ইংরাজী প্রবন্ধ - উদয় শঙ্কর দাশ

Revolutionary Binod Bihari Chowdhur
(10.01.1911 - 10.04.2013)

Tribute to a legend
Uday Sankar Das, from Chittagong

Binod Dadu, as we used to call him, was an out-and-out revolutionary till his last day. The last of the living icons of the anti-British independence struggle, Binod Bihari Chowdhury breathed his last at a hospital in Kolkata on 10th April, 2013.
A close associate of Masterda Surya Sen, Binod Dadu took part in a number of movements and raids in the anti-British youth revolution in 1930. Under the leadership of Ananta Singh and Ganesh Ghosh, he took part in the armoury raid in the Chittagong Police Line.
He was a valiant fighter in the Battle of Jalalabad against the British, when for four days the young fighters had kept Chittagong isolated and liberated from the rest of British India. Binod Dadu was at the time on the wanted list by the British, and in order to escape from their wrath he had gone underground; and after moving from one place to another, he finally took refuge in Dhaka.
When the police got the information about his whereabouts, he returned to Chittagong but was arrested in 1933. Although he served a jail sentence from 1933 to 1938, he passed his graduation examinations with distinctions. In 1939, he completed his Masters in English and had also obtained a degree in Law.
After beginning his career as a journalist, he also at the same time joined the Chittagong Bar. But neither of these professions could attract him, and he never felt at ease. He later joined the Indian National Congress, and during the Quit India movement was again sent to prison for various terms.
In 1947, after the partition of India, many of Dadu's co-fighters opted to leave the country but, being the true patriot that he was, Dadu was totally committed to his birthplace and thus he had strengthened his roots in Chittagong further.
In erstwhile Pakistan, he was active in the Language Movement in 1952 along with various other political struggles; including the Mass Movement against the Pakistani regime in 1969.
Binod Dadu had always remained a man true to his ideals. He left his professions in journalism and law, and found more pleasure and satisfaction in teaching students at his home. He was eloquent in both English and Bangla. His task was "to create an enlightened youth."
My younger brother, Kaushik, being a student of his, often mentioned how Dadu would tell them many stories about his encounter with Masterda -- their meetings, their operations and so on. The students would listen to him in pin-drop silence at his house in Kadam Mubarak in Chittagong. Didimoni would come and scold him for such distractions, but his students would rather listen to his stories than learn about Bangla grammar.
Binod Dadu's ideal was human welfare. He was a patriot in all sense of the term, and that is why whenever there had been an issue involving common people he was seen taking his place in the front row.
Even when he was in his eighties, Dadu's voice had the power and boldness of youth. There was no mincing of words and he was true to his beliefs.
I had the rare honour and privilege to do an extensive interview of his for the Bangla section of BBC World Service Radio. I still remember introducing him as "a young man who has now entered into his 80s."
He never believed in luxury and lived his life in a tin-roofed house in a narrow alley off Momin Road in Chittagong. Despite winning many awards, including the Shadhinata Padak in 2000, he never changed his way of life. He remained steadfast to his ideals and beliefs throughout.
A glaring example of his love for his birthplace should also be mentioned: When his health was failing and he was being taken to Kolkata for treatment, he told his relatives that his last rites should be held in his hometown, Chittagong.
How befitting that this true son-of-the-soil's last wish has been fulfilled with full national honours.
Binod Dadu has left us all, but his ideals, thoughts and way of life will always remain as true examples to be followed by the generations to come.

Very few people conquer death and live on, inspiring us with their ideals. Binod Dadu was certainly one of those few who have done exactly that and any tribute to such a legend is timeless.

In Tagore's words, Dadu would be saying:

"The day has dawned and the lamp
That lit my dark corner is out.
A summons has come
And I am ready for my journey.
My salutation to you all."

Binod Dadu, our salutations to you. We shall never forget you.

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The writer is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service Radio and is presently based in Chittagong

বিস্তারিত

প্রবন্ধ - উদয় শঙ্কর দাশ

Chittagong’s tryst with Tagore culture

Uday Sankar Das, from Chittagong

“Chittagong is the land of Poet Alaol, Chittagong is the land of Abdul Karim Shahitto Bisharad, it therefore is not surprising that the courageous and devoted people of Chittagong would celebrate the birth centenary of the greatest Bengali poet in the grandest manner possible, defying all odds and threats”, said Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed, noted theatre personality, playwright, director and actor .

There was a tinge of pride when reputed social scientist and present vice-chancellor of Premier University, Professor Dr Anupam Sen said, “Chittagong has been the pioneer in the practice and promotion of Tagore culture in this part of Bengal”.

Dr Sanjida Khatun, one of the greatest proponents of Tagore culture in Bangladesh, agreed by saying, “Chittagong always had a very rich cultural tradition”.

One can therefore easily see that Chittagong had a tryst with Tagore and his music for a very long time, and even during his life time Tagore’s music had been firmly rooted there. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the practice and teaching of Tagore’s songs were confined to the very small but influential Brammho community (the religious community to which Tagore belonged) in Chittagong under the patronage of Annada Charan Khastagir, the father-in-law of Jatra Mohon Sen, a revered leader of Chittagong.

This practice soon spread to the Hindu families there which happened mainly due to the contacts and communication Tagore and/or his family had with them. Prominent among these families were those of Kobi Nabin Chandra Sen, Jamini Kanta Sen, Rai Bahadur Sarachchandra Das, Kedar Nath Dasgupta, Purna Chandra Sen and Braja Kumar Sen.

The practice became widespread with the formation of a noted music institution, Arya Sangeet, one of the citadels of classical music in then East Bengal. The arrival of music maestro Surendra Lal Das made Arya Sangeet the envy of many in the music world, and the practice of pure form of music, including Tagore’s songs became more popular with Rabindranath’s birth anniversary being observed there on a regular basis.

An illustrious son of Chittagong, Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury, who penned the first poem after student demonstrators demanding Bangla to be a state language were gunned down on the streets of Dhaka on 21 February, 1952, wrote in his memoirs “Smriti-r Sandhane” (In Search of Memory) that it was in 1944 that the first ever Rabindra Jayanti (Tagore’s birth anniversary celebration) was held in a grand manner in the city of Chittagong. The venue for the two-day celebration was the auditorium of St. Placid’s School in Patherghata. The driving forces behind this initiative were Chittagong’s District Judge Shaibal Gupta and his wife Ashoka Gupta. Tagore’s dance drama “Shyama” was staged on the second day, with Pratima Chowdhury performing in the title role, wrote Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury.

Soon, another music institution was formed in Chittagong when Gangapada Acharya, his brother Sripada Acharya, Shourindra Lal Dasgupta(Chulu Babu), Chunilal Sen came away from Arya Sangeet. They along with Shib Shankar Mitra established Sangeet Parishad which became another reputed institution imparting teaching of pure form of music.

Not long thereafter, Nani Mitra and Anil Mitra formed Prachcho Chanda Geetika, and these three music institutions regularly observed Tagore’s birth anniversary.

But, Udayan Sangha in Patherghata went a step or two further and observed the day differently. They used to observe the day in two sessions – the morning session being mainly the domain of the children, and the evening session for prominent artistes of Chittagong and guest artistes from Dhaka.

Dr Sanjida Khatun, the present head of the pioneering music institution of the country Chayanaut, clearly remembers the first time she came to Chittagong to participate in a Rabindra Jayanti.

“It was 1957 when my daughter was hardly four months old. We were put up in the house of Mr Sarat Kanungo, a great patron of culture, who used to have a number of Alsatian dogs, I had my daughter in my lap, and just when my turn came, I handed over my daughter to somebody, before going on to the stage”.

“Chittagong always had a great tradition and rich cultural heritage; unfortunately I have not been able to learn much about it”, lamented Dr Sanjida Khatun.

Apart from Dr Sanjida Khatun, other noted singers like her sister Fahmida Khatun, Kalim Sharafi, Maleka Azim and Atiqul Islam used to come to Chittagong to participate in Udayan Sangha’s Rabindra Jayanti.

The local artistes who had made their mark in Rabindra Sangeet in the 1950s and 1960s include Bilquis Nasiruddin, Hari Prasanna Pal, Ashok Sen, Rafiqul Islam, Mohammed Nasiruddin, Snehomoy Rakshit, Nirmal Mitra, Shikha Rani Das, Razia Shahid and Chamon Afroz Kamal.

