SIGNPOSTS
A collection of Bengali poetry since Independence (1947-2000)
SIGNPOSTS, a Rupa publication, is a collection of Bengali poems (English translation) representing post-independent India. Any poetry anthology is essentially incomplete. Staying within that notion, SIGNPOSTS serves its purpose well. The book is an excellent first foil for English speaking audiences curious about modern Bengali poetry. The following is a brief encounter with its editor Prabal Kumar Basu.
Aryanil:
Lets begin with SIGNPOSTS. Many Bengali poets and writer see SIGNPOSTS as a major anthology of modern Indian poetry written in Bengali language in independent India. What motivated you to do a book like that ?
Prabal:
As you might know, to meet my professional needs, I need to extensively travel within India. During my travels I often come across people who are interested in Bengali poetry. You would be surprised to know some of them are Bengalis who do not know how to read or write their own mother tongue. It all started from there. Since no such anthology in English was available , I felt the necessity to bring out one myself.
The other most important thought was to take Bengali poetry beyond all boundaries so international readers get exposed to Bengali poetry. To make it comprehensive, I chose the post-independence (1947 onwards) period.
Aryanil:
Any collection of poetry is almost always incomplete as it fails to throw light on all corners of the literary world. It largely reflects the literary values and polemics of the editors and thus, cannot reach out to poetic traditions or practise that are, lets say, counter-cultural (to the selection). SIGNPOSTS has probably suffered similar accusations. How do you deal with that ?
Prabal:
One can always point out what has not been done. Since we were covering a half-century past India’s independence, we decided to restrict the number of poets to fifty at the very beginning. I personally stuck to my literary values while making the primary selection. That is why you will find poets like Manindra Gupta , Manibhusan Bhattacharya , Tushar Chaudhury , Dhiman Chakrabarty or Jahar Sen Mazumdar in Signposts. The latter poets mentioned above do represent the ‘counter cultural’.
Most of the accusations are baseless. The fact of the matter is that an editor does not work to satisfy everybody. That should not be his goal.
Aryanil:
If you were given the opportunity to go back and add/remove one poet to/from the anthology today, which poet(s) would you pick and why ?
Prabal:
It would not be of good taste to name any one poet. You will find I have included poets from the 1990s. I knew it was too early for the selection as a poet takes another decade to attain maturity. Certainly my selection of poets from Nineties will differ to some extent if I have to rework Signposts . But I don’t think I will make any changes to my selection from the other decades.
Aryanil:
Your poetry stands up for "drama". You had once said that you have experimented with the use of "drama elements" in your poetic content and speech. Could you elucidate on that ?
Prabal:
If you read my work carefully you’ll notice that with each book I have always tried to break the diction I had built myself for my previous work(s). I personally do not believe in the use of dramatic elements in poetry. Poetry to me is basically the language of silence that speaks.
However, I am a strong proponent of verse drama. It is not only an extended form of poetry - a different form altogether.
Aryanil:
We have had poets who have felt that a poet is a speaker of the "unspoken". There are others who have favoured "performance poetry". Personally, I tend to think that a poem’s communication with the reader is a private affair and group readings or public readings give the reader very little except poetry that announces itself loud and clear like as if coming thru a public messaging system. I know you’ll choose to differ, but I’d like to know how ?
Prabal:
I do believe that a poet’s communication with the reader is a private affair but public reading at times brings to the audience an extra dimension since it is the one time the poem comes to the reader/listener directly from its creator. It is another way to reach to the audience. Your poetry may not be always easily available to everyone. Or be easily accessible.
Aryanil:
Tell us about your poetry reading trip to New Zealand and your meeting with Sam Hammil?
Prabal:
It was amazing. And pure fun. Bengali poets residing in Bengal generally don’t have access to poets from other countries. The New Zealand trip gave me that opportunity. The only other Bengali poet who has had this experience is Sunil Gangopadhyay. When one meet poets from other countries, spends time with them informally, one’s entire thought process changes. One comes to know about the latest paradigm shifts and style evolutions, one can identify himself coming out of his own little box, which, finally is a tremendous enrichment I think. My poetic diction has changed after my New Zealand trip.
This trip motivated me to edit an international poetry issue in a journal called Yapanchitra.
My meeting with Sam Hammil was rewarding. I always believed any writer, poet or artist has got much more to do for society over and above his own creation. Sam Hammil is one such person who has done this. We became friends instantly and on his request I tried to initiate Poets Against War in India.
Aryanil:
What part have you played by far in the Poets-Against-War movement in India? How is it received in India ?
