Bangladeshi Literature: Rich Traditions, New Stories
by Anindya Raychaudhuri
“I am not what I am”, Shakespeare’s Iago says in Othello – a classic example of a bold assertion of an alternative identity. Iago, along with the curious Zebrafish provide the major inspiration for Bengali artist Ansuman Biswas and his video Danio Rerio. He explores the nature of the modern postcolonial subject living in a contemporary, Eurocentric, capitalist world.
Biswas was one of the artists featured in Bangladeshi Literature: Rich Traditions, New Stories along with Shama Rahman and The Rainbow Collective. The aim of the event was to introduce the audience to various traditional and contemporary ways in which Bengalis use language to tell stories.
Unfortunately, the event was plagued by organisational problems which meant it had to be curtailed, but the artists still managed to provide a flavor of their work. Rahman introduced various genres of storytelling including folk forms such as jatra (popular folk theatre), polligiti (popular folk music), baul (Sufi-inspired spiritual folk music), as well as more famous canonical cultural production such as Tagore, Nazrul and Satyajit Ray.
Members of The Rainbow Collective then showed a clip from their documentary about Bangladeshi garment-workers, and spoke about the need for more egalitarian documentary without the need for an authoritarian presenter.
The interesting points being made were at times marred by unfortunate errors – Rahman introduced a clip which she said was from Goopi Gyne Bagha Byne by Satyajit Ray, though it was actually from a different film altogether – Goopi Bagha Fire Elo, made by Satyajit’s son Sandeep Ray. Perhaps more understandable given the constraints of time were instances of over-simplification such as describing Nazrul as a ‘protest poet’ unlike the ‘more serene’ Tagore.
Small criticisms notwithstanding, this was an interesting look at Bengali life and was a moving testament to the unifying powers of a common language.
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