Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The Uncivilized

Bengal goes for election of civic bodies. A political battle is being waged for Sunday election. Hundreds and thousands political touts with their stooges are making our civic life a hell. The municipalities exist in urban Bengal will elect or select their lords. All eyes are on the civic body election for the great old city of Kolkata (Calcutta). The corporate backed parties are leaving no effort unattended in capturing the power to handle the finance in civic bodies. The corporate backed parties invested huge money for huge return. Hardly there is any party contesting election depend on public funding.

Once late Jamshedji Tata lamented he would rather prefer to be a politician than a business man if he was born again as a human being. Because politician does not require capital investment but false promises. Gone are the days of Sr. Tatas and Batas. Now political establishments are highly professionalised armed with the support of the corporate investment. Its a good business altogether. Some third graded people are allowed to shout in high pitch through microphone day and night making the city life hell. Big cut outs of their leaders or costly placards with wall writings on some substandard politicians would grill the civic population making life worse than hell.  No  law and order compliance. Its free for all.

The party in power may be dislodged in this election and the public will be in queue to get some financial relief from the new power brokers. But there will perhaps be no change in appeasing illegal occupants occupying the footpaths for trading goods in the name of hawkers. No change in work culture in civic bodies. No change in corrupt practices in order to hold cadres for next round of assembly election. The city of Calcutta has already lost its heritage, its culture, its language and its everything of pride. Yet power brokers are fighting hard for loot of the last remains. At this stage no magical change is found possible unless the state is ruled with great amount of conviction. Yet people cry for a change of guard of the state of Bengal.
    

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Tagore My Tagore

It was he, the great poet philosopher Rabindranath Thakur who shaped my mind to a great extent. In youth, yes, I was able to sing variety of songs, but my voice perfectly matched with Tagore songs. I started getting popular in signing his songs in my baritone voice. It was he who made me closer to the world of poetry. Wherever I went, whoever I met, a request would come through for a Tagore song. It was my weakness I never learnt classical music. Yet I was the master in truly copying his songs recorded by Hemanta Mukherjee and my dearest Jeorge Biswas. In those days, the songs the public would listen to my voice would invariably question the name of my music teacher. My well wishers thought one day I'll be a popular signer. But I failed to fulfill their aspiration.  Now I hardly find time and energy to sing songs.

It was rhythm in his poems that inspired me to write verses. Of course, the content of my poems was different. Those were more of social perspective than personal. It was he...he..and he who moved around my head that moved me closure to the melodies of Baul singers in rural Bengal. It was he who made me to take my first human rights lesson and observe the world from all angles. The internationalism what Tagore analysed a century ago, is still relevant in the current perspective. The great philosopher of our time who could foresee the pride of nationalism will soon be faded away with the globalisation. Thus he defeated all his contemporaries in his thinking and deeds. The university he founded a century ago bears the name of Viswabharati (international). 

It was his spiritual backing that gave me extra force in my essay writing and even publishing my short stories etc. In fine, I can conclude I never felt his absence even after 150 years of his departure. His influence will continue so long I live on this earth.