আমার পড়া সুকান্ত রচনা সম্ভার বইটিতে সুকান্ত ভট্টাচার্যের লেখা ছাড়পত্র (১৯৪৭), পূর্বাভাস (১৯৫০), মিঠেকড়া (১৯৫১), অভিযান (১৯৫৩), ঘুম নেই (১৯৫৪), হরতাল (১৯৬২), গীতিগুচ্ছ (১৯৬৫) বাদেও কিছু পত্রগুচ্ছ এবং আরও কিছু অপ্রচলিত রচনা আছে।
বইটি ছোটবেলায় পড়েছিলাম প্রথম। তখনও মার্কসবাদী চিন্তাভাবনা তো দূরে থাক, বিদ্রোহ কী জিনিস তাই বুঝতাম না। আব্বু যখন দ্বিতীয়বারের মত আই.সি.ইউতে ভর্তি হলেন তখন বইটি আবার ধরলাম। শুরুতে খুব সুন্দর করে তাঁর জীবনী লেখা। তাঁর ছোটবেলা, অরুনাচল বসুর সঙ্গে বন্ধুত্ব আর লেখালেখি, সরলা বসুর স্নেহ এবং তাদের বর্ণনা ও বক্তব্য, তাঁর রাজনৈতিক জীবন নিয়েই এই অংশটুকু। তেতাল্লিশের দুর্ভিক্ষের সময় কোলকাতার রাস্তার পাশে এক পরিবার।
দ্বিতীয় বিশ্বযুদ্ধ, তেতাল্লিশের মম্বন্তর, ফ্যাসিবাদী আগ্রাসন, সাম্প্রদায়িক দাঙ্গা নিয়ে তাঁর লেখাগুলো সত্যি মনকে অন্যরকম নাড়া দিয়ে বসে। যেমনঃ
একটি মোরগ হঠাৎ আশ্রয় পেয়ে গেল বিরাট প্রাসাদের ছোট্ট এক কোণে, ভাঙা প্যাকিং বাক্সের গাদায়— আরো দু’তিনটি মুরগীর সঙ্গে।
আশ্রয় যদিও মিলল, উপযুক্ত আহার মিলল না। সুতীক্ষ্ণ চিৎকারে প্রতিবাদ জানিয়ে গলা ফাটাল সেই মোরগ ভোর থেকে সন্ধ্যে পর্যন্ত— তবুও সহানুভূতি জানাল না সেই বিরাট শক্ত ইমারত।
তারপর শুরু হল তাঁর আঁস্তাকুড়ে আনাগোনা: আশ্চর্য! সেখানে প্রতিদিন মিলতে লাগল ফেলে দেওয়া ভাত-রুটির চমৎকার প্রচুর খাবার!
তারপর এক সময় আঁস্তাকুড়েও এল অংশীদার— ময়লা ছেঁড়া ন্যাকড়া পরা দু’তিনটে মানুষ; কাজেই দুর্বলতার মোরগের খাবার গেল বন্ধ হয়ে।
খাবার! খাবার! খানিকটা খাবার! অসহায় মোরগ খাবারের সন্ধানে বার বার চেষ্টা করল প্রাসাদে ঢুকতে, প্রত্যেকবারই তাড়া খেল প্রচণ্ড। ছোট্ট মোরগ ঘাড় উঁচু করে স্বপ্ন দেখে-— ‘প্রাসাদের ভেতর রাশি রাশি খাবার’!
তারপর সত্যিই সে একদিন প্রাসাদে ঢুকতে পেল, একেবারে সোজা চলে এল ধপ্ধপে সাদা দামী কাপড়ে ঢাকা খাবার টেবিলে; অবশ্য খাবার খেতে নয়— খাবার হিসেবে।।
-একটি মোরগের কাহিনী
১৯৪৭ সালের ১৩ই মে মাত্র ২১ বছর বয়সে শেষ নিঃশ্বাস ত্যাগ করেন তিনি।
For non-Bengali readers:
This is a review of a collection of poetry, plays and songs by rebel Bengali poet Sukanta Bhattacharya. A Communist activist, Sukanta was known for being outspoken about his patriotic beliefs in an era of gross injustice. His writings reflected on revolutionary themes such as the Second World War, the Bengal Famine of 1943, anti-Fascism and 1946-7 communal violence in India. Yet, he also portrayed Bengal with romanticism. He died of tuberculosis at the very young age of 21 on 13th May 1947.
“I don't really know if it's the right thing to do, making new life. Kids grow up, generations take their place. What does it all come to? More hills bulldozed and more ocean fronts filled in? Faster cars and more cats run over? Who needs it?”
This is the first book Murakami wrote as a full-time novelist, and his third overall. The third book in the Rat Trilogy, the story revolves around a strange mystery surrounding an enigmatic sheep in Hokkaido, and how the narrator starts on an adventure to find something that even he can't grasp properly. Here, Murakami touches up on themes like right-wing politics in Japan, and ear fetish.
Take a dip into this fast-paced mystery with a strange surrealistic undertone, as we smoke Seven Stars and enjoy the dull, cold weather of Sapporo, searching for a long-lost friend.
“Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting.”
A sequel to the Rat Trilogy, Dance Dance Dance was, in fact, a response to the unexpected fame that Norwegian Wood had brought to Murakami. There are references to trends and capitalism and consumerism and the vacuous concept of celebrity status and also the usual Murakami themes of alienation and the sudden discovery of a human connection. Also, there are references of mortality and the downsides of the "celebrity" image.
Dance Dance Dance has our anonymous narrator, suffering from existential dread, going back to some of the thematic venues of A Wild Sheep Chase in search of a past connection. He receives cryptic instructions from the enigmatic Sheep Man and goes on to strike up a friendship with a teenager who suffers similar emotions of alienation. He makes acquaintances of a number of celebrities, some quite eccentric, and comes across some unusual metaphorical visions (or are they portals to other worlds?) during his adventures. There are many recurring lines and metaphors, almost repetitive, but in a good way.
“Ever since I was little my mother had told me, if you don’t know something, go to the library and look it up.”
The Strange Library is a children's illustrated novel written by Haruki Murakami. The story centers around a boy who finds himself imprisoned in a labyrinth-like library. The book centers around strange, dark themes and words for a children's book. Some regular Murakami-esque features are present here in their full glory.
The moral
It is hard to tell what the moral of this strange tale is. It could be that: "Curiousity and the thirst for knowledge can land you in some difficult places". However, I had a feeling the book made a strong point of not giving in to submission when confronted with strangers.
“Why do I act like this, agreeing when I really disagree, letting people force me to do things I don't want to do?”
"I’m not very good at giving anyone a clear no."
Easter Eggs
The book has a few themes that can be attributed to some of Murakami's inspirations.
“The tricky thing about mazes is that you don't know if you've chosen the right path until the very end. If it turns out you were wrong, it's usually too late to go back and start again. That's the problem with mazes.”
The library's labyrinthine structure is a nod to Jorge Luis Borges' The Library of Babel. Labyrinths were a common theme of Borges' work. The manner in which the protagonist is imprisoned is reminiscent of Franz Kafka's The Trial. As it happens, Kafka is a regular feature in Murakami's work and hard-coded influence in his writing.
The Sheep Man is another Murakami character who has made multiple appearances. First introduced in A Wild Sheep Chase, this distinctive half-man, half-sheep character is an enigma among Murakami fans. Even though his motives are unknown, he is often known to aid the protagonists on their journey and give valuable advice.
The book has another subtle reference:
"I lie here by myself in the dark at two o’clock in the morning and think about that cell in the library basement. About how it feels to be alone, and the depth of the darkness surrounding me. Darkness as pitch black as the night of the new moon."
How does Dale Cooper like his coffee in Twin Peaks? Black as midnight on a moonless night.
Twin Peaks has been a heavy influence on Haruki Murakami's work from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle onwards.
"We are crazy about Twin Peaks in Japan. Do you remember the room with red curtains and the dancing dwarf? That’s the room I mean when I think about subconsciousness. There is something strange and special in yourself. David Lynch knows that too and so we can both create those images, the same images."
I make drawings of the natural world, transient moments of grace and beauty in an age of disappearance. Inspired by plant and animal studies of the Northern Renaissance, Netherlandish devotional panel paintings, and nature mysticism as expressed through various forms of art, music, poetry and prose, my art acknowledges interconnectedness in nature and our loss of connection with the sacred.
Our planet is broken because we’ve lost relationship with the earth, with our soul. My drawings serve as more than intimate portraits; they are testaments to lives lived. They are memento mori, reminders in this age of ecocide that humans cannot live detached from nature. May these quiet drawings remind us of our place on this planet and awaken our consciousness to the cosmos of which we are a part.
- from Rebecca Clark's website
Some time in winter 2007, Rebecca Clark attended an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington titled “Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych.”
I’ve always been drawn to medieval devotional paintings and prayer books; I’m moved by their intimacy, honesty, and the purity of spirit that they convey. In seeing these works for the very first time, what struck me most was the dichotomy between the small scale of the diptychs and the quiet power that emanated from them. In today’s age of bold, super-sized, extravagant art, this exhibition was a welcome understatement.
In the days after the exhibition, she'd begun observing the degree of alienation that the individuals of our society suffered from while riding the DC Metro. People engaged in their handheld devices, refusing to observe the world intrigued her. Inspiration had already been planted, and the fruits of which is this remarkable book.
The Book of Hours is a collection of artwork, prose, poetry, song lyrics and essays and excerpts that build up to indulge the reader into the artist's anthropocentric perspective of human engagement with the environment. The work is divided into four chapters: Matins, None, Vespers and Vigils, each referring to a certain hour of the day, representing an entity of existence as we observe nature from different angles and observe our existence and our footprints on this planet through art.
A thought-provoking read.
If you like the drawings, and/or are intrigued by this review, you can read the book or download it for free on Rebecca Clark's website, where you can also browse her galleries.
“Few things leave a deeper mark on the reader, than the first book that finds its way to his heart.”
Barcelona, 1945. Daniel Sempere comes across a book on his eleventh birthday. Upon reading the novel, Daniel is so intrigued by the beauty of this "forgotten" book that he goes about on a search for any other works of the same author: a mysterious character called Julián Carax. It is then that he discovers that Carax's books have been fast disappearing from the face of the earth, as if someone was destroying every single copy with the name of Julián Carax attached to it.
The Shadow of the Wind is a dark, mystery novel where there's secrets in every corner and grief, anger and vengeance in every other page. A 21st century masterpiece of gothic fiction.
The foreword to the book has Murakami recalling his early days as the owner of a jazz bar, how he had the sudden inspiration to write after attending a baseball game, how he spent nights at the kitchen-table writing his first two novels and his feelings towards them after all this time. For reviews to the novels, go to the following links.
