay of human values have

evicted the people. The story ‘Bhanga Chasma’ is a tale of crisis in values.

Here, a highly educated school teacher joins a temporary service of sub-

deputy designation, left his teaching job. Side by side the hopeless picture of

a headmaster of a minor school has been illustrated. Here the story element

‘Bhanga Chasma’ is the suggestive of breaking human crisis. The real teacher

can identify the reprobate teacher through his broken spectacles.

The story ‘Keya’ (included in the short story collection, ‘Shubhakshan’,

1960) is a story of honest unemployed youth suffering out of financial crisis.

In the story ‘Dhanvantari’ (included in the short story collection,

‘Bhogabati’, 1945) we find the crisis, by Rs. 800/- monthly remunerated

compounder of a village dispensary and his family, with a weak wife and a few

such weak children. The compounder sells his humanity and values to survive

in the battle of life.

138

With the studies of above mentioned stories, we see man has lost his

humanity and values due to the deep adversary. In these stories the author

Narayan Gangopadhyay has showed positive sign of human beings good

sense, humanity and values.

Consciousness to protest tortured against torturer:

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a representative short story writer of the

40’s, especially of world war-II. He has seen from very close quarter the

changing days. He has seen the crisis period of Bengali middle-class dotted

by the libertine voice.

Just as he has been moved by such incidents, he has voiced his

protest through his writings. Here we shall discuss a few short stories ting with

protest.

The story ‘Tirthayatra’ by Narayan Gangopadhyay, is a unique story

written in the perspective of famine. This story is a significant example of the

author’s protesting voice. It was written with the perspective of all devouring

famine of 1350 B.S. The family life of Bengal has been torn by the food crisis.

The animalism of man had taken extreme shape. With this the opportunist-

class agents of war began their gory, lethal activities to eradicate the hunger;

a few human being of animalism got down to enter into business in selling

women bodies. A hindu-brahmin, Narottam Thakur with a boat, full of women

is going to the city. His boatman is a muslim, named Farid. Farid Majhi is a

protesting character.

139

The story ‘Duhshasan’ too, is written with famine perspective. But here

it is a little different. Here the protest, like ‘Tirtha Yatra’ is not direct against

injustice. Here having seen the character of exploitation, the exploiter

themselves are afraid of that with terror. They are anxious due to sin, with

conscience stricken.

The short story ‘Record’ by Narayan Gangopadhyay, is another

conscious raising protesting story. Here, we have seen deep belief,

suppressed anger and protest. The story ‘Record’ is published in 1959.

Almost whole 50’s of West Bengal was torn with movement. Here we are

having myriad crisis and the protest against this. Students’ movements, due to

various mismanagement in education system, unemployment and such other

issues were on throughout the Bengal. Here in this story, too, we are having

the issue on students’ movement. Any man who is educated and honest will

protest against a tainted history of human civilization and this voice of protest

will survive forever. The craze for freedom, protest against the shackles and

demand for liberation these demands are universal, the name ‘Record’, itself

suggest a type of permanence, we hear, the slogan of protest in the roadside.

In the world war-II, the Nazis of Hitler launched heavier attack upon the

protesting people and killed them severely. In protest the liberal people of the

country went underground and took the task of freedom fighter. A few of them

composed song of protest, and circulated these songs through gramophone.

The words and tunes caught thousands of people to protest that time. In this

story, it was shown that the concept of revolution is associated with

humanism. It is seen that only universal humanism is the international religion.

140

The voice of the exploited, against the exploiter, has the solution as an

international religion.

The short stories on protest, written by Narayan Gangopadhyay, often

end with lashes of protest. On behalf of the downtrodden, against the enemy

of the humanism, he fought as a true socialist, as long as he lived.

Nature: regionalism, gory devastation:

In the prose fiction genera of literature mostly in respect of the novel,

modern critic has identified one kind of novel, as regional novel. Here we got

the novel of the local colour or novel of the soil. This category has been called

by someone as regional novel. In the words of a critic, it can be said :

ëë’±=ø˘fl¡ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸, Ú±À˜˝◊√√ Œ¬ı±Á¡± ˚±˚, ¤ ˝√√ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ’=˘ø¬ıÀ˙À ∏¬ı˛

˜±Ú¬ıÊ√œ¬ıÚ±| ˛œ ¤fl¡ ø¬ıø˙©Ü ¶§±À√¬ı Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸º....Œ¸˝◊√√ ’=À˘¬ı˛ ø¬ıø˙©Ü ˆ¬”-

¸—¶ö±Ú, Ê√˘¬ı± ˛≈, õ∂±fl‘¡øÓ¬fl¡ ¬Ûø¬ı˛À¬ı˙, ˜‘øM√√fl¡±–Œ¸‡±Úfl¡±¬ı˛ ’øÒ¬ı±¸œÀ√¬ı˛

Ê√œ¬ıÚÀfl¡ Ú±Ú±ˆ¬±À¬ı øÚ ˛øLaÓ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛º Ó¬±˝◊√ Œ¸ ’=À˘¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈À¯∏¬ı˛ ∆√ø˝√√fl¡ ·Í¬Ú,

¬ˆ¬± ∏±¬ı˛ Î¬◊2‰¬±¬ı˛Ì, fl¡Ô± ¬ı˘±¬ı˛ ˆ¬øe, Ê√œ¬ıÚ˚±S±, ’±‰¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı…¬ı˝√√±¬ı˛, ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡

¬ı˛œøÓ¬ÚœøÓ¬, ’±˙±-ø¬ıï ´±¸-¸—¶®±¬ı˛, ¬ı±—˘± ˆ¬±¯∏±ˆ¬±ø ∏ ’Ú…±Ú… ’=À˘¬ı˛

˜±Ú≈¯∏À√¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¶§±Ó¬La… ’Ê«√Ú fl¡À¬ı˛∑íí27

The ‘space’ itself becomes a character as he deals in such a way with

nature as its nerve-centre by the spirit of such a region. That is why regional

novel though coined as regionalism surpasses the barriers of local color as

universal one.

The locality of Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short story ‘Bitansa’ is Santal

Pargana. The hillock, shadows of forests, the alcoholic uneducated Santals of

141

Shal, Mahua’s open and easy forest life is the space where Santals live. The

curse belongs to the tea-garden of Assam of the spell bound forest dwellers.

Their life is full of illiteracy, superstitions and blind faith. The crude, wicked

agent, called Sundarlal, enters into their innocent lives. He beguiled the

Santals with their ancient belief, their rituals and their own life style.

The enchanting beauty of Duars has been deftly delineated in the story

‘Banajyotsna’. The escaped rebel, a Bengali’s son, Mahitosh of the 42’s

August revolution is without any companion in the forest of Duars. A

Bhutanese girl, Shiwkumari saves his life. Slowly love began to grow, in

between these two, in the wild environment. The protagonist is imprisoned in

love with a perspective of moon lit forest night, by this mysterious girl. The

cruel fate swallowed the heroine as the protagonist went somewhere else by

the order of his leader. Her fire-full heart is extinguished by the forest-fire.

In many of the stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay, we get the picture of

nature and its perspective. But this perspective acts not only as an ornament

or a framework, but the incidents and the characters, here arrives as a

powerful introduction to its natural perspective. Then nature becomes not only

perspective but also as a character. Sometimes it controls the characters of

the story; sometimes it becomes reciprocal to the character, itself. Nature

brings a kind of powerful picture in his stories.

For example, in the story ‘Banatulshi’, Narayan Gangopadhyay

delineated, simultaneously the womanly love with love to nature and real

nature-thought; both as a unified picture in complex mind and the words of

humanities. Love to the woman and the beauty of nature, is same to each

142

other. The good sense love and its benevolent image can it be shown by love

to nature, is the focal point. Nature attracts the people; it also has a strong

attractive power like a woman. It is the woman who is a portrait of nature. How

much do we avoid our sight to nature from the desire to formless nature, this

nature turns its face to women, and otherwise the nature brings destruction,

because it becomes dangerous in primitive qualities. At the end of this story

the author has arrived at the conclusion, that, human love is comparatively

better than love to nature, because it’s all devouring.

In the story ‘Top’ we find many faces of nature. The writer was amazed

on seeing the beautiful sight of the forest of Terai as he was invited there for

hunting. After that when he went there at night along with Raybahadur, with a

rifle, he saw that entire sight is altered.

It seems that nature is in a game of enchantment with the hunter. Man

is full of gory euphoria, by giving a bait of a human child to hunt a tiger.

Everywhere primitive violence is awakening in dark night.

The story ‘Bhogabati’’s perspective is Radh locale. Here, along the

Radh, live the Santals. They are derailed from their life-style and happiness.

They are remained with the soil of their own land.

In the story ‘Hans’, there is a primitive power of nature to its opponent,

a human character. Nature wants to retaliate against human beings in active

liveliness. It changes colour. Like an enchantress sometimes it is deeply

beautiful, sometimes like wicked spirit.

143

Likewise we see that Narayan Gangopadhyay is representing nature

alive. As if nature and human beings are blended together in a life stream,

with variety of perspective.

Optimism and mass consciousness – dream and expecta tion:

Literature is not only the reflection of life, it is an inspiration too.

Literature is the mouthpiece of a community. Fiction-literature performs the

duty of awakening of a community. The optimism and the ideology of a

litterateur are reflected as mass awakening and mass consciousness in the

composition of literature. An eminent critic thinks that a litterateur should

perform the duty of a social reformer. He said this in the following way :

ëë¸±ø˝√√øÓ¬…Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸˜±Ê√À‰¬Ó¬Ú± qÒ≈ Ú¤ûÔ«fl¡ ˝√√À˘ ‰¬˘À¬ı Ú±º fl¡œ ‰¬±˝◊√√ Ú± ¤¬ı— fl¡œ

‰¬±˝◊√√— ’±¸À˘ ¤fl¡˝◊√√ õ∂Àï ü¬ı˛ ≈√ ◊√√ø√fl¡º ≈√ÀÈ¬±Àfl¡ ¤fl¡¸Àe Ú± Œ√‡À˘

Œfl¡±ÀÚ±È¬±˝◊√√ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛± Œ√‡± ˝√√˚ Ú±, ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ‘√ø©Ü ’¬Ûø¬ı˛26√iß ŒÔÀfl¡ ˚± ˛º Œfl¡±Ú

¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ’±√˙« ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ’Ú≈õ∂±øÌÓ¬ fl¡¬ı˛À¬ı Ê√±ÚÀÓ¬ ˝√√À˘ Œ‰¬±‡ Œ˜˘ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ı

¬ı±ô¶¬ı ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛ ø√Àfl¡º ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú Œ˙± ∏fl¡À|Ìœ¬ı˛ ’±RqøX› ‡≈¬ı ¸˝√√ÀÊ√ ‚È¬À¬ı

¬ıÀ˘ ’±˙± fl¡¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± fl¡±¬ı˛Ì ŒÚ˝◊√√ , fl¡øÍ¬Ú ¸—¢∂±À˜¬ı˛ øˆ¬Ó¬¬ı˛ ø√À ˛ Œ¸È¬±

‚øÈ¬À ˛ Ó≈¬˘ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ıº ¤˝◊√√ ¸—¢∂±À˜ fl¡˜«œ¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À ˛ ˆ¬±¬ı≈fl¡, ¬ı˛±©Ü™ÀÚÓ¬±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À˚˛

ø˙ä¬ı˛‰¬ø ˛Ó¬±¬ı˛ √±ø ˛Q Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ’—À˙ fl¡˜ Ú ˛º.....≈√–‡ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬Ûø¬ı˛S±ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¬ÛÔ›

Ó“¬±Àfl¡˝◊√√ ¸fl¡À˘¬ı˛ ’±À· Œ√‡ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ı ¤¬ı— ¸fl¡˘Àfl¡ Œ√‡±ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À¬ı, Ó¬±˝◊√√

¸˜±Ê√À¸¬ıœ ¤¬ı— ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…À¸¬ıœ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¸˝√√À˚±· ¬ı±>Úœ˚˛º Ó¬À¬ı Œ¸È¬± õ∂fl‘¡Ó¬

’ÀÔ« ¸˝√√À˚±· ˝√√› ˛± ‰¬±˝◊,√√ ¬ı˛±©Ü™ÀÚÓ¬±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…fl¡˜«œ¬ı˛ ’±Rø¬ıÀ˘±¬Û

Ú ˛ºíí28

144

The writers have ignited the mass protest and mass consciousness in

many an occasion. In the stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay many problems,

crisis, pangs are seen in the realities reproduced by him. None the less he

hopes that some day or other this muddy attire will end, and a new lease of

life will be raised. In a few of his stories, we see the optimism and the world of

faith.

In the story ‘Banduk’, the poor downtrodden farmers have been

inspired centering on Tabhaga movement in villages with new hopes of life.

The real picture for survival of the movement in Bangladesh, have

been clearly depicted in Narayan Gangopadhyay’s story, ‘Banduk’. The

awareness of freedom that brought changes in the country has changed

times, too. Those who being half-fed, provided the space for exploitation, to

the higher classes, they are now indoctrinated to change their plight. This

story has delineated the sense of right, determination to survive, has been

caught. That is why the element, Banduk, which has so long provided

incentives to exploit, today it has been directed against them. The man is not

poor by birth, the rich people are also not riches by birth to establish this

truth, the man need not offer helpless prayer; rather, one has to take up the

task to protest where lies the settlement of humanism.

In the story ‘Sainik’, we see that the Santal people protesting against

Feudal Lord. This story is based upon two generation of Palgram,

Kumardahagram and Devicot Rajbansha, the Elephant-King of Assam,

Nilbahadur and the Santal. The soldiers of the new age have been assembled

145

upon the hillock of Palgram. In their hands are bow and arrow. The basic truth

of capitalist civilization lies here.

Even in the story ‘Itihas’, we get the spark of light though the death of

the son of a historian, who is searching for truth, in the movement of 42’s. He

hopes that this Bengal, torn among violence, will rise up again. It will revive

with new power. Someday or other, the sun of liberation will shine lights once

again, everybody will survive with new inspiration.

In such stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay we see one kind of

optimism, amongst the crisis, in a kind of faith, hope and good sense. This

optimism is his forte. In such stories, we have found him in true sense with his

own angle of vision. With this angle of vision, he believes that someday or

other, injustice, inequalities and exploitation will be abolished forever. To bring

a new era the struggle is going on. His artistic mind hopes such new arrival as

a kind of renaissance.

Class Conflict – social exploitation:

In many stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay we have the changing

scenario of social realities. In social humanities there have been class

conflicts and exploitation, only the shape changes. Actually the lower class

people associated with production is mainly being the subject for exploitation.

The history of civilization upheld the class conflicts between exploited and

exploiters. Just as the rich people bring new ways and means of exploitation,

so is the method of those downtrodden to survive with this class conflicts. The

society is evolved in progress in this way with class-conflicts. The conflicts

146

aggravated with the two world-wars, bringing economic crisis. Due to the

world war II Bengal suffered out of famine, which brought a new exploiting

class of hoarders, black-marketers, profiteers, and agents.

In the stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay, we have seen class-conflicts

and exploitation of capitalistic civilization. He has deftly delineated class

conflict, class struggle, exploitation and breakage in society and its decay.

Now, we will discuss over the issues of class inequalities, class-

characters and exploitation in Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories. Feudal

zamindars used to sustain their zamindari by exploitation and torture upon

their subject. In the story ‘Sainik’ we see, blood ignited the sin of Feudal Lord,

an M.A. in History, Indra Choudhury as posterity to ‘Debikot Rajbansha’. To a

feudal lord, a few hundreds of subjects are valueless to live in a village. To

him the lives of his subjects are without any value. The zamindar wants to

keep up the process of exploitation through feudal process. This story depicts

the class-conflicts between the last oppressing zamindar of Debikot

Rajbansha and his helpless subjects.

Common people has come the victim of war market, by black-

marketeers. This concept can be identified in one of the famous stories,

‘Nakracharit’, by Narayan Gangopadhyay. Nishikanta, the Mahajan of Golpara

market, is a hoarder. He had been deft in black-business. Though the

common people do not get rice, his stock-room is full of rice; he sells these

with four-five time double, bucks to the army. He has the administration in his

pocket for which he is safe and goes on black-marketing up to huge profit.

147

He wants to be over-rich with the ill effect of war. The author has

clearly illustrated the village exploiters in the war-market.

Another representative character of this exploiter class is, Debidas of

‘Duhshasan’. Cloth merchant Debidas, in the crisis of cloth hoards cloth in the

war-market by de-clothing the poor woman. He wants more and more profit.

The exploiting class was supported by the administrative class at that time. A

critic has so said :

ëë√±À¬ı˛±·±-¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı˛ ¸Àe Ó¬±¬ı˛ ’ôL¬ı˛e ¸•Ûfl«¡º õ∂˙±¸ÀÚ¬ı ¸Àe ˜Ê≈√¬Ó¬√±À¬ı˛¬ı˛

’qˆ¬ ’±“Ó¬±Ó¬º õ∂˙±¸Ú-¬ı…¬ı¶ö± Œ˚ Œ¸ø√Ú õ∂˝√√¸ÀÚ ¬Û˚«¬ıø¸Ó¬, ¤˝◊√√ ¸±¬ı˛

¸Ó¬…È≈¬fl≈¡ Œ˘‡fl¡ Œ‰¬±À‡ ’±„≈√√˘ ø√À ˛ Œ√ø‡À ˛ Œ√Úºíí29

On the one hand, hardships due to the crisis in hand played havoc in

the life of lower depth people, on the other hand a group of opportunist, selfish

people, tried to become rich with the help of the government.

The exploitation of the affluent capitalist people against the working

class is a general truth. In the story, ‘Nila’, we see that Hiralal, the owner of a

sugar mill, blown to riches by strangling the art of making molasses. Hiralal is

a rich businessman; his business is spanned all over India, with rice mills and

jute mills etc. The cultivator sells the sugarcanes in a minimum, low price, to

the sugar mill; still they are beguiled in the weight of sugar canes. Poverty and

ill health have made the villages wretched, on the other hand the sugar mill of

Sitaganja have blown to richness through exploitation. Here, the

representation of capitalist people has been characterized in the persona of

Bhaskar, who is the manager of the sugar mill.

148

A class of people belonging to value less, cruel agents could be seen

in stories like ‘Bitangsa’, ‘Tirthayatra’, ‘Bhogabati’, ‘Dim’,etc. Their death sticks

of exploitation have brought fatal blow to Bangladesh.

Siddheswar, the father of a student in ‘Luchir Upakhyan’ is happy upon the

failure of his son. He informs to the tutor that education is nothing to business.

It is only wastage of money. This story has delineated the black-markeeter in

the time of world war. The tutor is the representative of middle-class people.

Businessman Siddheswar becomes rich and makes huge profit by mixing

stone particles in rice. Though the representative of the middle-class knows

everything, yet he remains silent without any protest.

Social inequalities have been shown in the story ‘Had’. On one side

there is iron gate, stepping stones of marble, silk curtains in windows, the

sweet smell of Grandiflora on the other hand a hungry of poor colony in the

nearby Manoharpukur park. For a handful of rice, there are scrambling and

broil. In between these two classes, there is the narrator of the story, who is

an educated unemployed middle-class youth. Due to the economic

exploitation and unequal distribution there are conflicts in the society, where

we see that people do not hesitate to give up even their religion for the sake

of life, they only want to survive. A critic has said in this regard :

ëë í76- ¤¬ı˛ ˜i§ôLÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ¬Ûœ¬ı˛’•§¬ı˛, Œ‰¬Ã ≈ √√±øÚ¬ı˛ øÚfl¡È¬ ¬ıø¸ ˛± ˜≈ ˘˜±ÚÒ˜«

õ∂‰¬±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛Úº Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ◊√√ õ∂‰¬±À¬ı˛¬ı Ù¬À˘ › ˜i§ôLÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ Ù¬À˘ ≈ ˘˜±Ú ÒÀ «

√ø¬ı˛ À|Ìœ¬ı˛ ’ÀÚÀfl¡ √œøé¬Ó¬ ˝√√Úº õ∂ÔÀ˜ Œ·±˜±—¸ ‡±› ˛±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬Û¬ı˛ ŒÊ√±¬ı˛

149

Œ√› ˛± ˝√√˚˛ Ú±º Ó¬‡Ú ø˝√√µ≈¬ı˛± fl”¡˜«¬ı‘øM√√ [ ø¬ı˛øÊ√Î¬ƒø˘ ’Ô«Î¬'] ’¬ı˘•§Ú

fl¡ø¬ı˛ÀÓ¬Ú, ¤‡Ú Ó¬±˝√√± øÏ¬˘± ˝√√˝◊√√ ˛±ÀÂ√ºíí 30

The stories with hopes and mass-consciousness bear the sense of

social commitment and responsibility of Narayan Gangopadhyay. Here, we

can see his special angle of vision. The specialty is of socialism and

faithfulness. He has proved his social consciousness by delivering the

exploiter class through his various short stories.

In this way we see that Narayan Gangopadhyay laid effort to voice

struggle for survival, in many of his short stories. This survival is to live

against sexual perversion, to live the life of homo-sapiens by keeping faith

upon a powerful belief, to live in an establishment of healthy human

relationship.

His communist thought has given him a kind of progressive, protesting

and deep analysis to build a healthy human society and human feelings in

future through many of his short stories.

150

NOTES AND REFERENCE :

1. Birendra Dutta : Bangla Chotogalpa : Prasanga O Prakaran, p.-285.

2. Rabindranath Bandyopadhyay (ed.), Kaljayee Bangla Galpakargan:

Punarbichar, p.-84.

3. Mrinalkanti Mandal : Narayan Gangopadhyayer Chotogalpa: Bishay O

Ruper Mulyayan, p.-209.

4. Jagadish Bhattacharya : Amar Kaler Kayekjan Kathashilpi, p.-152.

5. Narayan Gangopadhyay : “Shilpir Sv adhinata”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al.


Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, pp.-19-20 (Part III).

6. Manas Mazumdar : “Narayan Gangopadhyayer Chotogalpe Dwitiya

Mahayuddha O Manvantar-chitra”, in Sanjibkumar Basu (ed.), Sahitya O

Sanskriti, Narayan Gangopadhyay Smriti Sankhya,1398 B.S., Vol.-27,

p.-413.

7. Kalicharan Ghosh : Famines in Bengal (1770-1943), p.-39.

8. Amartya Sen : Poverty and Famines, p.-63.

9. Anandamayee Singha: “Duhshasan: Ajker Mahabharat”, in Ujjalkumar

Mazumdar (ed.), Galpacharcha, 2014, p.-902.

10. Sandip Bandyopadhyay: Itihasher Dike Phira: Chhechallisher Danga,

p.-21.

11. Tarak Sarkar : Bangla Upanyase Deshbhag O Deshtyag, p.-07.

12. Narayan Paul : Deshbhager Bali Bangali, p.-7.

151

13. Alok Roy : “Galper Sandhane Galpakar” in Tapas Bhowmik, et al. (ed.),

Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Baimela,

Jan.-April Issue, 1992, p.-15 (Part-I).

14. Binoy Ghose : Metropolitan Man. Madhyabitta. Bidroha, p.-50.

15. Prasun Ghosh : “Bangla Chotogalpe Premchetana : Challisher Dashak

Theke Sampratik Kal”, in Pulakkumar Sarkar (ed.), Shubhashree, 48th

Year, 2009-2010 Issue, p.-263.

16. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Galpasamagra, p.1045.

17. Ibid, pp.-212-213.

18. Bhaskar Choudhury : Chotogalper Andarmahal, p.-135.

19. Alok Roy (ed.) : Sahityakosh: Kathasahitya, p.-179.

20. Harry Shaw : Dictionary of Literary Terms, p.-308.

21. Krishnarup Chakrabarty : Bangla Kathasahitye Manobishleshan, p.-3.

22. Biswabandhu Bhattacharya : “Manusher Janya Rajniti”, in Tapas

Bhowmik, et al., (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan Gangopadhyay

Sankhya, Baimela, Jan.-April Issue, 1992, pp.-147-148.

23. Bijanbihari Bhattacharya : “Adhyapak Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Bijanbihari Bhattacharya (ed.), Bangla Sahitya Patrika, 2nd year,

Calcutta University, 1970, p.-2.

24. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Sahitye Chotogalpa, in Asha Devi, et al.,

(ed.), Narayan Gangopadhyay Rachanabali (Vol.-XII), p.-526.

25. Amalkumar Ghosh : Bangla Sahitye Aloukik O Atiprakrita, p.-5.

26. Shripantha : Day, p.-13.

27. Alok Roy (ed.) : Sahityakosh: Kathasahitya, p.10.

152

28. Abu Sayeed Ayyub : Sahityiker Samajchetana, Byaktigata O

Nairbyaktik, pp.-55-56.

29. Manas Mazumdar : “Narayan Gangopadhyayer Chotogalpe Dwitiya

Bishwayuddha O Manvantar- chitra”, in Sanjibkumar Basu (ed.), Sahitya

O Sanskriti, Narayan Gangopadhyay Smriti Sankhya,1398 B.S., Vol.-27,

p.-419.

30. Nirmalkumar Basu : Biallisher Bangla, p.-53.

153

CHAPTER- IV

SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE SHORT STORIES

OF NARAYAN GANGOPADHYAY

The impact of time and space influences upon the mind of the

litterateur. Due to which the complexities of lives and its ambiences is

depicted through the pen of a particular author. Everything like the psyche,

talents, life circle, time and social perspective appears as imageries, which is

reflected into the mirror of a particular literature. The author, who lives in a

particular space and embarks upon its subject, is basically collected from his

own social perspective. The main basis of all types of development in human

is the activities of consciousness, which is related to real struggle and real

activities. The basic source of consciousness is hidden in the relation, a

relation between an Individual and a society. Long back, when the man

created society and started living, from then on his world of thinking and

power of feelings became active, as a result of different types of activities that

took place in his social life. As a result of which the social consciousness is

created among humans. This social system is his context of writing with life

and Arts, which is created out of his own experience from the society he lives.

That is why literturer which is close to life, is the literturer concerned

with life. Short stories as a genre from its very inception, is an art of social

consciousness. The subject of inquiry of short stories like a novel is the

154

society and man. The sharpsight of an author is extended towards his human

experience, along with the known situation, and his affinities with lives around

him amidst immediate social transformation.

The social development is closely related to literature. The enthusiasm

with contemporaries and social inspiration is active as a source of creativity in

literature. It is evident from the social-force and as a follow up with its relations

and position, his appearance in life and livelihoods and above all from his own

point of view. A critic has said :

ëëŒ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ¸—·Í¬ÀÚ¬ı˛ Œ|Ìœô¶¬ı˛, ’Ô«ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ’¬ı¶ö± ¤¬ı— Ê√œ¬ıÚ ›

Ê√œø¬ıfl¡±¬ı˛ ¬Û…±È¬±Ì«¸˜” √√ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ ¬±À¬ı ˘é¬Ìœ ˛º ¸˜±Ê√ ›

¸˜fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ’Ô«ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ø¬ı¬ıÓ«¬ÀÚ¬ı˛ Ò±¬ı˛±øÈ¬› Œ˘‡fl¡ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ¢∂˝√√Ì fl¡À¬ı˛Ú Ó“¬±¬ı˛

’ôL¬ı·¬ı˛ÀÊ√º ¸˜±Ê√ø¬ı:±ÚœÀ√¬ı˛ øÚfl¡È¬ Î¬◊ø~ø‡Ó¬ fl¡±¬ı˛ÀÌ˝◊√√ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡

˜” … ’Ô«¬ı˝√√ ˝√√À ˛ ›ÀÍ¬º Ù¬À˘ ¸˜±Ê√ø¬ı:±ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏ ˙±‡± ø˝√√¸±À¬ı

ë¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı ¸˜±Ê√Ó¬Ní (Sociology of literature) Ò±¬ı˛Ì±¬ı˛ Î¬◊æ√¬ı ˝√√ ˛ºíí 1

That is why those literaturers are considered as surbordinate by the

sociologist, if they don’t take lessons or materials from the society around him.

An author has to be socially conscious if he or she wants to be a real author.

This doesnot mean that the authors should report only the incidents

happening around them. The meaning social consciousness is having a

sociological point of view. True literature is that, which tries to look inside the

people, their struggle, their quest for life, social evolution and the social

system around them.

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The world of literature gets its limitation if it is devoid of time and space.

That is why we can have a look at the contemporary Bengal, when the author

like Narayan Gangopadhya arrived. The turning point of this age began in

1941. The gust of world war shook the then Bengal, at this situation, a number

of incidents took place, which is to be mentioned— the Japanese invasion,

(1941), August movement (1942), the wave of world war II (1939-1945), the

famine in 1350 B.S. (1943), the fratricidal riots (1946), the partition and

rebuted independence (1947) and the exodus (1947-1950)— all these have

shook the roots of Bengal. As a result, the moral, social, and economic

situation of Bengal has been devasted. All these laid a compact impact upon

literature where the individuals have not got priority. Priority was given to the

places inhabitated by people, life and society, the zeitigist and limitation in life.

Beyond all these, there are social flows of life and as a follow-up its unlimited

time and space have been focused in the fiction literature. The flow of social

life, space consciousness and Art consciousness makes such a world of Art,

which is not merely aestheticals. It is something more than that. Not the

protagonist out of any age but the age, out of a protagonist gets predominant

role in a literature, of a particulars age. Autobiographics plays a major role as

elements in such type of literature. Like decay of social life, changes, chaos,

the diversity in folk life, its mystery, the mental strife among individual, the loss

of values— everything becomes the elements in fiction-literature.

Though the dictum, literature is the mirror of the society, is oft quoted,

yet its deep truth, cannot be gainsaid. At the root of creating literature, there

are various conflicts that take place in society. This may be said to be the

156

inspiration of creating literaturary works. The contemporary world with time

and space has been dealt in several short stories, by Narayan

Gangopadhyay. A few more time honoured writers have also appeared at that

period. About them a critic has said :

ëëˆ¬±¬ı˛ ±À˜…¬ı˛ ø¬ı‰¬˘Ú, ˜”˘…À¬ı±ÀÒ¬ı˛ ø¬ıÚø©Ü, ¸≈¶ö Ê√œ¬ıÚÀ¬ı±ÀÒ¬ı˛ ’¬ı¸±Ú,

’¬ıé¬À ˛¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬á¬±, ø¬ı¬Û «À ˛¬ı ø¬ıÊ√˚, ¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬± ¬Û¬ı˛¬ıÓ¬«œ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ıÀ ∏«¬ı˛ ¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛

’±Ô«ÚœøÓ¬fl¡, ¬ı˛±Ê√ÚœøÓ¬fl¡ ˜ø˝√√ ±¬ı˛ ’¬ı¸±Ú – ¤˝◊√√ ¬ÛÈ¬ˆ¬”ø˜ÀÓ¬ ’±À˘±‰¬…˜±Ú

Œ˘‡fl¡¬ı± Œ‰¬±‡ Œ˜À˘ Ó¬±øfl¡À˚˛ÀÂ√Ú, Œ√À‡ÀÂ√Ú é≈¬t ¶§À√ ˆ¬”ø˜, ’¬ı±fl¡

Œ˜À˘ÀÂ√Ú ˆ¬±À·…¬ı˛ ¬Û√±‚±ÀÓ¬ºíí2

In the post world war -I period, the national political consciousness,

social thoughts and economic system has left deep water-mark in colonial

India. As a result of world war-II, in the third decade of twentieth century

several new elements emerged in Bengali literature. A few new faces has

emerged in Bengali short story is genre with complexities, conflicts of

twentieth century and its nature. These things have laid deep impact upon the

life of people, which came to be mixed in the unfathomable depth of

contemporary literature. The moral consciousness, emotion and exstasy, right

and wrong, the pure and impure mind, the internal conflicts in the construction

of life— have got indirect expression in literature in both, of that age and its

beyond. The short story writer, Narayan Gangapadhyay is of no exception.

We can know how the socio-economic crisis of that period created an adverse

thinking in him, through his short stories. A deep attachment to human

consciousness has left a deep mark upon his short stories. As its counter part,

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several classes which are circled around the axis of the society, has been got

primary importance in his short stories. A renowned critic has rightly said :

ëëø˙äœ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚ Œ˚˜Ú ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ŒÓ¬˜øÚ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ ¸˜±ÀÊ√¬ı˛

’±Ry¬ı˛œ Î¬◊2‰¬ø¬ıÀM√√¬ı˛ Œ˙± ∏ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¬ı˛+¬Û Î¬◊ƒ‚±øÈ¬Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú, …………….

˜±Ú≈¯∏Àfl¡ ¸—¢∂±˜œ Œ‰¬Ó¬Ú±˚ Î¬◊¡Z≈X fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú, ë˝√√±Î¬ˇí, ëÚSï ‰¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬í õ∂ˆ¬‘øÓ¬

ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä…………….ºíí3

The war that spanned upto six years has changed the situation of the

society and the lives in Bengal, which has been crashed due to the August

movement. The euphoria of communism thoughts famine, riot and the

devided freedom, unemployment, poverty, the crisis in middle class society,

black marketing, exploitation by the foreign rulers, and the act of priviledged

class of society— all have made the life and society of Bengal anew form, as

may be known from the author. The deep wounds of latent in the depth of

society have got new shape in the hands of the young authors like Narayan

Gangopadhyay. Their main subjects of their short stories were class conflicts,

the struggle for survival, the deep outery of the famine-effected people, cloth

crisis, self -search, and protest-thoughts, they did not hide themselves behind

the mask, rather they met the world of reality face to face. They depicted the

picture of the society with finer touches. The stories seemes to have come

more close to the soil. Though, we know that short stories can’t reflect the

inns and outs that are known to be there in a big canvass of the genre, like a

novel. Yet, short stories reflect the ethos of a country’s time and space. The

complex pattern of human society of the present and the reactions in human

mind, as its follow up— everything has been voiced in the pages of novels.

158

These things, political, economic, cultural, and the social condition, coming

out of time and space, leaves much to be the subject of introspection in

fictional literature, because of its own advantage.

Short stories by socially conscious writer Narayan Gangopadhyay are

wounded pictures of the then shattered Bengali-life. The 40’s have left a mark

in his stories. He had that farsight to depict what had been happening in the

society around him. The chaos, doubt, and the search have been sentenced

in his created Arts. The curse of war and its reactions, the fall out of famine,

the changes in values, due to economic, social, and moral degradation, have

been deftly depicted in his short stories. He has done from his insight, which

has grown out of his relation to life and society around him.

Narayan Gangopadhyay is an expressive literary artist of deep limbo of

life. But he was not satisfied only with the superstructure of life, but also, was

in search of a mind, which has embarked upon a psyche, that belonged to the

superstructure. His primary aim was ‘Human beings’. On the one hand, he

had lashed on the follies and foibles of contemporary society; on the other

hand he became passionate with deep faith and compassion to the people.

The national life of India at that period had undergone a long lasting impact

that was caught with remarkable syntax by Narayan Gangopadhyay. A kind of

despair, with social, economic and over and above in the field of literature and

culture, saw its decay. Though the canvass of short stories is not bigger like a

novel, yet it has embarked upon a remarkable space with contemporary time.

A comment by a critic of distinction is quotable :

159

ëëŒ˚ Œfl¡±Ú Œ√À˙¬ı˛ fl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…-˙±‡± ˛ ≈√ ◊√√ Ò±¬ı˛±˝◊√√ó ŒÂ√±È¬·ä › Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ ó

¸˜±Ê√¬ıX ˜±Ú≈À¯∏¬ı˛ Ê√œ¬ıÚ, ¸˜±Ê√ˆ¬±¬ıÚ±Àfl¡ ¸•Û”Ì« ¢∂±¸ fl¡À¬ı˛ ◊√√ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¬Û”Ì«Ó¬±

¬Û± ˛º õ∂Ô˜ ø¬ıï ´ ≈X-¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ, ≈√˝◊√√ ø¬ıï ´ ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ˜Ò…¬ıÓ«¬œfl¡±˘œÚ ¤¬ı— ø¡ZÓ¬œ˚˛

ø¬ıï ´ ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ø‰¬ø˝ï Ó¬ Â√˚øÈ¬ ¬ıÂ√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ fl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ ˙±‡± ≈X › ≈ÀX¬ı˛

·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛Ó¬˜ Ó¬±»¬Û «Àfl¡ øˆ¬øM√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ ◊√√ ø¬ıfl¡±˙ › ø¬ı¬ı‘øX¬ı˛ ¸”ÀS ¤ø·À˚˛ÀÂ√ ¬ıÀ˘

˜ÀÚ fl¡ø¬ı˛ºíí4

In a word, literature can be said, to be a documentation of history. A

critic has said on the age, when Narayan Gangapadhyay took birth :

ëë¸˜fl¡±˘œÚ ¤fl¡ ’˙±ôL ≈À·¬ı˛ ¸±é¬œ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±˚˛º..........

Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ’flv¡±ôL Œ˘‡ÚœÀÓ¬ fl¡‡ÀÚ± õ∂Ó¬…é¬, › fl¡‡ÀÚ± ¬ı± õ∂26√iß ¬±À¬ı ¬Ûø¬ı˛¶£¬≈È¬

˝√√À ˛øÂ√ ¤fl¡˝◊√√¸Àe Ó¬»fl¡±˘œÚ ≈·˚LaÌ± › ≈·Àõ∂¬ı˛Ì±¬ı˛ ¬ıdøÚá¬ õ∂øÓ¬26√ø¬ıºíí5

In his literature, several incidents have found spaces—world war-II,

famine, riot, mass movement against imperialism, partition, eviction, the

Tebhaga and Telengana movement under the leadership of communist party,

etc.

Now, let us enter into the short stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay in

the light of above mentioned critique.

An exemplary story, titled ‘Itihas’, in the collection of short stories of

Narayan Gangapadhyay, named ‘Bhogabati’, published in 1350 B.S. This

story was composed in the perspective of all destructing, all engulfing social

milieu. It was composed, in the light of August-movement that played havoc

with the national patriotic consciousness of Bengal.

160

The subject matter of this story has encoded the contemporary struggle

of Bengal, with its history, along with deft artifact. The past golden era has laid

its foundation in the contemporary streams of life. In the story, the August

movement of the 42’s and the flood of Midnapur is only a perspective.

Moreover, the shock over the death of his son is belittled, in the mindset of a

retired school master, Amaresh. That is why Amaresh, a head master for last

thirty years, could write with new zeal, heartening with hope, even after the

death of his son :

ëë..............¤˝◊√√ ø˝√√—¸± Œ¡Z ∏ Ê√Ê«√ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ¬ı±—˘±› ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ õ∂±Ì ¬Û±˝◊√√À¬ı ’±¬ı±¬ı˛

Ê√±ø· ˛± Î¬◊øÍ¬À¬ı ÚÓ≈¬Ú ˙øMï √ ˘˝◊√√˚±, ÚÓ≈¬Ú Œõ∂¬ı˛Ì± ˛ ’Ú≈õ∂±øÌÓ¬ ˝√√˝◊√√ ˛±Ø√√ ’gfl¡±¬ı˛

¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛ ’±fl¡±À˙ ¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¸” « Œ√‡± ø√À¬ıº ‰¬¬ı˛ ¸¬ı«Ú±À˙¬ı˛ ¬ÛÈ¬ˆ¬”ø˜ÀÓ¬

≈√·«øÓ¬¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛ ˘À¢ü ¸˜ô¶ Ê√±øÓ¬ ’±ø¸˚˛± “√±Î¬ˇ±˝◊√√À¬ı ¸¬ı«Ê√ÚœÚ ‹Àfl¡…¬ı˛

Œ¬ı√œÀÓ¬º........ Œ√À˙ Œ√À˙ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±À¸¬ı˛ ˝◊√√˝√√±˝◊√√ ø˙é¬±ºíí6

Here, we can observe the mind of a history-conscious, idealist. He had

been writing the history of powerful ‘Panchagour’ tradition to let everyone

know about the glorious past of Bengal. Amaresh was interested to revive the

history, gainsaying the realities. But that the reality creates more history is

exemplified by the death of Lokesh. Here, the fate-oriented history engulfed

by the almighty’s passive silence played the key role. The shock over the

death of his son, the flood in Midnapur, and the 42’s August movement has

made the perspective of the story, yet the cry in search of truth, coming out of

the conflict in August movement, the chaos by the castes, the oath taking by

blood-letters— all these have been caught with all its inns and outs. The

pangs of life, the effort to resolve all types of humiliation by the community

161

has been dealt with compassion in the story. The historian, Amaresh, could

no more gainsay, that he is documenting the history of the Bengalee who

have been purging on blood-stained days of Kalinga-war. The ugly shape of

the crisis, in Gourbanga’s Bengali in the moments of 42’s August movement,

due to the authors love and pride, had been gaining ground in the hands of

the author. The author has raised issues of legacy to the Bengali life and

culture, as if with a close self-analysis of entire Gourbanga; because, history

is made with the perspective of conscious gregarious society struggling in the

time and space.

New histories are made with the changes of time. That is why in the

conscious psyche of Amaresh, it is thought out that though it is a matter of

pride, to know the past with Hindu-power, it cannot be said to be greater than

real contemporary life, but life with a mission, is understood in the death of

Lokesh. The critic has said, about this story as :

ëë¬ÛÓ¬Ú-’ˆ¬≈…√ ˛ ¬ÛLö± ˛ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ Ó¬±¬ı˛ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ fl¡±ø˝√√Úœ ¬ı˛‰¬Ú± fl¡À¬ı˛ ‰¬À˘ÀÂ√º

’Ó¬œÓ¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú, ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú ŒÔÀfl¡ ˆ¬ø¬ı ∏…Ó¬º Œ¸˝◊√√ ø‰¬¬ı˛ôLÚ ˚±S±¬ÛÀÔ ¤fl¡

¤fl¡øÈ¬ ‚È¬Ú± ¤fl¡ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ¬Û√ø‰¬À˝ï ¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬º..............ˆ¬±¬ıœ fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ¬ÛÔøÚÀ«√˙

Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬ı˛Mï √ø˘ø¬ÛÀÓ¬º Œ¸ ¬ı˛Mï √ø˘ø¬Û ¬ı˛‰¬Ú± fl¡À¬ı˛ ‰¬À˘ÀÂ√Ú ‹øÓ¬˝√√±ø¸fl¡ ’˜À¬ı˛ º

Œ√˙ Ê√ÚÚœ¬ı˛ ¬Û”Ê√±˚ Ÿ¬øQfl¡ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± Ó¬±¬ı˛ fl¡F ŒÔÀfl¡ Î¬◊2‰¬±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À26√

˜±Ó‘¬˜Laº ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±À¸¬ı˛ ˜˝√√» Œõ∂¬ı˛Ì± ’¬Û¬ı˛±ÀÊ√ ˛ Î¬◊»¸±À˝√√¬ı˛ ’±Úµ¬ı˛ ˝√√À˚˛

é¬ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À26√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ fl¡ÀFº øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ˝√√+√ø¬ÛG øÂ√iß fl¡À¬ı˛ øÓ¬øÚ ˜±Ó‘¬¬Û”Ê√±¬ı˛ ¬Û”Ì±«UøÓ¬

ø√À ˛ÀÂ√Ú ¬ıÀ˘˝◊√√ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ fl¡ÀF±2‰¬±ø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˜±Ó‘¬¬ıµÚ± ˜La ˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√ºíí7

162

But new history is not made with the thought down memory lane, but

with a patriotic fervour by the contemporary space, in motherland– this truth

has been delineanted in the death of Lokesh.

Due to the world war-II a few black-marketeers had accumulated bucks

and riches, with an artificial crisis over daily essential commodities. The

common people’s life has gone astry with the hoarders and black -

marketeers. To survive with the rights to life, national people had started

agitation all over Bengal. Glimpses of these elements could be viewed in the

short stories of Narayan Gangopadhyay.

Common people had been moved the havock created by the war, as a

followup to their ill fate. Not only that the dishonest businessman has

accumulated money by unfair means, but also made the common life

enlarged. A ruthless picture of it could be viewed in Narayan Gangapadhyay’s

pratoganist Rajani, in the story, ‘Dim’, included in the short story collection,

‘Duhshasan’ (1952). To provide the foodings of Armymen, in the war, the

contractor, Pyarilal, has to accumulate five hundred eggs. But when at the

festival times of new years, the demand for these eggs become larger and it

becomes the nightmare to the contractor. But he had to collect these eggs at

any cost. Because the Sahib has given him an overcoat made of Kashmiri fur.

So he had arrived Rajani’s door in the winter breeze, on foot. Rajani, came

out shivering with torn cloths. The contractor urged him to collect three

dozens of egg by any means. The old man Rajani’s son, Nibaran, had gone to

pull rickshaw, on the city. He is out of sight for two months. At home there

163

remained his ricketry grandson, grand daughter with his daughter-in-law,

Saroda.

There are shortage of woods to keep the shivering body warm with

broil, the helpless old man, comes out of home in the chilly weather to escape

from the argument with his daughter-in-law in this matter and collects a few

eggs, in lieu of ten annas. But it is our custom that the poor will serve the rich,

ignoring his personel comfort. So, Rajani, sitting beside fire place with

wounded legs, swallows the cool rice with eatable leafs only. He controlled his

greed to take eggs. It will be a mere fashion to take eggs, as because he

belongs to a poor family. That is why when the malaria affected son of Saroda

mourned to take eggs, Rajani tried to throttle his neck with anger. And to save

her son’s life, Saroda injured his head with an iron rod. With acute pain, with

acute cry, Rajani was plunged into the fire place. As a result Rajani died, like

a snake, and Saroda, dumb found, stood beside the smell of burnt body. A

critic, on the story ‘Dim’ has said :

ëë ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ø¬ıï ´¢∂±¸œ é≈¬Ò±¬ı˛ ’±&ÀÚ Ó¬‡Ú ¸±¬ı± ¬ı±—˘± ;˘ÀÂ√º ·äøÈ¬ÀÓ¬ øÎ¬˜

ŒÊ√±·±ÀÎ¬ˇ¬ı˛ ¬ı˛+¬ÛÀfl¡¬ı˛ ˜Ò… ø√À ˛ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ Ó¬œ¬ıË ¬ı…e Œ¸±2‰¬±¬ı˛ ˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√º Œ¸

¬ı…e ø¬ıï ´Ò√ı—¸œ ≈ÀX¬ı˛ ’fl¡˘…±Ì ¬ı˛+À¬Û¬ı˛ ø¬ıï ÀXºíí8

With the world war-II, famine occurred in the heart of Bengal. People’s

life became disastrous. This has further been aggravated into famine of 1350

B.S. Everywhere, it was seen the crisis in food. Daily labourers, farmers and

the owners of a few lands sold their lands and passed their days with a little

food or no food.

164

Diseases like malaria, cholera, pox, etc broke into the people who have

eaten, uneatable things, to survive. Many people left their homeland and went

to the city for survival. Kolkata became overcrowded with the exodus; the

famine striken people filled the streets of Kolkata. The history of famine is not

new to our contry. According to a few historians, more or less twenty two

occasions have witnessed the dreaded famine. Many ‘Duikhya’, ‘Akalya’, have

been found, nurturing the death ridden memory in some families of Bengal.

The famine of 1350 B.S. is still in their memory as a nightmare. This sub-

continent had suffered due to famine from decade to decade. Sometimes this

death is locale; sometimes its arrow went towards a section of hungry people.

Why such famine occurs! There are processions of hungry people under the

sky of Kolkata. Many investigations took place of and on famine of 1350 B.S.

Economists have opined different notion regarding the cause of famine, with

direct and indirect testimonials. Statisticians have made arithmetics over it.

Even the doctors of the hospitals too, have dissected the reports on how

death variants inside and outside the human body. Almost everyone has

pointed out the cause and effect relation more or less in the same vein :

(a) There was less production of foodgrains below the level of

requirement, in the 42’s. Beside this, the export rate was higher

than import, in Cylon and a few other countries.

(b) The whirlwind and flood, in West Bengal have made the situation

worse.

(c) Solvent farmers, the family man and the hoarders had hoarded the

grains.

165

(d) Govt, too, did not take any initiative to recover the hoarded grains.

(e) Crisis of money-lenders in villages.

(f) The corruption which spreaded everywhere in the society.

Due to all these, the war stricken Bengal became a looting ground,

inhabitants of a town or the suburb some how were free from the hunger.

Because, the food grain-merchants took the initiative to supply the gains, for

which a few lakh people and their families were benefited. In the city, relief

camp, were opened, food was distributed in charity. The number of this in the

entire Bengali rose daily. Peculiar foods were supplied in the name of

hotchpotch, which were not eatables. So, more or less 30 lakh people laid

their lives, due to the famine of 1943 that came out along with epidemic,

which was man made. Most of them were villagers, landless farmers, the

marginal cultivators, poor familymen, artisans, fishermen, small shopkeepers,

boatmen and those who survived on grinding and husking paddy.

World war-II, mass movement, famine, riot, eviction, and at last the

blood stained partition—the decade of forty is a nightmare. As if the relations

of village to the cities thereby became ascertained over agin. The fake,

artificial relationship between men to men came to the forefront. Beside the

road side, not only the deads’ skeleton, but also the values came to be piled

up like waste products. This famine was man made. In fact people had to face

the living hollowness but nature too, had a role to play there. The acute greed

and dishonesty sometimes had created the man made crisis. Sometimes, the

tricks of the hoarders too, were responsible to this kind of crisis in food grains.

This famine was created by the combine effort of the rulling government and

166

exploiter merchants. More responsible were the people than the static nature

which has created this dreadfull famine and with this the mostly affected

object was a people’s social psychology; because, people came out of their

values in the face of acute food crisis.

In the month of August, 1943, hungry people came in large number to

Calcutta. At first, relief camps were set up by the non-governmental

organization and thereafter the charges were taken by the government.

Though, the Bengal of 1942-1943, witnessed small amount of food grain

production, yet it was not enough to create famine. A critic has said :

ëë¸¬ıfl¡±¬ı˛œ Ó¬Ô… ’Ú≈˚±˚˛œ 1943 ¸±À˘¬ı˛ Ó≈¬˘Ú± ˛ 1941 ¸±À˘ ¬ı±—˘±À√À˙

‰¬±À˘¬ı˛ Œ˚±·±Ú fl¡˜ øÂ√ , øfl¡c Œ¸ ¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ ’±fl¡±˘ ˝√√˚øÚº....... ¬ıdÓ¬ qÒ≈ ‰¬±À˘¬ı˛

Œ˚±·±Ú ˝√√±¸ Œ¬ÛÀ˚˛øÂ√˘ ¬ıÀ˘ Ú ˛, ¬ıKI◊Ú ¬Û «±À ˛ ˜±¬ı˛±Rfl¡ ≈√Ú«œøÓ¬,

’ø¬ı ‘¯∏…fl¡±ø¬ı˛Ó¬± ¤¬ı— ¸¬ı˛fl¡±ø¬ı˛ ”√¬ı˛√ø˙«Ó¬±¬ı˛ ’ˆ¬±¬ı › ‰¬¬ı˛ ·±øÙ¬˘øÓ¬ ¤˝◊√√

≈√øˆ¬«Àé¬¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ” Ó¬ √± ˛œº ’±¬ı ¤‡±ÀÚ˝◊√√ ¤ ˜i§ôL¬ı˛ õ∂fl‘¡øÓ¬¸‘©Ü Ú ˛, ˜Ú≈ ∏…¸‘©Üº

¸¬ı˛fl¡±¬ı˛ ¤¬ı— ˜Ê≈√Ó¬√±¬ı˛¬ı˛± ¤ ¸˜À ˛ S≈ï øÈ¬¬Û”Ì« ÚœøÓ¬¢∂˝√√Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ › Ó¬±À√¬ı˛

≈√Ú«œøÓ¬¬ı˛ Ù¬À˘ ≈√øˆ¬«Àé¬¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ø¶öøÓ¬ ∆Ó¬¬ı˛œ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ºíí9

That is why the cost of rice became abnormally higher. It can be

surmised that there were stock of rice, if any one could pay he or she could

have had rice. But it was out of reach to the common people, farmers, and the

day-labourers. So, driven out of hunger, people had to move door to door to

get ‘Phyan’ (The starch extracted from the boiled rice). A critic has said from

his own experience :

167

ëë’±ø˜ 1350 ¤¬ı˛ ˜i§ôL¬ı˛ Œ√À‡øÂ√º Œ√À‡øÂ√ qÒ≈ Ú ˛, Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˚LaÌ± ¬ı±À¬ı˛±-ŒÓ¬À¬ı˛±

¬ıÂ√¬ı˛ ¬ı ˛À¸˝◊√√ Œˆ¬±· fl¡À¬ı˛øÂ√º ≈√À¬ı˘± Œ¬ÛÀÈ¬ ˆ¬±Ó¬ Œ√¬ı±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú… ŒÂ√±È¬ Œ¬ı±Ú ›

ˆ¬±¢üœ ¤¬ı— ¬Û±Î¬ˇ±¬ı˛ fl¡À˚fl¡Ê√Ú ¸˜¬ı ˛ œÀ√¬ı˛ øÚÀ˚ Œ¬ı˝√√±˘± ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬¬ı˛±Ó¬ Ô±fl¡ÀÓ¬

Œ¬ıøÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ Œ‰¬Ó¬˘±, Œ˜±ø˜Ú¬Û≈¬ı˛, ø‡ø√¬ı˛¬Û≈¬ı˛ fl¡ÀKC±À˘ ˘±˝◊√√Ú ø√À˚˛øÂ√º Œfl¡±ÀÚ±ø√Ú

‰¬±˘ Œ¬ÛÀ ˛øÂ√, ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ±ø√Ú ˙”Ú… ˝√√±ÀÓ¬ øÙ¬À¬ı˛øÂ√º Î¬± ˛ G ˝√√±¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˛±Î¬,

˜±ÀÁ¡¬ı˛ √√±È¬, ø‡ø√¬ı¬Û≈¬ı˛, › ≈√·«±¬Û≈¬ı˛ ø¬ıËÀÊ√¬ı˛ ›¬Û¬ı˛ fl¡Ó¬ø√Ú ˜¬ı˛± ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ˜≈‡

Œ√À‡øÂ√ qÒ≈ Ú˚˛, Ó¬± øÎ¬ø„√√À ˛ Œ˚ÀÓ¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√º ¸” « ›Í¬±¬ı˛ ’±À·˝◊√√ √¬ı˛Ê√±˚˛

√¬ı˛Ê√± ˛ ë ¤fl¡È≈¬ Ù¬…±Ú Œ√À¬ı Œ·± í ¬ıÀ˘ Œ˚ ø‰¬»fl¡±¬ı˛ qÀÚøÂ√ Ó¬± ’±Ê√› fl¡±ÀÚ

¬ı±ÀÊ√º ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ¬ı≈ÀÁ¡øÂ√ Œ¸È¬± ø‰¬»fl¡±¬ı˛ ’Ô¬ı± fl¡±iß± øÂ√˘ Ú±, øÂ√˘ ¬ı“±‰¬±¬ı˛ Ê√ÀÚ…

≈√ ˛±À¬ı˛ ≈√ ˛±À¬ı˛ ’±Ó«¬Ú±—√ Î¬◊À¬Û±¸œ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ˜¬ı˛Ìfl¡±˘œÚ Œ˙ ∏ ’±À¬ı√Úºíí10

No writer could be traced who has not written any story with this

perspective. As if the war, epidemic, hunger and struggle for freedom have

changed the point of view of those writers. Narayan Gangopadhyay, too, was

not exception. The femine, created by a few men, with its cruel follow ups

could be viewed in his short story ‘Had’ (1944). This story is one of the best,

from his collection of short stories, ‘Bitansa’, published in 1352 B.S.

The narrator of the story has come to Raybahadur, H.L. Chatterjee, a

rich businessman, to get a job, with a letter from his father. Mr. Chatterjee was

his father’s friend of his boyhood. But instead of giving him a job, he exhibits

him the various bones that he has collected. He has collected these bones

from various parts of the world, in lieu of huge money. It is his hobby.

Raybahadur, lives in an ambience of broad roadways by asphalt near

Monoharpukur park of Ballygunge in a picturesque beautiful house, with black

168

staircase, made of marbel, with coloured windowpanes, windows with silk-

cartains, orchids in tubs of porcelain, the sweet smell of magnolia and with

two guarding frightful dogs. On the other hand the cry of hunger, a little away

from Manoharpukur Park, on the one hand, the riches and a terrific solvency,

and on the other hand, the cry of hungry people— ‘Phyan dao’. Cry over a

handful of rice. The awkwardness of testing water from the highdrain, clashes

among them, making hue and cry— scrambling to all these, the sweet smell

of magenolia overlapped with the emitting bad smell of waste products. The

enchanting beauty of Manoharpukur Park has been swallowed by the colony

of hungry people, a pile of waste product among the clean city, where

screams and broils are suck to it, lice are picked up from each others head,

taking dirty water from the highdrain, like the beast.

In this story, the author has given picturesque description of the

famine. The author had an eye on the people scrambling over food from the

dustbin, than the fancy, luxurious world of Raybahadur, with burnt tobacco,

can not come near them. Beside this, with skinny hands and legs, a boy is

sucking a piece of bone. This too, is a bone of a human. It is alike the bone of

‘Tahiti’. But they have got only bones like that which has been collected by

Raybahadur. Storm over the sky, rain of blood, might have taken place, out of

the rich people’s tortured act over the rickety people, who either, was not

mantra-proofed, or whose mouths have been hungry for long. Hence, the

author has symbolized the famine stricken people in the characterization of

dogs who were in search of foods, has clearly depicted by the author with his

contemt and curse on the tricksters who acted like enchanters.

169

In this story, the contemporary world of war and famine had been

grasped. Just as dogs broil, turning the dustbin to have a fill, like this those

destitutes too, make quarrel at the time of search of food. It is so even though

they did not have anything to eat. They swallow, hotchpotch hastily without

chewing. Lump of it stucks to the throat, even then they scream for more.

Famine stricken people cry out for little ‘Phyan’ only from door to door. People

have been burnt in this fire of hunger, their voice become harsh with high

velocity. Two to three people are deadly in search of food in the dustbin. A

child with a swallowed belly and stick-like legs and hands is licking a bone.

Job opportunity due to economic depression has become unobtainable

without any backing. Jobs are nowhere available. The war- aeroplanes of

Japanese were above the sky of Kolkata and the British aeroplanes take vigils

on these— the lion has wings. During the war, lights were put off. There were

only a few such lights, were on still within a barricade. The author walked up

with such moral on his shoulder. A circle of light is lit under the lamp-post.

Four layers of truth are there in the story. No sooner than the difference

between the middle-class’s life and thoughts is seen with contemporary

society there also difference with upper-class is created. There is no

connection with realities in the dream state of the world.

Suggestivity is hidden into the naming of this story. Raybahadur has

been collecting bones throughout his life. In his almiraha, there is a bone of a

woman from ‘Tahiti Island ’. It is not having mystic power of charms &

incantations. But this bone is destructive. Adjacent to this there are bones

also into the dustbin found by the hungry-man. These two bones are

170

reciprocal. The author seeks to find out comparison between these two. There

is a sign of goodness and badness. These second bone is constructive. That

is why the critic says rightly :

ëëfl¡±øÍ¬¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ˝√√±Ó¬-¬Û± ’±¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˘≈ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± Œ¬ÛÈ¬›˚±˘± ‹ ŒÂ√±ÀÈ¬± ŒÂ√À˘¬ı˛

˝±√√ÀÓ¬ ¤fl¡ È≈¬flƒ¡À¬ı˛± ˝√√±Î¬ˇº ¬ı˛±˚˛¬ı±˝√√±≈√¬ı˛ ëøfl¡Î¬◊ø¬ı˛À˚˛±¬ı˛ ’¬Û”¬ı« Ú˜≈Ú± ø˝√√¸±À¬ıí ˝√√±Î¬ˇ

¸—¢∂˝√√ fl¡À¬ı˛Ú, ˜La&À˘± ¬Û±ÚøÚ ¬ıÀ˘ ˝√√±Î¬ˇ ø√À ˛ ë’‚È¬Úí ‚È¬±ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú Ú±º

øfl¡c Î¬±©Üø¬ıÚ ŒÔÀfl¡ ‡±√…¸—¢∂˝√√ fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ˚ ëøÓ¬Ú ‰¬±¬ı˛Ê√Ú ’˜±Ú≈ø ∏fl¡ ˜±Ú≈ ∏í Ó“¬±¬ı˛±

¬Û±¬ı˛À¬ı ¬Á¡Î¬ˇ Ó≈¬˘ÀÓ¬, ¬Û‘øÔ¬ıœÈ¬±Àfl¡ ¬Û±ÀåI◊¬ ø√ÀÓ¬ºíí11

Though the narrator belongs to a lower middle-class, yet he is a

sympathetic & compassionate to the lower-class destitute. That is why at the

end of the story there are pain-full utterances of war and famine into the sky

with the bones of Tahiti; likewise, there are spontaneous utterances of the

revolutionary ideas. The main attainment from this story ‘Had’ is this. Here, on

the one hand the author has portrayed the naked capitalist Bourgeois state of

people by projecting the character, Raybahadur; on the other hand he has

given a sign of revolution on the coming days through the character of the

jobless young man. Here, the tortured poor people have been presented as a

symbolical expression. There is no difference between the bone collected by

Raybahadur and the bone lying in the dustbin. Because of blackmarket after

famine the poor, helpless people have to sacrifice their lives due to hunger,

similarly because of superstitious belief, an unmarried, virgin girl had to

sacrifice her life in ‘Tahiti’ for her bones as described by Raybahadur.There is

a similarity between these two sacrifices, if observed from the social point of

view. Moreover, a deep sign of cheating is hidden in the act of licking bones

171

by the small child. Bone is in this story is, the prototype of exploitation and

injustice. There is ‘Bibhatswa rasa’ in the co-existence of famine and the act

of collecting bones.

Though the story ‘Nakracharit’, included in the short story collection

‘Bhanga Bandar’ (1945), is written on the background of famine, it is the

delineation of a character. This story was written in the perspective of war,

famine, and epidemic. Though Narayan Gangopadhyay, has written a few

stories based on famine, this story is different. Nishikanta Karmakar is the

example of broken social structure with black marketeering by influencing

society and system of law, to gain self-interest. Nisikanta Karmakar went on

running his business, with the help of lascivious, inhuman inspector, Ibrahim

Mian. Even in these days of famine he has hoarded eight hundred maund rice

by Rs. 12 per Kg; if he is able to sell these rice by Rs.40, instead of Rs.12 per

Kg., then he will not only be reddening, but also be deep and bright red

coloured with money, because now it is the time of war. It is the opportunity to

be rich. He has robbed the rice from the mouth of the ordinary man – on the

other hand villages are being depopulated due to the crisis of food. The wife

of Matipaul has committed suicide because of starvation; she had nothing to

eat, by her only cloth that she used to protect her naked body, she has

hanged herself. To Nishikanta it seemed as dreadly fear. Matipaul too, could

not survive without food :

ëëŒ¬ÛÀÈ¬¬ı˛ ;±˘± ˛ √±› ˛± ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ı≈øÁ¡ ‡±øÚfl¡È¬± ˜±øÈ¬ fl¡±˜ÀÎ¬ˇ Œ‡À ˛øÂ√˘, ¤fl¡¬ı˛±˙

fl¡«√˜±Mï √ ¬ıø˜ ·±À˘¬ı˛ ≈√í¬Û±À˙ Ê√À˜ ¬ıÀ ˛ÀÂ√ºíí12

172

Nishikanta gets horrified with these dreaded scenes. As if, the

countless nacked women’s bodies are hanging from the top of bamboo trees,

a kind of nightmare to Nishikanta. This type of picturesque illustration by the

author is flawless. The lone work by Nishikanta is to bring darkness in every

household of the village. Is not that Nishikanta responsible for the incidents!

The consciousness of Nishikanta thinks:

ëë.... ¬ı“±˙Á¡±ÀÎ¬ˇ¬ı˛ Œˆ¬Ó¬¬ı˛ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¤‡≈øÚ Œ¬ıø¬ı˛À ˛ ’±¸À¬ı ˜±—¸‰¬ « √√œÚ ’ø¶ö ˚˛

fl¡Ó¬&ø˘ Â√± ˛± ”øÓ«¬-øÓ¬À˘-øÓ¬À˘ ˚±¬ı˛± Ú± Œ‡À ˛ qøfl¡À ˛ ˜¬ı˛ÀÂ√√√ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛

Œõ∂Ó¬À√˝√√º....... Œ¸˝◊√√ ˜”øÓ«¬&À˘± ’±Ó«¬Ú±√ fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊Í¬À¬ıó’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ‡±√…,

’±˜±À√¬ı Ê√œ¬ıÚ øÚÀ˚˛ Œ˘±Àˆ¬¬ı˛ ˆ¬±G±À¬ı˛ Ê√˜± fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√± Ó≈¬ø˜º ŒÓ¬±˜±¬ı˛ é¬˜Ó¬±,

ŒÓ¬±˜±¬ı˛ ‡Ó¬, ŒÓ¬±˜±¬ı˛ ’±˝◊√√Ú ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ø˝√√—¸±¬ı˛ ˝√√±Ó¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ı“±ø‰¬À ˛ÀÂ√√√

ŒÓ¬±˜±Àfl¡º øfl¡c ¤‡Ú∑ ¤‡Ú∑ ¤‡Ú∑íí 13

The sting of conscience of human being, the guilt-feeling for one’s sin

and fear-psychosis for the wrong act, is deftly depicted through the character

of Nishikanta. He has many roles to play. He is the president of Union board,

a businessman, greedy for money and also a black-marketeer. By business

we mean, a hoarder. He has kept eight hundred maund of rice with him, to

sell in the war market. This man is cruel, cunning and dishonest. The author

has delineated his character in a suppressed mockery.

This Baishnaba Kulatilaka, fallen from his youth, Nishikanta is such a

shrewd; who is not only satisfied by purchasing the goods from the robbers,

but does not think twice also to defraud them. The author has also exposed

the hidden sense of sin in greedy Nishikanta, with great ingenuity. He could

173

not withstand the sight of rotten rice with its awkward smell, by the water

dropping out of the shades. Actually, bad smell & putrefaction is contacted

into his humanity. Nishikanta remembered:

ëëøÍ¬fl¡ ¤˝◊√√¬ı˛fl¡˜ ¤fl¡È¬± ¬Û‰¬± ·g˝◊√√ Œ¸ Œ¬ÛÀ ˛øÂ√˘ ’±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡¬ı±¬ı˛º ø˙¬ı¬Û≈À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˝√√±È¬

ŒÔÀfl¡ Œ¸ øÙ¬¬ı˛øÂ√˘º Œ‰¬±À‡ ¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇøÂ√˘ ˜±ÀÍ¬¬ı˛ ˜±Á¡‡±ÀÚ ·ø˘Ó¬ ·ï ¬ı Œ√ √√

’±·À˘ ¬ıÀ¸ ’±ÀÂ√ ¤fl¡È¬± Œ‚À ˛± fl≈¡fl≈¡¬ı , ‰¬±¬ı˛ø√fl¡ ŒÔÀfl¡ ˙fl≈¡ÀÚ¬ı˛± Î¬◊ÀÎ¬ˇ Î¬◊ÀÎ¬ˇ

Œ¸˝◊√√ ˜Î¬ˇ±È¬±Àfl¡ ŒÍ¬±fl¡¬ı˛ ˜±¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬©Ü± fl¡¬ı˛ÀÂ√ , ’±¬ı˛ fl≈¡fl≈¡¬ı˛È¬± ’¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡ õ∂‰¬G

ø‰¬»fl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ é≈¬Ò±Ó«¬ ˙fl≈¡Ú&À˘±Àfl¡ Ó¬±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ Œ¬ıÎ¬ˇ±À26√ºíí14

The author has reflected the darkness of this age, of all the people and

their time in the persona of Nishikanta. It has got a new dimension through a

significant symbol. Nishikanta had lost all the sense of humanity. The author

had mocked this character through its follies and foibles. Thus Nishikanta is

exposed. Externally he is a crooked mahajan, a hoarder of looted foodgrains,

a businessman of cut-cloths and a president of union board. Always lying

within Harinam— jatha dharma, tatha jay .But he knows that irreligion is an

extra matter. Every sin will be dissolved through ‘Astaprahar kirtan at

Harisabha’. Man like Motipaul had to die to collect piles of eight hundred-

maund of grains.

That the post world war society is such a disgraceful and perverted that

is delineated in the act of companionship of Bishakha to Nishikanta. Even

Nishikanta had peumitted the relationship to the inspector. If ‘Daroga’ is

satisfied then he will be benefited undoubtedly. The lost identity of Bishakha

as sebadasi identifies the decay and devaluation of society. With this, we can

174

count this story as a testimony of social calamity. That is why a critic has said

about this story :

ëë˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ’øÒfl¡±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ¸•Û√ ‰≈¬ø¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ ˚±¬ı˛± ˜Ú≈ ∏…QÀfl¡ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ ø¬ı¬Ûiß,

˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ é≈¬Ò±¬ı˛ ’iß fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ ’¬Û‰¬˚˛—√ø¬ıfl‘¡Ó¬ ï ø‰¬, ø¬ıfl¡˘±e, Œ˘±ˆ¬œ, ˆ¬G

˙fl≈¡Ú¸‘√˙… Œ¸˝◊√√ øÚø˙ fl¡ «fl¡±¬ı˛À√¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬ ˜˜Ó¬±˝√√œÚ ŒSï ±ÀÒ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ Œ˘‡Úœ

¤‡±ÀÚ ;À˘ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√ºíí15

A situation like famine does not come always. But when it comes it can

perish not only human beings, but to a whole country and its people. The

contemporaneous to world war-II, famine has occurred. It leads the human

beings, their families, society and communities to destruction. It was a

complex social situation. The famine of 1943 was man made and took place

as a result of the conflict between exploited, and exploiters. Its lone incident

that had shattered Bengali’s life and Bengali-ethos was epidemic. This

dreadly epidemic had surpassed the deadness of famine of 1276 B.S. in

respect of death toll. Those who survived had to beg and scramble for food

with dogs from dustbin.

The dreadfulness of famine is depicted in Narayan Gangopadhyay’s

story ‘Puskara’, included in the collection of short stories, ‘Duhshasan’ (1952).

Man is the son of Nectre, (Amrita). This pious word of Upanishad is mocked in

world war-II. That world war has created famine in Bengal is still considered

as a nightmare. The famine of 1350 B.S. after 1276’s, is memorable in the

history of mankind, when crisis had engulfed man and humanities. In the one

hand, the wrath of nature and on the other hand the faulty government-policy

175

is unthinkable at this time. Man in thousands became evicted as refugees in

1943’s famine. To get a handful of rice they had to sell their humanities.

Scarecity destroyed the nature—a few became begger and other had to sell

their bodies. Somewhere parents had to sell their children. Some had sold

their wives— this all-round decay had moved the writers of that time.

This story “Puskara” by Narayan Gangopadhyay is a remarkable story

in the perspective of epidemic and famine. This crisis was supposed to be

overcome by the Puja of Goddess Kali at crematoriam. This was done by

Balai Ghosh, who under the spell of superstitions, had persued the matter to

the representative of the doctrine of priests, Tarkaratna.

Under the perspective of rotten smell coming out of perished dead

bodies in the night of Shukla Chaturdashi and in cloud-coverd black sky, the

priest is waiting with ‘Shibabhog’, in chanting religious hymns. In the midnight,

the deity herself, with violent teeth, is taking this ‘Shibabhog’. This

superstitious fact, when was circulated, the self-satisfied Balai Ghosh, gave

many things and Rs.500 as honorarium to Tarkaratna, who solved his anxiety

with hunger. But under this false devotion to god and hypocrisy, a cruel truth

had been divulged, which was heart-rending. When Tarkaratna was moving

ahead in the night of Kojagari Lakshmi Puja, his carrier was blocked. The mad

women belonging to Dom community was mistaken by Tarkaratna, as

crematoriam goddess Kali, could not digest the offered food to the deity of

luchi and meat. She had blocked the road before the carriage of Tarkaratna,

attacked by cholera. She had snatched the food offered to the deity, out of

176

hunger but could not steer clear of death. She was at pains, seeking a drop of

water with open tongue, like the godess Kali.

Though there is an acute description of dreadliness in the method of

prayer to the crematoriam goddess Kali, yet the author has deftly delineated

the picture of famine and epidemic during war. Here, the author is ruthless in

describing the beguiling and deceptive priesthood who were greedy. This

story is remarkable for its excellence though it was torn by the variety of

subject matters, descriptive qualities and acute analysis of the society.

Another story ‘Tirthayatra’, included in the collection of short stories

‘Bhanga Bandar’ (1945), is a terrific display with the perspective of femine.

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s story is remarkable for its delineation of time and

space. The gamut of these stories includes— world war-I, world war-II,

freedom movement and post independent period. The affect of world war is

extended into the human beings, foodless, clothless, homeless and begging

state of plough.

On the other hand, the people of Bengal were crying out of hunger

mourning ‘Oh food! Oh food!’ Human beings’ beastliness came to the forefront

with the human blood-greedy agents’ satiety to meet their hunger, by making

women as selling goods. The famine of 1350 B.S. has blown out the sacred

light of lamp in house to house of Bengal. The light was only radiated in the

red-light area of Calcutta city even at the time of black-outs. The food crisis

has crippled village life. A big destruction thereby has brought into the social

life of women. A critic has said in this regards :

177

ëë ‰¬A¢∂±˜ ø¬ı˛ø˘Ù¬ ˝√√±¸¬Û±Ó¬±À˘ Œ˚ ¸¬ı ≈√–¶ö Ú±¬ı˛œ Ô±Àfl¡, Œ√‡± ˚± ˛ Œ˚ Ó¬±À√¬ı˛

’øÒfl¡±—˙˝◊√√ Œ˚ÃÚ ¬ı…±øÒÀÓ¬ ’±Sï ±ôLº ˝◊√√˝√√±À√¬ı˛ ¤fl¡Ê√ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡À˘¬ı˛± ˝√√˚º Ó¬‡Ú Œ¸

˝√√Í¬±» ŒÂ“√Î¬ˇ± ˙±Î¬ˇœ¬ı˛ ’±“‰¬˘ ˝√√˝◊√√ÀÓ¬ 2 øÈ¬ È¬±fl¡± ¬ı±ø˝√√¬ı˛ fl¡ø¬ı˛ ˛± Ú±¸ «Àfl¡ Œ√˚º ¤

È¬±fl¡± Œfl¡±Ô± ˝√√˝◊√√ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±˝◊√√˘ øÊ√:±¸± fl¡¬ı˛± ˝√√À˘ Ê√±øÚÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛± ˚±˚ ˝◊√√˝√√± Ó¬±¬ı˛

¸ôL±Ú ø¬ıSï À ˛¬ı˛ √±˜º õ∂Ô˜ ¸ôL±Ú ø¬ıSï ˚˛ Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ Œ√˝√√ ø¬ıSï ˛ ˝◊√√˝√√±˝◊√√ ≈√–¶öÀ√¬ı˛

Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ·øÓ¬ ˝√√˝◊√√ ˛± “√±Î¬ˇ±˝◊√√ ˛±ÀÂ√ºí’16

In the story Tirthayatra, too, we see that the priest has taken over the

job of agents to live by leaving their ancestral profession to meet their hunger.

