Thursday 17 May 2012

MIRACLE MAN MANORANJAN BYAPARI !!


MANORANJAN BYAPARI

Miracle man Manoranjan Byapari is now an icon of WILL TO LIVE (jijibisha) - to live and manifest excellance in the midst of most horrid contexts ! Hailing from so called underclass of Bengal, Byapari dashed across the nation to ensure basic needs and was frequently sucked into most henious social exploitations. In such race he remained unlettered. Landing up in prison accused for hooliganism, Byapari lerned Bengali alphabets for the first time here at the age of 24 !!  His hunger for knowledge ignited and this seemed to be a permanent U-turn towards excellance. This and  a chance meeting with Mahasveta Devi inaugurated his carreer as a writer. From then on there was no looking back!


He received national acclaim after a translation of his essay "Is there Dalit Writing in Bangla?" by Professor Meenakshi Mukherjee was published in volume XLII of Economic and Political Weekly, 13 October 2007. Byapari is now the proud owner of nine novels and more than hundred stories , the latest being the first volume of his autobiographical novel, "Itibritte Chandal Jiban"(2012)."Itibritte Chandal Jiban" is by far the first autobiographical novel by a Bengali dalit writer. The story is a blood chilling discourse of everyday life and struggles of the Bengal underclass ! His life is now in turn inspiring novels, poems, documentaries and films !!

THRILLED WEST BENGAL STATE UNINVERSITY STUDENTS THRONG AROUND MANORANJAN BYAPARI

MANORANJAN BYAPARI (extreme left) seen with WBSU Professors, literary critics and other Bengali Dalit writers. 14th May 2012.




21 comments:

  1. Congrats dear friend!Great that you have introduced the writer Manoranjan Byapari to the literary circle.
    Prof. K. V. Dominic, English Writer and Editor

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  2. Can a nondalit writer write dalit life successfully?
    Jaydeep sarangi

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  3. Contemporary Bangla literaure is incomplete without strong dalit voices ignored for decades!!

    A poem from Chandalinir Kobita (Published in 2011)
    By Kalyani Thakur ( a leading Bengali dalit writer)
    Translated from Bangla by Jaydeep Sarangi
    Poem Number:37
    Heard insane musing
    Of hammer and burning iron
    Lying beside the furnace.

    Ran from this post to that
    Like a weaver shuttle.

    Like a plough head
    On the back of a farmer
    I go to a far off land.
    Toiled hard in the wide field
    To see crop blooming all-round.

    All to meet the hunger only.

    Yet, Amlasole is a reality.
    I feed my children with white eggs
    Of red ants
    Inspire of boiled rice.

    The siblings nourished by that only
    Take up bows and arrows in their hands.

    They are desperate
    Even they are ready to face
    The bullet
    With their broad breast
    Without knowing
    Underlying meaning of ‘revolution’.

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  4. Sunil Kumar Das in his short story collection entitled Dalit-Adalit(2011) writes about dalit issues what only a dalit by birth can experience and write. In the story ‘Refugee’ he narrates his own unfortunate experiences to issue Schedule Caste certificate from the appropriate authority at Asansole. In another story, ‘Uchujater Gopon Sanrankhan’(‘Secret Reservation for the Higher Caste’) Das gives a vivid description of caste discrimination in West Bengal which works silently under the creamy and polished cover. Sometimes it runs undercurrent and it remains very difficult to perceive from the surface.
    --Dr.Jaydeep Sarangi

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  5. VOICE TO VOICELESS: MUSING FOR ALL WHO ARE DEPRIVED


    "Laal Palasher Renu" by Jaydeep Sarangi, Shikshan, Kolkata: 2011, Pp. 48,Rs. 50.00 (ISBN: 978-81-909924-5-9)

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  6. 'From Dulong to Beas': Flow of the Soul by Jaydeep Sarangi. Authorspress, New Delhi.(2012) p.b. 71 pp. ISBN: 978-81-7273-646-0. Rs. 95/=.
    The book contains some poems on dalit situation in Bengal.

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  7. "From Dulong to Beas": Flow of the Soul by Jaydeep Sarangi. Authorspress, New Delhi.(2012) p.b. 71 pp. ISBN: 978-81-7273-646-0. Rs. 95/=.
    The book of poems contains some poems on Bengali dalit writers and their social situtation

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  8. “Muse India”(a literary e-journal based in Hyderabad, India. Since 2005) will bring focus on the Dalit/ Marginal Literature of the East & NorthEast in its Nov-Dec 2012 Issue. I am going to edit this very special issue. It is purely an academic/literary journal.
    We seek o literary articles/essays(within 2500 words), book-reviews(within 750 words), life-narratives,short stories, stories for children, interviews and poetry. We also welcome contribution of images (photographs and paintings) for respective sections.Please attach author’s bio note along with the text.

