Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
M, 1416
Dear Editor,
Hindol comes across with a freshness, as a little magazine packing
in big dreams. It is by no means an easy job to indulge in literary
pursuits in todays fast changing world, and it is even more difficult
to involve a steady readership into this process. As a reader I wish
you all success.
The cover design, including the back cover is aesthetically
appealing, the sketches and line drawings in the midst of text enhances
the look. The quote from poet Satyendranath Duttas Hindol Bilas,
from where presumably comes the name of this publication, just shows
how much thought has gone into the process of bringing out this
magazine and is no flash in the pan, one hopes.
Yet, there is no denying the fact that Hindol has to overcome many
roadblocks. Literary language has to evolve continuously. But Bengali
writers living outside Bengal still cling to the old tradition of a
bookish style. Hindol faces a conflict between this pure written words
which is Poshaki (heavily adorned) language and the atpoure(of
day to day life) language of verbal use. It has to choose its own niche
to address a wide readership. Holding writers workshops may help
in this direction.
The current issue is full of promises though. Jayanti
Chattopadhayas Nabinar Simana is an interesting piece. It also shows
that Tagore is never out of fashion. I wish the write up on popular
Bengali author Sunil Gangopadhyay had been a bit more in-depth
study. Incidentally, one of the attractions of Sunil Gangopadhyays
work is his flowing writing style that has taken Bengali language of
daily conversation to an artistic height.
Reading is fun, whether in Bengali or in English and language
should not be a barrier, it should just communicate. Hindols attempt
to do this by being bi-lingual is laudable. Let us all hope it is able to
turn reading fashionable in its own way.
Sumita Sengupta
Kailash Colony
M, 1416
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6-7
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76-81
82
83-88
Contents
Debabrata Ghosh
Poetry
6-7
Debasish Bagchi
Essay
8-19
Jayanti Chattopadhyay
Essay
20-31
Malabika Majumdar
Essay
32-36
Mimi Radhakrishnan
Story
37-50
Chittaranjan Pakrashi
Essay
51-54
Maitrayee Sem
Essay
55-61
Gopa Dey
Essay
62-69
Manoj Joshi
Going Places
73-75
Monojit Lahiri
Creative Spaces
76-81
Kritika Kirty
Poetry
Gaiutam Das
Going Places
M, 1416
82
83-88
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'To ask you, Swami, for your credentials is like asking the sun about
its right to shine'.
58
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11 I 10 Z Art Institute
of Chicago- , ,
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- , ...amongst them all it was the young man who
represented nothing - and everything, the man belonging to no sect,
but rather to India as a whole, who drew the glance of the assembled
thousands... by his fascinating face, his noble stature and the gorgeous
apparel.'
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of America...
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59
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15 I, Z 'Why we disagree' q
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I will tell you a little story. You have heard the eloquent speaker, who
has just finished, say, Let us cease from abusing each other, and he
was very sorry that there should be always some variance.
But I think I should tell you a story which would illustrate the cause
of this variance. A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long
time. It was born there and brought up there and yet it was a little
frog. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well,
one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.
Where are you from?
I am from the sea.
The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well? and he took a leap
from one side of the well to the other.
My friend, said the frog of the sea, how do you compare the sea
with your little well?
Then the frog took another leap and asked, Is your sea so big?
What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!
Well, then, said the frog of the well, nothing can be bigger than
my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so
turn him out.
That has been the difficulty all the while.
I am a Hindu. I am sitting in my own little well and thinking that the
whole world is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and
thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little
well and thinks that is the whole world. I have to thank you of America
for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of
this little world of ours, and hope that in the future, the lord will help
you to accomplish your purpose.
? :
S X
M, 1416
he began to speak it was of the religious ideas of the Hindus but when
he ended, Hinduism had been created.'
