Taking a peek into a lost era
Subrata Kumar Das enjoys reading on men and events
Pata Ultai
Mozaffar Hossain
Bodhi, Dhaka
Kindness to all living beings is a fake idea. If Goutama Buddha knew that plants have life too, what would he eat?
But slaughtering animals in a festive way is an exaggeration. One can give a speech or become a chairperson against his post, but cannot become a wise man.
Politeness and modesty are strengths, not weaknesses.
You may have failed to discover greatness in some aspect in one whom you consider less than great.
Man is not finally 'good' or 'bad'. These are instances of some 121 pieces that Mozaffar Hossain, a man of simple living but high thinking, has arranged very amusing manner in the book. The book comprises 19 chapters, big as well as small, along with some 23 sub-chapters. The sub-chapters are included in 'Khondo Chitro Ekattor', 'Bikshipto Smriti' and 'Smritir Manush'. The people about whom the writer has constructed stories include Dr Govinda Chandra Dev, Mizanur Rahman, Narendranath Mitra, Khogesh Kiron Talukder, Waheedul Haque, Aroj Ali Matubbar, Rajendralal Das, Kazi Abul Hossain, Poet Ataur Rahman, Safat Ahmed Chowdhury, et al. No doubt the 30 pages dedicated to the aforesaid personalities, great in any sense of the term, are a precious treasure for readers. How does Mozaffar Hossain open his book? 'Je Karone ei Lekha', a one-page piece, makes the reader interested in diving into the remaining 140 pages. A touch of nostalgia and sorrow hovers over the page, or to speak true over the whole book. "My father would, every now and then, say, 'If you write a book, even a book for children, you will be remembered.'" Mozaffar Hossain, born in 1936, then ushers the reader into the next phase, small pieces called 'Nijer Kotha Bolar Eti Neti', 'Nijei Nijer Mukhomukhi', 'Proyato Priyojoner Proti Sroddha' and 'Amar Proyato Pita Ekjon Mohajagotic Manush'. These small pieces are very simple in thought and language but do have many keen points that allure the reader not to move any other way. Additionally the author has incorporated some informative pieces that shed light on many of the different phases of the writer's life. 'Koto Chhotobelar Kotha', 'Amar School Jiboner Prothom Din', 'Mama Bari O Mamu-Bhagina Golpo', 'Chollish Doshoke Dhakaye','Dhaka Theke Dinajpur', 'Dinajpurer Mukh', 'Proyato Pitar Dairy', et cetera, give a flashback of the multifarious turns that took place during the childhood, adolescence and youthful stages of Mozaffar Hossain's life. Later on came the eventful events of 1971. The writer has incorporated six pieces on the 1971 War of Liberation. These are not the usual Muktijuddho writings, but have some special touches that make them worthy of being read. 'Bikshipto Smriti' demonstrates many different aspects of our life. Modernity and entertainment of the bygone days, music of the old, how started reading, or the films of lost times are really great documentations of Bengali life in the 1950s and 1960s. To have a clear view of the old but golden days, Pata Ultai could prove an invaluable read for many. Mozaffar Hossain has given accounts of his personal encounter with people of great importance, some of whom were his teachers. Some were colleagues, some were teachers cum colleagues, and some were his friends. He has not shaped very scholarly dissertations on them, but his thoughts actually bring out reflections if the true inner mind of the truly scholar personality. Failing to control temptation, I am presenting below some of the excerpts (in my own translation) from those outstanding prose pieces: "At Bahadurabad Ghat, the checker of the ferry challenged him (Dr Govinda Chandra Dev) as a passenger of the first class. Maybe it was because of his shabby outfit. Being asked to show his first class ticket Dr Dev responded, "I am a man of first class though I look third class." Now so many first class people do have third class minds. Alas! If the Pakistani army had made the same mistake considering him a third class person!" (p. 104) "Mizan Bhai (the editor of Meezanur Rahmaner Troimashik Potrika) observed the riots of 1946 that he later recounted in his book Krishno Sholoi (The Black Sixteenth). ... We all know that Hindus and Muslims killed people of each other's community in the riots. But we know little about those who sacrificed their lives to save people of the other community." (p. 106) "The man (Rajendranath Das) left the government job lest he might have to leave Dinajpur. But what a tragedy that he had to leave the country! He had to do it as a result of some conspiracies that caused insecurity for him." (p. 119) "No contemporary time shows due respect to its revolutionary genius. If sometimes it does, it is earned as a reward of much oppression and tribute.... At the end of his (Aroj Ali Matobbar's) life, he could draw respect from some kind souls." (p. 125) Bodhi, a sister organisation of Takshashila, has set a good example through publishing this non-profitable book. We believe readers in Bangladesh as well as West Bengal will applaud the writer and publisher of Pata Ultai in terms of its contents and material qualities.
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