In the name of tirthayatra, the women were taken to the hands of agents. The

so-called high-born Hindu, Narottam had forgotten the least human religion,

which is found in dreaded Meghna’s terrible boatman, Farid. As if, the violent

act has been spreaded over the mind of the people with the water of Meghna,

like the Kaliyanaga. That is why though the cry of women in boat entered into

ear of the priest, but without any follow up action. Though the tear-out of

Sukhi has touched him for a little moment, yet the account of Rs. 150, given to

her father, becomes greater to him. Though Narottam out of greed takes over

the job of priest to make the women as goods, yet Farid, the illiterate boatman

could not forget his mother, sister, wife and daughter-in-law. He could not

tolerate the satanic and lowness of Narottam hidden behind the face

pretending to be an honest man. Inspite of food-crisis, Farid protected and

returned the village women to their villages.

Durgapuja was celebrated during the past years in the month of

Ashwin. In every household there was happiness. But this year in the month

178

of Ashwin, is a separate one with war and famine. Everywhere there are crisis

of food. People died, out of hunger, in the streets the good lamps are

extinguished due to famine. Everywhere darkness prevails. Neither the lamp

nor the oil, not evens the people, who can light the lamp. When everyone was

about to die, then the maidens from Bengal went to the cities for survival.

Those maidens, who have not yet died, still have to light the lamp. But it is not

at the altar of basil plant, but in the brothel.

The agent Narottam wants to send the housewives of Bengal, the

grihalakshmis, to the new address of light, in brothels. Though the author has

delineated crude narrowness, violence, the lost values, crisis in human

concern, yet at the end of the story, he had made humanism and optimism

victorious.

Another consequence of world war-II was crisis in cloths. During those

days, there was not only food crisis, but also crisis of cloths to be worn. With

this perspective the story ‘Duhshasan’ was written. The author has kept the

name of the collection of short stories on the title of this story, published in

1952. It is a symbolic story, rendering of the epic’s charatcter, Mahabharata’s

Duhshasan. Though it was written on that epic’s character, it depicts the

dreadfulness of the crisis over cloths. The black-marketeers, the hoaders, and

profiteers were given birth due to the imperinilism, exploitation and mal

administration and like the vultures, which eats rotten dead bodies. These

three idols’ birth took place out of the world-war perspective. This story is a

witness to all these things.

179

Greedy Debidas, the crooked businessman, is an opportunist who

takes advantages of the crisis of cloths in the then Bengal. He is a wholesale-

dealer of cloth. Around eight to ten mobs of cloths are dependent on him. A

few days back, the things were different. If a pair is not liked, then ten pairs

were brought down. But in the war market people flocked with request having

tears in eyes for a pair of cloth. Situation became more aggravated.

Government has fixed the cloth’s rate. But it was next to impossible to sale

the cloth in the fixed rate without any profit. So the shops were under lock and

key. No return even if anyone gripped the legs of the cruel-hearted cloth

merchant like Debidas. That is why when requested for at least a cloth, from

his nephew, Gourdas, Debidas cuts across that, if the demand is met, and

then there would be a crowd. Moreover, cloths cannot be sold with more

money than the original price, because a few cases have already been filed.

At a time, a constable of an outpost, Kanai Dey, arrived at his door.

Kanai Dey is on the one hand, a constable, on the other hand, a Muhuribabu

and a watchman with a stick in his hand and a turban on his head. He has

come to Debidas to collect subscription. The inspector of Thana, Sachikanta

informed orally through the messenger, Constable Kanai Dey, to give

donation of Rs. 50 and requested him to come and enjoy the yatrapala, a

dramatic performance.Though Debidas gave him Rs. 50 with certain

unwillingness, yet he attends the show. At the evening the engulfing lights of

yatrapala are enticing. Everywhere crisis of Kerosene, villages are drenched

into darkness. Without light the life of villagers are shattered. Those poor

black peoples are the only spectators in the yatrapala.

180

The yatrapala was organized under the inspiration of Darogababu.

Famous Baikuntha Adhikari’s group has come over here in lieu of one

hundred and fifty rupees. With costly cigarettes, a fine pubjabi and with wine,

the age of Sachikanta has become lessened. As if he is in the bubbling youth.

The theme of yatra is religious. The title is ‘Duhshasaner Raktapan’. Gambling

with Duhshasan, for that Arjuna’s shameful face and the resolution to drink

the blood from Duhshasan’s chest by Bhimasen, to tie up the knotted hair of

Panchali— all these things are there and will be acted with skill in this show.

On the way to return his home after the yatra was over, Debidas saw a

sixteen year old young girl was coming :

ëë ‚±ÀÈ¬¬ı˛ ø√fl¡ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ Œ ∏±Î¬ˇ œ Œ˜À˚˛ Ê√˘ øÚÀ ˛ ’±¸øÂ√ º ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ·˘±

qÀÚ˝◊√√ ø¬ı≈√…» ·øÓ¬ÀÓ¬ Â√± ˛±˚ ø˜ø˘À ˛ Œ·˘ ’±¬ı±¬ı˛ ’±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ¸Àe˝◊√√ ‰¬˜Àfl¡

Î¬◊Í¬À˘± Œ√¬ıœ√±¸ ’±¬ı˛ Œ·Ã¬ı˛√±À¸¬ı˛ ‘√ø©Ü—√ Â√ Â√˘ fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊Í¬À˘± ¬ı˛Mï √º

Œ˜À˚øÈ¬ ¸•ÛÌ« Ú¢üº Œfl¡±ÀÚ±‡±ÀÚ ¤fl¡‡±øÚ fl¡±¬ÛÎ¬ˇ ŒÚ˝◊√√— √ fl¡±¬ÛÎ¬ˇ ¬Û±¬ı±¬ı˛

Î¬◊¬Û± ˛› ŒÚ˝◊√√º ≈À·¬ı˛ ≈√–˙±¸Ú øÚ˘«7¡¡¡ ¬Û±˙¬ı ˝√√±ÀÓ¬ ¬ı¶a √√¬ı˛Ì fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ Ó¬±¬ı˛ºíí17

The maladministration has been deftly exposed in the persona of the

characters from literary epic, Mahabharata, Draupadi’s snatching off cloths by

Duhshasan. A question occupies Gourdas’s mind if there would be any

expiatory punishment with him like Duhshasan, who had robbed off Bengal in

clothing, through bloodshed! Perhaps, there is a fear psychosis in his mind

about Bhimasen after watching the consequence of Duhshasan in the yatra,

who drinks blood by splitting Duhshasan’s chest. Perhaps this is the reason

why his face has turned pale. Sin susceptible Debidas is afraid. The author

181

has characterized Debidas as a deft psychologist. A group of people went

over the ridge of agricultural land to work in a draught-ridden land. The

sunbeam covered their identities with sickles. Debidas became afraid of

himself, without any reason. Why they are sharpening their sickles!

Narayan Gangopadhyay has delved deeply in his own belief on the

possibility of revolution and promise. The crisis in cloth along with famine, war

and crisis of food, which had otherwise made things more horrible, can be

summarized in the following reasons :

1. The mill owner has curtailed the rate of production in the name of

less profit.

2. The corruption and apathy of government’s administration.

3. The trap of black-marketeers. The black-marketeers have increased

the price of cloth by bribing the government-officials. That led to the

crisis in cloths. As a followup, an artificial crisis of cloth came to the

foreground of Bengali community’s common people.

So, the symbolic application of Duhshasan has made the story more

meaningfull. The present day Duhshasan has been the persona of corruption

and maladministration. The thing that has become truth in the feeling of the

author is that those Duhshasans have been there age after age in different

images. The actual example of this kind of people is like Debidas and

Sachikanta. They are making the society nacked by stealing of cloths

everyday. Thus, the story ‘Duhshasan’ has become a social document that sin

does not leave anybody, has been gripped by the author.

182

At the same time he has cautioned the selfish people like hoarders and

black-marketeers through this story.

From 1350 B.S. to 1354 B.S., from 1943 to 1947— these five-year is a

crisis period of Bengal as well as India. The golden Bangladesh has been

burnt in war, epidemic and femine, control and black-marketing, partition and

the humiliation of women. The stories written within the span of these five

years have been epitomized with all these. The famine ridden, war stricken

Bengal’s cry has been clearly drawn here, in these stories. The acute socially

conscious Narayan Gangopadhyay’s stories have been a representation of

such pictures.

In the socio-political scenario of Bengal, Tebhaga movement holds a

remarkable space. But what is the reason of this Tebhaga movement! It was

then the period ruled by the British. A dark age engulfed the rural life of

Bengal. The farmers’ life has become intolerable. Over the head,

maladministration loomed large. Black marketeers’, zamindars’ Mahajans’

exploitation was everywhere; with hunger, half fed, along with illiteracy,

ignorance and the superstitions— life of the rural people became horrible. But

a time came, when the farmers rose on their feet. The whole Bengal was

agitated.

This storm became acute in the North Bengal. Paddy, land, and the

new dawn have made the farmers hopefull. Years of pangs made people rose

to action. This has been turned into revolution. Almost nineteen districts of

undevided Bengal has joined in the Tebhaga-movement in season of

183

harvesting paddy-crops, in the year 1946-47. The seed of Tebhaga-

movement was sawn in Adhiyar movement.

The world war-II brought revolutionary stream not only in the political

life, but also in economic sector too. This revolutionary force has further

strengthened the bond with labour and peasant movement. After world war-I,

new organization was formed for the sake of the labour, in the name, ‘All India

Trade Union Congress’ (AITUC), which had a lasting impact upon the country

India, along with whole Bengal too. This organization took its incentives from

Russian revolution with socialist credo and Communist priorities. Naturally this

political party took the leadership in the peasants’ movement. People

irrespective of caste and religion came under the shelter of communists’

umbrella.

As a result, under the inspiration of socialist revolution in Russia, this

movement got a new dimension. It was in the last part of world war-II before

the dawn of Indian independence. With the progress of war this trade union

movement got pace. In 1947, for the interest of workers, Indian trade union

act and contra industrial act was passed. Many workers were sacked to keep

the profit for the industrialists of their own interest. As a result, discontent took

place among the industrial workers, which saw lock out one by one and got

extensive in the year 1946. This strike became more prominent with this was

added the peasants’ movement of Bengal, Tebhaga-movement came into

existence for the first time in June, 1940, by Pradeshik Krishak Sabha in

Panjia, when the mass movement was in back seat due to communal riot. The

volunteers moved from village to village with slogans, ‘Inkeelub zindabad’,

184

‘Tebhaga Chai’ etc., side by side, the movement spreadout. Peasants from

Bengal, who were exploited and tortured by the zamindar and Jotdar,

demanded two third of the crop and organized themselves. In the language of

a critic :

ëë¤Ó¬fl¡±À˘¬ı˛ ˆ¬œÓ¬ ˙øÇÓ¬ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ √˘ ’¬ı˘œ˘±Sï À˜, øÚ–˙Ç ø‰¬ÀM√√ ¤ø·À˚˛

¤˘º ëÊ√±Ú ø√¬ı Ó¬¬ı≈ Ò±Ú ø√¬ı Ú±íº ˝√√…“±, Ó¬±¬ı˛± ¬ı˛±Ê√ øMï √¬ı˛ ø˝√√—¶⁄ ’±Sï ˜ÀÌ Ê√±Ú

ø√ º Ê√±Ú ø√˘ ø˝√√µ≈, ˜≈¸˘˜±Ú, ’±ø√¬ı±¸œ, ¸±“›Ó¬±˘, ¬ı˛±Ê√¬ı—˙œ Ú±¬ıœ ›

¬Û≈ï ∏º fl‘¡¯∏fl¡ ˙ø˝√√À√¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ÀMï √ ¬ı˛ø‰¬Ó¬ ˝√√˘ ÚÓ≈¬Ú ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸º

¤˝◊√√ ˝√√˘ ŒÓ¬ˆ¬±·±¬ı˛ ˘Î¬ˇ±˝◊√√º ¤Ó¬ ¬ıÎ¬ˇ ¸—·øÍ¬Ó¬ fl‘¡¯∏fl¡ ¸—¢∂±˜ ’±¬ı˛

Œfl¡±Ú›ø√Ú Œ√‡± ˚±˚øÚ ¬ı±—˘±˚ºíí18

Before that the farmers had to give half of the total rice product, and

the seeds, grains, and other costs had to be bore by the farmers themselves.

As a proest, Tebhanga-movement was started. They demanded two third of

total product and the ownership of lands. This movement grew intense in

1947 at Dinajpur, Rangpur, Jalpaiguri, Jashohar, Maldaha, Khulna,

Maymansingha, and Medinipur in the harvest-season. The Bhagchashi of

Uttarbanga, the Adhiars knew that if for once the grain goes to the custody of

the Jotdar, they will get nothing in return. So the voice raised, ‘No more rice to

Jotdars, take rice to your own granary’. Where the rice was gone to the Jotdar

it was decided that the Jotdar will be given a legal notice to return proper

portion of the rice to the farmers. Naturally, the Jotdar refused the notice.

Those Bhagchashi with the witness of ten-people devided the crops into three

whereby two parts have gone to the producers and the Jotdar was given one

185

part. Due to this, the rulling class raised to their feet, arrests in villages

follows, the women were molested. Such like tortures went on. That women,

too, plunged into this movement has been told by a critic as:

ëëŒÓ¬ˆ¬±·± ’±Àµ±˘ÀÚ¬ı˛ Î¬◊M√√±˘ Ó¬¬ı˛e ’ÀÚfl¡ ’:±Ó¬ fl‘¡ ∏fl¡ Ú±¬ı˛œÀfl¡ ˜¬ı˛ÌÊ√ ˛œ

¸—¢∂±À˜¬ı˛ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛±ˆ¬±À· ¤ÀÚ “√±Î¬ˇ fl¡ø¬ı˛À˚øÂ√˘º ¤˜øÚ ¬ıœ¬ı˛ Ú±¬ı˛œ øÂ√À˘Ú ‡“±¬Û≈À¬ı˛¬ı˛

˚À˙±√±¬ı˛±øÌ › Œfl¡Ã˙˘…±º Í≈¬˜øÚ ˛±¬ı˛ qfl≈¡¬ı˛‰“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¶aœº ¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı øÚ˜«˜

&ø˘¬ı ∏«Ì Ó≈¬26√ fl¡À¬ı˛ Ó“¬±¬ı˛± ¤ø·À˚ ¤À¸ÀÂ√Ú, õ∂±Ì ø√À ˛ÀÂ√Ú, øfl¡c ø¬ÛÂ≈√

˝√√ÀÈ¬ÚøÚºíí19

The movement was started in the month of December, in 1946. But it

was not a plain and smooth sail. Everywhere there were barriers. But it can be

authoritatively said, this movement has rocked the barriers of communal

feelings through class-consciousness and class-struggle. Not only the farmers

but also the middle-class peasants with the rich ones stood beside the

Bhagchashi.

The demand of the Tebhagha movement was only a little one’s

undoubtedly. But and the perspective its force and follow-up was not only an

economic one. A new renaissance, a new consciousness, a new class-

consciousness, rose within the life of the peasants as a result of long one-

decade of the movement.

But it is true that this movement did not take place in a day. At the root

was active, on the one hand, the foreign rules and the immense exploitation

and atrocities of the jotdar and on the other hand, the effort to arise the rebels

organizes them. That is why the movement, has brought the rebels free to

186

face the foreign imperialist administration a political colour. That is why in the

last analysis; the movement of Tebhaga was anti-imperialist, anti-feudalism.

The blood-stained Tebhaga by the martyrs has kept glorious heritage for the

future.

Naturally, the impact of Tebhaga-movement was terrific upon the

country and its race. Many emotional and compassionate short stories were

written upon Tebhaga-theme. The experience with that movement was direct.

That is why the tune of those short stories is true in colour. The writers from

Bengal too, took this Tebhaga theme in their creation. Those days with

Tebhaga, too became live in these short stories. The farmers’ self-sacrifice,

the battle, and their life style, and culture have become the theme of those

short stories. Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short story, ‘Banduk’ is one such

story with the perspective of Tebhaga. This story is included in the short story

collection, ‘Kalabadar’, published in the year 1355 B.S. There is a strong

protest and resistance on Tebhaga-movement which is delineated in this

story. The narrative of this story goes like this – under the leadership of

peasant leader, Rahaman, after taking rice into their own custody, invites the

owner of land to take only one third of the total rice.

Against these four exploiters— Jamindar Loknath Saha, Fazal Ali,

Brindaban Paul and Nur Rahaman, the whole peasant community rose to

their feet. Their demand is— ‘Two third of grains’. It is not their begging or

prayer; it is their demand, their due rights. Lokenath Saha, felt that the time

has changed. Yet he and more three Jotdars and Zamindars tried to console

them. But the farmers today had reached to the ultimate point of toleration

187

after suffering. Because those farmers themselves have grown these crops

bearing heat of the sun, and with wet body in rain. The owners of lands do not

understand the good and bad of the soil. So, it is not acceptable that they

themselves would take half of the total grains that the farmers have produced.

So under the leadership of Rahaman, the farmers today are indomitable.

Fazal Ali wanted to devide and rule between the united Hindus and Muslim-

community by creating communal riot with a motive to disintegrate their unity.

But Rahaman was not trapped. So, the Mahajans have appointed hired

murderer to kill Rahaman.

If the peasant who will be in the meetings beside the edge of a pond,

among them Rahaman could be choosen for an assassination. Because, the

owners of the lands understood that nothing could be gained so easily. These

people have become enraged; they have become happy over the thoughts of

victory. When the other days, they had been waiting for the gun fire of death,

the meeting under the leadership of Rahaman with a note of five words ‘Jan

Debo, Dhan Debo Na’— they uttered the slogan very strongly. The

determination, the oath, took them with that bunch of words. Here the author

has voiced this revolution through those words. The movement of change is

near. The power to exploit to suppress the people is now handed over.

Rahaman, today is empowered with ceased power. The pain and regret of the

deprived people has come out as piece by piece from the people’s broken

heart. Man is not born poor; even man is not born rich. To establish this

human endeavour is on. The craze is uttered out of the movement with the

dream of land, soil and harvest, in this story. That is why the critic has said :

188

ëë ë¬ıµ≈fl¡í ·Àä¬ı˛ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ ‘√ø©Üˆ¬øe, ¸y¬ıÓ¬, ¤˜Ú Ó¬N øÚøV«©Ü øˆ¬øM√√ˆ¬”ø˜¬ı˛

Î¬◊¬Û¬ı˛ “√±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ ŒÚ˝◊√√º ’±ÀÂ√ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ ¸˜À ˛¬ı˛ ¬ı±—˘± Œ√À˙¬ı˛ ¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ¸ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛

·ˆ¬œ¬ı˛Ó¬±Àfl¡ ¬Û «À¬ıé¬ÀÌ¬ı˛ Ó¬œ¬ıËÓ¬±ºíí20

In the story we can find the sense of justice and self respect, it is the

history of awakening of peasant-consciousness, their agitation and

helplessness. The protest to save their produced crops had taken an

extensive shape, which was penned in this story. Actually, the total product

was the demand of the peasants. Yet, they do not want to deprive the land

owners. That is why they have no objection to give them one third of the total

product, in the name of religion. But they do not want to carry these grains

themselves. The so called owner of the lands could carry these by themselves

or by any other men. The mass movement had inspired the common men, in

with class consciousness. The story delineates the process of uprising by the

common people. That even a bad character and anti-social element could be

ambibed into social revolution, is shown in the character of Raghunath. Not by

an individual, but by awakening collectively a class-conflict can be

succesfull— this theory is shown in this story.

‘Bhanga Chashma’, is another significant story from the short-story

collection, ‘Duhshasan’, published in 1952, written with the perspective of

world war-II. The world war-II, famine and the movement of 42’s have

snatched the people’s foothold from their roots. The mainstream of Bengali

short stories has then become rich with these changes. The story was based

upon post world war-II perspective. People from villages rushed to the cities

due to the famine and epidemic after the world war-II. But these could be

189

averted. This plight was thrashed upon due to the administration and Jotdar

that made the country a crematorium. If action could be taken in time, then the

premature death of lakhs of people could be averted. The government’s relief,

that is why, seemed to the writer a farce. The mind becomes full of humiliation

and protest. The writer himself experienced this. Here in this story as if the

writer is a satirist, with his sharp flogging, proud faces of civilization and

education becomes pale.

The control system of foods, the profiteering hoarders, the black-

marketeers created the corrupted, polluted society. It lays impact upon the

education system and the educative live’s ideology and the moral-sense. The

writer has shown this with utter sympathy upon the life of the teachers, with

their ideology and moral sensibility. The author has expressed the uncertainty

and destructive forces over the activities of teachers, into the persona of the

central character of the story. The story is narrated in the first person. The

hero is a successful student, an M.A., who has got first class. But though he

had secured good marks, yet he did not get any job. To maintain his livelihood

he does a job in the subarb with the salary of Rs. 60/- per month. Added to it,

he takes two tuitions each with Rs. 20/-. He had to succumb in the war-torn

market to run his family. But with this Rs. 100/- total, he feels at every moment

that he can’t run his family in a healthy way. War has extended its selfish

hand everywhere. People have become victim to this. That is why, he felt

better to take the charge to give relief-work from village to village as a grade-

officer of Sub-Deputy, rather than the noble profession to build the future

citizens. Though he did not want to serve the job as a Hakim along with a

190

school teachership, yet he could not leave it as there were pecuniary benefits

in that job. He had to run through his bicycle to discharge the relief woks from

camp to camp. Moreover he had to select the needy people, requiring relief-

measures. For this work, he is respected by many people. That is why this job

got the better one than the job as a school teacher. But in his mind he could

realize that it is not an easy task to become a Hakim. Yet he is engrossed in

the job of a Hakim which fetches him pride. He, with the reverence that she

got from the common people becomes like a tiger who has tasted human-

blood. In his mind, he thinks that now, he has become able to earn the reward

that he was supposed to get with a first class M.A. degree. But, sometimes,

he is struck with a nostalzia due to the bore-dom of this work. In weaker

moments his mind reminds him about the ethics of a school teacher, he thinks

himself as a clown. Though he is struck with consciousness yet he becomes

habituated with the current job. Though in a boring and tired atmosphere, in

happiness and sorrow the extra income brought him certain kind of

satisfaction.

When he was enjoying the designation of a Hakim, he met one head

master, who had worn a torn longcloth-Panjabi. He was black and white

beared up to his chest. He had a broken spectacle upon his eyesight. The

gentleman is not normal, red-eyes with reckless glance, is supposed to take a

look at the school that he had made to educate the pupils. But soon, famine

took place and a number of pupils died out of hunger, and a few fled to the

city in the hope of getting food. Today, half of the school building has been

broken. But the priest of education, that headmaster, does not believe that his

191

students are no more. That is why, the devout of education is still teaching his

students English, in a loud voice. And soon the Hakim flew away stealthily.

There is a crisis of conscience within the heart of the central character. This

guilt-feeling is recognized by himself :

ëëŒ˚Ú Œ‰¬±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ¬Û±ø˘À˚ ˚±ø26√ ’±ø˜º ˜ÀÚ ˝√√˘ ø¬ı√…±¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ Ó¬œÀÔ« ’±˜±¬ı˛

Ô±fl¡¬ı±¬ı˛ ’øÒfl¡±¬ı˛ ŒÚ˝◊√√— √ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ŒÂ“√± ˛±ÀÓ¬› ¤‡±Úfl¡±¬ı˛ ¸¬ı øfl¡Â≈√ qø‰¬Ó¬±

˜ø˘Ú ˝√√À˚ ˚±À¬ıº ’±ø˜ ¬ıËÓ¬‰≈¬…Ó¬, Œ˘±ˆ¬œ, ¶§±Ô«¬Û¬ı˛ºíí21

The central theme of the story ‘Bhanga Chashma’ is the decay of

educational system and the fall of ideology due to the exploitation and

maladministration caused by imperialism of the world war-II. The world war-II

had struck our education system and bound our citizens to rush to cities for

bread and butter. Due to famine that brought hopelessness and anarchy into

the schools, which were lacking in number of students, that too, motivated a

few teachers to come out of their ideology. That was caught by the writer in a

befitting manner to us. In fact, famine was caused by the war. That is why this

manvantar was maha-manvantar. Before that Bangladesh has experienced

manvantar. But the range of later famine of 1350 B.S., was man made, that

reduced man to inhuman concern. No such destruction took place like this

famine. So, of this famine a critic has said :

ëë˜i§ôLÀ¬ı˛ ˝√√±Ê√±¬ı˛ ˝√√±Ê√±¬ı˛ ˜±Ú≈ ∏ ¬ı±d‰≈¬…Ó¬ ˝√√˘º ¶§Ê√Ú ˝√√±¬ı˛±À˘±º ˝√√±¬ı˛±˘

ÚœøÓ¬À¬ı±Ò › Ú≈…ÚÓ¬˜ ˜±Ú ˜ «±√±º............ ¤˝◊√√ ≈√øˆ¬«Àé¬ ¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ›

¸˜±Ê√Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ ŒÚÀ˜ ¤À¸øÂ√˘ õ∂¬ı˘ ’øˆ¬‚±Ó¬ºíí22

192

In ‘The Statesman’ of 12th August of 1943, a naked picture of a dead

mother and her child was published, the title of which was ‘Bengal Foodless’.