Dr Sen thinks that the cultural arena of Chittagong was enriched and vastly improved in the 1950s and 1960s by the patronage it received from people in the legal profession and also from prominent educationists. As examples, Dr Sen named Advocates Krishna Prasad Nandy and Chitta Ranjan Das, and Professor Jogesh Chandra Shingha, Professor Abul Fazal and Abdus Sobhan Khan Chowdhury, who was the Principal of Government College of Commerce.

“They had taken the practice and promotion of Tagore culture to a much higher level”.

“The people of Chittagong were fortunate to have such stalwarts in their midst who could discuss various aspects of Tagore’s thoughts and philosophies so eloquently that the audience would listen to them in pin-drop silence in sheer amazement”, noted Dr Sen.

But, the real feather in the cap for Chittagong’s tryst with Tagore culture came in 1961, the year of the Nobel laureate’s birth centenary, when defying all threats from the then Pakistan government, who described Tagore as an Indian poet and his songs were being described as alien to the country’s culture, a seven-day programme was chalked out by the Tagore enthusiasts of Chittagong.

A 101-member celebration committee was formed with Mr M A Bari, the then chairman of Port Trust as President and Mr R N Bagchi, a top official of the Railways as Secretary.

Recalling the events of 1961, Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed, who at that time was a teacher in Government College of Commerce, Chittagong, said, “A huge pandal was erected in the compound of St. Placid’s School, Patherghata and thousands of people thronged the arena for seven days where 3 dance-dramas and three plays were staged apart from seminars and discussions”.

The stage was named after one of Tagore’s famous poems “Sonar Tori” and the entrance gate was called “Shyamoli”.

“Prominent among those who came from Dhaka to participate in the seminars were Dr Mohammad Shahidullah, Professor Ahmed Sharif, Professor Mofazzal Haider Chowdhury and Dr Nilima Ibrahim”, remembers Professor Ahmed.

The three top music institutions, Arya Sangeet, Sangeet Parishad and Prachcho Chanda Geetika staged the three dance-dramas Chitrangada, Shyama and Tasher Desh respectively.

Udayan Sangha and Shishu Mela jointly produced the inaugural day’s play “Rabindranath-er Chelebela” (The childhood of Tagore), where yours truly enacted the role of Satyaprasad, a nephew of Tagore of the same age. The directorial team consisted of Advocate Chitta Ranjan Das, Sadeque Nabi and Debu Chowdhury, a comedy actor of fame in those days.

Muktodhara Group was entrusted with staging Tagore’s play “Mukhtodhara”, directed by Dr Kamal A Khan. Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed played the role of Botu, and the wonderful performance of Mrs Moni Imam in the role of Awmbaa Paagli was remembered for a very long time.

The seven-day celebration, the like of which was seen nowhere else in then East Pakistan, was rounded up by the bard’s play “Shesh Rokhkha”, which was presented by Jagriti and directed by another noted theatre personality of Chittagong, Mahbub Hasan.

The seminars and discussions held during the 7-day celebration were equally impressive and enlightening.

Professor Jogesh Chandra Shingha dealt with the spiritual thoughts in Tagore’s poems. Prof. Shingha said Tagore raised himself above all hard-heartedness and in his poems one could find that he had been inspired as much by the teachings of the Upanishad as he was by Sufi’ism.

Dr Mohammad Shahidullah while impressing upon the depth of Tagore’s writings said that the poet’s creations had left a great legacy for the future generation. In the opinion of many cultural personalities, this pronouncement gave a clear direction for the cultural movement that was to follow.

Professor Abul Fazal very strongly expressed his feeling that no great poet could just be considered as ‘national poet’. By describing Rabindranath as India’s national poet and Iqbal as Pakistan’s, Abul Fazal said, one does not make them one iota greater than what they really are, rather it demeans them.

He said that in ‘Asrar-e Khuda’, which is considered to be the best writing of Iqbal, there is no mention of Pakistan or that state’s ideologies. Similarly, Tagore in his ‘Song Offerings’ which fetched him the Nobel prize for literature, does not heap any praise on India.

“The great poets have reached such stature because they have been able to cross the boundaries of country, nation and state”, said Abul Fazal.

To those who were opposing the practice of Tagore’s music in then East Pakistan, Abul Fazal boldly declared, “Our reverence is not to India’s national poet, it is to a great poet of this world, Tagore was one such poet”.

