Many intellectuals in erstwhile Calcutta had extended support to the Naxalite movement in West Bengal in the sixties and early seventies. Sympathisers of young rebels fighting for the cause of farmers had wielded their pen to add steam to the movement and garner support in the urban pockets of the state. But some among them had also played a two-faced role weakening the political movement.
I, Anupam by author and poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen, delves into an intellectual’s life, his dilemma and ideological clashes. The book, a translation of Ami, Anupam that was published in a Bengali magazine in 1976, also shows the hypocrisy of the upper class in seventies’ Calcutta.
Anupam Roy is an academician, a renowned journalist and columnist who enjoys a coveted social status. Besides, and most importantly, Anupam is an eloquent orator, a charmer whose words turn into a string of pearls for upscale women. But none of these women has an iota of space in Anupam’s life. Instead, they are consciously happy to dwell on the periphery.He lives in a more critical world, vulnerable in the face of political churnings.
Anupam has a weekly column in a renowned newspaper. His criticisms both of domestic and international issues are valued in political and social circles. That he is a sympathiser of the Naxals and holds positive views on the movement is well known. His intelligence, education, critical mind, choice of words and politeness create an aura and Anupam is aware of and tolerably arrogant about it.
“… his manners are perfect; he attends to his responsibilities wonderfully. Politeness is a chemical amalgam of control and tolerance, and it comes to Anupam naturally. One who possesses intelligence also possesses tolerance,” that is Anupam.
And yet Anupam is human, selfish in critical hours. He fears losing his social position as much as he fears parting with the apartment in an upscale locality in Calcutta.
It is this fear that drives Anupam to turn a young rebel in. He gives away the secret that he is entrusted with. A group of young rebels, whose faith in and idolatry of their beloved Anupamda made them trust him with life, is fighting “a failed cause”, Anupam is convinced but his left-inclined intelligence that feeds his ego questions his decision.
“Can’t Anupam go stronger than the law? If the government shows strength attitude, can’t Anupam be sterner? No, he can’t. After all, he is just a lesson, an individual. He is not an institution.”
The man in his forties who wins hearts with well-strewn words is losing his voice, literally. It is ironic that the disease afflicts him at a time when he is fighting with his conscience.
As Anupam’s story unfolds, Padma Shri awardee Dev Sen — who has authored several travelogues, novels and poetry books and who is known as an outspoken litterateur born and brought up in a family of empowered women — does not hold back her sarcasm for the high-class, condescending Bengalis who talk about literature and revolution like new brands in the market and rare whiskey in the cellar.
Anupam is part of them and yet there is an invisible wall between him and the shallow world that gloats in power. He introspects, indulges in self-criticism and quests for the truth, even in his personal life.
Dev Sen, in her book, also raises the crucial questions about the Naxalite movement that ended in the formation of a Left government in West Bengal, reconciliation, compromises and disillusionment.
I, Anupam is the second translated book of Dev Sen published by Niyogi Books. Translated from Bengali by Paulami Sengupta and Tias Basu, the backdrop of the story may be unknown to many readers here but the conflicts and the weaknesses intrinsic to mortal existence are not new. The translation is crisp and flaws in editing can be overlooked considering the strong subject of the book.
~ NM
Book: I, Anupam; Author: Nabaneeta Dev Sen; Publisher: Niyogi Books; Pages: 195;
Price: Rs 395