People rushed to the cities only to get a little food. In the hope of getting a

little rice, they stood in queue in front of the control for twenty four hours to get

a little rice. A few succeeded and a few died. Row of dead bodies was fallen

in the road. That the broken economy of the villages will affect the education

system is natural. One who is a real teacher, whose myopic vision with his

spectacle, describes the right values. With this he can point out the crisis in

values that has engulfed the other teachers. This story is character-based,

upon society, time and psychological. With the perspective of psycho analysis

he has depicted the corruption, rampant in society and its decay, its history.

Along with the war and the famine, there is communal riot, disdain that

has made environment more poisonous. One such bitter experience of a

communal disdain, could be viewed in the story, ‘Ustad Mehera Khan’, from

the collection of short stories ‘Kalabadar’. The musical qualities of a family

friend went under the shadow of hatred against Muslim religion. This story

was written upon 1946’s communal riots. How a communal riot, could lead a

man into a loss of conscience, is described deftly in the story. This story is

revolved around the axis of an expert musician. He was not an ignoble artist.

He was an ustad in great demeanor. The father of Shankar, Jagannath

Choudhury, was a good judge of music, which led Mehera Khan to bring him

in his own house fifteen years ago. Immediately after that, during the riot

between Hindus and Muslims in pre-independent period, days became

changed. Chaotic moments loomed large everywhere. Though, Mehera Khan

193

could sense the pain that change is inevitable in culture and music, as he is

standing in modern times. The author has portrayed that in a befitting manner:

ëëfl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬± ˛ øfl¡Â√≈ø√Ú ÒÀ¬ı˛ ◊√√ ¸¬ı«Ú±˙± √±e± qï ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ ø˝√√µ≈ ˜≈ ˘˜±ÀÚ¬ı˛º

õ∂±¸±√¬Û≈¬ı˛œ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬±, ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡ fl¡˘fl¡±Ó¬± ¬ı˛+¬Û±ôLø¬ı˛Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ ¸≈µ¬ı˛¬ıÀÚº Ó¬±¬ı˛

¬ÛÀÔ ¬ÛÀÔ ¤‡Ú ø˝√√—¶⁄ Ê√±ÀÚ± ˛±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ é≈¬øÒÓ¬ ¬Û√¸=±¬ı˛ºíí23

After the death of Jagannath Choudhury the attitude towards the

modern song of his son, Shankar, had been observed by the old expert

Ustadji, Mehera Khan, who had been feeling pangs over the loneliness. Yet

within this too, he had been living with his ideals as an ordinary, common

man’s life style in utter most mental agony. He led his life jingling on the

strings of sitar, because it was his heart. But after that, communal riot has

changed everything. Faithlessness, mistrust, took lead role in the society. The

reflection of communal riots was witnessed by Kolkata too. That Ustadji who

had been revered by everybody in obeying manner, felt changed when

neigbouring boys, cautioned him over the identity of Mehera Khan, then in the

music-devotee they saw a factious community in him. Mehera Khan is nobody

but a Muslim only, as if becoming a Muslim is his sole crime. If any clash

occurs, in the name of communal identity, if Ustadji becomes communal

hostile, like the Bibhishan! These unfounded thoughts have engulfed Shankar

and his conscience. This feeling he had divulged to his wife, Rama. But Rama

did not adhere to it. If he did not say anything about his feelings on Ustadji he

could be saved, but after telling it to his wife, Rama, she got enraged.

Everywhere the awakward situation, poisonous environment, raised doubt in

194

his mind on Ustadji. His wife is a devotee to Ustadji; she had a great respect

on him and his Sangeet Gharana.

But due to the communal riot, the caution by the boys of the locality—

‘Bibhishan is in your house’, has add fuel to the fire. Gradually Shankar was

becoming a changed person— Ustadji is not a genious, he is only a Muslim

that is why he could not be trusted. Shankar is suffering out of the crisis of

suspicion. That is why when Shankar knocked at the front door of Ustadji’s

home; someone seemed to have fled though the back-door. Opening the door

Ustadji did not divulge the name. He is truth-bouned; the doubtful mind of

Shankar could not recognize his own man. He snatched the belongings and

shelter of Ustadji calling him a traitor. Communal riots not only alienated each

others community, it has made the human brutes. That Shankar told Ustadji to

go out of his home is the best example of it. Shankar could turn him out in the

name of poisonous communal riot.

In the following morning Ustadji could not be seen anywhere. He had to

go out of his home with his only resort, a Tanpura. When he was in search of

Shankar’s, house, hungry, tired and blur-visioned— two men stretched him

into a narrow dark-street to assassinate him. Ustadji was killed in the hands of

Hindus. A genious singer Mehera Khan’s life was thus put in an end, in

Calcutta’s maddened communal riot. Human concern was, thus defeated in

the hands of cruel animalistic instinct, Mehera Khan, the great genious was

killed ruthlessly, who is neither Hindu, nor a Muslim, nor a Christian, who is

only an Artist.

195

Religious fundamentalism brings communal thinking. Sometimes, it

becomes a bloody gore incident that brings communal riots. Dogmatism in

one’s own religious belief and renunciation over another religion is the

meaning of religious fanaticisam. Though, religion has nothing to do with any

community. Yet casteism is always associated with fanaticism. Fanaticism is

not a part of religion. But how fanaticism could take a gory shape, could be

viewed in the communal riot of 1946. Of such antagonism, we can quote from

Rabindranath Tagore :

ëë¸˜±ÀÊ√ ÒÀ˜« ˆ¬± ∏± ˛ ’±‰¬±À¬ı˛ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ø¬ıˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ’ôL ÀÚ˝◊√√º ¤˝◊√√ ø¬ı√œÌ«Ó¬±

’±˜±À√¬ı ¬ı˛±ø©Ü™fl¡ ¸•Û”Ì«Ó¬±¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ¬ı˛±Òœ , øfl¡c Ó¬±¬ı˛ Œ‰¬À ˛ ’qÀˆ¬¬ı˛ fl¡±¬ı˛Ì ¤˝◊√√ Œ˚

¤˝◊√√ ø¬ıÀ26√À√ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛ ˜Ú≈ ∏…Q¸±ÒÚ±¬ı˛ ¬ı…±‚±Ó¬ ‚øÈ¬À ˛ÀÂ√º ˜±Ú≈À¯∏ ˜±Ú≈À¯∏

fl¡±Â√±fl¡±øÂ√ ¬ı±¸ fl¡À¬ı˛ Ó¬¬ı≈ øfl¡Â≈√ÀÓ¬ ˜ÀÚ¬ı ø˜˘ ˝√√ ˛ Ú±, fl¡±ÀÊ√¬ı˛ Œ˚±· Ô±Àfl¡ Ú±,

õ∂ÀÓ¬…fl¡ ¬ÛÀ√ ˜±¬ı˛±˜±ø¬ı˛ fl¡±È¬±fl¡±øÈ¬ Œ¬ıÀÒ ˚± ˛— √ ¤È¬± ¬ı¬ı«¬ı˛Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˘é¬Ìºíí24

Man’s primitive instincts, naked violence could be viewed in such riots.

People lost all sense of human values. They have been reduced to creatures

and animals. Sometimes they have crossed the natural instincts that could be

viewed in an animal. Civilization’s finer feelings and sensibilities had been

wiped away. In the name of religion, by imbibing communal clashes, that has

been searched out by those, now trying to snatch profits. These things have

been deftly delineated into the hands of those writers.

Many bright short stories have been written in this line. Samaresh

Basu’s ‘Adab’ was published in 1946 and Ramesh Chandra Sen’s ‘Sada

Ghora’ in 1947. These stories were written, not only as a protest but these are

196

also manifestation of self analysis. How, the communal riots make the life

terrible; can be assessed through the story, ‘Izzat’, included in the collection of

short story ‘Kalabadar’, published in 1355 B.S., by Narayan Gangopadhyay.

The story is written with the perspective of riots; it is a unique example of

artistry and its aesthetic values. In a small town where illiteracy and the peace

of ignorance prevail, brings communal feelings. People are under the spell of

the world war, could not believe who is behind these communal riots! The

assassins, the self-seeking persons who were hidden inside the masks

among their own people, were not unveiled till then. They were dreadful

enemies of humanity. That is why they have been engaged in the haunting

against each other. The selfish people create riots to fullfil their own interest.

About this a critic has said :

ëë1926 ¸±À˘ ¬Û“ ˛øS˙øÈ¬ ø˝√√µ≈-˜≈ ˘˜±Ú √±e± ˝√√ ˛º ¤˝◊√√ ¬ıÂ√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ÚÀˆ¬•§¬ı˛ ˜±À¸

Œ√À˙ ¸±Ò±¬ı˛Ì øÚ¬ı«±‰¬Ú ’Ú≈øá¬Ó¬ ˝√√À˚˛øÂ√˘º øÚ¬ı«±‰¬ÀÚ Œˆ¬±È¬ ’±√±˚˛ fl¡¬ı˛¬ı±¬ı˛ Ê√Ú…

¸±•x√±ø˚˛fl¡Ó¬±Àfl¡ ¬ı±øÎ¬ˇÀ˚˛ Œ√› ˛± ˝√√˚˛ºíí25

The wave of communalism engulfed the then Bangladesh and its

villages too, like infectious disceases. Such is a village, where the tomb of a

Fakir and Dakate Kalir Than, remained co-existed peacefully like neighbours.

Even people then lost their sense of judgement. The clash with religion did not

gain upperhand. But the destructive force of riot, thrashed upon here too. That

is why a Moulabi performed ‘Waaz’ crossing a mile of distance, in a

Madrassa. Then and then the Muslim people got enraged. The worst rowdy

and desperate young, Dhala Mantai of the Muslim lane came to Jagannath,

the Brahmin of Hindu-namahasudra, that he is prohibited to perform the rites

197

of Kalipuja at the Dakate Kalir Than. Their Muslim religion will be disturbed

with the beatings of Dhak and Dhol. But Jagannath Thakur and his troops

were not behind. Like the people belonging to the upper class, religion is not

only an ornament to them. It is almost like a pride to them. So, preparation

was going on to keep ‘Manat’. (Offerings) to the goddess Kali, with a built in

clay idol in the coming lunar-day of the new moon (Amabasya), on the other

hand, sharpening of sickles, spade, knife went in full swing. The Hindus called

aloud ‘Jay Kalimaikir Jay’. On the other hand, it echoed as ‘Allah Ho Akbar’ by

the Muslim. Not only this, to run court cases, Dhala Montai inspired the troop

of Mantai, encouraged by Habib Mian. Because, as one and half bigha-land

was encroached from Jagannath Thakur, he inspired Dhola Montai. That is

why he said :

ëë¤Àfl¡˝◊√√ ¬ıÀ˘ ¸±¬Û› ˜¬ı˛ , ˘±øÍ¬› ˆ¬±„√√À˘± Ú±º ˆ¬±ø·…¸ Œ˜Ã˘¬ıœ ¸±À˝√√¬ı ¤À¸

Œ¸ø√Ú ›˝◊√√ ¬ı˛fl¡˜ ·¬ı˛ ·¬ı˛ ¬ı≈ø˘ qøÚÀ ˛ Œ·À˘Ú, Ú˝◊√√À˘ øfl¡ ¤˜Ú ¸≈À˚±·

ø˜˘Ó¬ Œfl¡±Úø√ÚØ√√ ˜ÀÚ ˜ÀÚ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ø¬ÛÀÍ¬ ˝√√±Ó¬ ¬ı≈ø˘À ˛ ø√À˘Ú ˝√√±ø¬ı¬ı ø˜¤û±,

Ó¬±ø¬ı˛Ù¬ fl¡¬ı˛À˘Ú øÚÀÊ√Àfl¡º ¸fl¡˘Àfl¡ Œ˘ø˘À ˛ ø√À˚˛ øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ¶§±Ô« Î¬◊X±¬ı˛ fl¡¬ı˛±¬ı˛

‰¬±˝◊√√ÀÓ¬ ¬ı≈øX˜±ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±Ê√ ¸—¸±À¬ı˛ ’±¬ı˛ fl¡œ ’±ÀÂ√ºíí26

But when Dholai, prayed to Habib to protect the shame of his family

with a pair of cloth, he was denied, he will not get it without thirty two rupees.

Man could be used in the name of religion, in the name of class-conflict they

can be used in the riots. But Habib does not want to pay for the clothings for

women. So when man remains half-fed, be unavailable of any clothings,

though there are grains in the field, even Dhola Montai, does not get

clothings, being the weapon-like man of Habib Mian and with these both the

198

communities’ people conceived to kill Habib. Both of them understood who is

behind this communal riot.

But always people like Habib is saved due to the self-sacrifice of the

common man. As the wife of Habib Mian died, she was veiled with a beautiful

coloured sharee and a milky-white bedsheet. They have witnessed this in

clean day light. But due to that unavoidable circumstances both the contestent

unearth the grave at mid-night to steal the cloth.

But Habib Mian and his men had grabbed them. Habib discovered that

two of them were Dhola Montai and Jagannath. Nobody could kill them, as the

gang got stunned to look at the understanding of Kali and Fakir, which is the

understanding between Hindus and the Muslims.

Infact fanaticism comes in human life from two ways— one is

dogmatism and superstition and another is severe caste-enimity, which brings

terrific communal riots. The main criminal of fratricidal riot which is also known

as ‘Great Calcutta Killing’ of 1946, was Sahid Surabordi. To the Bengali

people that time was very essential and heart-rending. That is why, against

communal riot, narrowness of mind like communalism, many wonderful short

stories were written on that period.

‘Abad’ by Narayan Gangapadhyay, was based upon communal riots.

Actually, a few narrow-minded, selfish people remain behind the communal

riots.

Here in this context, a Muslim or a Hindu has a little role to play. Yet

the innocent, common people become the victims of this kind of clashes.They

199

loose faith and respect to each other, the relationship among them breakes

for ever. We can cite the written remark of a critic :

ëë¬ı±„√√˘±˚˛ ø˝√√µ≈-˜≈ ˘˜±Ú ¸•Ûfl«¡ Œ˚ ’±Ê√› ¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡ ˝√√ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛ Ú±, Ó¬±¬ı˛

¤fl¡øÈ¬ õ∂Ò±Ú fl¡±¬ı˛Ì› ˝√√À26√ ¤˝◊√√ ¬ÛÀ¬ı«¬ı˛ √±e±º õ∂Ó¬…é¬ ¬ı± ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛±é¬ˆ¬±À¬ı ¤˝◊√√

√±e±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛+¬Û “±¬ı˛± Œ√À‡ÀÂ√Ú, ˆ¬≈ ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú Ú± Ó“¬±¬ı˛± Œ¸˝◊√√ ø¬ıˆ¬œø ∏fl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡Ô± ,

¬Û±¬ı˛¶Ûø¬ı˛fl¡ ¸Àµ˝√√-’ø¬ıï ´±¸, õ∂¬ı=Ú±¬ı˛ Œ¬ı±Ò, ø˝√√—¸±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¢∂ õ∂fl¡±˙—¸˝√√ÀÊ√

˜≈ÀÂ√ ˚±¬ı±¬ı˛ Ú ˛ Œ¸˝◊√√ ¬ı ¶ú‘øÓ¬º ¸±•x√±ø ˛fl¡ ˜±Úø¸fl¡Ó¬±˚ ’±Ê√› ’±fl¡œÌ« Ó¬±˝◊√√

¤˝◊√√ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ºíí27

The authors, though the short stories, has tried to say that religion has

nothing to do with this fundamentalism, caste-system etc. Religion saves

mankind. It does not stir up people to the face of violence. Caste-distinction is

the creation of human beings. Behind communal feelings, there are black

hands of imperialist. A few opportunist people are the gainers in these

activities of clashes between man to man. The writers have prayed to the

readers of their good clairvoyance. People, yet can make choice between

good and evil. May the people unitedly overcome all the misunderstanding

between them and can recognize their real enemy.

After the fratricidal riots, there came rebuted independence. India has

embraced people from various communities from all over the world, ever

since the beginning. But with disdain over Muslim, their dissatisfaction, such

as with financial crisis, education, lack of job opportunities, loose of security

and religious individualism—by connecting all these, Lord Mountbatten has

devided India into two, taking the advantage of the two political parties,

200

Congress and Muslim league. In the year 1946 on 9th June, Muslim league

council and in 14th June, Congress working committee passed resolution in

favour of partition. We have come to know, age by age many people

belonging to different race have come to India and India has cordially

accepted them. They unitedly created the main concourse of Indian people.

But it was not so in cases of Islamic religion. India is neither only for the

Hindus nor for the Muslims. It is the land for every community- this truth could

not be justified to the people and society with requisite logic and passion. Not

that that work was not tried for earlier. Many have tried their best for that work

from the core of their heart. Before they had united, the British has colonized

India. The rulers instigated the people to bring-forth rift among both the

community and acting upon this. And at last depending on these disbelief and

intolerance India was bisected. That is why, thogh it was the partition of a

territory, but actually it was the pathetic story of separation among the mind of

common people. A new nation emerged whose name was Pakistan. India too,

got independence. In the constitution the name was written as Bharat, India.

But partition did not take place in a plain and smooth sail. A critic has said in

this regards:

ëë¶§±ÒœÚÓ¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe Œ√ ø¬ıˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ’e±eœ ¸•Ûfl«¡ Ô±fl¡À˘› ¬Û±øfl¡ô¶±ÀÚ¬ı˛

¸‘ø©ÜÀfl¡ Œfl¡±Ú ’±fl¡ø¶úfl¡ ‚È¬Ú± ¬ıÀ˘ ˜ÀÚ fl¡¬ı˛±¬ı˛ Œ˝√√Ó≈¬ ŒÚ˝◊√√º ¤ ¤fl¡ ¬ıUø√ÀÚ¬ı˛

¸ø=Ó¬ ’±fl¡±„ƒ√√é¬± ¤¬ı— √œ‚«õ∂ ˛±À¸¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ÌøÓ¬ºíí28

Naturally after partition, there was exodus. The Border States in east

and south of India became restless to control the expatriates. The socio-

201

economic situation went on under pressure due to partition. In Bengali

vocabulary two words were added—‘Udbastu’ and ‘Bastuhara’. The brief form

of refugee was ‘Rifu’. After partition Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India

became anxiety-driven. Denying economic security both communities

escaped to save their lives. The Muslim tried to go Pakistan and the Hindus in

India.

Those who had been evicted and coming over here, their future had

been uncertain, and those who had been living here, their future too, had

become endangered. These uncontrolled streams of exodus had played a

major role in the socio-economic condition of the Bengali community. Here the

people’s fate, which had been rootless, due to partition, has been put behind

a barrier. Rural people are coming to the cities leaving behind their age-old

customs and rituals, have been fallen into meaningless existence. People

became self-centred, devoid of any moral value. They have become the entity

without any onus in social life. In total, it is the problem of modern human

civilization. People, here could never welcome them. On the other hand the

unwanted, rootless people could not embrace this land. In this context a critic

has said :

ëëõ∂Ó¬…é¬ ’±Sï ˜ÀÌ¬ı˛ ’±‚±Ó¬ “±¬ı˛± ¸˝√√… fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√Ú, ø˝√√—¸±, ˝√√Ó¬…± ’±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛Mï √¬Û±Ó¬

“±¬ı˛± Œ‰¬±À‡ Œ√À‡ÀÂ√Ú Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¶ú‘øÓ¬¬ı˛ ·Í¬Ú¬ı˛+¬Û øfl¡c ’Ú…¬ı˛fl¡À˜¬ı˛º ø˝√√—¸±¬ı˛

õ∂¸e Ó“¬±À√¬ı˛ ¶ú‘øÓ¬ÀÓ¬ ¤˜Úˆ¬±À¬ı ’±À¸ Œ˚, ˜ÀÚ ˝√√ ˛, Œ√˙ˆ¬±·Àfl¡ Ó“¬±¬ı˛± ¤fl¡øÈ¬

¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ‚È¬Ú± ø˝√√¸±À¬ı Œ√‡ÀÂ√Ú Ú± , Œ√ ˆ¬±· ˝√√À˘± Ó“¬±À√¬ı fl¡±ÀÂ√ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛

˝√√±ÀÓ¬ ˜±Ú≈À¯∏¬ı˛ ˝√√Ó¬…±, øÚ «±Ó¬Ú ’±¬ı˛ ’¬Û˜±ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±ø˝√√Úœº Œ√˙ˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ ’±‡…±ÀÚ

202

¤Ó¬ ˚LaÌ±, ¤Ó¬ fl¡±iß± Œ˚ Ê√˜±È¬ Œ¬ı“ÀÒ ’±ÀÂ√, Ó¬±¬ı˛ õ∂Ò±Ú fl¡±¬ı˛Ì ŒÓ¬± ¤˝◊√√ Œ˚,

¤˝◊√√ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸ ¸—ø˘5 ˝√√À ˛ ’±ÀÂ√ ø˝√√—¸±, ˝√√Ó¬…± ’±¬ı˛ Ú±¬ı˛œÒ ∏«ÀÌ¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ÀMï √ºíí29

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s story ‘Adhikar; included in the short story-

collection ‘Svet Kamal’, published in 1361 B.S., is one of such examples. In

this story, we see that evicted, rootless people became united and possessed

bushy lands. Not only that, they have protested, they also raised barricade

against the greedy Jotdars. One and half thousand evicted people, belonging

to three hundred camps have grown golden harvest in those dead barren

lands. Before that they had to toil hard to drive Chandrabora (Raussell’s

Viper) and pigs, to raise golden harvest over mise after mise there. No private

ownership was given there. It was the act of a co-operative society, the

harvest of combined attributive labour, a kind of socialist venture, on part of

those people in exodus. But the Jotdar, Jatin and Anukul, wanted to drive

those camps out by instigating the hilly folks against the plains. From

Himangshu Som, they have come to know that yesterday-night; the people of

Jotedars came to set fire to the Gaibandha Camp. That is why, Himansu Som

told to jotdar that those lands were never cultivated, it was a waste land

before, they have grown harvest through requisition. Why they are in

jealousey, because those Babla and Shan forests could yield nothing before

their arrival.

