Hatred against Bengalis--a common phenomenon...!!! Another lesson for the sleeping Bengalis...!!!

The Telegraph Calcutta, India Thursday, January 6, 2011 OUR CORRESPONDENT

Santiniketan, Jan. 5: A group of Visva-Bharati students returning from a study trip to Nainital were allegedly beaten up and the girls in the team harassed on a train while it was passing through Bihar last night. The group, consisting 69 postgraduate students of ancient history, were returning from the week-long trip to the Uttarakhand hill station on the Bagh Express. They had taken the train from Kathgodam, near Nainital, on Monday afternoon. “When the train reached Bihar’s Barauni station at 10.30 last night, around 30 youths forcibly entered our reserved compartment and ordered us to make room for them,” said Saurav Mondal, a second-year MA student who was part of the Visva-Bharati team. “Some of the youths pushed us and sat on our seats. They also started teasing the girls in our group,” Mondal said. He said the youths refused to listen when they were told it was a reserved compartment. “When we tried to stop them from teasing the girls, the youths slapped and punched us,” Mondal added. He said another group of around 12 youths entered the compartment after the train reached the next station, Chouri Choura. “Some of them were armed with bhojalis. I suspect the first group of hooligans had called them up when we started protesting,” Mondal said. The student said the second group was “more aggressive” than the first. “They flung our luggage onto the platform,” Mondal said. “However, the youths got off after the train started pulling out of Chouri Choura station.” Some of the other students, who requested anonymity, alleged the ticket examiner and the railway protection force (RPF) jawan on the train refused to help. “Both the RPF jawan and the ticket examiner said they could do nothing. They even asked us to refrain from pulling the chain when the ruffians were throwing out our luggage,” a student said. The students got off at Burdwan around 9.50am and took another train to Bolpur. They submitted a written complaint to the station manager after the train reached Bolpur at 12.30pm. “We had contacted the Chhatra Parishad leaders of our varsity. They had told us to file a complaint once we reached Bolpur,” a student said. The complaint has been addressed to the divisional railway manager of Howrah. “I have forwarded the complaint to my seniors,” said Mihir Ranjan Sarkar, the Bolpur station manager. Ananda Sahur, one of the teachers who escorted the students on their trip, was not available for comment. Sahur is the head of Visva-Bharati’s ancient history department. The assaulted students, however, could not inform varsity authorities about the incident as Visva-Bharati remains closed on Wednesdays. Varsity spokesperson Amitabha Choudhury said: “I have come to know that something had happened to some of our students on a train. But no one has informed us officially yet.”

LOVELIEST OF TREES--by A. E. Housman.

                     A. E. Housman, 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.


                                           Textual Analysis

1. The theme of the poem.
   

Through the poem ‘Loveliest of Trees’, Houseman tried to underline the brevity of life against the vastness of earth and the limitless beauty that abounds in it. A time that is gone is gone forever and the time that is to come is a mere presumption. Thus, the poet wants to experience the beauty around in whatever form he happens to find. To him lifeless winter is as beautiful as lively spring.

2. ‘...wearing white...’ what does it suggest? Why is the tree wearing white according to the poet? What does the ‘white’ symbolise?

‘Wearing white’ suggests that the tree is laden with white flower.

According to the poet the tree is wearing white as if it were celebrating Eastertide along with others to mark the resurrection of Christ.

The season being spring that is preceded by a grey winter, the ‘white’ symbolises purity of creation and triumph of life over death. 

3. Which season does the poet talk about?

Though there are two seasons that find mention in the poem i.e. spring and winter, the poet is emphatic about spring. The two clues are:

a)      Wearing white for Eastertide ( Eastertide is celebrated in spring)

b)      Fifty springs are little room.

            Winter as the symbol of old age and death finds an implicit mention in the poem—

a)      ...to see the cherry hung with snow.

4. How old was the poet when he wrote the poem? State the lines from the poem.

When Houseman wrote this poem he was about past twenty. The lines—

‘...Now, of my threescore years and ten

    Twenty will not come again...’ suggest this assumption.

5. ‘And take from my seventy spring a score

It leaves me only fifty more...’ why does the poet say so?

Being a profound scholar, Houseman has alluded to the Bible which says that a man is supposed to live only seventy years. This actually means that one’s life is worthy living till one is seventy. To the poet this little span of seventy years is too brief a moment to relish the beauty that abounds the earth.

In a nutshell, the poet here laments the brevity of life against overwhelming beauty of nature.

6. Has the poet expressed any desire? What and Why?

Life being too short a time, the poet wants to live through all beautiful things that surround him. Having seen the beauty of the cherry tree in spring, he longs to see it again in winter.