19 I
'Paper on Hinduism' - g , ... 'When
60
,
..if there is ever to be a universal religion, it must be one which
will have no location in place or time; which will be infinite like the
God it will preach, and whose sun will shine upon the followers of
Krishna and of Christ, on saints and sinners alike; which will not be
Brahminic or Buddhistic, Christian or Mohammedan, but the sum
total of all these, and still have infinite space for development, which
in its catholicity will embrace in infinite arms, and find a place for,
every human being
1012 R
g -
The crying need in the East is not religion they have religion enough
but it is bread that the suffering millions of burning India cry out
for, with parched throats. They ask us for bread, but we give them
stones. It is an insult to a starving people to offer them religion; it is
an insult to a starving man to teach him metaphysics.
Much has been said on the common ground of religious unity.
But if anyone here hopes that this unity will come by the triumph of
any one of the religions and the destruction of the others, to him I say,
Brother, yours is an impossible hope. Do I wish that the Christian
would become Hindu? God forbid. Do I wish that the Hindu or
Buddhist would become Christian? God forbid.
The seed is put in the ground, and earth and air and water are placed
around it. Does the seed become the earth; or the air or the water?
No. It becomes a plant, it develops after the law of its own growth,
assimilates the air, the earth, and the water, converts them into plant
substance, and grows into a plant.
Similar is the case with religion. The Christian is not to become a
Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian.
But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his
individuality and grow according to his own law of growth.
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61
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70
SUMITA SENGUPTA
&
SUJIT SENGUPTA
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71
SNIGDHA DUTTA
&
DILIP KISHORE DUTTA
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72
CHANDRIMA CHAKRAVERTY
&
ANIRUDDHA CHAKRAVERTY
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73
Manoj Joshi
Kailash Colony
New Delhi
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Going Places
Jeonju, Japchae
and Kimchi
74
Going Places
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Our e-mail :
ohetuk.sabha@gmail.com
ohetuk.adda@gmail.com
Going Places
76
Creative Spaces
Has Consumerism
Overtaken Creativity
in NewAge Kolkata?
a MONOJIT LAHIRI
interaction
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Creative Spaces
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Creative Spaces
Chowringhee Lane, Mr. & Mrs. Iyer, 15 Park Avenue and the soonto-be released The Japanese Wife] mouth. Lets face it. We live in a
totally media-driven era. Having worked closely with both a
Publication house and a TV channel, I can tell you that media is in
constant need of fodder to survive and therefore does something which
would have been considered both shocking and vulgar in an earlier
era manufacture its own band of celebrities! The result is nonentities and talented people are often thrown together in the same space
sending out highly confusing signals but who cares? The respect
for an artists endeavour is not the reason for his/her being a celebrity.
The ability to successfully fill TV space or splash out in the colour
supplement of a popular mainline publication is. This has led to a
frightening celebration of mediocrity. Sen however concedes that
there is a positive flip side. Earlier, the Creative person, while being
hugely admired and respected was hardly paid a pittance for his work
and had to struggle to make two ends meet. Today thanks to the
twinforces of media and consumerism he is comfortable.
Respected Editor, Publisher, Film & Theatre Critic Samik
Bandopadhaya provides his very own, evolved take. The media
for its own vested interest continues to create, project and glamourise
a particular consitutency, which, it believes, are the people who matter.
They are the stars; they are the celebrities. But while there will always
be the tabloid-hooked, sensation-seeking crowd, there continues to be
an entire and vast minority who disagree. Incidentally, these people
are not all Kolkata-based but spread across West Bengal, in small
towns, schools, colleges and universities. At the Kolkata Book Fair
and World Book Day, the sheer number of Little Magazines that hire
stalls and sell their stuff what does that denote? Every single day of
the year in Kolkata, there is a well-attended cultural event in terms of
a performance, screening, talk, panel-discussion, whatever .. what does
it signify? Hence, it is not the popular perception, but only the
perception aggressively projected by the media that is being consumed
by a section of the people, that we are talking about.
Media & PR Consultant Rita Bhimani vehemently asserts that
the creative spirit is scorching the public space of the city and lighting
up the marquee as never before. Lets put things in perspective. Page
3 has a life of its own and the glamour quotient that comes with that
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Creative Spaces
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of creativity and arts, in their own way. That has changed. Ghosh
believes technology is the biggest cause. Today, people with zero
sense or knowledge of design believe they are perfectly capable of
producing a poster. All they need to do is go to Photoshop, scan a
few fonts and pictures, play around with colours and hey, the poster
is ready! Earlier, explains the maker of Chokher Bali and Khela,
personalised skills were respected. Today, thanks to software, it is in
the public space and within easy access of one and all. He also points
to consumerism as a major factor in this tilting of the scene. When
commodities are transformed and glamourised to brands, suddenly a
status factor comes into play. I dont want any biscuit I want
Britannia. I dont want any shoe it has to be Nike or Reebok. I dont
want to eat at any old place it has to be Sonar Bangla, Taj Bengal
or Oberoi By the same token [whether I understand its nuances or
not] I must have a Bikash Bhattacharjee, Hussain, Souza, Raza or
Anjali Menon painting on my wall. It is not only important to look
and admire a Jamini Roy, but to possess it. Unadulterated appreciation
of beauty is considered old-fashioned. The Sponsors and Galleries keep
saying that this is their way of popularising art, but the point is to
whom? He also attributes it to the craze of instant-stardom that
envelops todays young generation. The earlier idea of the gurushishya parampara, spending hours and years learning and polishing
your craft and skills before even daring to perform before the public
is a joke. All you need to be a star is a good physique, cut-away vest
and a tattoo! I get a zillion CDs every week from kids wanting to
hit the Reality Shows or movies. Earlier, the fact that you were trained
at Santiniketan or Dakshini was enough today it is the
disproportionate stardom, assigned to a mediocre talent that has
trivialised creativity
Whats your response, valued reader?
81
Creative Spaces
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Yesterday
A crisp shirt and a natty blue tie
There are no rules I care to defy
I feel I am living my life in grey
Every now and then ....
The garage practices and the rock band
The words of angst and the fiery songs
Have blurred into half forgotten facts
And half remembered fiction.
Yet the music haunts me,
Every now and then ...
In a crowded room faking a smile
I sometimes pause for a while
And think of you.
And as my heart calls out your name
I yearn for all that I cannot reclaim
Every now and then ...
Kritika Kirty
Dwarka, New Delhi
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Gautam Das
Greater Kailash I
New Delhi
Welcome to Pakistan!
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My wife was not in town. I was home alone, and leaving alone.
For Pakistan. My wife, who was then living in Bombay, was not
amused. Leaving for Pakistan in the first week of December 2008,
soon after the 26 th November terrorist attack on Bombay was
worrisome. I was living in Delhi, which further complicated matters.
I wont be able to look after Rani [our dog, living with me in Delhi]
in case you get thrown into jail, and I wont be able to run around
and try to get you released either, she warned on the telephone. I
assured her I would do my utmost to avoid giving offense of any kind
and landing myself in a Pakistani jail.
Buying gifts for people included bottles of after-shave lotion (what
does one buy for men who by and large have everything they need?)
The security staff would have none of it. You cannot take liquids more
than 100 ml on a flight. But these are sealed bottles of after-shave
lotion in their original packings; you can open them and check if you
want, I said. A grudging All right; if PIA (Pakistan International
Airlines) allows it: but we will have to record them, and then hand
them over to PIA. and I was on my way.
Entering the PIA Boeing 737-300 all passengers were being
received at the entrance by two young Pakistani air-hostesses wearing
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Welcome to Pakistan!
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Welcome to Pakistan!
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Going Places
Welcome to Pakistan!
attend his sons marriage, provided he did not mind my staying with
my didi in nearby Islamabad. It was a done deal; the visa materialized
easily, thanks to a phone call from someone in Islamabad to the
Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi. I declared my past military
service, as the visa application form demanded, and duly received a
visa, naming the places of my visit, ie, Lahore, Islamabad, and
Rawalpindi, boldly rubber-stamped Not Valid for Cantt. Area.