In the words of Professor Momtazuddin Ahmed, “The courage and devotion showed by the cultural activists of Chittagong gave an impetus to others in then East Pakistan and similar programmes, albeit on smaller scales, were held in Dhaka, Rajshahi and other places”.

Even after the centenary celebrations, the practice and teachings of Tagore’s music continued with a new vigour in Chittagong in the various renowned music institutions.

Added to that, “Shishu Mela”, a children’s group based in Patherghata, used to observe Rabindra Jayanti every year, with the only the children performing “Pujarini’ one year and ‘Juta Abishkaar’ in another. Shishu Mela was greatly patronised by Advocate Chitta Ranjan Das and his wife Putul Rani Das.

As regards the children’s observance of Rabindra Jayanti and his relationship with Chitta Ranjan Das and his sons and daughters, Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury in his memoirs “Smriti-r Sandhane” also wrote, “Shila Momen, Sharmila Bandopadhyay were my daughter Munni’s (Safina Ahmed) childhood friends. In the ‘60s, they used to observe Pahela Baishakh, Rabindra Jayanti, Nazrul Jayanti and other cultural events. They used to sing, dance, recite, and play the tabla and other instruments, not taking much help from the elders. At that time, the deputy commissioner of Chittagong was noted poet Abu Zafar Obaidullah Khan and the chairman of Chittagong Development Authority was Khan Shamsur Rahman. They used to come to the rehearsals to encourage the children”.

It is therefore quite evident that in Chittagong, in the words of Dr Anupam Sen, “With the patronage and support of the intelligentsia and the united effort of the cultural activists, the practice of Tagore culture was taken to a new height , which also continued after the liberation of Bangladesh”.

As Professor Abul Fazal so appositely said, “We have all been enlightened by the rays emanating from Rabi”.

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The writer is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service Radio in London and is presently based in Chittagong.

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প্রবন্ধ - উদয় শঙ্কর দাশ

Tagore's connection with Chittagong's litterateurs

Uday Sankar Das, from Chittagong

Long before his only visit to Chittagong in mid-June, 1907, Rabindranath Tagore had contacts with the literary figures and members of the civil society of the city. As a matter of fact, when Tagore was in his teens – he was only 16 at the time – he met the famous poet of Chittagong, Nabin Chandra Sen during the Hindu Mela in 1877.

After reading another distinguished son of Chittagong, poet Nabin Chandra Das’ Bangla translation of Part 1 of Kalidas’ “Raghubangsha”, Tagore in a letter to Das in June 1892, sent this compliment, “I have had great pleasure reading your translation of Ragubangsha. Such lively and beautiful translation of Sanskrit poetry is hard to come by. In majority cases, the language of the translation of such poems becomes clumsy and unintelligible. The substance and beauty of the original book has been retained in its entirety as much as possible in your translation”.

Tagore was so pleased after reading the second part of Raghubangsha that he wrote a lengthy review of this work in Sadhana in 1895.

After reading another prominent literary figure of Chittagong, Shashanka Mohon Sen’s “Sindhu Sangeet”, Tagore’s brief comment was, “In this book, one can see a natural compassion and poetic talent”.

When Tagore visited Chittagong in 1907, he did not miss the opportunity of meeting the eminent writers and members of the civil society. Politely declining the invitation to dinner of the ICS judge of the city and sending his nephew Surendranath to the judge’s residence, he had a lengthy meeting on the evening of 17^th June, 1907.

A great scholar of Chittagong, Professor Jogesh Chandra Shingha while recalling the events of Tagore’s visit to Chittagong wrote in a letter to researcher Pratap Mukherjee that Professor Rajani Kanta Sen , a teacher of Chittagong College, who was also a noted litterateur, had invited Tagore and all the leading literary personalities from all communities of Chittagong to his house on the first day of the poet’s visit. The main agenda was discussion about the formation of Chattagram Shahitto Parishad (Chittagong Literary Society).

The meeting was held at Professor Sen’s house ‘Parade’, and among the poets, authors, litterateurs and eminent citizens of Chittagong present, were Abdul Karim Shahitto Bisharad, Nabin Chandra Sen, Purna Chandra Chowdhury, Moulana Moniruzzaman Islamabadi, Jatra Mohon Sen, Ram Chandra Barua, Harish Chandra Datta, Abdur Rahman Dobhash, Mahim Chandra Guha, Kazem Ali and Braja Kumar Sen (grandfather of Professor Anupam Sen, the present vice chancellor of Premier University).