    Please send your submission to : sarangijaydeep@gmail.com

    Last date of submission: September 30,2012

    Guest editor for the Nov-Dec 2012 issue:
    Dr Jaydeep Sarangi
    Department of English,
    JOGESH CHANDRA CHAUDHURI COLLEGE(Calcutta University),
    30,Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata:700033,W.B.,India
    Ph no.: 09477807031 mobile

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  9. POETICS OF PAIN: A SUTDY OF MANORANJAN BYAPARI’S ITEBRITTE CHANDAL JIBAN.
    -Dr. JAYDEEP SARANGI
    Department of English,
    JOGESH CHANDRA CHAUDHURI COLLEGE(Calcutta University),
    30,Prince Anwar Shah Road, Kolkata:700033,W.B.,India

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  10. Migratory Days by Bibhu Padhi ,Gnosis : New Delhi 2011 Pp 78 , Rs. 125/=,ISBN 978-93-81030-12-7
    Reviewed by Dr Jaydeep Sarangi
    Deptt of English, Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College (Calcutta University),
    30, Prince Anwar Shah Road,Kolkata-33, West Bengal, Pin:700033,India
    E mail: jaydeepsarangi@gmail.com

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  11. Jaydeep Sarangi’s Journey from Dulong to Beas

    -Aju Mukhopadhyay,Pondicherry,India, E mail: ajum24@gmail.com





    All or most of the civilizations grew up on the banks of the rivers. Dulong is a small river meandering through the red-soil dry thick forest range of Midnapur district of West Bengal which sheltered the primitive people in collaboration with the earth on its banks, with sky overhead and minimum of basic comforts that men could manage to get out of Nature. But Beas is a famous river, one of the big five in far away Punjab, which sheltered the world famous Aryans and their civilization. No, they did not come from Europe or some such exotic land; they belonged to India and the surrounding lands without a modern demarcation. Movement of humans of different regions to the other regions continued throughout the pre-historic and historic periods, throughout the country and countries. Born at the banks of Dulong, Jaydeep Sarangi comes out of his home in search of his earlier homes elsewhere. This is an ever engaging journey of Homo sapiens from his adivasi homeland to his modern habitat.
    Time without numbers the poet visits his prime home, physically and mentally, though he is a resident of the town and now the metro city for some years. He becomes nostalgic in different ways.
    How my forefathers settled
    On the bank of Dulong.
    These green fields
    These castles of mud and goats
    All I owe.
    (Sap in History. Beas/33)
    The prime homestead with its concomitant surroundings, as he finds in the homes of the down trodden, through mental empathy becomes his own. He visualizes that he was once one of them, may be in some previous births.
    The ghost of my previous birth
    Makes me wild.
    (My Old Flute. Beas/23)
    And it continues variously in various poems,
    And I was reminded of the torn mat
    And an earthen lamp fed by castor oil.
    Life’s shackles are nothing but slavery.
    (Desire. Beas/27)
    I visualize life at a distance
    Not caught in nagging time-
    I could be a downtrodden!
    (If I were a Downtrodden. Beas/19)
    Aha, he remains with them,
    Your bows attract me to work
    Your goat takes me its own side;
    I dream my own story in cool shade
    Like a man directed towards
    The honey of experiences.
    (Your Identity. Beas/26)
    I remain as a crow
    Time-keeper for oral tradition
    For centuries to come.
    (Life Beyond. Beas/18)
    Not only in his subconscious memory, he is, it seems actually with the primitives, specially the downtrodden among them. While recalling the great Indian time when she was spiritually awake, he cannot forget the downtrodden....

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  12. Jaydeep Sarangi’s Journey from Dulong to Beas

    From Dulong to Beas: Flow of the Soul by Jaydeep Sarangi. Authorspress, New Delhi.(2012) p.b. 71 pp. ISBN: 978-81-7273-646-0. Rs. 95/=.
    by
    -Aju Mukhopadhyay, a leading Indian English poet(and critic) of several volumes in English from Pondicherry,India, E mail: ajum24@gmail.com





    All or most of the civilizations grew up on the banks of the rivers. Dulong is a small river meandering through the red-soil dry thick forest range of Midnapur district of West Bengal which sheltered the primitive people in collaboration with the earth on its banks, with sky overhead and minimum of basic comforts that men could manage to get out of Nature. But Beas is a famous river, one of the big five in far away Punjab, which sheltered the world famous Aryans and their civilization. No, they did not come from Europe or some such exotic land; they belonged to India and the surrounding lands without a modern demarcation. Movement of humans of different regions to the other regions continued throughout the pre-historic and historic periods, throughout the country and countries. Born at the banks of Dulong, Jaydeep Sarangi comes out of his home in search of his earlier homes elsewhere. This is an ever engaging journey of Homo sapiens from his adivasi homeland to his modern habitat.
    Time without numbers the poet visits his prime home, physically and mentally, though he is a resident of the town and now the metro city for some years. He becomes nostalgic in different ways.
    How my forefathers settled
    On the bank of Dulong.
    These green fields
    These castles of mud and goats
    All I owe.
    (Sap in History. Beas/33)
    The prime homestead with its concomitant surroundings, as he finds in the homes of the down trodden, through mental empathy becomes his own. He visualizes that he was once one of them, may be in some previous births.
    The ghost of my previous birth
    Makes me wild.
    (My Old Flute. Beas/23)
    And it continues variously in various poems,
    And I was reminded of the torn mat
    And an earthen lamp fed by castor oil.
    Life’s shackles are nothing but slavery.
    (Desire. Beas/27)
    I visualize life at a distance
    Not caught in nagging time-
    I could be a downtrodden!
    (If I were a Downtrodden. Beas/19)
    Aha, he remains with them,
    Your bows attract me to work
    Your goat takes me its own side;
    I dream my own story in cool shade
    Like a man directed towards
    The honey of experiences.
    (Your Identity. Beas/26)
    I remain as a crow
    Time-keeper for oral tradition
    For centuries to come.
    (Life Beyond. Beas/18)
    Not only in his subconscious memory, he is, it seems actually with the primitives, specially the downtrodden among them. While recalling the great Indian time when she was spiritually awake, he cannot forget the downtrodden,
    Mysterious yogis in the East chant
    Holy songs.

    Somewhere a naked child
    Cries out of hunger.
    His mother offers
    Brests of no milk,
    The child sucks water.
    (The Tree of Life. Beas/29)
    His deep love for the victims of injustice for centuries brings him to the path of war but it is not like the violent war of words by a revolting writer like Mahasweta Devi. His is a support by a fellow poet and writer, as the oppressed no longer can fight with bows and arrows like in their primitive stage, but fights with pen and paper.
    I remember
    How Kalyani, Meena and others
    Through hard labour and strength within
    Fight for their right.
    They write
    As they have no arrow to lift.
    (Living Alone. Beas/22)
    He feels genuine happiness when one of them excels in her life. He rejoices the achievement, written in black ink, a symbol of the black body of the achiever,
    The College girl stands first
    In university examination.
    History is re-written in black ink.
    (Your Identity. Beas/26)
    See more of it here,
    Local minority tribes blush
    Like innocent flowers in heaven’s garden.
    (Kanakdurga Temple. Beas/45)


    ........................(a part of the article)

    Work Cited
    From Dulong to Beas. Jaydeep Sarangi. New Delhi; Authorspress. Paperback. 2012

    ©






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  13. Seminar Report on Writing as Resistance: Bengali and Other Dalit Writings in English
    Jaydeep Sarangi
    Mahatma Jotirao Phule used the word ‘Dalit’ in connection with lower caste in a socially stratified society. ‘Dalit’ means oppressed or exploited on the basis of caste. It describes the people who have been traditionally considered untouchables and oppressed by the mainstream culture.
    Department of English, Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College, Kolkata,W. B. (India) in collaboration with Bangla Dalit Sahitya Sanstha (Kolkata) organised a two-day seminar on WRITING AS RESISTANCE: BENGALI AND OTHER DALIT WRITINGS IN ENGLISH on 29 and 30 November at Inmdumati Sabhagriha, Jadavpur. The inaugural session kicked off with Inaugural song by the students of the Department of English followed by Lighting the lamp and Stotra path and mantrocharana by Dr. Sunanda Roy Chaudhury.
    Professor Sanjukta Dasgupta, the renowned poet-critic and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Calcutta University, the Chief Guest of the seminar explained the so called position of the marginal literature in Bengal. She read out two poems and the audience was overwhelmed by her verbose and expressive presentation.
    Dr. Prioyosh Khan, the Principal of the college welcomed the participants and distinguished guests in his welcome address. He rightly pointed out objective of the seminar. Mrs. Champa Ghosal, Head of the Department of English, said, "Dalit writings have been neglected for long in academics. Our aim is to focus on dalit writing, which should be an integral part of literature in our state." Dr Jaydeep Sarangi, the chief brain behind the seminar, explained the theme of the seminar in an emphatic manner: “Studying Dalit literature is a sociological engagement. Dalit literature in India is structurally alternative to models prescribed by traditional Hindu aesthetics precisely because it is the literature of sociological oppression and economic exploitation. Dalit literature is essentially a shock to the so-called traditional senses. It is an assault on the anthropomorphic practice of casteism in India. A sound piece of Dalit literature is that which is militant in texture." He further stressed on the need to translation of Bangla/Santali dalit writings into English. Publication of translated texts in reputed journals and anthologies is a must, if we really look forward to an all-inclusive canon. "Dalits have never got a platform to speak of their experiences or voice their anger," says Manohar Mouli Biswas, writer and editor of Dalit Mirror, a bi-monthly English magazine. The recent issue of Dalit Mirror was launched at the function. Dr. Jaydeep Sarangi was asked to launch it on the dais. Mr Amar Biswas, President, Dalit Sahitya Sanstha, Kolkata expressed that the seminar would help take dalit writings to more people. Prof. Suhrid K. Bhowmik, the Resource Person on Santali language and literature made a comparative analysis of Tagore’s songs and Santali songs available. Harish Mangalam (Akademy winning Gujarati writer) called the moment “historical.” He further said, “In Gujarat, not less than hundred writers have started the Dalit Literature movement by writing in various forms of literature likewise, poetry, short story, novel, essay and portray etc. We have formed the organization Guarati Dalit Sahitya Academy and started its magazine named Hayati and since last 15 years it has been published regularly. We also publish books of dalit literature. And till today 55 books have been published of dalit literature i.e. in English, Hindi, Gujarati, etc.”
    ( a part of the seminar report...)

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    Replies
    1. YOUR IDENTITY (a poem from FROM DULONG TO BEAS)
      -Dr Jaydeep Sarangi
      (a poem dedicated to the dalits in West Bengal)

      What makes you so happy?
      The red soil and the sweet smell
      Of trees numberless.
      Your small steps and humble voice,
      Your bows and huts attract me to work.
      Your goat takes me its own side;
      I dream my own story in cool Banyan shade
      Like a man directed towards
      The honey of experiences.

      My mind sits back….
      Looks into heaven for manna
      As life piles on life
      Experience leads to another.

      RiverDulong is your energy;
      It writes your new history.
      Unfurls memory frozen
      In cool folk dance and unnoticed book stalls.
      You carry writings in a small bag,
      Life narratives of pain and pathos.
      Sit somewhere….
      And count the margin
      In the midst of red eyes of Brahminic anger.

      (Dulong is a rivulet which flows through tribal villages in Western part of West Bengal)

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    2. Jaydeep Sarangi


      Source:MUSE INDIA(Muse India is a literary e-journal based in Hyderabad, India. Since 2005)

      http://www.museindia.com/focuscontent.asp?issid=46&id=3723

      Jaydeep Sarangi : Editor's Note



      Image courtesy- justletmelearn.com




      Marginal writing is an engagement with a social commitment. This issue of Muse India elaborates on marginal literature of Eastern India. Marginality, especially in the form of caste discrimination remains a living Indian reality. India has been majorly a caste-stratified society since time immemorial and in spite of modernizing blows, oppressive caste discrimination stealthily continues to sting, though with compromised venom. The Dalits were mostly indigenous people who were traditionally considered at the bottom of the Indian Sanskritic system of social stratification. They were also known as avarnas, meaning those not accepted within the four-fold caste (varna) system of the Aryans. They were perceived as so polluting that even their touch or shadows would defile the people of the higher castes – and hence they were named Achhutas (Untouchables). Historically they have been subjects of most abhorrent violations of human dignity born out of caste discrimination. Though widely reformed, yet even in 21st century one comes across horrid cases of caste based oppression. Physical violence on dalits in eastern India is definitely less than the states like Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan – but that is frequently because they remain silent in the face of deprivation in employment, education and other regular social engagements. Day-to-day social oppression and harassment and exploitation of the dalits are still common in different parts of rural Eastern India.

      In the recent past a steady chorus of Dalit voices has been making itself audible in Eastern India. There are some magazines from across Eastern India which focus on dalit aesthetics and dalit writings. These offer platforms for the rhetoric of resistance and a polyphony of voices from this marginal community. We are not theorizing these special articulations. Dalit Mirror is a literary endeavour of an editorial board consisting of a group of dalit writers from Kolkata and Agartala. Manohar Mouli Biswas, the editor of Dalit Mirror writes, “FORGET NOT that the Dalit Literature is in its first generation writing.” Engagement with these marginal writers and writers on marginality has been greatly enlightening. We appreciate the rich diversity in all possible forums voicing marginal/dalit concerns and their bold and frank perspectives.

