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A portrait of Bengali
writer Sukumar Ray
By Swapna Dutta*
Sukumar Ray has been an integral part of the world of
children ever since he started writing. Expressions he coined, like
huko muhko hangla, ramgarurer chhana, and kumro patash,
have been household words ever since they appeared in print. In fact,
it is impossible to think of humor in Bengali without remembering Sukumar
Ray.
This remarkable writer-poet-illustrator was born on October
30, 1887 and passed away on September 10, 1923, at the age of 36, with
not very many titles to his credit. And yet he continues to remain a
prime favorite with both children and adults, even after 70 years of
his death, and holds a very special place in the hearts of his readers.
He was the father of Satyajit Ray, the famous filmmaker, artist and
writer. “My father died when I was two and a half,” writes
Satyajit, “I knew him through his writings and illustrations, a
volume of drafts, notebooks, two handwritten magazines
and from the accounts of my mother and other relatives. His
father was Upendrakishore Ray, whose many-sided genius found expression
in his writings, songs and illustrations as well as his work as a printer.
We find in Upendrakishore a rare combination of science and the arts;
the East and the West. He played the pakhawaj as well as the violin,
wrote songs while carrying on research in printing methods; viewed stars
through a telescope from his own rooftop; re-wrote old legends and folktales
for children in his lucid and graceful style, and illustrated them in
oils, water-colors and pen-and-ink, using European techniques. Sukumar
grew up under the influence of such a father.”
Sukumar's first poem Nadi
(River) was published in Mukul, a children's magazine,
when he was just 8 years old. He graduated in 1906, majoring in both
physics and chemistry. He achieved distinction in photography from his
student days, winning an Award of Merit from Boys' Own Paper.
He founded the Nonsense Club
soon after graduation. The members were his friends and relatives. The
name of the club indicates the direction Sukumar's genius was going
to take. He wrote two plays for the club that are frequently performed
by children even now. One was Jhalapala
(Cacophony) and the second was Lakshmmaner
Shatishel (Lakshman and the Wonder Weapon).
As Satyajit puts it, “These contain the first expressions of Sukumar's
humor. In the second play characters out of Ramayana descend from the
epic heights to a world of spoof and horseplay… mixed up with vegetable
curry, chemists, homeopathic drugs, Sandow, the muscleman, and recurring
decimals. Hanuman, the monkey- god, eats sugar-puffs; the messenger
of Death finds his salary in arrears and Jambuban is annoyed by the
stink of Bibhisan's beard. Sukumar also made his debut here as a composer
of songs, his simple tunes and rhythms adding greatly to the fun.”
Upendrakishore launched Sandesh,
a children's monthly in May 1913, in which Sukumar's writings appeared
regularly. It was here that Khichuri (hotch-potch), the first
poem in his famous Abol Tabol
(Rhymes without Reason), appeared. It was Sukumar's earliest
nonsense rhyme on animals, followed by Old
Man of the Woods, Chandidas's
Uncle, The Shadow-Catcher,
The Lug-Headed Loon
and others. And he illustrated all his work himself. They are considered
quite brilliant although he never had any formal training in art like
his son Satyajit (who also illustrated his own books). The illustrations
are both delightful and unique.
Readers have asked time and again
whether some of Sukumar's characters resemble creations by Lewis Carroll
and Edward Lear. “There is a similarity,” admits Satyajit,
“But there is also a basic difference: while the creatures of Jabberwocky
belong to the world of imagination, Sukumar's creations, whatever they
may look like, belong to our familiar, everyday world. And many of them,
like his lug-headed loon, actually belong to Bengal.”
After his father's death Sukumar took over the editorship of Sandesh.
He carried not just stories and poems but also essays, world news, folktales,
puzzles and riddles. His evergreen creations include the hilarious exploits
of Dashu and his pals, Heshoramer Diary, and Ha ja ba ra la. Heshoramer
Diary is a spoof on Conan Doyle's Professor
Challenger and The Lost World. In Sukumar's version, Challenger becomes
Professor Hushiar. The setting is an unknown part of the Karakoram Mountains
where we find a profusion of prehistoric animals, named in matchless
compounds of Latin and Bengali. The general theme of Ha ja ba ra la
was influenced by Alice. “We have here the same falling asleep
on the grass; the same dream; the same pageant of known and half-known
beasts and humans; the same hits at linguistic lapses, social customs
and legal procedure and finally, the same return to reality. Yet nothing
could be more quintessentially Bengali than the spirit of this topsy-turvy
world” says Satyajit.
Sukumar's work is free from malice
but not from satire. What is most endearing about him is his spirit
of nonsense. There have been wit and humour in Bengali literature before
but hardly any nonsense until Sukumar arrived. He writes in the preface
to Abol Tabol, “This book was conceived in the spirit of whimsy.
It is not meant for those who do not enjoy that spirit.”
At 34 Sukumar fell seriously ill, but continued
to write, illustrate and edit from his sickbed for the last two-and-a-half
years of his life. His best-loved works belong to this period. None
of them were published while he was alive. Even his masterpiece Abol
Tabol, for which he had designed the jacket
and all the illustrations, was published nine days after his death.
Sukumar's work made a mark, and has been loved by children and adults
alike from the moment it appeared in print. They will continue to be
loved - as is clear from the number of reprints of all his books - so
long as the language exists.
Posted: April 2004
*Swapna Dutta
is a well-known author and critic in India and is a regular contributor
to PaperTigers.org
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