Tagore was very pleased that this meeting was held in a very peaceful and congenial atmosphere, because formation of a literary society was the main reason of his visit to Chittagong.

Tagore was also fascinated by and interested in many events happening in Chittagong. These included the various activities initiated by Nalini Kanta Sen, and also the initiatives that he had heard from and read in Jamini Kanta Sen’s books. Tagore was also very keen to know how the people of Chittagong could form their own Bengal Navigation Company and also run two steamers by overpowering the mighty British company, Messrs M David Company.

Tagore had formed, only a couple of years before his visit to Chittagong, an insurance company with some of his relatives and friends by the name of The Hindustan Co-operative Insurance Society, for the benefit of the poor people of the community. An abbreviated but much more multi-faceted form of this insurance company, called Marriage Provident Fund was formed in Chittagong and Tagore showed a keen interest as to how it worked in practice.

After his brief sojourn in Chittagong in mid-June 1907, Tagore had expressed his satisfaction at the turn of events both there and in Barisal, and had mentioned in his letters that ‘in both the places I had encouraged the appropriate people to establish branches of Literary Society’.

However, it took just over four years to form the branch in Chittagong. To be precise, the society in Chittagong was formed on 15^th August, 1911 with poet Nabin Chandra Das as its founder President and Bipin Chandra Guha as the Secretary. The 221-member committee consisted of 10 Muslims, including Kazem Ali and Abdul Karim, and also a number of Christians and Buddhists.

An illustrious son of Chittagong and a renowned litterateur, Professor Abul Fazal was only four years old when Tagore visited Chittagong in 1907. But, in his autobiography ‘Rekhachitro’, Abul Fazal had written that when Tagore visited Dhaka University in 1926, he was a student volunteer, and listened with rapt attention, the poet’s speech in Curzon Hall. Abul Fazal also admitted to sneaking into a private gathering in Dhaka, where Tagore was a guest, just to have a closer glimpse of the poet he adored.

By the time he was in his thirties, Abul Fazal had gained name and fame in the Bangla literary arena and a number of his books had already been published. In his writings, Abul Fazal endeavoured to depict the everyday life of the then Muslim society in East Bengal, including their usage of Arabic and Parsi words.

Abul Fazal wanted to have the opinion of Tagore on the usage of such words in Bangla literature.

On 31^st August, 1940, he wrote a letter from Chittagong to the Nobel laureate on the subject, enclosing three of his already published books – “Chouchir’, ‘Maatir Prithibi’ and ‘Bichitra Kawtha’.

Abul Fazal wrote in his letter, “An effort has been made to portray some pictures of the society and the family lives of the Muslims living in the eastern side of Bengal. As a result, it has not been possible to exclude many words and expressions used in their everyday lives, which are not yet prevalent in our literature”.

He added, “I believe, if one has to paint a picture of the Muslim society, Bangla language has to accept many such uncustomary words”.

Citing quite a few examples of such Arabic and Parsi words in the day-to-day lives of the ordinary people, Abul Fazal in the last paragraph wrote, “I would be benefitted if I could get some of your comments on this subject……………..”.

Tagore sent a reply post-haste. Writing on a letter head of Bisva Bharati, Santiniketan, on 6^th September, 1940, he, at the outset mentioned about his failing eye-sight and his doctor’s advice ‘to give rest to his eyes’.

“You have said correctly about the use of language, There is no effectiveness in a language if the difference in customs and the traits of psychology are not complied with”, wrote Tagore.

He, however, emphasised on the limit to the flexibility of any language which should not be exceeded.

Tagore also said that there were quite a good number of Arabic and Parsi words in Bangla language, and these have rightfully established their places.

As regards the Muslim writers’ contribution to Bangla literature, Tagore in that letter commented, “The powerful Muslim writers have not adequately described the Muslim way of life in Bangla literature. This inadequacy, irrespective of any community, is a failure of the entire literature………. If the words regularly used in the Muslim society enter into the language spontaneously, no damage would be inflicted to literature, rather it would be strengthened. There are examples of this in the history of the evolution of Bangla language”.