Thousands of people came in exodus from Dhaka, Rangpur, Pabna,

Netrakona, towards the North. The light of lamps was dancing every where in

the field. People were flowing rapidely with exultation. They are now

203

determined to take possession of their own land where they have grown crops

by dint of hard labour. In the words of the author :

ëë›¬ı˛± Œ¸˝◊√√ ¸±Ó¬˙ ¤fl¡¬ı˛ ¬ÛøÓ¬Ó¬ Ê√ø˜¬ı˛ √‡˘ øÚÀÓ¬ ‰¬À˘ÀÂ√....º ¬∏C±"√√¬ı˛ øÚÀ˚˛

¬ı˛±Ó¬±¬ı˛±øÓ¬ ‰¬± ∏ qï fl¡¬ı˛À¬ı-- øÚÀÊ√À√¬ı˛ ‚À¬ı˛ Œ¬ıÎ¬ˇ± Œˆ¬À„√√ Œˆ¬±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ’±À·

¬Û=±˙ ‚¬ı˛ ‰¬±˘± Ó≈¬À˘ Œ√À¬ıº........ ›À√¬ı˛ ˝√√±ÀÓ¬ ˘±øÍ¬ ’±ÀÂ√, fl¡±Àô¶ ’±ÀÂ√º

˝√√±¸≈ ˛±› øÚÀ˚˛ÀÂ√ Œfl¡Î¬◊ Œfl¡Î¬◊º....Ú¬ı±Àiß¬ı˛ ·Àg ˜±Ó¬±˘ ˝√√À ˛ ›¬ı˛± ŒÚÀ˜

¬ÛÀÎ¬ˇÀÂ√√√—√ ¬Û‘øÔ¬ıœ¬ı˛ Œfl¡Î¬◊ ›À√¬ı ŒÍ¬fl¡±ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ıÀ¬ı Ú±ºíí30

They are determined to light the lamp by steering, clearing the

darkness like the force of flood water. This had given them a ray of hope. But

due to the rift between Hindus and Muslims, the normal behavior to each

other was lost. On another occasion a critic has said :

ëë¬Û¬ı˛±ÒœÚ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ı ∏«Àfl¡ ≈√ÀÈ¬± ’qˆ¬ ˙øMï √¬ı˛ ø¬ıï ÀX ¤fl¡˝◊√√¸Àe ˘Î¬ˇ±˝◊√√ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬

˝√√À ˛øÂ√ — √ ¸±•⁄±Ê√…¬ı±√ › ¸±•x√±ø ˛fl¡Ó¬±º fi¬ÛøÚÀ¬ıø˙fl¡ ˙±¸ÀÚ¬ı˛ ’¬ı¸±ÀÚ

¸±•⁄±Ê√…¬ı±À√¬ı˛ ’±é¬ø¬ı˛fl¡ øÚ¬ı˛ Ú ‚ÀÈ¬øÂ√˘ øÍ¬fl¡˝◊√√, øfl¡c ¸±•x√±ø ˛fl¡Ó¬± Ó¬±¬ı˛

ø¬ı ∏¬ı±¶Û ¤˜Úˆ¬±À¬ı Â√øÎ¬ˇÀ˚ ø·À ˛øÂ√˘ Œ˚ Œ√˙ˆ¬±À·¬ı˛ õ∂±flƒ¡- ≈ √√”ÀÓ«¬

¸±•x√±ø˚˛fl¡ √±e±, Ò˜«œ˚˛ Î¬◊ijM√√Ó¬±, ¬ı˛Mï √¬Û±Ó¬, ·Ì˝√√Ó¬…± ¤˝◊√√ Î¬◊¬Û˜˝√√±À√À˙¬ı˛

¬ı˛±Ê√ÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ ’±fl¡±À˙ ≈√À «±À·¬ı˛ fl¡±À˘± Œ˜À‚¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ’±ø¬ıˆ¬«”Ó¬ ˝√√À ˛øÂ√˘ ¤¬ı—

¤‡±Úfl¡±¬ı˛ Ê√ÚÊ√œ¬ıÚÀfl¡ Ó¬Â√ÚÂ√ fl¡À¬ı˛ ø√À ˛øÂ√˘ºíí31

We have got our desired Independence, but with partition and rebuted

Bengal. India became a secular state. Though India has welcomed thousands

of Muslims but the Hindus had to fly away from East Bengal and came to

India to save their lives.

204

Those rootless people, who have come to the streets of Calcutta, on

the platform of Shialdaha, have been nurturing the wound of famine and

communal riots. Two short stries written in this perspective were, ‘Titir’ (1960),

included in the short story collection ‘Shubhakshan’ and the story ‘Simante’,

included in the collection of short stories ‘Ghurni. In the story Titir, we see that

two persons belonging to the same village, Julfikar and Shukhalal. But Julfikar

and Shukhalal are the two citizens of two different countries today .The

growth of communal feelings are there within them, though they have dwelled

together for a long time in a same village. Standing in the midst of two-

countries, they went down memory lane of the bygone days. They could not

wipe out the tainted memory of communal clashes. They are now citizens of

two countries. They can not be united again if desired to meet because there

are fencing of barbed wire on the Border. The stories written by Narayan

Gangopadhyay on partition and expatriate dealt with the pictures of that time.

After that, a new historical movement set out. In 1952, liberation

struggle over the language movement took place to make their mother

tongue, Bengali, the State language in Bangladesh. Many laid their lives at

that time by the bullet of the rulers. This has been narrated in the story,

‘Natungan’, included in the collection of short stories, ‘Gandharaj’, published

in 1955.

The character of this story, Raymashay, is the owner of a boat of

ornaments. There is utterance of Swadeshi-movement, partition in

Raymashay’s self-speech. He, like others, could not leave his motherland,

Bangladesh to take shelter at Hindustan. Once, who was a Sanskrit

205

language’s pandit, used to delight the passengers of the boat by chanting

Sanskrit slokas, but at once time has been altered. So, once a Moulabi

dictated him to sing Urdu-Persi gazals, Pandit-mashay started learning Urdu

and Persi. Though initially he faced problem, but ultimately he could cope with

it.

Language-movement started a new strike followed. The students from

colleges, uttered slogan— ‘Bangla is our language, Banglabhasha Jindabad’,

looking at the students’ agitation, it seemed to be that there had been started

an era of Swadeshi-movement. Now, they felt ashamed that so long they had

been forgetting their own mother tongue. From the chaotic situation

Raymashay tried to fly away by a boat. The passengers of the boat wanted to

enjoy new songs. Moreover, Chota-abu of Mian-bari, too, wanted to hear the

Bengali’s own songs. They themselves came to sing Bengali songs in support

of Bengali language. Raymashay, himself gave voice above everyone. News

from everywhere about procession, bloody riots were coming. At evening the

boat of ornaments set sails towards Sahib-Ghat. Raymashay came to be

informed that there were firings on the students and agitators by the police.

He became astonished with the news :

ëë˜≈ ˘˜±ÚÀ√¬ı˛ ›¬Û¬ı˛ &ø˘ ‰¬±ø˘À˚ÀÂ√ ¬Û≈ø˘˙/√√ ¬ı˛±˚˜˙±˚ ˝√√“± fl¡À¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ ◊√√˘

øfl¡Â≈√é¬Ìº.......¬Û±øfl¡ô¶±Ú ≈ ˘˜±ÚÀ√¬ı˛ ›¬Û¬ı˛ &ø˘ ‰¬±˘±À26√ ¬Û≈ø˘À¸∑ ¤› øfl¡

ø¬ıï ´±¸ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬˝√√À¬ı∑íí32

This story was written under the perspective of the language-

movement of East Bengal. Every one from every strata of society right from

206

college students to the owner of boat of ornaments took part in this

movement. The passion over language-movement has been carried in the

story.

In this way the contemporary time has been caught in these short

stories by Narayan Gangopadhyay. The final end of these stories has been

dealt with the language of protest. He thought that this type of lashing ending

is significant and it has too, a kind of connection to social onus. But it is

natural to him who is a social-conscious, time- conscious writer. He is a

socially conscious artist of his time. In his stories we find that tension,

contradiction and search for one’s own identity. Here, in his stories we get

glimpses of dreaded war, and its changed state. The collapse due to famine,

partition, change of values, the social transformation, are the subjects of

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories. Here too, he tried to uphold his own

feelings and ideology. Narayan gangopadhyay is the new wordy-portrait

maker of deep struggle and problems of life. That is why war, famine,

communal riots, crisis over one’s own identity, faithlessness, came to occupy

his thoughts spontaneously. And the crisis of the society has been witnessed

with an open and conscious mind. Actually, litterateurs want to focus their

period through their creation. A renowned critic has said about this :

¬ëëfl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…—Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±¸ ¬ı± ŒÂ√±È¬·ä ˚±-˝◊√√ Œ˝√√±fl¡—Ê√œ¬ıÚÀfl¡ ¬ı±ô¶¬ıÓ¬± ˛,

¸±˜±øÊ√fl¡ ¸•ÛÀfl«¡ õ∂fl¡±˙ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ‰¬± ˛º Ù¬À˘, fl¡Ô±¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬… ¸˜±Ê√¸ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛

Ú±Ú±ø√Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¸¬ı˛±¸ø¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬Ù¬˘Ú ŒÓ¬± ‚ÀÈ¬˝◊√√, fl¡‡ÀÚ± ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛±é¬ Ú±Ú± ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬˚›

¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ˘≈øfl¡À ˛ Ô±Àfl¡º ø˙ä¶§±À√¬ı˛ ø¬ı‰¬±À¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬·ä ’±¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ ˚Ó¬

207

¬Û±Ô«fl¡… Ô±fl¡ Ú±, ¸˜±Ê√Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ˆ¬± ∏… ¤fl¡˝◊√√ Ò“±À‰¬ ¤À√¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… Ò¬ı˛± Ô±Àfl¡,

¸¬ıÈ¬± Ú± ˝√√À˘› ’ÀÚfl¡È¬± ŒÓ¬± ¬ıÀÈ¬ºíí33

The time then was a difficult one. So, he too, had deviated with that

situation reasonably. Actually he also has a mind of and artisan, like an

honest litterateur who is socially entangled and time-conscious. And the time

has driven him to write about the peoples’ struggle for the acquisition of their

rights and privileges. His first and formost aim was about a complete man with

socio-economically and spiritually prosperous. With this austere endeavour,

he pointed about the omissions and errors of his society. He has showed

irony and insinuation about these with whipping, on the other hand he

overwhelmed with emotion, absolute faith on human being. Another critic has

rightly said about him :

ëëÓ¬±“¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ¸˜±Ê√-¸À‰¬Ó¬Ú, ¸˜˚-¸À‰¬Ó¬Ú ø˙äœ¬ı˛ ¬ÛÀé¬, ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏Ó¬ ‰¬ø~À˙¬ı˛

ø¬ıé≈¬t ¸˜À ˛ Œ˘‡± ·ä¸ ”À˝√√ ¤˜Ú ˝√√›˚˛±È¬±˝◊√√ ŒÓ¬± ¶§±ˆ¬±ø¬ıfl¡ºíí34

In this way his short stories described a crisis over the age and its

decay, which have become an intent notation of contemporary society.

208


1. Salim Sabrin : Kathasahityer Samajtattva, p.-15.

2. Arunkumar Mukhopadhyay : Kaler Puttalika, p.-384.

3. Sabitri Nanda Chakraborty : Adhunik Bangla Chotogalpa :

Mulyabodher Sankat, p.-103.

4. Mira Ghosh : Duiti Biswayuddha Samakalin Bangla Kathasahitya,

p.-4.

5. Susnata Das : “Pragati Sahitya Andolan O Narayan Gangopadhyay”, in

Tapas Bhowmik, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika, Narayan

Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Janu.-April Issue,1992, Boimela, p.-60.

6. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Galpasamagra, p.-440.


8. Bhaswati Chakraborty (Lahiri) : Samajik O Arthanaitik Prekshapate

Bangla Chotogalpa, p.-33.

9. Shrabani Paul: Kathasahitye Panchasher Manvantar : Ashani Sanket,

pp.-12-13.

10. Kashinath Chattopadhyay (ed.) : Uposi Bangla: Samajik Patre

Panchasher Manvantar, p.-13 ( Sankalaker Pradibedan).

11. Alok Roy : Chotogalpe Svadesh Svajan, p.-186.


13. Ibid, p.-880.

14. Ibid, p.-882.

15. Bhaswati Chakraborty (Lahiri) : Samajik O Arthanaitik Prekshapate

Bangla Chotogalpa, p.-36.

209

16. Kashinath Chattopadhyay, (ed.) : Uposi Bangla : Samajik Patre

Panchasher Manvantar, p.-246.


18. Bibhuti Guha : “Tebhagar Ladai”, in Dhananjay Roy (ed.), Tebhaga

Andolan, 2010, p.-19.

19. Ibid, p.-26.

20. Sohrab Hussain : Bangla Chotogalpa: Tattva O Gati Prakriti,

p.-284.


22. Swapan Sengupta : Panchasher Manvantar O Bangla Kabita, p.-13.


24. Rabindranath Tagore : “Hindu-Musalman”, in Alok Roy, et al. (ed.),

Dusho Bachharer Bangla Prabandhasahitya (Vol.-II), 2007,

pp.-1-2.

25. Bhabaniprasad Chattopadhyay : Deshbibhag : Paschat O Nepathya

Kahini, p.-28.


27. Sandip Bandyopadhyay : Itihaser Dike Phera: Chechallisher Danga,

p.-24.

28. Bhabaniprasad Chattopadhyay : Deshbibhag: Paschat O Nepathya

Kahini, p.-12.

29. Sandip Bandyopadhyay : Deshbhag : Smriti Ar Satta, p.-19.


210

31. Rajdeep Chanda : “Itihaser Aloke Deshbhag O Surama-Barak

Upatyaka”, in Prasun Barman (ed.), Deshbhag-Deshtyag : Prasanga

Uttar-Purba Bharat, Nineth Column, 2012, Vol.-12, p.-67.


33. Kshetra Gupta : Rabindranath : Chotogalper Samajtattva, p.-10.

34. Bijit Ghosh : Bangla Chotogalpe Pratibadi Chetana, p.-79.

211

CHAPTER – V

THE STYLISTIC ELEMENTS IN THE SHORT STORIES

OF NARAYAN GANGOPADHYAY

That change in stages, that well-arranged form and structure into the

formation of Bengali short story writing in the post world war II period, was

based upon the evolution of realities in Arts. As the people had to face the

altered feelings of life with cruelties-thrashed upon them, so in the Arts; which

has to accept the crude realities in life. A kind of crisis in spirit is seen on part

of the litterateurs who have to face this crisis as they go from one fathomable

space to another. Just as they make the alienation of humans their subject-

matter with their spiritual crisis, thus create a new kind of realities breaking the

age old concept of socialize realism. It is seen that soul, body and eye-sight,

the combination of these three existential forms at a time, can build the artistic

inception. The spirit of fiction-literature is formed out of modern structure of

integrated society, life and homo- sapiens. This single spirit takes shape into

two segments— novels and short-stories. These are two extension of it. Life

gives these spirit and body a third eye to the story-tellers. The aim of the story

writer is to catch the deep spirit of human life, and then to imbibe this into the

consciousness of the readers. This experimentation is there with the genres—

novel and short story. Not only the subject-matter and its extension, its aim is

also to form the content towards its variety. Form is one shape in short story

and in fiction, it is in another shape. The form can be defined as :

212

“Form is one of the most frequent terms in literary

criticism............. It is often used merely to designate a genre or

literary type (" the lyric form",” the short story form")......... In this

application, the form of a work is ordered and organized."1

The perception of appreciation in fiction-literature sheds lights in every

field of its Artwork. Several experimentations on the form of novel and short

story can be seen from post-independent era to the fifties and first half of

sixties. As the subject matters have been reality-centred, the structure of

these became closer to the society, so is the variety of the form created. As if,

this new form has come out of the old one as a new existential. It came out as

the demand of new and in-depth time.

Narayan Gangopadhayay not only wrote short stories, he has created

valuable theological discussion on short stories also, with its form and

structure. Though he had excelled in other genres of literature, such as

poetry, drama, novel, etc. yet he had a weakness upon writing short stories—

the youngest child of Bengali literature. That is why he had written many short

stories in his whole life. The number of his short stories is about one hundred

and fifty included in twelve volumes of his published stories. Beside this he

has penned many other short stories also. With this he had experimented in

many occasions in the branch of short stories. In this regard a critic’s

comment is remarkable :

ëëÚ±¬ı˛±˚˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä ¬Û¬ı˛œé¬±-øÚ¬ı˛œé¬±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛+¬ÛøÈ¬ ’±˜±À√¬ı˛

’À·±‰¬¬ı˛ Ô±Àfl¡ Ú±º øÓ¬øÚ Œ˚ ≈‡…Ó¬ fl¡ø¬ı, Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…› ¬Û±›˚˛±

213

˚±˚˛º Ú±È¬…Ò « Œ˚ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ ’±¢∂À˝√√¬ı˛ ¸±˜¢∂œ, Ó¬±¬ı˛ øÚ√˙«Ú› ø˜˘À¬ı ·Àä¬ı˛

˜ÀÒ…º ø¬ıÀ√˙œ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ ¸Àe Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ‚øÚá¬ Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛, ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏Ó¬ ’±Ò≈øÚfl¡

ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ ’±øeÀfl¡¬ı˛ ∆¬ıõ-ø¬ıfl¡ ¬Ûø¬ı˛¬ıÓ«¬Ú,Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ·Àä› õ∂ˆ¬±¬ı ø¬ıô¶±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√ºíí2

Narayan Gangopadhyay has felt that the style of speech in short-story

is not static. Though his short stories are signified in a narrative voice his point

of view is full of variety. These narrative styles can be identified like this—

Mode of narration in third person, Mode of narration in first person, Self-

conscious narrative, Fictional or erroneous narrative and Allegorical.

Mode of narration in third person : Here, the author being in a distance,

signifies the name of the characters as ‘He’, ‘They’ or in any other name. Here

he is not a character in the story. This narrative form is much more applied by

Narayan Gangopadhyay in his short stories. This style of speech is an age-old

technique applied by the writers. It is not true that no exceptional story can be

written in this narrative style. Yet, where he has avoided the current practice

of form in his writing and adopted the new forms of narration, there lays the

readers’ interest.

Mode of narration in first person: Here, the writer is present as a character

of the story. He uses the word ‘I’ everywhere in the narrative style. Here, he

knows everything. He infuses his experience into the mind of the reader. He

uses his foresight and tries to bring out the truth with other characters. The

stories, ‘Had’, ‘Nishachar’, ‘Kabar’, ‘Luchir Upakhyan’, ‘Pipe’, ‘Bhanga

Chashma’, ‘Ribbon Bandha Bhaluk’, ‘Record’ etc. belong to the stories

written in the mode of narration in first person. Beside this, many stories

214

progress with the dialogue between the narrator of the story and the listener.

But instantly the thread of the story goes into the hand of the narrator. Here

the narrator is not one dimensional character. Sometimes he is friend,

sometimes a woman, sometimes solicits for favour, sometimes witness of the

facts, sometimes a lover and sometimes a writer. In such style of writing there

are two sides, such as (1) into the mind of the readers these stories give

impression as if it is the personal experience of the narrator of the story (2) an

effort is on to bring the reader towards his own experience and belief on

conceptual issues, because a kind of embarrassment takes place if the author

comes out of the shackles of his own limits. The story ‘Record’ is a successful

story belongs to the mode of narration in first person. This can be

conceptualized on part of the readers if discussed in details.

The short story titled ‘Record’ by Narayan Gangopadhyay is an

epitome of power within the human mind in a deep belief suppressed anger

and protest. The facts in ‘Record’ with mere incident, characterization and

suggestivity all these are based upon such idea which freezes the reader

and gives a thrill upon their own mind. Narayan Gangopadhyay has discussed

the characteristics of such short stories in the following language :

ëëøfl¡¬Ûø˘„√√ ¬Û≈À¬ı˛±ÀÚ± ¶®È¬˘…±G ˝◊√√ ˛±ÀÎ«¬¬ı˛ ¬Û≈ø˘À˙¬ı˛ "Dull's eye Lantern"-¬¤¬ı˛

¸Àe ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ ø¬ı‡…±Ó¬ Î¬◊¬Û˜±øÈ¬ ø√À ˛ÀÂ√Úº ¤¬ı˛ ’±À˘±fl¡ ¬ı˛øï ¨ Œ˚˜Ú ø¬ıÀ˙¯∏

¤fl¡øÈ¬ ˘é¬…¬ıd¬ı˛ Î¬◊¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ø·À ˛ Œ¸øÈ¬Àfl¡ Î¬◊æ√±ø¸Ó¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ ŒÓ¬±À˘, ’Ô‰¬ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ‰¬±¬ı˛

¬Û±À˙ Ô±Àfl¡ ’gfl¡±¬ı˛ ¤fl¡ ˘é¬…— ŒÂ√±È¬·Àä¬ı˛ Œfl¡Ã˙˘øÈ¬› øÍ¬fl¡ Ó¬±˝◊√√ºíí3

215

In the story ‘Record’, we see that the first person narrator and the

unrevealed thoughts and idea of his wife give it fullness. The first person

narrator is the story teller and the protagonist of the story who purchases an

obsolete record from the second hand market of Shialdaha area which is an

old establishment of this kind. This record is played in a gramophone with a

barrel of a gun. The main specialty of this record is that though it is not much

old, yet there is an unknown label on it, and there are some songs with

unknown language. When the shop-owner plays it, he cannot understand

anything of it. In the incomprehensible song, there are four to five male and

female voices. There is peculiar play of musical instruments and its tune too,

is peculiar. Yet it moved the protagonist. He feels attracted by the mysterious

depth and its delimitations. In the voice of the first person narrative character :

ëëŒ‰¬±„√√±›˘± ¢∂±À˜±ÀÙ¬±Ú ŒÔÀfl¡ õ∂ÔÀ˜ ¤fl¡¬ı˛±˙ ’æ”√Ó¬ ¬ı±Ê√Ú± Â√øÎ¬ˇÀ˚ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ˘º

¤Ò¬ı˛ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¬ı±Ê√Ú± ¤¬ı˛ ’±À· fl¡‡Ú› qøÚøÚº ¤fl¡ E±˜ ¬ı±Ê√ÀÂ√— ·œÈ¬±¬ı˛›

’±ÀÂ√ Œ¬ı±Ò ˝√√ ˛, øfl¡c ’±À¬ı˛± fl¡œ fl¡œ Œ˚ ’±ÀÂ√ ’±˜±¬ı˛ Œ¬ı±Ò·˜… ˝√√˘ Ú±º......

Ó¬±¬ı˛¬Û¬ı˛ ·±Úº Ú±¬ı˛œ ¬Û≈ï À ∏¬ı˛ ‰¬±¬ı˛-¬Û“±‰¬øÈ¬ fl¡F ’±ÀÂ√ ˜ÀÚ ˝√√ º Œ˚˜Ú ’æ”√Ó¬

¬ı±Ê√Ú±—ŒÓ¬˜øÚ ’æ”√Ó¬ ¸≈¬ı˛º Œfl¡Ú Ê√±øÚÚ±—Œfl¡±Ô± ˛ ¬ı˛ÀMï √¬ı ˜ÀÒ… Œ√±˘±

Œ˘À· Œ·˘º Ê√±øÚ ¤ ¸≈¬ı˛ ¤Àfl¡¬ı±À¬ı˛ ’À‰¬Ú±, Ó¬¬ı≈ ˜ÀÚ ˝√√ÀÓ¬ ˘±·˘ ¤ Œ˚Ú

fl¡À¬ı Œfl¡±Ô± ˛ qÀÚøÂ√˘≈ ºíí4

After that a traveller came and makes him understand the song, its

language, tune and musical instruments, clearly. Actually it was propagated

by the rebel freedom-fighters, secretly in the period of world war-II in Hitler’s

regime. Here the record belongs to the music of the freedom fighters that

216

were to be killed by Hitler’s detectives in vigilance, followed by forefitment of

those songs. Just an old record was the mouth piece of the first person story

teller of this story.

The mystery of his thought, its surprising atmosphere gradually

occupies the mind of the protagonist. This story by Narayan Gangopadhyay,

is written under the perspective of Nazi regiment’s gory cruel misdeeds.

Though this story was written in the end of 50’s (Shraban-Ashwin, 1368 B.S.)

in the magazine, ‘Fasal’, yet this story has got life and its experience of that

time.

This method of story-telling by Narayan Gangopadhyay is purely

unique. The narrator of the story is in first person. Here the protagonist has

narrated the story in the style as if he is sharing from his wonderful

experience. It was lucid clear and distinct, which entails the in-depth ethos of

importance. Here, in this story, there is a stream of facts that flows in its own

way. There is an introspective consciousness in this story. It has been

expressed in a surprising end. That is why even in such narrative technique,

curiosity and a tension can be created. This method can be said a ‘stream of

consciousness’ method. It is different from any general style and form of short

story writing. This short story, that is why, has become successive.

‘Bhanga Chashma’, is another successful short story written in this

form. The cardinal perspectives of this story are world war-II, which has been

lasing for six years and famine, which surpasses the limits of fiction. The story

did not end as a simple narrative; the first person has narrated its

autobiographical experiences. The facts of the story here is insignificant. The

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first person protagonist is a married talented student an M.A. with first class.

With such a good result he could secure only a job in suburb, with a salary of

Rs. sixty per month, job of a school teacher, along with two tuitions each

fetches twenty rupees, all total Rs. 100/- as remuneration. Once, the govt.

administration wants to recruit a few officer of sub-deputy grade to distribute

relief materials in villages. The job is temporary. But a scope is there to be

upgraded as ‘Hakim’. The first person protagonist left the job of a school

teacher as he got selected as the sub deputy officer through a successful

interview.

The narration of the story did not follow the stereotype style of

narration. As the first person is present here so, the protagonist remained with

the experiences as describing his autobiography. The voice of the protagonist

has had no original name here. Like a first person narrator, he has narrated

the perspective of the world war-II. Here the plot has revolved around the

conflict between narrator-protagonist, the contradiction into his mind for up

gradation of sub -deputy officer from a school teacher and his inferiority

complex. The story is therefore told as, the auto-biographical structure on its

own. The nameless bio-graphical sketches of the protagonist present here are

with the element of upgrade designation and its pride, financial securities and

respect from the common people and their hopefulness all these are jostled

as a whole. On the other hand, we find his pangs of transformation from a

school teacher into present status, his inferiority complex, inner strife and a

harsh contempt on himself. His tragedy is a tragedy of space and time, the

war torn society and its decay.

218

His tragedy is true in the story, in the character, and as a whole, true in

the Art of literature. In ‘Bhanga Chasma’, the nameless first person, nameless

protagonist is a victim of pure tragedy. Here, he himself is his cause of own

fall. Behind his tragedy, it is his excessive high ambition.

