Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 27.9.2020
Vidyasagar,
the giant of a man
Two
hundred years ago on 26 September a baby was born in Birsingha, in present day Paschim
Medinipur district of West Bengal
into a Brahmin (Bandopadhay) family. He was named Iswar Chandra. He grew into one of the key figures of India's
renaissance in the nineteenth century, a social reformer, educationist, philanthropist,
an anti-colonial activist and a linguist.
As a social reformer, his role in changing the status of
women in India is remarkable. He attempted to reform the society not from
outside, but from within. His study and mastery over the ancient texts
convinced him that the status of women was a result of the power structure of
the society. It was the result of his untiring struggle that brought in Widow
remarriage Act in 1856. He fought for women education, founded 35 schools for
girls throughout Bengal. He also vigorously challenged the practice of child
marriage. He fought against the custom of Brahmin polygamy.
As an educationist he brought about unprecedented changes in
education and academic administration. He strongly believed that everyone
should have access to education. He established about 20 schools across Bengal.
He brought about a revolution in the Bengali education system
by changing the way Bengali language was written and taught.
As a linguist he is credited with restructuring the Bengali
alphabet. He simplified Bengali typography. He wrote the primer Borno Parichay for children to learn the alphabets.
He was a key figure in Bengal’s renaissance, which ignited
similar creative and reformative zeal in other parts of the country, including
Maharashtra and Odisha.
For his great learning, the Sanskrit College in
Calcutta, of which he was the principal for a few years, conferred on him the
title of ‘Vidyasagar’. He was also called Dayar Sagar for his philanthropy.
Ironically his personal life was full of tragedies.
As he fought against the orthodoxy, he was subject to criticism from several
quarters, including from within his own family. But he trudged on. He was truly
a giant of a man.
Abhay
Padhi
Abhay
Padhi, former Additional Director General of AIR and DD, a great communicator
and teacher; a poet and author; an original thinker and able administrator; a
great proponent of Koshali language, culture and history left us on 21
September morning. He lost his fight against Corona. He was 71; not a dieable age if one considers the energy
he used to radiate and the amount of work he used to do.
The best
part of Abhay Padhi was that he was always open to new ideas.
His
demise is a personal loss and a great loss for the knowledge world of Odisha.
Stealing
Flowers
Stealing flowers from other’s
gardens, public parks and any other place one can lay hands on is a favourite
past-time of many in several towns including capital city Bhubaneswar in
Odisha. I know this also happens in many places in West Bengal.
The stealing operation usually
happens early in the morning. The flower-stealers would go armed with a
specially prepared stick (in Odia it is called ankushi, in Bengali it is called Ankshi) and a polythene bag. Wherever they would see a flower, they
would use the stick to pluck it. Some of the flower-stealers also steal fruits
and vegetables. If you catch them stealing flowers from your garden, they will
reason it out by saying – “it is for the worship of the God”. I fail to
understand this- if God has created everything that we see including the
flowers, why should you steal it and offer it to Him!
My friend Sandeep Sahu writes
that Bhubaneswar based Writer, speaker and entrepreneur Hara Prasanna Das has a
grievance. Pointing to a 100 meter patch of land by the side of the road in
front of his house, he says; "I planted all these flower plants after I
shifted to this place in 2010. I have personally tended to them with great care
ever since. But people denude the plants of all flowers by the time I get up. I
never get to see a single red 'kaniara' that I had fetched from Unit III. And
they would give me a stern look if I commit the cardinal sin of asking them why
they were doing what they were doing. They seldom argue. But the look on their
face says; "Who the hell are you to ask me about it?"
The worst part is they don't have
the patience to pluck the flowers one at a time. In their anxiety to pluck the
whole bunch in one go, they would often break the branches. And I have the
onerous task of nursing it back to health. Why can't they be a little
patient?"
Translation Day
September 30 is celebrated as International Translation Day.
Launched in 1953, International Translation Day is
a relatively recent entry into the calendar of world events. Established by the
International Federation of Translators, the annual celebration is an
opportunity to pay tribute to the work of translators who endeavour to make the
world a slightly smaller place by breaking down language barriers and allowing
great literature to be enjoyed far more widely.
Languages, with their complex implications for
identity, communication, social integration, education and development, are of
strategic importance for people and the planet. Translation makes the
communication between different languages.
International
Translation Day is observed on 30 September as it celebrates the feast of St. Jerome, a
Christian scholar and a priest from North-eastern Italy. He was
the first person to translate the Bible into Latin from the original Hebrew,
making it accessible for the first time to a far wider audience. He also
translated parts of the Hebrew Gospel into Greek. He was of Illyrian ancestry
and his native tongue was the Illyrian dialect. He learned Latin in school and
was fluent in Greek and Hebrew, which he picked up from his studies and
travels. Jerome died near Bethlehem on 30 September 420. St.
Jerome is considered as the patron saint of translators.
Tail
piece: Legal Opinion
A wife asked legal opinion from her lawyer
husband on why wives are supposed to cook food for their husbands.*
He said, “According to Geneva Convention all prisoners must be provided with food”
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal. He writes fiction and plays; and translates Urdu poetry into Odia.
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