And then along came the Bombay jihadi terrorist attack on 26th
November. Slowly-mounting tension as the evidence began to point
towards Pakistan as the place of origin of the attackers. Should I go
or not? An e-mail to Brig. Zahid about the conditions there and any
possible problems for Indian travellers elicited the brief reply that
everything was all right, and that things on the ground were not as it
might seem from the media coverage. Everyone said Dont go; its
too dangerous. Phone call to Brig Zahid: he was understanding but
sounded as if he was being let down by unnecessary cowardice on
my part. A hint that the so-called possible danger was unreal, and
that not taking his recommendation to go would be unsoldierly on
my part. I decided I had to go. The die was cast. And now here I was
in a PIA plane, about to land at Lahore, the cultural capital of the
Punjab, the fabled city now in Pakistan, with which it seemed about
half of Delhis louder citizenry claimed affinity.
Lahores international airport, much like any other in terms of
layout; distinctly smaller than Delhis, felt like one in of our mid-size
cities in terms of size. I toddled along to join the queue at the
Immigration counter for arriving foreigners, drinking in my
surroundings, looking unconsciously for cultural differences, I
suppose. Not too long a queue at the counter, since it was now obvious
that most of the passengers had been returning Pakistanis, who were
quickly surrounding the baggage carousel slightly further beyond.
There were two Immigration counters, each manned by, if that is the
right word, a smartly-turned-out young lady Immigration Officer in a
mazri [blue-gray material, also known as militia] police-type salwarkameez uniform, with the black uniform dupatta covering her head,
the way Punjabi ladies of our mothers generation wore the dupatta
outside the home. On her shoulder straps she wore the two stars of
an Inspector of Police. I found myself last at the operating Immigration
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Going Places
counter, behind two small family groups. The first was of a smart
young lady with two small children and an intriguing mixture of
passports: Indian (hers, or so it seemed), Pakistani (her childrens) and
Nepali (the servants). English-and-Hindustani instructions to the
restless kids of the No beta; dont do that. Yahan waise nahin kartekind. Very much the smarter set-type from Delhi or Chandigarh. Indian
wife of Pakistani diplomat? The kids were restless because there
seemed to be some sort of a hold-up at the counter. I had taken it to
be the multiplicity of nationalities confusing either the officer or the
computer. But no; it seemed that after the last person I saw leaving
the counter, the computer had hung. We waited. The kids grew more
restless.
A man in PIA uniform approached the queue, now just a knot of
people in front of the counter. Which of you is Gautam Das? I owned
up. The man looked greatly relieved. Your package is at the PIA office
near the exit. We were worried that you may have left without it.
The after-shave lotion bomb threat having passed when he saw me,
he informed me that he would give it to me as I came past.
I exchanged pleasantries in Hindustani with the uniformed young
lady at our counter, the uniform and smart turn-out being a pleasant
change from the shabbily and heterogeneously dressed functionaries
at the Immigration counters at Delhis Indira Gandhi International. The
computer came back to life, and the increasingly-harassed young
mother, during whose processing the computer had hung, finally left.
The second group was a twosome of a middle-aged evidently Bengali
mullah with a Bangladeshi passport accompanied by a boy in his teens,
the ward also with a Bangladeshi passport. A huge communication
problem was delaying progress even though now the computer was
willing. The Immigration Officer could not understand his rudimentary
English, delivered in a broad Bangaal accent, and he could not follow
her chaste Urdu-Hindustani. The mullah, who was dressed in what is
now seemingly de riguer for the Bongo-mullah fraternity (Ive seen
this in my last two trips to Bangladesh in the period 2000-2005; it
wasnt there in December 1971-January 1972 when I was there prior
to these last trips) in a sort of Bongo-Arabic-Islamic style which has
loud colours, predominantly bottle-green and purple, in shiny materials
with a waistcoat and semi-Pathanic kulla-and-puggree headgear, was
87
Welcome to Pakistan!
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Welcome to Pakistan!
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