Sukumar Ray. Though he is a Bengali literary great in his own right; but perhaps for rest of India, he will have to be introduced as father of Satyajit Ray.
As many as 102 years have passed following his passage to another world. Yet it is mesmering how his creations are still extremely relevant in today's society also!
Though he died much young, when Satyajit Ray was a baby, Sukumar Ray had not only created a very rich treasury of short stories, plays, novels and poems; he was a pioneer of "non-sense" rhymes in Bengali literature. Apparently it might sound "non-sense" and fit for consumption of children only; but embedded within those apparently innocent and meaningless lines, much much larger and bitter truth exist.
Just for an example let's take the case of 'Baburam Sapure' ('Baburam The Snake Charmer') . Baburam is being asked to fetch 2 snakes which have no eyes horns nails, who do not show fangs or bite anybody, can’t run-walk-hiss and eat only rice and milk! And lastly the person asks Baburam in a very threatening tone to promptly bring 2 such live snakes who will be "beaten to submission" by violent stroke of a stick! The former child in myself used to find the poem highly amusing; but only on attainment of adulthood, I have come to realise the essence of it where Ray has given a tight slap to the cowardice hypocrisy prevalent in the society where individuals to the State apparatus --- all express their "muscle" and "rules and regulation" only when the opposite party is timid or brought into timidity, but simply refuse to challenge the mighty ones ie those snakes which display fangs or bite!
Let's take the "bravery" of our Bank mandarins. A poor farmer fails to repay a single or few instalment of principal loan amount or its interest due to failure of crops; the Bank agencies or their goons promptly come to the door of the farmer. Either confiscation of the tractor or psychological humiliation or physical assault inevitable often leading the hapless humiliated farmer to take the course of suicide. But when business magnets don't care to repay billion and billion amount of loan; either those loan get written off or provided further loans! And then I again realise the significance of 'Baburam Sapure' whose relevance will continue till the day all "strictness" of law and decorum get imposed upon the weak only with the powerful ones safely residing above all norms of law!
As for 'Ekushe ain' (21st Law) where bizarre modes of punishment were awarded for imaginary "offence" (like sneezing without permit before 6 pm); doesn't it remind us of a journalist's detention in prison for years before getting released on bail just due to his "crime" of proceeding towards a site of spine-chilling gangrape-death-forcible cremation to cover the issue or that of the arrest of a stand-up comedian for a "crime" he hadn't committed at the first place and found himself behind bars just on the apprehension that he would poke fun at the expense of high and mighty!
In this context, Ray's unique novel named ‘HaJaBaRaLa’ can also be invoked. Though the name is a combination of 5 Bengali alphabets; it has an inner meaning also. It denotes chaotic disorder or again absolute "nonsense"!
Yes, in the the land of Ray's ‘HaJaBaRaLa’, peculiar things happen!
Handkerchief instantly gets changed to a fat cat!
The pathway of Tibet from Kolkata goes through Diamond Harbour (a place near the mouth of Ganga where it merges into the Bay of Bengal) and time taken to reach the Himalayan plateau is just 1 hour 15 minutes!
According to the crow, 7×2 can be 14; might be a bit more or less than 14 also! It depends upon the time of calculation!
Previously I thought that it is again a "non-sensical" imagination of Ray! But nowadays it seems that we have at last reached the land of HaJaBaRaLa!
Here new currencies cannot be turned “Black” or hoarded! It cannot be counterfeited as well! And seeing the new notes, human traffickers and terrorists would make a permanent hasty retreat!
Immediately after any so-called “Success”, I would be the first one to take the entire credit and beat my own chest! But when it comes to accept the blame for abject failure, I am to be seen nowhere in the picture!
Or another day somebody bizarrely declares that he has been sent directly to the earth by the God!
In the world of Hajabarala, age is not allowed to increase beyond 40! After 40, age is made to decrease till 10! And thereafter increased to 40 and again decreased to 10! And this cycle continues in this fashion so that people do not die after turning "old"!
But Sukumar Ray, who couldn't even reach the age of 40 (passed away aged merely 35), is today 138 years "old"; but he continues to live within us, that too remaining fully relevant, through his immortal creations!