Deeply patriotic and avowedly cosmopolitan, connoisseur of Sanskrit who was intellectually almost French, Pramatha Chaudhuri (1868-1948) would have been at home in the court of Akbar. Says Annadasankar Ray: 'It is not without significance that the pen name of his choice was Birbal.'
But Bengali meant more to him than Sanskrit. He had faith in the native genius of Bengali. Today if the traditional high Bengali with its stilted Sanskritic elements makes place, more and more, for a form of spoken Bengali, if 'current' Bengali is considered an effective medium of literature in Bengal (including the part that is now East Pakistan) much of the credit must go to Pramatha Chaudhuri and his magazine Sabuj Patra. In Sabuj Patra Pramatha Chaudhuri led the way and Rabindranath Tagore followed. 'He gave this magazine its distinctive character', recalled Tagore, 'and paved the way for my literary activities to branch out in new directions.'
Pramatha Chaudhuri was not only a path finder, he was also a creative writer of outstanding abilities particularly in his essays and fiction.
He is undoubtedly one of the most influential makers of the Bengali language and literature in the twentieth century,' says the author, Arun Kumar Mukhopadhyay, and 'A small attempt has been made in the following pages to illuminate some of the aspects of his great personality, and to evaluate his contribution to Bengali Literature.'
Pramatha Chaudhuri, better known as Birbal, is a great name to be reckoned with in the history of modern Bengali literature. He is undoubtedly one of the most influential makers of the Bengali language and literature in the twentieth century. A small attempt has been made in the following pages to illuminate some of the interesting aspects of his great personality, and to evaluate his contribution to Bengali literature.
This volume on Pramatha Chaudhuri in the series, Makers of Indian Literature, has been written at the request of the Sahitya Akademi and I am grateful to them. I would also like to put on record my sense of gratitude to Sri Annada Sankar Ray who readily agreed to contribute an Introduction to this volume and to his wife, Srimati Lila Ray, who looked carefully through the proofs and kindly translated a few of Pramatha Chaudhuri's poems for inclusion in this monograph. My former pupil, Sri Ramendra Narayan Nag, helped me in many ways.
Pramatha Chaudhuri ('Birbal') whose birth centenary was celebrated in 1968 was more at home in a salon in the French tradition than in the world of books and periodicals. Writing occasionally for the leading Bengali magazines of his day he discovered his true metier when he founded and edited the Sabuj Patra, a review of life and letters, carrying no advertisements. Its mission was a renewal of Bengal's youth and India's civilisation in harmony with the best that modern Europe stands for. Deeply patriotic, it was at the same time avowedly cosmopolitan.
This highbrow experiment could not possibly have survived without the enthusiastic cooperation of Rabindranath Tagore. He contributed some of his most important writings to it. Chaudhuri himself created a stir with his exquisitely written Char Yari Katha, since translated into English as Tales of Four Friends by his wife, Indira Devi Chaudhurani, herself a distinguished member of a distinguished clan, the Tagores of Calcutta. The Chaudhuris of Haripur were also an enlightened family of zemindars. Most of them went abroad to qualify as barristers. Highly anglicised, they were at the same time firmly rooted in the ancient culture of their motherland.
It thus came natural to Pramatha Chaudhuri to build a bridge between East and West. As a widely read intellectual, well versed in Sanskrit, English, Italian, French and Bengali, with his library containing a multitude of books on history, economics, sociology, philosophy and literature, he was eminently qualified for the task. But he did not foresee that India would be driven to non-co-operate with the British Imperial Power and that the movement would comprise the rejection of modern Western values. The Sabuj Patra lost its voice and then its public.
Chaudhuri continued to be a respected figure among the younger intellectuals and his magazine became a legend. He returned to his old easy-going way of talking brilliantly and writing rarely. The stories which he published once or twice a year marked him out as a master of style, wit, language and form. Essays, always witty and learned, ranging over all aspects of life, sustained his fame as the modern Birbal.
What made him a household word was 'Birbali bhasha' or the language of his prose. It was based on a form of spoken Bengali. Hotly resented fifty years ago as an undesirable innovation, it has since become a powerful rival of the established literary language of Bengal, including the part that now calls itself East Pakistan. His real intention was to build another kind of bridge: between the Sanskrit proud upper classes and the Prakrit happy common people. He once confessed to me in all humility that his diction was not natural enough for the general masses.
Like the original Birbal, one of the nine gems of Emperor Akbar's court, the latter day Birbal will be remembered as one of the nine gems of modern Bengali literature, along with Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Dinabandhu Mitra, Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendralal Roy, Sarat Chandra Chatterjee and Kazi Nazrul Islam.
For privacy concerns, please view our Privacy Policy
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist