Manas Ranjan Mahapatra, Puri, 23 April 2023
Today is World Book Day. It was painful to receive the news that Chandrakant Murasingh, my dear poet friend from Tripura, is no more. If you want to see the culture of reading and books, you should go to India’s North East. Among the North-Eastern States, I always felt at home in Tripura as I know the language. My first visit to Tripura was in the year 2001. And, before relinquishing the post of Director, Information, PR and Culture of North-Eastern Region and returning to NBT, I tried my best to make it and finally made it to Tripura!
Time has changed and so has Tripura. While coming to the airport, I visited the residence of Ashish Sinha, my long time colleague from NBT. He invited my friend Sanjay and me for lunch. It was amazing to see an apartment at the same place where Tripura Darpan office used to be at one point of time.
When I visited Agartala for the first time, my poet friend, Chandrakant Murasingh, took me to Tripura Darpan office for a meeting with its editor, Samiran ‘Da’. After a few minutes of discussion, Sameeran ‘Da’ indicated that I can go to the first floor. “But our discussion has already taken place, why go to the first floor now?” I asked with amazement and didn’t go. “OK”, said Sameeran ‘Da’ and we left the place.
On the way back, Chandrakanta Murasingh told me, “How silly of you! He was inviting you to the “Adda” and you refused?”
Then he divulged the truth.The first floor of Tripura Darpan was literally an “Adda” of artists, authors, journalists, and intellectuals. Later, every time I visited Agartala, I have been to that first floor of Tripura Darpan as desired by Samiran ‘Da’.
That building of Tripura Darpan is now not there. Sameeran Da’s father must have built it with a lot of love and effort. But his sons have preferred to give it to a builder! They may have in return got a new one with several benefits, but what about the love and feelings that the old house had?
Three years ago, I was surprised to see a new Agartala, full of apartments. There is not much traffic as the population has not increased much in the last 20 years, but all roads have traffic lights. Globalisation has killed the innocence that our forefathers carefully preserved for us for several years!
It so happened that my senior friend, Dr. Sanjay Panda, became the Chief Secretary of Tripura. I was coming to Agartala to discuss with Subhabrata Deb (Ratu ‘Da’) of Akshar Publications for holding an event to promote sales of NBT books. I requested Dr. Panda for a room in the State Guest House. Then what transpired was amazing. I was welcomed at the airport by a senior officer of the Education Department with a bouquet of flowers. Then an Ambassador car with a Protocol Officer took me to the State Guest House.To my surprise, I was declared a State Guest!
I also addressed the top officers of the Education Department at SCERT. My scheduled programme was circulated to all by the State Government and also included a meeting with the Chief Secretary and with local publishers at Akshar Publications. My friends in NBT did not believe when I told this to them. Rather, they felt I was lying! They confirmed this fact from Ratu ‘Da’! I just laughed at their silliness. How envious people can be! it continues even till today, as I got a lot of good reputation as the Director, North-Eastern Council.
Ashis Gupta, Professor in English at NEHU, once invited me to his department to teach the skill of editing to research scholars. One of the scholars there remembered my popularity in DU as a guest teacher of Editing. This gave me a lot of happiness. Ashis and I had a long association. I had invited him to Goa Arts and Literature Festival and several other Festivals throughout the country. He has translated a lot of poems from Kokborok and Bengali to English.That is the best service by a Professor of English to make writings of his native language available to readers of English language. Native language books reach a wider English speaking audience and the book vets acceptance and popularity. In Odisha, English professors of exceptional quality like Mrs. Pravat Nalini Das and Bidhubhusan Das translated a number of monumental works into English.
Once I was Chief Guest in the valedictory programme of PLANNER 2018 at Tripura University. PLANNER is the largest programme on books, reading habits, and library. I recollected how I used to walk 6 kms everyday to read books in Ramakrishna Mission Library at Puri 45 years back. Incidentally, the theme of PLANNER at Tripura that year was ‘Rejuvenating Academic Library as a Social Hub’. “But the society we talk about consists of hardly one percent of the Indian population”, I said. “We do a lot of academic activities in the country and have no idea about the ground realities.” Then I recited my favourite ‘Lok Geet’ that we used to sing in Lok Jumbish Teachers’ Workshops on Readers’ Club two decades ago…’Asli Hindustan toh Footpath par Aabad hai…’
Is our government at the centre interested to have an autonomous organisation for promotion of libraries for reading habits among children and young adults in the country? This is my question to the government on this World Book Day.