Despite his failing eye-sight, Tagore in that short span of time could read the story ‘Chouchir’ by Abul Fazal, and expressed the hope that writers like him would be able to fill the vacuum of sufficient knowledge of the Muslim society in Bengal.

Tagore, however, warned that in this endeavour, if there is hard-heartedness due to a stubborn attitude, then there would be detrimental fallout.

In the last sentence of his reply, complimenting Abul Fazal on his writing, Tagore wrote, “From what little I have been able to see, I have felt that there is smooth flow in your writing”.

It was therefore befitting that despite so much opposition and resistance, when Tagore’s birth centenary was celebrated in a week-long programme in the compound of St Placid’s School, Chittagong, it was Abul Fazal who delivered the Presidential speech, delving deep into the thoughts and philosophy of this great poet.

Chittagong therefore had a great connection with Rabindranath Tagore and the great poet had always been in close contact with the literary figures of this great city.

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The writer is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service Radio in London and is presently based in Chittagong.

বিস্তারিত

প্রবন্ধ - উদয় শঙ্কর দাশ

Rabindranath Tagore's visit to Chittagong

Uday Sankar Das, from Chittagong

A poet so desirous of wandering into distant lands is rare not only in Bengal, but one might say, in the whole world. Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore was one such rare poet.

No poet in his era had travelled as extensively as Tagore, be it abroad or his own country. As regards his travels in his native Bengal is concerned, in particular in what is today’s Bangladesh, his visits to his family estate in Shilaidaha, and also to other places like Dhaka, Mymensingh, Barisal and Sylhet have all been well documented and widely read.

Although avid followers of and researchers in Tagore’s works have delved into his connection with the south-eastern port city of Chittagong, general readers have very little insight into his love and interest for, and also into his only two-day visit to this beautiful city in the early part of the last century. This city later became very much intertwined with his literary works and music.

The first ever written evidence of Tagore’s interest for Chittagong could be found from the writings of a young poet of Chittagong by the name of Nalini Kanta Sen who, while he was a student of B.A. in Presidency College, Kolkata, wrote a letter on 25^th July, 1897 to his friend in Chittagong, Surendra Nath Mitra, about his meeting with Tagore in the poet’s house in Jorashanko, Kolkata – “ I had been to the poet’s house the other day .Almost all the conversation was related to retaining our national culture and heritage. Rabi Babu decided not to wear Western attires ……. I had informed him about our organisation formed with similar aim, and he gave a smile to indicate his affirmative opinion and satisfaction.”

Tagore’s very clear comment about natural-beauty laden Chittagong could be seen in a letter he wrote to a prominent author Thakurdas Mukherjee on 23^rd October, 1899.Mukherjee wrote a letter of condolence to Tagore on the death of the poet’s nephew, Balendranath. In a very long letter of reply, Tagore in one place wrote – “From the address in your letter, I see that you are now in Chattagram (Bangla name for Chittagong). By hearing the name of the place, one can visualise a picture of a hiily area covered with shadows of trees, and in the horizon one could see the blue linings of the ever-vacillating sea.”

Another prominent literary figure of Chittagong, Shashanka Mohon Sen had the opportunity of reading a part of his poem “Sindhu Sangeet” to Tagore, and his brief comment was, “In this book, one can see a natural compassion and poetic talent”.

During the Maghotshawb (Brammho Festival) of 1900, Jamini Kanta Sen, a student of B.A. in Presidency College, Kolkata and hailing from Chittagong, met Tagore in his house in Jorashanko, and became so close to him that later he joined the poet’s school in Bolpur. Through his acquaintance, in March 1906, the veteran leader of Chittagong, Jatra Mohon Sen invited Tagore to visit Chittagong.

On the 14^th and 15^th April, 1906, Bengal Provincial Conference and Bengal Literary Conference were organised in Barisal. Tagore was to visit Chittagong after the conferences, but because of his busy schedule and other urgent works related to his youngest daughter Mira’s wedding, Tagore could not go to Chittagong that year.

Tagore did visit Chittagong the following year, and Jamini Kanta Sen wrote about the poet’s acceptance of the invitation, “Tagore was invited to visit Chittagong in 1907 by the citizens of the main centre of anti-British movement. Generally, he would not accept any invitation of this type outside Kolkata. Chittagong has overcome that”.

