East Bengal to Delhi - Finding Roots by Sudeshna Das

 

My Grandmother’s melancholic separation saga about partition and her lost household on the bank of the river ‘Padma’ mingled with tales of Bhatiyali, the ‘Hilsa’ and the courageous freedom fighters created in my mind a montage of a lost land - East Bengal. Partition changed the lives of people in East Bengal but in their remembrance as told in an oral history curation session of ‘Swapno Ekhon’ the past came alive.

I have grown up listening to my Grandmother's tales about East Bengal - a land of river, rice and fish; ballads about courageous freedom fighters and the invisible cost of the partition in 1947 besides the violence, loss of life and property. Partition often destroyed the psychic equilibrium of the displaced population. People rebuilt their lives but could never get over the trauma of losing their homeland - not just the loss of a physical space but of the language, culture and ethos that it had embodied. 

The partition stories, slowly, engulfed a part of my soul and created a narrative of migration. Migration is the history of human civilization that flows across borders carrying tradition, culture and grief. That grief conceived a deep-rooted feeling of nostalgia - a yearning to churn the past and also compelled me to create a collective recall of chronicles heard from select residents of Chittaranjan Park, a Bengali ghetto in New Delhi, which was established as a shelter for displaced people from East Bengal during partition. I collated the chronicles on courage, revolution, love, hatred, fear, melancholy and perhaps insignificant yet poignant details of daily lives which hinged on the drama of the trivial matters - food, rituals and neighbourhood bonding.

I had heard about the father of the nation from a freedom fighter who participated in the ‘Quit India' movement. That movement attracted a large number of youths. School students also took part in that movement. One such soul, Nrityendra Nath Sarkar, hailed from Pabna district of undivided Bengal. Partition compelled him and his family to leave East Bengal but Sarkar continued his fight for freedom. In his journey, he came across people from different religions with different socio-economic background. He recalled a small yet powerful incident which shaped his life. Sarkar shared the story how he and his fellow freedom fighters discovered Gandhiji's discomfort with the smell of tobacco and his advice inspired Sarkar to remain a non-smoker and teetotaller throughout his life.

While describing the atrocities of riots in pre and post partition period, Sarkar remembered one of his Muslim friends with whom he played football since childhood and that bond also prompted him to save Sarkar's life during a riot. He also recalled his brief encounter with an unknown Muslim lady, whom he mentioned was just like his ‘Didi' or elder sister. While being chased by British Police, Sarkar entered her house in Park Circus area and she gave him shelter. His remembrance repeatedly depicted his faith on humanity over and above any boundaries created by religious identity. And, this faith makes his stories more pertinent in the current context of India.

Paritosh Bandopadhyaya, a nostalgic journalist and writer, was born in a lush green village house near a small rivulet in the Faridpur district of undivided Bengal. As a child, he was as adventurous as Tom Sawyer. His enchanting memoir ‘Polimatir Tip' ( Sacred dot of clay soil) revolves around the river, paddy field and lives of the local people. The image that he paints of growing up in a small village conjures up the spirit of a long-lost time. Whether it be climbing the coconut tree to fetch eggs from eagle's nest or enjoying unripened green mango from the family orchard, along with a mixture of salt, pepper, red chillies and mustard oil, or enjoying picnics on the river islands reached by ‘donga' (small boat), with a lunch of hilsa cooked with black cumin and green chillies. A numbed pain of separation from his birthplace forms major leitmotiv of his narration. While evoking that pain, he quoted one of his teacher who said “Itihas Ogo Khama karbo na” (History will never forgive those people who have caused partition). 

A renowned statistician and versatile scholar, Ramesh Chanda, remembered his birthplace Vrajajogini village in Bikrampur as the most important centre of knowledge and culture in undivided Bengal. He mentioned that in the ancient period Bikrampur was undoubtedly the most important political centre in the Banga (Ancient name of East Bengal) janapada. Indeed, it was the capital city of the Chandra, Varman and Sena rulers, from the beginning of the 10th century AD to the beginning of 13th century AD. While discussing the intellect of the scholars from his birthplace, Chanda mentioned Atish Dipankar Shrigyan, a Buddhist scholar, religious preceptor and philosopher, who was also born in Bikrampur. Chanda also shared his fascinating journey with knowledge starting from school days in Bikrampur to the world of knowledge conquering all odds. Chanda's memoir can easily be considered as classic reference to depict the struggle of most scholars who faced partition and created their own position in India after partition. Perhaps, the unbound world of knowledge and culture helped him cope with sufferings caused by the unwanted boundary between the East Bengal and West Bengal. Thus, he continued to delve deeper into exploring new areas – be it solving complex statistical problems or creating excellent literary piece with classical humour.

History of East Bengal remains incomplete without mentioning Brajamohun College ( B M College) in Barisal and its founder Ashwini Kumar Dutta, a Bengali educationist, philanthropist, social reformer and patriot. Jayanti Dutta, a descendant of Ashwini Dutta, narrated stories she had heard from her mother-in-law and Ashwini Kumar Dutta's daughter -in- law Sabitri Dutta. In line with her father-in-law's vision, Sabitri Dutta continued her social work both before and after partition. She gave shelter to many women during partition and helped them to survive despite seemingly insurmountable opposition and atrocities. Jayanti Dutta also discussed about her mother-in-law's contribution and active involvement in setting up the ‘Mahila Samity' and other developmental initiatives in Chittaranjan Park (the then East Pakistan Displaced Persons' Colony or EPDP colony) in Delhi. She was quite fascinated while recollecting the warm appreciation received from people during her recent visit in Bangladesh.  

Partition of Bengal brought about abrupt sociocultural changes in the lives of the displaced population. Tara Dutta is one such lady. She faced partition at a very young age at Jessore. Though she was able to achieve a secure life in India but she recollects the impact of partition on her childhood – the cumulative effect of small but irreversible changes leading to a great loss of language, rituals, and culture. Her narrative was a feminine recall depicting details of daily lives. Though, the memory of Muslim aggression during partition still remains a disturbing fact for her but she was also moved by huge appreciation, respect and warmth received from the common people while visiting independent Bangladesh after ‘Muktijuddho' ( Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971). However, Tara Dutta was quite critical about persecution of ‘Razaakars' on common people during that period.

Their chronicles reconnected me with my past. I felt a strong urge to visit the land of my late grandfather, a freedom fighter who spent a major part of his life in Cellular Jail and refused to accept partition. He preferred to stay in East Bengal even after partition and participated in ‘Muktijuddho’ and fought for liberation of Bangladesh.

(Few pictures taken at the event - 'Finding Roots- Stories of migration of people of CR Park' organized by 'Shapno Ekhon')