Actually, the form and structure of short story have been changed

through the last one hundred years. The changes holds the perspective of the

author’s individual concept of life, their experimentation, the clashes with other

genres and the impact of different political and philosophical thoughts and

demands. In a number of occasions the writers have expressed their thoughts

for different reasons in literature. According to the critic :

‘‘The great impulses behind literature may, I think be grouped

with accuracy enough for practical purposes under four heads:

(1) our desire for self-expression; (2) our interest in people and

their doings; (3) our interest in the world of reality in which we

live, and in the world of imagination which we conjure into

existence; and (4) our love of form as form."5

Self-conscious narrative: One of the styles of form which has been used by

Narayan Gangopadhyay is, self-conscious narrative. It is person is not exactly

as same as the first person narrative style. Here the author is fully conscious

of his artifact. He makes his readers conscious about the problems he wants

to present in the story. This narration is not the soul object from the author’s

part. In fact he delves deep with the objectives in the starting, end and middle

part of the story in a planned manner. Perhaps the story begins with a

dramatic surprise. Gradually the surprise unfolds and the story enters into the

219

past. Up to the end the author lashes the opportunist middle-class and the

fake value consciousness. ‘Top’, is another short-story by Narayan

Gangopadhyay, written in this form. The second protagonist of this story is its

narrator. It is one of the most famous short-stories, written by him. The

second character of this story is its narrator. It is a tightly knit short-story. The

surrounding is characterized by the hunter, affluent Rajabahadur and his

followers and the dense thick forest. Actually the story is not spread out. But

the author has tried to build the surroundings of deep environment to give it

an axis. The mono-dimension is there at the end of the story. Here, the reader

is stricken by the amazement. Narayan Gangopadhyay has said about this

type of story as :

¬ëë·Àä¬ı˛ Œ˙À¯∏ ¤fl¡È¬± ’õ∂Ó¬…±ø˙Ó¬ ‰¬˜fl¡ ø√À ˛ ¬Û±Í¬fl¡Àfl¡ ô¶øyÓ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ√› ˛±

¤fl¡øÈ¬ øõ∂ ˛ › õ∂±‰¬œÚ ¬ÛXøÓ¬º ‰¬˘ƒøÓ¬ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ ¬± ∏± ˛ ¤¬ı˛ Ú±˜ " Whipcrack

ending"— ‰¬±¬ı≈fl¡ ˝√√“±fl¡Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ± ¸˜±ø5º.....Œ¬Û±, Œ˜±¬Û±¸“± ¤¬ı— ›. Œ˝√√Úƒø¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√

Ê√±Ó¬œ ˛ ¸˜±ø5¬ı˛ ¬Ûé¬¬Û±Ó¬œºíí6

The narrator in this story is the only witness of a peculiar hunting. He is

a middle-class youth. He is self-conscious, a lover of nature. He is conscious

of his duties and humbled with civility. At every step, there is curiosity that

makes him wonder about the things happening around him. The inhuman

brutalities of Rajabahadur shocked him deeply. Of that moment that he

perceived, has said :

ëë’±˜±¬ı˛ ¬ı≈Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¬ı˛Mï √ ø˝√√˜ ˝√√À ˛ Œ·˘, ’±˜±¬ı˛ ‰≈¬˘ ‡±Î¬ˇ± ˝√√À ˛ Î¬◊Í¬À˘±º ’±ø˜

¬Û±·À˘¬ı ˜ÀÓ¬± ø‰¬»fl¡±¬ı˛ fl¡À¬ı˛ Î¬◊Í¬˘±˜,.....ºíí7

220

All over, a specialty has spread out around him. He faced the world

that does not care for the humanity. Like this a kind of desperate mentality

has been evolved out of his narration. The whole story is the epitome of the

representative of whimsical, perverted, inhuman jamindars from feudal system

of medieval period.

Though, this story was written in a flashback method yet the excellence

of it, can’t be gainsaid in respect of its novelty. Thus, the perspective aranyak,

has made its entry into history by the delineation of hunting ground. Here the

cruel perspective of the forest has become equivalent to the cruel heart of the

hunter in Terai. But this could be said briefly according to the correct structure

of the short story. Because, about the structure of a short story, a critic has

said :

ëëŒÂ√±È¬·ä øÚÀÊ√¬ı˛ ¤fl¡±ôL ¬ıMï √¬ı…øÈ¬ Â√±Î¬ˇ± ’±¬ı˛ øfl¡Â≈√ ◊√√ ¬ı˘À¬ı Ú±º ’Ú±¬ı˙…fl¡

¬ı…±ø5¬ı˛ ¸≈À˚±· Ó¬±¬ı˛ ŒÚ˝◊√√, ’À˝√√Ó≈¬fl¡ ‰¬ø¬ı˛ÀS¬ı˛ øˆ¬ÀÎ¬ˇ Ó¬±Àfl¡ ˆ¬±¬ı˛±Sï ±ôL ˝√√À˘

‰¬˘À¬ı Ú±, ’õ∂À ˛±Ê√Úœ˚˛ ¬ıÌ«Ú±-ø¬ı˘±À¸¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± ˆ¬”ø˜fl¡±˝◊√√ Œ¸‡±ÀÚ ŒÚ˝◊√√º Ó¬±¬ı˛

õ∂øÓ¬øÈ¬ ¸—˘±¬Û ¬˝√√À¬ı Ò±¬ı˛±À˘± ˆ¬±¬ı·ˆ¬«ó Ó¬±¬ı˛ õ∂øÓ¬øÈ¬ ¬ı±Àfl¡… Ô±fl¡À¬ı ˝◊√√øeÓ¬Ò «œ

Î¬◊X‘øÓ¬À˚±·…Ó¬±º Ó¬±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ… ¬ı¬ı˛— ¶§äˆ¬±ø¯∏Ó¬± Ô±fl¡ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛, øfl¡c ¬ıUˆ¬±ø ∏Ó¬±ó

gift of the gab ¬Ó¬±¬ı˛ Œé¬ÀS ’‰¬˘ºíí8

That is why the details description of nature gives us a kind of

embarrassment and impatience, like a novel. The tendency to change in

another topic repeatedly, to digress, gives the suspense of the story backseat.

Yet, ultimately the rasa of the story has remained intact. As a whole the story,

‘Top’ is a story which will sustain the test of time.

221

Fictional or erroneous narration: Here, the explanation or evaluation does

not co-inside the personal values or hearty faith of the writer. Here the author

does not remain unanimous with the narrator of the story. He tries to influence

the reader with his own opinion, in the middle part of the story or in the

conclusion of the story. This method of writing is really full of variety. The

writer builds up a story. But by the end of the story he tries to influence the

readers through his own belief. Apparently, the story progresses in its own

flow; it does not obey the dictum of the author. Here, the author goes against

his own will. But that, it is not his aim, is known from himself. The story

‘Pushkara’, by Narayan Gangopadhyay is one example of such style of form.

This form can be water-clear if we discuss the story at length. In the story

‘Pushkara’, the famine stricken people surrendered themselves into the hands

of god. This gory picture has been sketched out by the delineation of

crematorium goddess Kali, to save the country and its people from the fatal

trickeries played by the priest, Tarkaratna, in shukla chaturdashi, to the

crematorium Kali, to remove Puskara. But till the midnight, no jackal came to

accept the sacred food offered to the goddess. At such time, entire area was

submerged into darkness. With utter fear, Tarkaratna, noticed that it is not the

jackal, which came to accept of the food, but the deity Kali herself, is taking

the food. But he could not know that she was none other than an insane

woman from the Dompara. But she could not consume it, due to long interval

of hunger and appetite. Here the author has nakedly portrayed the fate at the

hands of Mahajans and the priests, who were blown to richness in the world

war-II. The author thought that Tarkaratna could not understand that both the

222

goddess Kali and the insane woman of Dompara, both were same. This

picture of Bengal at the time was not fictitious.

On several occasion, the history of that time were picked up by those

contemporary authors. This can’t be said as their Arts for Arts sake. In Bengali

short story writing, a stream of humanism is always there. The adjustment to

the crude realities, the daily hopes and aspirations have been actualized by

the hands of Arts. A critic has rightly said :

ëë’±( « ¤˝◊√√, ≈ÀX ¤¬ı— ≈√øˆ¬«Àé¬ ø¬ıÒ√ıô¶ ˘±ø>Ó¬ ’¬Û˜±øÚÓ¬ ¬ı±—˘±¬ı˛

˜˝√√±ï ¨˙±ÀÚ˝◊√√ Œ¸ø√Ú Ù≈¬ÀÈ¬ ›ÀÍ¬ ¸—¶‘®øÓ¬¬ı˛ ˙Ó¬ ¬Û≈¶Ûº ¬Û“±Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¬Û≈fl≈¡À¬ı˛

¬Û≈øÓ¬·g˜˚˛ Œflv¡√±Mï √ Ê√À˘ ¬ÛÀΩ¬ı˛ ¸˜±À¬ı˛±˝√√º Ò±Ú ‰¬±À˘¬ı˛ Œ·±˘± ˙”Ú… ˝√√À˘›

Î¬◊¬ÛƒÀ‰¬ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇÀÂ√ Œ˚Ú ¸±—¶‘®øÓ¬fl¡ Ù¬¸˘º Œ¸ Ù¬¸˘ ¸Àµ˝√√ ŒÚ˝◊√√ ’|n∏ ’±¬ı˛ ¬ı˛ÀMï √¬ı˛

ø¬ıøÚ˜À˚˛ ¬Û±›˚˛±º Ó¬¬ı≈ ø¬ÛÂ√ÀÚ øÙ¬À¬ı˛ ¬Ó¬±fl¡±À˘ ¬ı±—˘± ˆ¬± ∏±¬ı˛ Œ¸Ãˆ¬±·… Œ√À‡

Œ¬ı˛±˜±= ˝√√˚˛ºíí9

The story ‘Banatulsi’, too, is based upon the concept of sub-

consciousness of mind. We see many moral lessons from the mouth of the

narrator and Bimalendu’s discussion. According to the narrator’s point of view,

romance is stupidity. The transcendental union, to him is the wicked’s

consolation. He has made Bimalendu, conscious that the result of love is

nothing but total eclipse, Purnagras.

He has tried to portray his childhood experience making a perspective

with wild basil leaf, a kind of infatuation and the chaos. The method in his

matured life could be seen not only in abroad, but it is present everywhere in

the beauty of Bangladesh. The story is built episode-wise with the collection of

223

broken moments. But the appeal of every fact is built in a single thread. Here,

the author has built up story within the story, taking inputs from his own

childhood. The memory of the first love of the narrator, to his heroine, was

sustained in his heart for a long time. He was fallen in love with Banatulsi. But

he could understand, ultimately that the tree of Bangladesh too, wants to

devour him out of love with ‘Purnagras’. At the end of the story, the author has

uttered the words of caution, not only to Bimalendu but also to his readers. He

came to believe that love in family life, is more acceptable than the love of

ravenous nature.

Beside these four forms, another one of his forms could be seen. This

form is of a ‘Rupak’, ‘Allegorical’. The main story of this type is ‘Pradip O

Prajapati’. Just as a butterfly wants to emulate in fire to die surely, so as in

human life; it is described in this story in an allegorical form. Another

important form by Narayan Gangopadhyay could be seen in a number of

stories, namely, ‘Patra-angik’,—that is in ‘Letter-form’. Chiefly the two short

stories ‘Subhakshan’ and ‘Ekti Chithi’, included in the short story collection

‘Shubhakshan’ (1960), written in the letter-form.

The female narrator of this story ‘Ekti Chithi’, went down memory lane

to her adolescent love, with daily life and its romantic details. In between this

time, both the boy and his fiancée are estranged from each other. When the

girl met the boy on other occasion, she saw that the boy has become a circle

officer. By this time, his mind too has been changed. He never asked her

about the tree of Tagar to which he himself has sown. His marriage has

settled elsewhere. The girl who has dreamt from her childhood about the

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dream moments of ‘Putul khelar Basar’, could not be fulfilled. She could

understand that the dream has brought her pangs with these memories. Of

this story, a critic has said :

ëë ë¤fl¡øÈ¬ ø‰¬øÍ¬í ·Àä¬ı˛ ’¬ıÀ˝√√ø˘Ó¬ Œõ∂ø˜fl¡± Ó¬±¬ı øfl¡À˙±¬ı˛ ¬ı˚˛À¸¬ı˛ Œõ∂ø˜Àfl¡¬ı˛

¸Àe ¬Û≈Ó≈¬À˘¬ı˛ ø¬ıÀ˚ÀÓ¬ Ù≈¬˘ Ó≈¬˘¬ı±¬ı˛ Ê√ÀÚ… Œ˚ È¬·¬ı˛ Ù≈¬À˘¬ı˛ ·±Â√ ˘±ø·À ˛øÂ√˘

Œ¸ ·±ÀÂ√¬ı˛ Ù≈¬˘ Œ˚ qÒ≈ ’Ú…Àfl¡ ø¬ıø˘À ˛ ◊√√ Œ¸ Ó‘¬ø5 Œ¬ÛÀ˚øÂ√˘ Ó¬±˝◊√√ Ú ˛, Ó¬±¬ı˛

’±¬ı˛› ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ˜ÀÚ¬ı fl¡Ô± ¬ı˘¬ı±¬ı˛ Ê√ÀÚ… Œ¸ ŒÂ√À˘øÈ¬Àfl¡ ø‰¬øÍ¬ ø˘À‡øÂ√˘ –

ë¬Û≈Ó≈¬˘ Œ‡˘±¬ı˛ Ê√ÀÚ… Œ˚ Ù≈¬À˘¬ı˛ ·±Â√ ˘±ø·À ˛øÂ√˘±˜— ¬Û≈Ó≈¬˘ Œ‡˘± Â√±Î¬ˇ± Ó¬±¬ı˛

Ù≈¬˘ ’±¬ı˛ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± fl¡±ÀÊ√˝◊√√ ˘±À· Ú±— Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ øÚ ˛ ˝◊√√ Ó¬±˝◊√√ºí íí10

Perhaps, except this story there is no other story about the adolescent

love, written by the author. The moments of the short story has been caught in

a befitting manner by the letter-form.

Here, in the story ‘Subhakshan’ the letter-writer is having a belief that

good moments will come in unison, having seen that his former lover is

passing an abominable life. Like ‘Ekti Chithi’ the letter-form is used here too.

Here the old talks found places in chronological order. The narrator on

hearing the verdict of the court went to the court. Suddenly we see the

surprise meeting by the loved and dearer one, in the context of a letter went in

its own way. On returning to his home the narrator wrote to her that the good

moments which has been lost once, again can be relived. He wants to make

his own family with the girl. This story is a story of protest. The author has

waged battle against social norms. If the bride is not handed over to the

bridegroom in suitable time, then the bride could be derailed in her conjugal

225

life. In that case, she can be handed over to another bridegroom. The author

has waged protest against such abominable rituals of our society.

A popular short story with the letter-form by Narayan Gangopadhyay is,

‘Mananiya Parikshak Mahashay Samipeshu’. The letter-writer of this story is a

talented student, Svadhinkumar. He secured scholarship in minor-class. He

could sustain his academic talents, by securing the position either as 1st or

2nd. But the poor farmer’s family could not provide him to purchase books of

higher classes. The hoarder, feudal lords of rice used to feed him. In lieu of

that they took the toil, and sweat from Svadhinkumar. He could not get the

scope to read and write even under the lamp at night. As he came to Kolkata,

it became impossible to manage the cost of his studies.

He could not even get an environment to study. So, without preparation

Svadhinkumar could not write answers to the questions that have been asked

in the examination. Instead of writing answers, he wrote to the examiner about

his pangs and sorrows, which have been suffered by the poor students, in a

letter. Over and above, he lets the examiner know, that he is going to commit

suicide under the train in evening that day. He wanted to live. But his fate is

one of whom, he has to commit suicide. That is why he tells the examiner :

ëë’±ø˜ ¬ı“±‰¬ÀÓ¬ Œ‰¬À ˛øÂ√˘±˜ ¸…±¬ı˛— ’±ø˜ ¶§±ÒœÚfl≈¡˜±¬ı˛, ¶§±ÒœÚ ˆ¬±¬ı˛Ó¬¬ıÀ ∏«¬ı˛

Ê√ÀÚ… ’±ø˜ ¬ı“±‰¬ÀÓ¬ Œ‰¬À˚øÂ√˘±˜º Œfl¡Ú ’±ø˜ ¬ı“±‰¬ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±¬ı˛ ±˜ Ú±, ’±˜±¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬±

˝√√±Ê√±¬ı˛ ˝√√±Ê√±¬ı˛ Â√±ÀS¬ı˛ ¬Ûé¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ Œ¸˝◊√√ õ∂ï ü ’±¬ÛÚ±¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ Œ¬ı˛À‡ Œ·˘±˜º

Ê√¬ı±¬ıÈ¬± ’±¬ÛøÚ Œˆ¬À¬ı Œ√‡À¬ıÚº

226

fl¡±¬Û≈ï À¯∏¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ’±R˝√√Ó¬…± fl¡¬ı˛øÂ√∑ Ú± ¸…±¬ı˛— Ú±, ¤ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¬Û¬ı˛±Ê√ ˛

Ú ˛ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¬õ∂øÓ¬¬ı±√ºíí11

Through the story, in a letter-method, a student has informed about his

piteous student-life. Though it was written in the form of letter-method yet he

could touch the plight through the address and dialogue. Here, that the heart

of one could be a correspondence between the addressor and addressee of a

letter is well caught in a befitting manner.

Another style that the author has embarked upon is based upon the

present time. After that flashback follows. Then the story is spread-out in the

past. This method of narration is not new. Here, the perception of two times

work together, one is apparent and the other is real time.

‘Time’ occupies a cardinal space in fiction-literature. ‘Time’ can’t be

ignored by any novelist or short story-writer. Because, fidelity on ‘time’ is

certain in a novel or short story, without ‘time’, no story or novel can be

written. That is why the thread of fiction, occupies as that space which is

cardinal. Of this a critic has said :

ëë˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ·øÓ¬√ø¬ıøÒ ¸˝√√Ê√ ¸¬ı˛˘ Ú ˛ Œ˜±ÀÈ¬, Ó¬±¬ı˛ ·øÓ¬ Œfl¡±ÀÚ± Sï ˜ Œ˜ÀÚ ‰¬À˘ Ú±

fl¡‡ÀÚ±, é¬ÀÌ é¬ÀÌ ˜Ú ’Ó¬œÓ¬ ŒÔÀfl¡ ¬ıÓ«¬˜±ÀÚ, ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú ŒÔÀfl¡ ’Ó¬œÀÓ¬ øfl¡—¬ı±

ˆ¬ø¬ı ∏…ÀÓ¬ ¬ı± ’Ó¬œÓ¬ ¬ıÓ«¬˜±Ú ˝◊√√Ó¬…±ø√ ø˜À˘ø˜À˙ ‰¬˘±ÀÙ¬¬ı˛± fl¡À¬ı˛, Ó¬±¬ı˛ ·øÓ¬›

øé¬õ∂ ‡≈¬ıº fi¬ÛÚ…±ø¸fl¡ ¤˝◊√√ ˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˜±Úø‰¬S ’±“fl¡ÀÓ¬ Œ‰¬©Ü± fl¡À¬ı˛Ú, Ù¬À˘ ¬ı±Ò…

˝√√À ˛ Ó“¬±Àfl¡ fl¡±˘Sï ˜±Ú≈ ±¬ı˛œ ¸˜˚˛ ˘„∏ƒ‚Ú fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ˝√√ ˛º........ ¸˜˚ ’Ú…ˆ¬±À¬ı

Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸¬ı ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛œøÓ¬ õ∂fl‘¡øÓ¬Àfl¡ õ∂ˆ¬±ø¬ıÓ¬ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛º ¸˜ ˛¸œ˜±¬ı˛

227

¸—Àfl¡±‰¬ÀÚ Î¬◊¬ÛÚ…±À¸ Ú±È¬fl¡œ˚ ˘é¬Ì Ù≈¬ÀÈ¬ ›ÀÍ¬, ’±¬ı˛ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¸Àe ‚È¬Ú±¬ı±U˘…

≈Mï √ ˝√√À˚˛ ’øÓ¬Ú±È¬fl¡œ ˛Ó¬± ¸‘ø©Ü ˝√√ÀÓ¬¬Û±À¬ı˛,............ºíí12

This can be applicable in respect of short story writing, too. ‘Time’

occupies a cardinal place in such form of narration in the short stories of

Narayan Gangopadhyay. The author enters into the ‘Real time’, in searching a

character and its development, with reason behind all these. There the facts

that takes place on the seeds of changes, brings naturalness in the

conclusion of the story. The root of ‘Present time’ belongs to the ‘Past’.

Nothing could happen in life without any cause and effect. The past casts a

shadow into the present and the present in turn ensures the future. In many

occasions the other person behind the apparent one of the past is being

understood in the present.

For example, in the story ‘Top’ we see a parcel containing a kind of

slippers, made of tiger-skin, comes to an innocent man. But eight months

before, he witnessed the cruelties by Rajabahadur. This story is written in a

flashback manner like the Cinema Art. Finer theatricalness is the epitome

method of it’s another forte. We get stunned at the act of this middle-class

gentleman in that border-state. In the story, ‘Shubhakshan’ too, we see the

repentance due to the deeds, is laid at the past time. Again, the past has

come to unveil the mystery of present. The story ‘Record’ has embarked upon

the tortured mass-singer, fallen into the hands of Hitlerian torture, which

brings up the dark history from the pages of the past. Just as the protest

against injustice cannot be abolished, so is an old ‘Record’, which is the

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witness of the past deed, found in a black-market in the present, which could

not be destroyed.

Through the discussion about the form and style of short stories by

Narayan Gangopadhyay, we can surmise that formal allegory and passionate

imagination is closely related; though it is a universal truth that the author’s

point of view is the ultimate one which signifies the form of a story. It is not

possible to reflect the full representation of life in the micro canvass of a short

story. He was conscious about that. That is why we can feel the whole ocean

in a drop of sea-water within the slice of life through his creation. But though

the space in a short story is limited as a drop of water, yet its implied meaning

is not limited. There lies deep flutter of life. One has to understand it through

intelligence and has to feel it by heart. About the style and form of Narayan

Gangopadhyay, a critic has said :

ëëø¬ı√* Œ˘‡fl¡ Ú±¬ı˛± ˛Ì ·Àe±¬Û±Ò…± ˛ øÂ√À˘Ú ’±øefl¡ ¸À‰¬Ó¬Úº ’±fl¡ø¶úfl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛

Ò±!¡± ˛ Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ·Àä¬ı˛ õ∂±¬ı˛y ¤¬ı— ˝√√Í¬±» ’±À˘±¬ı˛ Á¡˘fl¡±øÚ¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬ ’fl¡¶ú±» ¬ı˛ √√ …

Î¬◊Àij±‰¬ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˜Ò… ø√À ˛ Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ÌøÓ¬º ¸±•xøÓ¬fl¡ fl¡±À˘ ¤˝◊√√ ’±øefl¡ Œ‰¬Ó¬Ú±˚˛

ÚÓ≈¬ÚQ Œ√‡± ø√À˚ÀÂ√º Œ¸‡±ÀÚ fl¡±ø˝√√Úœ ŒÔÀfl¡ ˜ÚÚ õ∂±Ò±Ú… ˘±ˆ¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ÀÂ√,

‚È¬Ú± ŒÔÀfl¡ ø¬ıÀï - ∏Ìºíí13

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a deft artisan in the form of short-stories.

His opinion is clear, and strong, reading which one is to be surprised and

startled. No one can gainsay his power of writing. Human life is not a plain

and smooth sailing, which is related to crude realities. His purpose is to

actualize this truth in writing short-stories. That is why his form is very clear

229

and objective. Human emotion and thought has entailed formal shape from

this point of view. He is a writer of deep perception of human life and feelings.

He is a deft writer with the subject-matter and its formal application. But

studies speak that Narayan Gangopadhyay did not shun the conventional

form. Side by side, he has portrayed the hollowness and hopelessness of the

modern people in new forms of short story. Sometimes the form becomes

loose in a few short stories. For example, in the story ‘Top’ we see that the

form could be briefer, with the demand of the content of a perfect short story.

Because with the entitlement of the story, a reader could easily understand

that an ultimate consequence is waiting with the climax and stunt that is found

in peculiar hunting tale. That is why like a novel, the detailed description of

nature gives the readers impatience. Here is an example of digression. It

harms the suspense of the story as the author often goes from one topic to

another. But when the reader smells anxiety, then and then the beauty of

nature comes as an oasis to give him or her relief.