Prabal:
Based on my interaction with Sam Hammil and mostly because of his inspiration I formed a small committee to initiate Poets Against War movement in India. Noted artist Hiran Mitra made the logo-art. I discussed it with two senior poets viz. Sankha Ghosh and Sunil Gangopadhyay and both of them consented to support and be with the movement. I started writing awareness-articles on this movement in various journals. I issued an initial letter to about 100 poets all over India requesting them to send poems written against war. You have also helped me in sending the appeal out. Unfortunately the response was very poor. One reason I thought, could be the language barrier. I requested for poems to be sent to me in English translation , which I think was hard for most of the poets to get done.
The other issue could have been the apolitical mind set of many Indian poets. Any how, the response has been very poor.
Aryanil:
What do you think are the most significant problems mainstream contemporary Bengali poetry is faced with ? How do you view the parallel poetry consciousness streams ?
Prabal:
What is mainstream poetry may I ask ? Is it the kind that has been blessed by the media and is easily available to the readers ? Some poets are recognized as mainstream poets because they are more known, that’s all.
Actually the writing traditions of a particular generation has to be recognized and acknowledged by earlier generation. It’s the earlier generation who identifies and introduces a particular poet to the wider section of the audience through their endorsement. And that happens as per their own literary values. I think the main crisis of the so-called mainstream contemporary poetry is that they have opted to write an easier poetry imbibing the old style of earlier generations. No one has tried any experiments. So in the end, you will come across mature poets still engrossed with teen-age love poems - a writing that leaves no space, no scope for imagination, does not challenge readers. Maybe, the readers don’t like to be challenged.
Parallel poetry in Bengal is still much scattered. A concerted effort is required. Effort needs to be made to make parallel poetry easily available to the readers. Above all, it needs to be poetry first, then parallel.
Aryanil:
Most Bengali poets from the 1930s were students/teachers/practitioners of the Arts. Nearly all of them were students of literature – some of the brightest in their generation. Nearly all of them taught literature or language at some point in their careers, some like Buddhadev Bose and Amiya Chakrabarty taught at some of the major universities around the globe. However, gradually Bengali poetry has fallen out of "elitist" hands into the hands of "non-literary" creed, like you and me, lets say. How does it affect our poetic literature ?
Prabal:
There’s more to it - social implications. Till the mid seventies of last century, you will see, meritorious students in India would often opt for the Arts . The scenario changed after independence. Another reason was unemployment. Industrialisation gained momentum, opportunities of studying abroad opened up. Good students preferred to avail these opportunities and weaned traditional fields of study.
People who are more sensitive, responsive to the surroundings ultimately turn out to be creators. Sensitivity and responsiveness in the world today comes from experience and exposure. Unfortunately, its the non-literary creed that have that necessary exposure . The fact of the matter is brighter students opt out of the Arts. Poetry has not befallen, nor has it become "non-elitist", only a social transformation has taken place. The academic background of people representing the elitist class has changed.
Aryanil:
The "marriage theme" seems to shuttle between certain phases of your poetry – with sad wit you seem to often joke about it ? Take your poem "Marriage Anniversary" for example – though it talks about a specific couple and their failing relationship, in a more broader sense the poem is about our failure to connect. As the present electronic civilization attempts to stretch out its paws and palms in a bid to connect distant minds, brains and sometimes bodies, by building a powerful ethereal networking system, "communication failures" become an intrinsic part of that electronic psyche. What’s your thought on this ?
Prabal:
If someone really analyzes my poems carefullt, one would find "relationship" is the focal theme of most of my poems. I think of marriage as the most important relationship of human society. Most of us live in "marriage" and I have only tried to see it through the eyes of someone who lives it "in and out". Actually marriage suffers heavily from mundane lifestyles and our habitualization of the same. At the core, it’s the habit that lets communication snap.
Aryanil:
What has been thre most exciting phase of your poetic career and why ?
Prabal:
I don’t know what is a poetic career. The most exciting phase is as ever - yet to come Whatever phases a poet passes through is exciting, even at times if it is depressing. Perhaps the most exciting phase in its true sense never arrives. A poet can only thrive for it.
Aryanil:
Would you like to say a few words about your much talked about book "janmabeej" ?
Prabal:
This book was written in a trance. It was during 1988 that I wrote this long poem. I wanted to write some kind of a classic – an epic poem with modern connotations. This long poem just happened. Speaking unaasumingly, it portrays a journey of life. A lyrical metre has been used in certain sections of the poem. A metre that matches the rhythm of life. Some poets have thought of it as a pioneering work.
Aryanil:
"Yapanchitra" (life-portrait) is title of one of your poetry-books. Later a magazine by the same name came into being on the verge of the 21st century. Barnali Roy edits the magazine. She has often invited you to guest-edit it. Give us a historical account of this journalification of your book of poems? