This is a piece both on and not on Samaresh Majumdar. On May 8, Bangla literature lost one of its golden-age stars. Samaresh's departure made a section of the press refer to two of his novels to announce that the author of Kaalbela (dark time) has transitioned to "Kaalpurush" (Orion constellation). Samaresh belonged to the stellar cohort of writers, including Sunil Gangopadhyay and Buddhadeb Guha, who ruled the Bangla literary scene during the last four to five decades. This generation is almost lost in space. One can only hope for a long creative life for a member of this golden age, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

Read more

‘The room by the window was Baba’s favourite’: Doel Majumdar

Whether contemporary writers can be considered classic authors is debatable. Critics feel that you need to remove yourself from the current time and space to create some spatiotemporal distance to judge the merit of an author. Assigning the label of "classic" defeats the purpose. I approach these authors as a part of my essential self. They were a big part of the intellectual growth of those of us who are in our fifties and beyond now. It was a time when we would buy, share, and discuss books regularly. I read Samaresh in my teens and twenties, and I don't think I have returned to him ever since. So, I will be writing from my memory, which will make this piece not a piece on Samaresh per se, but rather on the residual impression that he and his ideas had on me and, by extension, on our generation.

The Animesh trilogy – comprising Uttaridhakar, Kaalbela, and Kaalpurush – stirred the imagination of our generation of Bangalee youth across the political divide, as we all hoped for a change in politics. These books taught us to relish dreams, fall in love, hate injustice, and forge both active and passive resistance. The ugly political instruments that left the central figure Animesh crippled are symbolic of our hapless state. We hang onto the free-spirited Madhabilata, hoping there would be a flowery tale of love and idealism. Instead, we find the harsh reality of their son Arka who grows up in the Kolkata slums almost as a spoiled child. By the time, Samaresh had added Moushalkaal to the trilogy in 2013, my interest in the type of politics that failed a generation had all but withered. The Cold War has thawed, the Soviet Union has collapsed – and pragmatism loomed large.

Read more

Renowned author Samaresh Majumdar no more

The Animesh trilogy-turned-tetralogy concerns itself with the involvement with and impact of the Naxal movement on the Bangalee middle class. The Naxalite Movement had its origin in 1967 in a tribal village called Naxalbari in Darjeeling. A peasant uprising against the landowners, fuelled by radical Maoist-Leninist ideologies, turned into an armed struggle for a classless society. The guerrilla warfare against the state zeroed in on the capital from their peripheral rural locations to annihilate the enemies of the class.

While in West Bengal the novels are rooted in an atmosphere of a fierce uprising, and in a culture of fear and uncertainties vis-a-vis political influx under an oppressive regime, on this side of the border, these novels harped a familiar tune despite their differences. In the 80s and 90s, we were all hoping for a democratic change in the system that had been captured by a military autocrat.

Arka's realisation that the leftist ideology is that of just another political party is a rude awakening that we all had. Even the founding principle of a welfare state, with socialism as its mantra, sounded hollow.

When Samaresh decided to end his novel abruptly, editor Bimal Kar came under serious criticism for supposedly using his authoritarian position to sabotage the political zeal of a young man.

— Dr Shamsad Mortuza

I have faint memories of how the illusion of political change and the disillusionments that we all experienced had found their parallels in the Animesh tetralogy. Animesh clung to the Naxal ideology hoping he and his friends would change the social fabric. Yet, his transformation into a political activist was accidental, to say the least. He came to Kolkata from a northern tea estate to study Bangla literature (similar to his creator Samaresh) but got shot at by police engaged in diffusing violence caused by the subversive actions of the Naxalites. His belief got dented by the Maoist Congress party, which rose to power and betrayed the leftist ideology with their corruption and nepotism. Against the backdrop of political decadence, symbolised by the crippled state of Animesh, the battles are waged. Madhabilata exudes love and reliability just like her namesake perennial creeper that is known for its sturdy root and lustrous bloom. Her support for her partner and the son born out of wedlock drives the story of Kaalbela. Its prelude, Uttaradhikar, is all about Ani – a small-town boy with all his teen curiosities and quirkiness – becoming Animesh.

Read more

Samaresh Majumdar—A rebel to look up to

This bildungsroman was serialised in the popular Bangla literary magazine Desh. When Samaresh decided to end his novel abruptly, editor Bimal Kar came under serious criticism for supposedly using his authoritarian position to sabotage the political zeal of a young man. Samaresh was promoted to write a sequel in which Animesh's girlfriend became the source of inspiration. In Kaalpurush, the focus shifts to the son, Arka, who wants to build a commune inside the Kolkata slum to materialise his political belief. Samaresh felt that Kolkata, under the present-day Trinamool Congress, deserves a closure for the leftist politics in West Bengal, prompting him to author the fourth part after a gap of 25 years.

Speaking at Kolkata Lit Fest, Samaresh confessed that, at times, he felt that he had taken advantage of Naxalgia (nostalgia over the Naxalite movement). Then again, behind the veneer of politics, Samaresh's narrative has always been based on human emotions. His wish as an author had been that, as long as human emotions remain alive, at least one of his books would be read alongside those of other great authors. He does deserve a place in the creative constellation. The author of Orion will find a slot in the night sky for people to reflect on in the days to come.

Dr Shamsad Mortuza is a professor of English at Dhaka University.