 ‘About the woodlands I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow...’

The poet so desired because to him winter is as beautiful as spring.

7. What mood does the poet express?

Lamenting about the brevity of life against enormous stretch of beauty on earth, the poet expresses a poignant and melancholy mood.

Please feel free to write should you need any further help related to this Poem.

 

Why must Bengalis awake...???

(part-1)

Bengalis or the true sons and daughters of Bengal must awake for its own sake. Given its progressive and cosmopolitan outlook largely because of its historical significance for being the driving force of Bengal Renaissance, the Bengali speaking people culturally inherits a questing mind with a romantic view of life and things about themselves.

This romanticism influences much of its ethos that took in its purview an entire precinct of socio-economic and cultural spectrum including religion.

Its emergence in the historical backdrop of pre and post independence India rests largely because of this questing mind and dissident note, which even questioned and refashioned and in some cases revolutionised many pre-conceived thoughts and practices deemed otherwise irreprehensible.

Needless to say a majority of great thinkers, authors, musicians, artists, academics and statesmen etc were born of its soil, and which were later to become the yardstick of anything that implied India.

This precocious development of the Bengali race against a vast humanity that was still much in its natal stage over the entire eastern and northern plains of India had ripples sent across that were both discordant and enlightening at the same time; and the after-effect which has lived up to this day.

The awakening of Bengali mind apart from all other nuances created two distinct contradictory forces in the common psyche, especially among the Hindi speaking people. It was the acknowledgement of this enduring Yardstick at one end and hostility stemming from their racial incapacity on the other. In fact the rest of India barring the South nurtures this antagonism that is deeply rooted in history. It is an overview of a general mindset that has been fuelled by vested interests to further their cause of unrestrained hegemony subservient to the imperialists.

Historically Bengal’s re-awakening dug up two great pitfalls for its people:

1.      A generous, highly accommodating and justice loving cosmopolitan attitude.

2.      A sense of narcissism with its glory and new found identity over the years.

 Both these aspects in one way or the other have shaped its path through numerous social upheavals and violent backlash, which muddled its political uprightness and reduced its masses to petty partisan politics full of gore and futile promises san the intellectual fervour that was once fundamental to its very spirit.

Again on the other hand these two aspects left the people blind to issues that were more prominent and vital from the point of survival as a race and its destiny. It filed them with an intoxication of self-indulgence that superciliously ignored the writings on the wall and subsequently failed to address the growing needs of the time, issues like cultural and economic insulation against outsiders too eager to reap on its riches.

The flawed notion of India.

Irrespective of the many good it might have appealed to the rest of India including Bengal, the flawed notion of being an Indian has much to do in the destruction of Assam and Bengal.

Hindi speaking people who have no history of its own in the ilk of Bengal and southern India began to see these places as Promised Land. With south being insulated much on account of its language, Bengal and Assam fell easy prey to their aggressive onslaught.

In the absence of formidable resistance, Assam much in common with Bengal due to geographical and linguistic proximity suffered the brunt of these people seeking greener pasture. When the Assamese finally realised, the damage had already been done and it was done beyond repair.

Consequently the ethnic population sensing danger of losing land to the outsiders went ahead with the demand of separate statehood and Assam underwent two partitions—one is Mizoram and the other is Tripura.

What was left behind was much of a no man’s land with Assamese compelled to share with others at equal footing fuelling mass scale anguish that eventually gave rise to ULFA.

Though gaining popularity riding on the people’s dissent in its initial stage, ULFA ultimately lost ground to centre’s high handed tactics and its own incapacity. Furthermore terror as a means to political end was bound to end in a fizzle.

With ULFA neutralised, the future of Assamese people remains as elusive as ever with outsiders grabbing their land and opportunities and all set to outbreed them to a minority.

(End of part-1)

The Wicked design Behind Gorkhaland...!!!

A Clarion Call to every single Self Respecting Bengali to stand up to RESIST further partition of West Bengal. Rise up and Join hands to quell all conspiratorial policies against Bengalis by myopic Politicians and rapacious Outsiders...!!!

Join the  Akhanda Bangla Anushilon Samiti and salvage the fading glory of Bengal, our beloved Motherland...!!!

Remember, the idea behind the creation of Gorkhaland is not something of extending support in favour of Self Determination to the Gurkha people with a view to providing better life and opportunities but another conspiratorial plank to muffle the voice of Bengali people; A voice which is known all over the world for its progressive and revolutionary outlook. A voice that is synonymous and imperative with the right to Political Dissent, vital for any functioning Democracy.
The Idea is to cut Bengal to size, prune it into submission, culturally bombard its children away from its ethos, dilute its Spirituous dissident voice.