From the very beginning, we find psychological inertia in Narayan

Gangopadhyay’s short stories. Here, the form of the story takes place

according to the suitable tendency of psychology. In this way, we observe the

conventional routes and the newer one in his artifice of narration. Narayan

Gangopadhyay, in his short stories, has adopted both native and foreign

story-writing method. As a reader of European and French literature, he has

inscribed the dramatic surprise and psychological use in the middle and its

end. On the one hand the conventional mood and on the other hand western

230

style of narration both these have adorned his stories. That is why a critic

has said :

ëëŒ˚ Œfl¡±Ú ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…¬ı˛‰¬Ú± ˛ ’±øefl¡ ’Ó¬…ôL &ï Q¬Û”Ì«º ’±øefl¡ › ø¬ı ∏À ˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÒ…

¸•§g Œ√˝√√ › ˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ø˜˘Úº Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ ¤fl¡Ó¬±˝◊√√ ¸•Û”Ì«Ó¬±º Ú±¬ı˛±˚Ì

·Àe±¬Û±Ò…±À ˛¬ı˛ ¸±ø˝√√ÀÓ¬…¬ı˛ Œé¬ÀS ¤ fl¡Ô± ’±¬ı˛› ø¬ı˙√ˆ¬±À¬ı ¸Ó¬…º Ó“¬±¬ı˛ ’ÀÚfl¡

Œ˘‡±ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ Ù≈¬ÀÈ¬ Î¬◊ÀÍ¬ÀÂ√ fl¡ø¬ı ˜ÀÚ¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬ ˛, ˆ¬± ∏±¬ı˛ ¸≈Ñ fl¡±ï fl¡±˚«ºíí14

To compose the adequate diction of a short story, just as an

appropriate form is required, so is the language; which should be reasonable

and perfect. From the large extension of life and its intrusion is the main aim

of short story writing in brief. Due to the quality of briefness and moderation,

the literary diction can be observed in short stories. No such broad canvass of

the novel can be seen here. That is why it is said about the short story as :

‘‘Brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and

that usually deals with only a few characters. The short story is

usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a

few significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages

economy of setting and concise narrative; character is disclosed

in action and dramatic encounter but is seldom fully

developed."15

Elsewhere Jagadish Bhattacharya has said about the language of

Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories :

ëë ‡±¬ÛÀ‡±˘± Ó¬À˘±˚˛±À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜Ó¬ Á¡fl¡ƒÁ¡Àfl¡ ·ä¬ı˘±¬ı˛ ˆ¬± ∏±ºíí16

231

Short story gets immortality due to its magnetic power and there is

such an attractive power that mesmerizes the readers for one or any other

reason. One of its attractive powers is language. About language in the short

story, it is said that every word is perfectly selected. In both the cases of

dialogue and narration, it is applicable.

So, in regard of language it can be said that the language, with its flow

takes a reader from the initial fact to the ultimate one, like summer wind, and

then it seems to a reader that whatever else may be there, the language has

the performance of great feat that is a successful language in a short story.

Narayan Gangopadhyay too, does not embark upon any complex language to

communicate his thought to the reader. In any and every literature, language

takes the role of code or symbol. Who is accepting this is a reader and the

symbol is unfolding to him or her. A writer is a sender of symbol and the

reader is the acceptor of the symbol. The language of short story should be

sharp. Narayan Gangopadhyay did not want to make his language difficult by

the linguistic workmanship. Here he is spontaneous. On reading his short

stories, we get an emotional passion and sense of reality and this rasa has

been reflected in his application of language. This can be understood by

discussing his short stories.

‘Tirthayatra’ is another story of his written under the perspective of

famine. With the filled up river, in the month of Bhadra, Narottam went on by a

loaded boat full of women. People were dying in hunger, by famine in the war

-torn society. That is why the household-goddesses came to the city for

survival. Those maiden who did not die yet, has to light the lamp till today. But

232

it was not at the altar of basil plant, due to the black-out, but in the brothels of

mega-city. Here the language is not sharp with mockery and irony; rather it is

full of poetic motif with a saddened touch to some extent :

ëë¸g…±˙À∫¬ı˛ Œ˙ ∏ ¬Ûø¬ı˛ÌøÓ¬ ˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ ‚≈„≈√√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˙Às, ˝√√±¬ı˛À˜±øÚ ˛±À˜¬ı˛ Œ¬ıÓ¬±˘±

˜M√√Ó¬± ˛, ˜±Ó¬±À˘¬ı˛ Ê√øÎ¬ˇÓ¬ ø‰¬»fl¡±À¬ı˛º ≈ÀX¬ı˛ fl¡KC±"√√ ˚±À√¬ı˛ ¬ı˛±Ó¬±¬ı˛±øÓ¬ Œ·Ã¬ı˛œ

Œ¸ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˆ¬±G±¬ı˛ ‡≈À˘ ø√À ˛ÀÂ√, ’±Ê√ Œ¸±Ú±¬ı˛ ¬ı±—˘± Ó¬±À√¬ı˛ fl¡±ÀÂ√ õ∂øÓ¬Ù¬ø˘Ó¬

˝√√À ˛ÀÂ√ Œ¸±Ú±ø˘ ˜À√¬ı˛ ŒÙ¬øÚ˘ ¬Û±ÀS¬ı Œˆ¬Ó¬À¬ı˛ºíí17

The style of composition and the diction of dialect in this story are

wonderful. Here the author lashes to unveil the mocking element of this story.

In a duality meaning with full of pun, the language smoothly runs like a speed-

boat, to its desired destination. Here, the author has described the divested

period of forties, in the language full of insinuation. The characters of this

story have been well-delineated with powerful language, controlled and brief

diction, and a little linearity.

In the story ‘Bhanga Chashma’, too, Narayan Gangopadhyay’s prose

style with ornate language catches the reader’s attention. That did not make

the language rich only, but also made it lively. The title of this story is

suggestive too. Here the author catches our attention with these two

combined words as the decay of values. That ambition was the result of the

fall of the protagonist can be seen in consequences. That is why guilty

feelings arise in his heart. Looking to the headmaster it seems to him :

233

ëëŒ˚Ú ˜±Í¬ Ù“¬≈ÀÎ¬ˇ ˜±˝◊√√Ú¬ı˛ ¶≈®À˘¬ı˛ Œ¸˝◊√√ Œ˝√√Î¬˜±©Ü±¬ı˛ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¸±˜ÀÚ ¤À¸

“√±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ÀÂ√Úº ’¶Û©Ü ŒÊ√±»¶ß± ˛ ˆ¬±À˘± fl¡À¬ı˛ Œ‰¬Ú± ˚±˚˛ Ú±— qÒ≈ ˆ¬±„√√±

‰¬˙˜±¬ı˛ fl“¡±‰¬È¬± ;˘;˘ fl¡¬ı˛ÀÂ√ºíí18

The word ‘Sparkle’ (Jwaljwal) is denoting with an expression of his

ideal personality.

A few prose-styles have made the story lively. For example :

1. ëëŒõ∂˚¸œ¬ı˛ ’õ∂¸iß ≈‡ Œ√À‡ ¬ı±Ìõ∂ô¶ øÚÀÓ¬ ˝◊√√26√± fl¡À¬ı˛ºíí19

2. ëë ≈√øˆ¬«é¬ ’±¬ı˛ ˜…±À˘ø¬ı˛ ˛±ÊœÌ« ¢∂±˜ ’±˜±¬ı˛ ¬Û…±ÀKI◊¬ı˛ Sï œÊ√ ’±¬ı˛ ˝√√…±ÀÈ¬¬ı˛ fiXÓ¬…

Œ√À‡ ‰¬˜Àfl¡ ›ÀÍ¬ºíí20

3. ëëŒ√‡˘±˜ ˝√√+√À ˛¬ı˛ Œ‰¬±À‡ ’±&Úº..... ‘√ø©ÜÈ¬± ˜¬ı˛±-·ï À˘±ˆ¬œ ˙fl≈¡ÀÚ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± Ó¬œéÆ¬

’±¬ı˛ øÚ˘«7¡¡¡ºíí21

4. ëë˜…±À˘ø¬ı˛ ˛± ’±¬ı˛ ≈√øˆ¬«Àé¬ ˝√√Ó¬À˙ ∏ ˜±Ú≈ ∏ ˝◊“√√≈√À¬ı˛¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± ø‰¬“ø‰“¬ fl¡À¬ı˛ ›ÀÍ¬ºíí22

The inner amusement with full of pun of these quotations make us

understand clearly about the attitude of observation of the protagonist. Many

examples can be cited like these. Even sometimes the touch of poetic

language is included in the prose style. For example :

ëë˜±øÈ¬¬ı˛ Œ‡ ˛±À˘ ˜±Ô± Ó≈¬À˘ÀÂ√ ¤À˘±À˜À˘± fl¡Ó¬fl¡&À˘± øÏ¬ø¬ı–˝◊√√√√Ó¬ô¶Ó¬ ø¬ıfl¡œÌ«

¤fl¡¬ı˛±˙ øÂ√iß ≈ÀG¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬±º Ó¬±¬ı˛ ◊√√ ¤fl¡È¬±¬ı˛ ›¬ÛÀ¬ı˛ ï ˜±˘ Œ¬ÛÀÓ¬ ¬ıÀ¸ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ ±˜º

›¬Û±À¬ı˛ ¬ı±˘≈‰¬¬ı˛–Ù≈¬˘ Á¡À¬ı˛-˚±› ˛± ˜≈ ” ≈∏« fl¡±À˙¬ı˛ ¬ıÚº ¸±˜ÀÚ ‰“¬±√ ;˘ÀÂ√ºíí 23

All these have adorned the language of the story and have made this

subject-matter embellished with the implied meaning. It has become the key

to understand the characters under the perspective of contextual time.

234

Actually the diction is the original creation of the author. The author applies a

special form of language to deliver his thought. That is why a critic has said :

"A good author is a craftsman in words. He knows and exploits

the potentialities of language according to his purposes in a

story."24

Sometimes, in short stories, local dialects are also applied. Narayan

Gangopadhyay has made his characters alive with the local dialects in some

of his short stories. For example, the language of the boatman in the story,

‘Kalabadar’ was coloured with their local dialect, which has made the story

lively :

ëë › ˜±øÁ¡ ˆ¬±˝◊√√, Œfl¡¬ı˛± ˛± ˚±¬ı±∑

- ˚±˝◊√√À¬ıÚ fl¡˝◊√√∑

- Ê√±Î¬◊ ±/

-Ê√±Î¬◊˘±∑ Ê√±Î¬◊˘±¬ı˛ ˝√√±È¬∑

- ˝√√º

- fl¡Ú fl¡œ∑ ˝√√±¬ı˛± [¸±¬ı˛±] ¬ı˛±øM√√¬ı˛ ¬Û±øÎ¬ˇ Œ√›ÀÚ¬ı˛ fl¡±˜º

- fl¡ï ˜ øfl¡ fl¡›∑ ø¬ı ˛± ’±ÀÂ√, ˚±˝◊√√ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ’˝◊√√À¬ıº

- ˝√√ – ¬ı≈Á¡øÂ√ºíí25

A writer has to be careful that the ‘Rasa’ of the story should not be

hazy, by the excessive use of regional language, because, the writer who

uses a particular local dialect may not reach to the reader who may be

ignorant about that regional language. Here in case of Narayan

235

Gangopadhyay, we see, local dialect has made the concept of his story more

suitable.

Narayan Gangopadhyay is also deft in creating the woman-character

through ingenious language. No woman character is same among each other

created by him. In this context, we can see his skill of diction in the story,

‘Banatulsi’, included in the short story-collection, ‘Bhogabati’ :

ëëŒ‰¬±À‡ ¬ÛÎ¬ˇ fl¡±À˘± ¬Û±ÔÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ ∆Ó¬¬ı˛œ Œˆ¬Ú±¸, ¬Û”Ì«À˚Ã¬ıÚ± ¸“±›Ó¬±À˘¬ı˛ Œ˜À˚˛º

ø¬ıiß±¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ’±Î¬ˇ±À˘ øÚÊ«√Ú ‡±À˘¬ı˛ Ò±À¬ı˛ “√±øÎ¬ˇÀ ˛ ¸˚ÀP ·±S˜±Ê«√Ú± fl¡¬ı˛ÀÂ√º

‰¬±¬ı˛ø√Àfl¡¬ı˛ ¬Û‘øÔ¬ıœ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬±˝◊√√ øÚ–¸ÀÇ±‰¬ ¤¬ı— ¤fl¡±ôL øÚ¬ı˛±¬ı¬ı˛Ìº fl¡Úfl¡‰“¬±¬Û±

¬ı˛À„√√¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˛ÃÀ^ Î¬◊ƒ√√‚±øÈ¬Ó¬ ’¬Û”¬ı« Œ√˝√√¿ºíí26

In another occasion he has narrated the gracefulness of a woman in

the story, ‘Apaghat’, included in the short story-collection ‘Kalabadar’ as:

ëë¬ı˛±ÀÊ√f±Úœ¬ı˛ ˜ÀÓ¬± Œ√ √√¿º ¸¬ı≈Ê√ ¬ı˛À„√√¬ı˛ Œ¬ı˛ ˜œ øÙ¬ÀÓ¬ Ê√Î¬ˇ±ÀÚ± fl¡±À˘±

Œ¬ıÚœøÈ¬ ø¬ÛÀÍ¬¬ı˛ ¸œ˜±Ú± Â√±øÎ¬ˇÀ˚˛ ’ÀÚfl¡‡±øÚ øÚÀ‰¬ ŒÚÀ˜ ¤À¸ÀÂ√º fl¡¬Û±À˘

˜˚”¬ı˛fl¡Fœ ¬ı˛À„√√¬ı˛ øÈ¬¬Ûº ≈√ÀÒ ’±˘Ó¬± ˛ Œ˜˙±ÀÚ± ·±À ˛¬ı˛ ¬ı˛„√√— Œ˚ ˙±øÎ¬ˇ Œ˚

¬ıv±Î¬◊Ê√øÈ¬ ¬ÛÀ¬ı˛, Œ¸˝◊√√ÀÈ¬˝◊√√ Œ˚Ú ’æ”√Ó¬ˆ¬±À¬ı ˙¬ı˛œÀ¬ı˛¬ı˛ Â√Àµ¬ı˛ ¸Àe ø˜À˙ ˚± ˛ºíí27

Women from different section of life have occupied places in his short

stories. Santhal, Adibasi, lower middle-class, solvent middle-class almost

every woman in his writing are having grace and beauty.

Beside these, other elements are also important to create an ideal

short story. For instance, style of speech, emotion, truth of life, entitlement,

anxiety, co-existence between emotion and plot, concord in tune, impression

of truth, the attractive beginning and surprising end, dramatic suspense all

236

these elements make the binding of the short story an attractive one. A critic

has said about the style of speech in a story :

ëë¬ı…øMï √-ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ Œ˚‡±ÀÚ ¸fl¡À˘¬ı˛ ¸Àe ¤fl¡, Œ¸‡±ÀÚ Œ¸ ¬ı…øMï √Q˝√√œÚ , Œ˚‡±ÀÚ

Œ¸ ¸fl¡À˘¬ı˛ ’À¬Ûé¬± ’Ú…Ó¬¬ı˛, Œ¸‡±ÀÚ˝◊√√ Ó¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ¶§fl¡œ˚˛Ó¬±º ¬ı…¬ı˝√√±ø¬ı˛fl¡

Ê√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ¤fl¡±ôL ¶§fl¡œ ˛Ó¬± Œ˚˜Ú ¬ı…øMï √-¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬± ˛fl¡, ¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…-Ê√·ÀÓ¬›

ŒÓ¬˜Ú˝◊√√ Œ˘‡Àfl¡¬ı˛ ø¬ıø˙©Ü ¬ı˛‰¬Ú±ˆ¬øe Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ˜±Ú¸-¬ı…øMï √ÀQ¬ı˛ ¬Ûø¬ı˛‰¬± ˛fl¡º ’Ô«±»

≈√˝◊√√È¬œ Ê√·ÀÓ¬˝◊√√ ˜±Ú≈À ∏¬ı˛ ¤fl¡øÈ¬ ø¬ıÀ˙ ∏ ©Ü±˝◊√√˘ ’±ÀÂ√º …….¸±ø˝√√Ó¬…Ê√·ÀÓ¬¬

¬ı˛‰¬Ú±¬ı˛ ¤˝◊√√ ø¬ıø˙©ÜÓ¬±Àfl¡ ’±˜¬ı˛± ©Ü±˝◊√√˘ ¬ı± ¬ı±Ìœˆ¬øe ¬ıø˘º ˚±˝√√±¬ı˛ ©Ü±˝◊√√˘ Ú±˝◊√√

øÓ¬øÚ qX ø˘ø‡ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú, ¸˝√√Ê√ ø˘ø‡ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú, øfl¡c Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ¬ı…øMï √Q ¡Z±¬ı±

’±˜±ø√·Àfl¡ ’øˆ¬ˆ¬”Ó¬ fl¡ø¬ı˛ÀÓ¬ ¬Û±À¬ı˛Ú Ú±ºíí 28

The scintillating excellent creation of short story is built- up causing

properly reconciliation of its every element and ingredients. The subtotal

feelings out of it, is the consequence of the ‘Rasa’ of that creation. Here lies a

deep feeling of happiness and a kind of appreciativeness.

The adjustment between form and subject matter, the artistic works by

language, a realism and unrevealed romanticism have made his short stories

ever new and the appeal of such stories has become permanent and

perpetual. In this context a critic’s comment about Narayan Gangopadhyay,

can be remembered :

¬ëëÊ√œ¬ıÀÚ¬ı˛ ¬ıø˝√√¬ı˛e˜” fl¡ ¬ÛÈ¬ˆ¬”ø˜fl¡± ¬ı˛‰¬Ú± ˛ › ˝◊√√˝√√±¬ı˛ ¸±˜ø˚fl¡ ø¬ıÀé¬±Àˆ¬

’±À˘±øÎ¬ˇÓ¬ ·øÓ¬À¬ı·À√…±Ó¬Ú±˚ øÓ¬øÚ Œ˚ fl‘¡øÓ¬Q Œ√‡±˝◊√√˚±ÀÂ√Ú Ó¬±˝√√± ¸Ó¬…˝◊√√

õ∂˙—¸Úœ ˛º Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ¬ıÌ«Ú±˚˛ ø¬ı≈√…» Á¡˘ø¸˚± Î¬◊ÀÍ¬, Ó¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ˝◊√√øÓ¬˝√√±¸À¬ı±Ò Ê√œ¬ıôL

› ;˘ôL, Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛ ¬’±À¬ı· õ∂fl¡±À˙¬ı˛ ¬ˆ¬± ∏± ¸±ÀÇøÓ¬fl¡Ó¬±¬ı˛ ¬¬ı˛ √√À¸… ˆ¬±¶§¬ı˛, Ó“¬±˝√√±¬ı˛

237

¬ı˛±ÊÕÚøÓ¬fl¡ Œ‰¬Ó¬Ú± ¸” «fl¡¬ı˛√œ5 ø√˝√√˜±‰¬˘-˙‘Àe¬ı˛ Ú…±˚ Î¬◊8˘ ›

Î¬◊X«À˘±fl¡‰¬±¬ı˛œºíí 29

Bengali short stories that make us proud, owes much to Narayan

Gangopadhyay, it is inevitably to be acknowledged.

238


1. M.H. Abrams and Geoffrey Galt Harpham : A glossary of Literary

Terms, p.-140.

2. Alok Roy : “Galper Sandhane Galpakar”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al.


Janu.-April Issue,1992, Baimela, p.-8.

3. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Sahitye Chotogalpa, pp.-202-203.


5. William Henry Hudson : An Introduction to the Study of Literature,

p.-11.

6. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Sahitye Chotogalpa, p.-221.


8. Narayan Gangopadhyay : Sahitye Chotogalpa, p.-203.

9. Sripantha : Day, p.-13.

10. Ujjalkumar Mazumdar : Introduction, Galpasamagra by Narayan

Gangopadhyay, p.-12.

11. Ibid, p.-211.

12. Alok Roy (ed.) : Sahityakosh : Kathasahitya, p.-37.

13. Sarojmohan Mitra : Banglay Galpa O Chotogalpa, p.-285.

14. Sudeshna Chakraborty : “Samayer Britta: Narayan Gangopadhyayer

‘Uponibesh’ ”, in Tapas Bhowmik, et al. (ed.), Korak Sahitya Patrika,

Narayan Gangopadhyay Sankhya, Janu.-April Issue,1992, Baimela,

p.-98.

239

15. The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol.-10, Micropaedia, Ready

Reference, p.-761.



18. Ibid, p.-918.

19. Ibid, p.913.

20. Ibid, p.-914.

21. Ibid, p.-916.

22. Ibid, p.-915.

23. Ibid, p.-918.

24. Dietrich, R.F. & Sundell, H. Roger : The Art of Fiction, p.-185.


26. Ibid, p.-359.

27. Ibid, p.-700.

28. Shrishchandra Das : Sahityasandarshan, p.-208.

29. Srikumar Bandyopadhyay: Bangasahitye Upanyaser Dhara,

p.-634.

240

CONCLUSION

If we arrive towards a conclusion, with Narayan Gangopadhyay and his

short stories, we can resolve that Narayan Gangopadhyay is a writer with

human concern, a successful creator, and a short story writer with linguistic

efficiency. The theories of short stories are at his finger-tips. The other

branches of Bengali literature may not belong to the same genus of world

literature, yet the short stories have got that glory, this branch of Bengali

literature has been welcomed by the readers all over the world, and this has

happened by the renowned short story writers like Narayan Gangopadhyay. If

we study his short stories, we see that he has created a perspective, with a

fine touch about the man and their lives. Variety of human life and their

psyche has found spaces in his writings. In fact he is a time-conscious writer.

He has been a compassionate writer, who has given a sympathetic touch to

the deteriorating human and humanity; that found spaces in his

consciousness with the spirit of that age. As if that age becomes vivid in front

of the reader. His literature is a protest against injustice, and irreligion, which

is expected from a noble human-writer like him. We have discussed over

these issues at length.

Narayan Gangopadhyay is a successful short story writer. He has

captured the multi-dimensional issues with contemporaneous cotext. We have

seen that the life and vision of his life has been reiterated in his literature,

especially in his short stories. It is true about every mature litterateur that

whatever he or she has experienced in past life that nourishes their flow of

241

creation in future. Their experience is unlocked in his matured life, which has

been grown out of his own past life.

His childhood has been spent in North and East Bengal. There he has

been initiated with the knolls and dells, the country side, rivers, forests and

other geological perspectives, that have been depicted in his own writings. As

his childhood has been spent under the freedom movement, so was his

patriotic fervour. Many short-stories were written with the issues of

philanthropy and love to humanity. He was in favour of humanity.

We have tried to discuss over Narayan Gangopadhyay’s affinity with

his contemporary writers and his exclusiveness. Narayan Gangopadhyay has

both similarities and his originality from those writers. All of them were original

on their own. All of them emerged in the 40’s. Their development as writers

took place at that same time. That is why we have tried to find out their point

of views upon their respective time, and how they have expressed their

feelings through their creations.

The main theme of discussion about the short stories of Narayan

Gangopadhyay is a scrutiny to the respective subject-matter. He has written

upon several myriad subjects, we have selected a few of them keeping in

view of the prime subjects. Same content and form has been reiterated in

different short stories, again more than one subject has entered in a single

short story as a leit-motif. We have discussed over the issues, retaining in his

works that have reflected.

242

Proficient short story writer, Narayan Gangopadhyay, has

experimented on the form and style of short stories in his own writings. In the

context of form many of his short stories have touched a new horizon in

Bengali literature. The form and style of his short stories is variegated. We

know that he has written a book on the form and theories of short stories. It is

no wonder that a professor of Bengali literature will be aware of the inns and

outs of literature, but it is surprising when we see him both, as a good short

story writer and as a theoretician. Two fusions are being worked in creating a

short story— one is the author’s own life, world and a feeling for humanity, it is

his philosophy of life. Secondly, the elements, which he collects from his life

according to his own tendency and that helps to shape as an Art of literature

by his philosophy of life. In almost every short story by Narayan

Gangopadhyay, we see this fusion.

In Narayan Gangopadhyay’s short stories, we see that facts,

characters, realities have been tinged with romantic imagination. In a few

short stories written by him, we also observe exaggerated pictures of

ruthlessness. His poetic mind too, has been expressed in course of his

writings. Though he has experienced wretched decay of human values, yet

his mind was a stable one to experience positive values in course of his

writings.

Finally, we find that Narayan Gangopadhyay has observed the realities

of his time with a conscious eye. His short stories have been expressed as a

tone of time and social consciousness. Twin aspects of cleverness and talent

243

have come to meet the point, which speaks of truth that he has culled from

realities in a more modern ethos of life at stake, in his own writings.

He is a rare talent amongst his contemporaneous writers. He has

travelled on a different route, especially, in the field of his short stories. He

has never limited his scope and ways while most of his contemporaneities

have been busy in delineating the ill-fated middle-class society; he has

enlarged his vision and mind to far off. It seems that Narayan Gangopadhyay

is the only one craftsman, who has tried to understand his country and his

compatriots not in a fragmented way, but in totality. He has tried to divulge the

problems of human being not from any particular region, but about the whole

mankind. Narayan Gangopadhyay will do remain immortal in his creativities.

His stories are universal, with elements from his contextual times in golden

letters. Through the analysis of his short stories, such words of truth manifest

itself repeatedly.

244

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