Subrata’s Autobiography– An Aerial View
Francis Bacon, the first major English essayist, wrote about books, “Books serve for delight, for ornament and for ability.” He further wrote, “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.” Subrata Kumar Das’ autobiographical book ‘Uthso theke Porobas’ (Searching the Roots by an Expat) will suit these observations. It is true we admire those books that enhance our knowledge and give us aesthetic pleasure, as is done by Subrata’s books. And so far as the second observation, Subrata’s book falls into the third category – it is to be chewed and digested. Subrata’s recent book is a window through which we can also have a glimpse of the inner psyche of the author.
So far we have known Subrata, the author, Subrata, the researcher, Subrata, the orator and Subrata, the organiser. After reading this book, we have known other traits of Subrata’s talents – Subrata, the social man, Subrata, the compassionate man, Subrata, the catalytic agent who turns and transforms a non-writer into a writer (myself included). In short, Subrata, the complete man. In modern time, we appreciate that man who knows something of everything and everything of something. But this is a rare quality. We come across many persons who know something of everything but do not know everything of something. Their study is extensive and not intensive. Sometimes we sarcastically call them ‘jack of all trades and master of none.’ There are others, who know everything of something but not something of everything. They are deeply engrossed in their choice subjects but are blissfully ignorant about the world around them. Reading Subrata’s earlier books we agree that Subrata knows almost everything of something – be it the Mahabharata, be it Japan-Bengal relations, be it Kazi Nazrul Islam, be it Rabindranath Tagore. But after reading his autobiography we simply feel dazzled having an idea of Subrata’s range of reading even at his tender age. Subrata has been a voracious reader and a prolific writer. He not only reads a book line by line, he also reads in between the lines, and sometimes, even beyond the lines. Some of Subrata’s books can easily be a resource material for researchers. For the amount of authentic data that Subrata compresses into his books is simply mind-boggling.
Subrata hails from Faridpur district of Bangladesh. People of Faridpur have small land but a big heart. Faridpur has given India many stalwarts. We are tempted to believe that Subrata, from his boyhood, has inculcated some salient features of his native place. Subrata, a teacher by profession and writer by choice, has written about thirty books in lucid English or charming Bengali. Not only that, Subrata as the leader of a group, represented Bangladesh in an international forum held at Rome in 2006. It goes to his credit that out of two thousand six hundred teams, his team was among the best fifty. And, moreover, ultimately his topped the list of three institutions that were considered the best.
There is a superb Sanskrit sloka in the Upanishad which is written below in Roman script.
Purnamadah Purnamidam Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya Purnameva Vashishyate.
Which means if from whole even the whole is taken out, whole still remains there. A book is a glaring example of that. Even if the whole knowledge of a book is taken out from the book, there still remains whole knowledge. “E dhan se dhan nay, keu nebe kere, Jatai karibe daan, Tata jabe bere.”
We know a light lights other lamps. It has been Subrata’s lifelong mission to pass on his knowledge to others. He believes in the downward theory of infiltration in education. He sincerely believes that it is the onus of an educated man to educate at least a few persons.
Subrata has given many wise statements in his book. One such is “If the knowledge of some individual outlives him, that knowledge becomes wisdom and, in course of time, eternal truth.” Similarly “All the major religions of the world have many such wonderful observations that is known as philosophy, and that is permanent and one of the two aspects of religion. The other aspect, which is transitory as well as less important is ritual.”
Debanjana Mukherjee Bhowmik, the interviewer of Subrata’s book, put such intelligent questions to Subrata and Subrata’s answers are so candid, that we can see Subrata in a better perspective and see Subrata with his frontside back and backside front. This is no mean achievement for an anchor and we all appreciate Debanjana’s expertise.
The 29th book of Subrata has been published from Murdhonno, Dhaka, in the Amar Ekushe Book fair.
Dilip Chakraborty, born in Bangladesh, is an 86 year old writer. A PhD in English from Aligarh Muslim University, Dilip has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses and worked as a Principal at four colleges in India. With four books to his credit, Dr. Chakraborty now lives in Canada.