      Literature of resistance comes under the post-colonial category of subaltern studies. Dalit/marginal literature is a child of a peculiar Indian social system. Therefore, for proper understanding of the writings related to this Indian subaltern group, fair knowledge of both the system of stratification as well as the lives of these subaltern groups is necessary. A sound body of dalit/marginal literature is militant in texture. Taking up their pens in revolt as their bows and arrows, they fight when they write. Their narratives are also poetics of pain.

      It is sad but true that Dalit/marginal literature of the Eastern India is still not included in the academic curricula proportionately. There is hardly any text prescribed up to +2 level and in most cases upto higher education. Leading contemporary Bengali dalit writers like Manoranjan Baypari, Lakhi Mandal, Kalyani Thakur Charal, Jatin Bala, Manju Bala, Dhurjoti Naskar, Sunil Kr. Das, Lily Haldar, Smritikana Hawlader, S.Pramanick, Nakul Mallick, Debasish Mandal, Nitish Biswas and many others are hardly known by the academic elites. Ignorance can never be a virtue. Colonization still persists, only the form is different!

      We intended to cover similar literature of the dalits and marginalized of the North East. As the section has become too voluminous, we will publish that part of our coverage in the next Issue of Muse India.

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    4. I think, similar movement of "Dalit Literature' is also active in Marathi... Being from totally different field I do not know all the details but there are few esteemed Dalit writers in Marathi. If you want you can study about them and their literature...
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    5. From Refugee Camps to Polished Book Stalls
      by Dr. Jaydeep Sarangi Bookmark and Share


      Jaydeep Sarangi in Conversation with Manoranjan Byapari

      “I am that rickshaw puller by the name of Naba, that truck-helper by the name ‘kick-worthy’, that angry lowly caste (chandal) by the name of Jiban, alcoholic by the name Gurjal, that thief by the name of Bhagaban, that dacoit by the identity of Agastya, that writer by the name of Bangal – all are me. They all are my fragmented nature.” (14) (From Ittibritte Chandal Jiban,Translation mine)



      M.B.: I started writing Bengali essays, prose and novels. My writings spin around my charted life, oppressed at several levels. My writings may not be rich with information. It is frank and candid and it comes straight from my heart.I could not write poems probably because I lacked the faculty of imagination, and hence poetic words to express my thoughts. Caste-wise I am a chandal (outcaste), nationality-wise a refugee, occupationally perpetually in the unorganized sector, a child labourer, educationally illiterate up till adulthood, and frequently tagged as the ‘criminal’!

      J.S. : What were your pseudonyms and why did you use them?

      M.B.: Madan, Jijibisha,Kalidash Kathak, and Arun Mitra.

      J.S..: Do you want to convey some particular message through your writings?

      M.B.: Of course! The social set up that I have lived through is miserable. It must be reformed and made livable with dignity. Humans must become active social reformers.

      J.S.: Why did you publish ‘Itibritte Chandal Jibon’, the autobiographical novel?

      M.B.: The life that I have lived must be shared with many. I have come back from the jaws of death many times. Recently again I was fighting death, and I had a strong feeling that my life-story must be documented in print, or else it will be lost with me. It’s important for people to know that someone survived in such horrid conditions. My writings represent all those people who continue to live in such inhuman circumstances.

      J.S.: How much literary value is embedded in your writing?

      M.B.: I don’t know. It’s up to the readers and academic experts to decide!

      J.S.: Do you want the tag of a ‘Dalit writer’?

      M.B.: I’m a Dalit by birth. Only a dalit, oppressed by social forces can experience true dalan(oppression) in life. There should be that dalan as a dalit in Dalit writing! Dalit literature should be based on dalit life. Some of my writings deal with dalit life; some to be judged neutrally, without any preconceived estimation.


      - See more at: http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=15494#sthash.PrUuqKVB.dpuf

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  14. I really want to read the books mentioned in these comments and the ones manoranjan Byapari talks about in his essay, "Is there Dalit Writing in bangla?" can someone tell me where I can procure them in Kolkata? The shops which I know in College street have been unsuccessful and almost ignorant of these writers or publishers.

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  15. I am a dalit writer and dramatist in Bengal.. I have writing autobiograpy -EK RICKSAWALAR ATMAKOTHA-in Bengali .I am also aricksawala.I would like to Mr.Joydeep Babu.

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  16. I am a dalit writer and dramatist in Bengal.. I have writing autobiograpy -EK RICKSAWALAR ATMAKOTHA-in Bengali .I am also aricksawala.I would like to Mr.Joydeep Babu.

    ReplyDelete