Unite Against any move to appease the Gurkhas.
Demolish all institutional construct symbolic of Gorkhaland.
Stage Vocal Protest against further partition of Bengal.

Akhanda Bangla Anushilon Samiti calls upon Public consensus on the following Socio-Political line vis-a-vis Gorkhaland Issue--

1. Dissipate the Entire Gurkha populace of North Bengal across small pockets in India.
2. Let all States in India Including West Bengal Shoulder the responsibility of their (Gurkhas') well being.
3. Provide them with OBC status and other concessions as per extant Policy of Govt. of India.
4. Create a non-political Gorkha Forum with a single seat Rajya Sabha representation to look into their     .
    grievances.
5. Complete monitoring of Indo-Nepal Border against infiltration by Nepalese and their subsequnt claim of
    being a Gorkha.
6. Identify and segregate foreigners (Nepalese) who identify themselves as Indian by Birth or Descent or
    by Naturalisation.
7. Studying Bengali as first Language or Second Language in School and College curriculum be made
    Mandatory across State aided schools in the entire Jalpaiguri District.

Futility--by Wilfred Owen 1893-1918, written in 1918

                                      Wilfred Owen 1893-1918
                           

Move him into the sun -
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds -
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs so dear-achieved, are sides
Full-nerved, - still warm, - too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
- O what made fatuous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?

                            Textual Analysis

1. Substance of the Poem ‘Futility’.

Wilfred Owens’s works revolve around war and the pity of war. The poem ‘Futility’ expresses the uselessness of creation of life on earth. The death of a young soldier portrayed in the poem comes to stand for the fruitlessness of war itself and the loss of lives caused by it.

Owen in this poem portrays a soldier who came of a peasant family. There at home he was woken up by his unsown field  that seemed to tell him of his responsibility to cultivate the land.

2. What can you say about the background of the dead soldier?

The soldier came of a peasant family in England. Being a peasant himself he showed traits customary of a peasant even in France where he fought and died.

3. How in the first two lines did the poet personify the sun in regard to the dead soldier?

The death of the young soldier was sudden and painful for the poet. He found it difficult to accept the reality of such a gruesome death of a fellow soldier. So he vainly imagined that the touch of the sun, which once gave him life, could revive him again; this, he knew wouldn’t happen.

4. What impression does the author suggest by ‘until this morning and snow...’?

Before being taken to war, the soldier was a farmer. So even in France where he was fighting, he showed the habits of a farmer. He always woke up in the morning until the day he was killed suddenly. There was a snowfall going at that time and he lay dead on the snow.

These two lines strongly suggest how alien the life of a soldier was to the boy and how deeply he loved his profession i.e. farming.

5. How have the two words—‘whispering’ and ‘woke’—been used?  What does it inform us regarding the soldier?

The poet has personified the field which the soldier once tilled. Its whispering signifies the dedication of the soldier to his profession i.e. farming to which he was always responsible.

So he woke up every morning to attend to his field. The boy was a simple villager who was growing up to his responsibilities as a farmer.

6.  What state of mind does the poet reflect from the last two lines of the first stanza?

By the last two lines of the first stanza, the poet has tried to emphasise upon the helplessness of man before death. He stressed that if there were a greater force like God other than the sun, HE would also fail at such a moment.

 He reflected in this way because there was no way out to bring the dead soldier back to life.

7. What do you mean by ‘the seeds’ and ‘the clays of a cold star’? What does the change of tense in the first two lines of the second stanza indicate?

‘The seeds’ simply signifies common seeds used to sow in fields.

‘The clays of the cold star’ indicates human being after the Bible that says God created man out of clay.  Since the earth is also a part of the sun, it has been called ‘cold star’ by the poet.

 The first present tense—‘wakes’ indicates continuous natural phenomenon. The past tense—‘woke’     indicates how the soldier was brought to life on earth, i.e. his birth.

 Sun being the ultimate source of life and energy has been personified as life giver.

8. Substantiate the phrase ‘limbs so dear achieved’.

'Limbs so dear achieved’ refers to the pride and fulfilment on the part of the soldier’s parents, who might have made many sacrifices for their son and painstakingly waited for the day to see him full-grown and robust.

9. Explain the irony in the line—‘full nerved, still warm...too hard to stir?’

Here the poet, Owen, disappointingly wonders at the sudden death of the soldier against his parents` painstaking anticipation and care in bringing him up to a young and robust man.

He is agonised and tormented by the thought that what it takes so long a time to create and nurture is so fragile before death.

10. Explain the sense of Futility as reflected from the last three lines.

 The poet out of shock and disappointment at the useless carnage was filled with a sense of futility in

             regard to all that is living. At one side he underlined the slow process of life waking up to a

             full-fledged civilisation whereas at the other he was equally pained at the fragility of human life

             in the hands of man itself.   

 He is appalled at the attitude of man in regard to life and survival.

11. Explain the attitude of the poet towards war. / The title of the Poem.

Poet, Wilfred Owen, though volunteered in the First World War, rejected the accepted romanticism

wars have always been associated with.

The subject of his poetry is war and the pity of war. Though he fought bravely and died for a cause—what  he thought sublime—he left for mankind a lesson of immense agony and indignation of human life in the name of patriotism and sacrifice.

             He is embittered at this foolish bloodshed that brings nothing but death, deprivation and suffering.

12. How has the personification of the sun helped the poet to evoke the sense of futility?

Wilfred Owens’s works revolve around war and the pity of war. The poem ‘Futility’ expresses the uselessness of creation of life on earth. The death of a young soldier portrayed in the poem comes to stand for the fruitlessness of war itself and the loss of lives caused by it.

With the personification of sun, the poet has tried to emphasise upon the helplessness of man before death. He stressed that if there were a greater force like God other than the sun, HE would also fail at such a moment.

Please feel free to ask for any help related to this Poem. Leave your comment and I will catch up with you and try to attend as early as possible.

 
                

The Hero--by Siegfried Sassoon 1886-1967, written in 1917

'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the mother said,
And folded up the letter that she'd read.
'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke
In the tired voice that quavered to a choke.
She half looked up. 'We mothers are so proud
Of our dead soldiers.' Then her face was bowed.

Quietly the Brother Officer went out.
He'd told the poor old dear some gallant lies
That she would nourish all her days, no doubt
For while he coughed and mumbled, her weak eyes
Had shone with gentle triumph, brimmed with joy,
Because he'd been so brave, her glorious boy.

He thought how 'Jack', cold-footed, useless swine,
Had panicked down the trench that night the mine
Went up at Wicked Corner; how he'd tried
To get sent home, and how, at last, he died,
Blown to small bits. And no one seemed to care
Except that lonely woman with white hair.

                                                             Textual Analysis

1. What did the colonel write?

The colonel in his letter praised Jack as a daring and dauntless soldier. He had also cited a remark Jack always said to have uttered in the battle that he wished to die the death of a soldier.

The colonel had written the eulogy in the form of a letter to Jack’s mother. The letter as intended embalmed the agonised mother and helped her bear the pain of her son’s untimely death.

2. How can you say that the colonel was successful in his attempt to soothe a bereaved mother? Why did her voice quaver to a choke?

From the poem one can notice that the mother didn’t break into a fit of sobs. Instead, she softly admired the colonel for his selection of words. The words had a magical effect on the mother because it held her up from breaking into despair.

Her voice quavered to a choke because she had come to know about her son’s painful death. Being a mother, it was difficult not to react at such a fateful misfortune that suddenly befell her / overhung her.

3. Why did the mother say ‘We, mother, are so proud of our dead soldier’?

Going by the practice in the army, when a soldier dies his family is informed about his death and his glorious service and sacrifice. It is a common practice during war intended to give the family a respite of sort.

In this poem it is seen that Jack’s mother received similar information with a note on his exemplary courage. Such notes made the mothers a little bit proud of their sons who, they supposed, laid down their lives for a noble cause.

4. Who was Brother Officer? Why did he tell gallant lies?

The Brother Officer was the immediate superior under whose command Jack was enlisted.

He was entrusted to carry the news of Jack’s death to his mother. The note that he carried and the words of admiration that he uttered in regard to Jack were blatant lies.

Being a soldier endowed with natural human qualities, it demanded a great deal of courage to speak a string of lies to an old bereaved mother. Perhaps it was too much for his conscience to act against his will. So the poet used the transferred epithet ‘gallant lies’. 

5. Who is The Hero in this poem? Why did the poet use the term Hero as a title?

‘The Hero’ is a certain Jack who served in the army during the First World War and eventually died.

Sassoon has used the title ‘Hero’ to heighten the sense of bitter irony and to convey the intensity of hypocrisy which glorify otherwise an ignominious death, thus making mockery of human life and dignity.

6. Why did Brother Officer’ mumble and coughed’ while speaking?

The officer was entrusted to carry the news of Jack’s death to his mother. The colonel had a note of admiration extolling Jack’s exemplary courage and eventual death. The Officer was also expected to add some of his own adulations that would testify the colonel’s letter.

However, when the officer faced the old and helpless mother, the lies he uttered hung too heavy on his soldier heart. He was acting against his conscience and so faltered.

 Please feel free to Write to me, should you need further help in any way related to this Poem.

                                                                     

Our Culture, their Culture--Rabindranath Tagore

1. What was Tagore’s first lecture in English and where was it delivered?

              Tagore’s first lecture in English was ‘The centre of Indian Culture’ in which he issued a warning against narrow nationalism, which regards other cultures as inferior and valueless, and one’s own as superior.

It was delivered in Madras on 9^th Feb 1919.

2. How according to Tagore did the people of India then look upon its culture?

According to Tagore, people of contemporary India were narrow-minded. They didn’t have a broader outlook of the world. One section of the people used to regard other cultures as inferior while putting excessive importance to their own.

There was another section, which held their culture in contempt until it was extolled by foreign scholars.

3. Summarise the mistake made by the pupil of the Anglo vernacular school in Allahabad. Why was he called a clever fellow as well as an unfortunate mite?

The pupil of the Anglo vernacular school, when asked about the definition of a river, gave a correct reply but this unfortunate fellow had not seen any river in reality.

He was called a clever fellow because though living at the confluence of Ganges and Jumna, he could give a perfect answer on river owing to his bookish knowledge. He was called an unfortunate mite because he didn’t have a clear idea of a river.

4. How was the condition of people of India similar to that of the pupil concerning culture?

Much like that of the pupil, the condition of Indians at that time was disappointing and confusing. Indians didn’t have any pride or knowledge of their culture. It was because they knew little. However, when they came to know about the greatness of their culture from foreign scholars they lost their discretion and developed excessive pride. This condition manifested their self-flattering attitude towards their country and culture.

5. What is Shibboleth?

Any phrase or idiom or a catchword used to distinguish the members of a clan or a linguistic denomination is called shibboleth.

It is a Hebrew word meaning ‘Ear of corn’. In modern sense, it implies a word or a proverb that does not hold good in progressive context. It is understood as any outdated or unacceptable idea.

6. What remedy does Tagore offer in view of numerous approaches to see one’s culture? What are the possible benefits of such suggestions?

Tagore wanted India to be a great country, which would share its knowledge and achievement with other countries. He dreamt of an India that would be free from prejudices and false pride regarding culture. In this way, his country of vision would learn the best from other countries and cultures.

It is so because only by sharing our best we can make our existence worthy.

7. What is the cause of our culture being billed superstitious and full of shortcomings? Why is European culture not so?

According to the author, no culture is entirely free from superstition and shortcomings. A time came in our history when all movements got confined within the geographical barriers of our country.

There was no contact with other enlightened culture of that time. So flaws like casteism etc crept into our culture.

In European context, it was not so because they did not restrict movement and advancement in science drove away the little flaws it contained.

8. What changes were brought about in intellectual circle of Europe by the shibboleth – The struggle for existence?

Struggle for existence is a phrase coined by Charles Darwin in his famous theory of evolution. According to Tagore, this scientific shibboleth coloured Europe’s vision. This shibboleth freed Europe of its narrow mindedness and ushered her into a broader and scientific outlook. As a result, they began to apply this thought into every aspect of human life. It defined their politics, literature and general outlook.

9. How was the shibboleth found altered in view of more progressive thoughts?

The struggle for existence was succeeded by a more progressive thought. It was argued that forces that form the basis of natural selection is the power of sympathy or the power to combine. This idea brought about a rapid change in the political sphere of Europe as they discovered the value of sympathy and co-operation.

10. What is the doctrine of special creation?

In the past as well as in the present times some races believe that they are specially created by God. Alternately, God might have had some lofty purpose in creating them. For Eg —the Jews regard themselves as the chosen subjects of their, God ‘Yahweh’.

11. What is the point of view of the author in regard to the doctrine of special creation?

According to the author the doctrine of special creation is no longer valid and the idea of a specially favoured race denotes a savage mindset. Today’s world wholly depends on the universal truth of co-existence and co-operation. Any special truth or doctrine that is cut off from the universal is not true at all, as it condemns a country to utter backwardness.

12. Explain the term ‘Sophisticated Foolishness’.

While deliberating on the situation of a student of the Anglo-vernacular school, Tagore used the term ‘sophisticated foolishness’ to highlight a section of Indian society.

Previously the pupil had limited knowledge and was full of self-pity but after hearing about the true characteristics of his country, he became too much excited and look upon other countries as mere trifles. He is full of vanity and is given to self-flattery in deeds and words. So though informed and enlightened, he is more of a fool, who is useless to his country.