West Bengal: Bengali Literature and Cultural Hub Launched in Nepalganj Raghabpur

By Isaac Harold Gomes.

17th December 4.30 pm was a very auspicious moment for Dr Sadhana Karali – Headmistress of St Paul’s Higher Secondary School, Raghabpur (a town located in Hasnabad subdivision of South Twenty Four Parganas district in West Bengal) and the Bengali writers & poets of Bakeshwar, Nepalganj (Raghabpur), Kabardanga and Thakurpukur. For it was the birth of both Abokash and Anuprash at her Dr Sadhana’s sprawling Raghabpur, 24 Parganas South bungalow. Abokash Bangla Sahitya O Sanskriti Charcha Kendra is the name of the Bengali Literature and Cultural Hub of Bakeshwar, Nepalganj and ANUPRASH is the maiden launch by Abokash of its Christmas Special Bengali journal.

Launch of Anuprash by Fr Rosaeio

On this occasion there was a galaxy of Bengali writers and poets namely Professor Madhumita Acharya (St Xavier’s College, Autonomous Raghabpur Campus), Dr Suranjan Midday (Rabindra Bharati University), well-known writer Swapan Mukhopadhyay, Isidore Gomes Ph.D. (Microbiology from Bangladesh), Fr Kanauj Roy (Vicar General – Baruipur Diocese), Biswajyoti Dasgupta and several other dignitaries. Fr Francis Sunil Rosario who is Eastern Regional Secretary for Dialogue & Ecumenism and Migrants Commissions, was Chief Guest.

When Fr Rosario launched the magazine Anuprash (which means Alliteration) one could see happiness writ large on the face of Dr Sadhana for whom it was the fulfillment of her long-cherished dream to start a literary & cultural centre. As she said later, by God’s grace this Centre of Excellence was born right in the serene ambience of her own residence replete with a fishing pond, a lawn and an impressive grotto of Mother Mary.

Fr Sunil congratulated Dr Sadhana for her pioneering initiative to promote and nurture literary talent at the grassroots level starting with her own locality in Raghabpur-Kabardanga-Thakurpukur region. He said promotion of authentic Bengali literature was quite an arduous task in view of today’s craze of Bengali parents to send their wards for English-medium education. He encouraged her not to get deterred by obstacles and assured her of his full support. Vicar General Fr Kanauj Roy also lauded Dr Sadhana’s initiative.

In her talk Dr Sadhana – President of Abokash (means leisure/vacation), remembered her literary gurus who were the inspiration behind her creative writing. She offered her residence and its facilities to budding literary talents to help them explore their latent creative skills. She said they can use her reference library which is a treasure-trove of literary works by luminaries of Bengali literature namely Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, Swami Vivekenanda, etc. She requested the gathered assembly to donate good books for her library for the benefit of lovers of Bengali literature. She reiterated that Bengalis must first learn their mother tongue well (both spoken and written) before picking up other languages. Even our National Education Policy encourages basic education in one’s mother tongue. Also every year International Mother Language Day is observed worldwide on 21st February. In this context, mention must be made of the immense contribution of Jesuit priests who established St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata (Autonomous) in Raghabpur in 2014, specifically to nurture Bengali culture by offering the entire college education through Bengali medium. With the launch of Abokash, Dr Sadhona Karali and her team aim to collaborate with St Xavier’s in this great initiative.

Fr Kanauj Roy VG being felicitated

Isidore Gomes Ph. D. said he was overjoyed to be in the company of so many enthusiasts of the Bengali literature. His wife who is a Rabindra Sangeet exponent was also present. He said it would be worthwhile to conduct research on Keorapukur and Raghabpur areas to unearth their rich history. To his pleasant surprise, Biswajyoti Dasgupta and his writer friends gifted him a book “Thakurpukerer Itihash (History of Thakurpukur)” on the history of Thakurpukur.

Dr Sadhana Karali being felilcitated

Professor Madhumita Acharya who is also a researcher and poet expressed fears that Artificial Intelligence (AI) might soon infringe in literature. She said that while humans struggle to find the right word to describe a situation, very soon AI might do this in a jiffy. In view of this, there is a great need to create a culture of literature & arts and nurture original and creative thinkers who do not believe in copy-paste culture. She said original writer/composers are very finicky about use of words. Late Jesuit priest Paul Detienne is a classic example.

Samarendra Mondal noted poet, writer and editor of `Dhrubojyoti’ mentioned that creative writers must be mindful of Bengali spellings which are changing with times. To maintain quality of writing, it was suggested by some dignitaries that at least two workshops on writing styles, etc. be conducted before regular issues of ANUPRASH were rolled out. Dr Sadhana agreed with their viewpoint and announced that Abokash would conduct a workshop/convention every three months.

Many budding writers/poets who are pursuing higher education turned up for the event.

The 3-hour programme was very well-conducted by Subhankar Mondal and Anup Gayen (both teachers of Rahgabpur St Paul’s High School).

“The true test of a champion is not whether he can triumph but whether he can overcome obstacles.” – Garth Stein