After receiving Tagore’s consent, a committee was formed to accord a befitting welcome to him in Chittagong. Prominent among the committee members, comprising Chittagong’s literary figures and prominent citizens, were poet Shashanka Mohon sen’s father, Braja Kumar Sen, Sheikh-e-Chatgaam Kazem Ali, Jatra Mohon Sen, Tripura Charan Chowdhury and Jamini Kanta Sen. The members went to the authorities of E.B.Railway to seek permission to decorate the station with flowers on the occasion of Tagore’s arrival.

When Rabindranath Tagore, along with his nephew Surendranath Tagore, Kedarnath Dasgupta and others, arrived at the Chittagong Railway Station in the morning of Monday, 17^th June, 1907, there was a torrential downpour. But people from all walks of life braved the elements to accord him a tumultuous welcome. When there was a slight let up in the rain, the poet was taken in a flower-decked hackney carriage to the palatial house of Kamala Kanta Sen on Hospital Road. Sen was at that time ‘the oldest and richest pleader of Chittagong’.

A huge crowd had already gathered in front of the house and Tagore came out to wave at them. Later, he came back to the ‘large drawing room’ to be introduced to the prominent citizens of the city.

On the same day, the ICS judge of Chittagong, B.K.Mullick came to invite Tagore to dinner that day at his place, which the poet politely declined with a smiling face. Tagore, however, did send his nephew Surendranath to the judge’s residence for dinner that evening, and he himself held a meeting with the literary figures and music connoisseurs of Chittagong.

Having seen the poet from such close quarters, especially in his own house in Chittagong, Jamini Kanta wrote , “What I had seen in Bolpur, I have seen in my own house………..Rabindranath’s extraordinary restraint – as in Bolpur, here also he was calm and quiet, unperturbed, always like Sphinx……. Even as a guest, his food was very simple, in the Western style just boiled vegetables and rice pudding. He never took any food cooked with spices”.

On the following morning, (Tuesday, 18^th June, 1907), Tagore with a few companions went on a tour of the city and landed up on the banks of the River Karnaphuli at Jahajghata. There, he asked one of the labourers working on the ships   (Khalashi, as they were known locally), “How is your Chattagram"? In reply, the Khalashi told Tagore, “Babu, there is no place like this on earth. The place we consider after Makkah-Madina is Chattagram”.

The venue selected for according Tagore a grand reception and his lecture was an auditorium built by Jamini Kanta’s father in the city’s Sadarghat area. It was called ”Kamalakanta’s Theatre Hall” (This hall later came to be known as Lion Cinema and was demolished only a few years back).

In those days, there was no such big auditorium outside Kolkata. The auditorium was brimming with a huge crowd, despite another heavy downpour early in the evening. Reporting on the reception, the newspaper, ‘Bande Mataram’ in its edition of 20^th June, 1907, commented, ‘despite bad weather, the meeting was a crowded one’.

Tagore delivered an extempore speech delving on the crisis that the country was enduring at the time, saying that not a single party was working for the real good of the country, although that was the call of the day.

Prominent Hindu and Muslim leaders of Chittagong were present on the occasion. Among the Muslim leaders were Sheikh-E-Chatgaam Kazem Ali and his eldest son Ekramul Huq.

Braja Kumar Sen, who was one of the prominent organisers of the reception meeting, and also a music lover, requested Tagore to render a song. Tagore duly obliged and sang a patriotic song.

After the reception, as Tagore, accompanied by his nephew Surendranath and others, arrived at the Railway Station to board the night train, there was no let up in the rain. Despite the atrocious weather, distinguished citizens and ordinary people turned up at the station to bid farewell to the poet.

Jamini Kanta Sen, in his memoirs, while describing Tagore’s visit to Chittagong, wrote, “The reception accorded to Tagore was unparallel; it was a rare sight in those days, anywhere outside Kolkata. Receiving such adoration as a litterateur was only possible here (Chaatagram)”.

The train carrying Rabindranath Tagore and his entourage pulled out of Chittagong Railway Station at around 8:30 in the evening, with hundreds of people waving him goodbye at the platform, thus bringing curtains to a very busy but historic two days of ‘poetic’ sojourn in the city of Chittagong.

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The writer is a senior journalist who worked for BBC World Service Radio in London and is presently based in Chittagong.

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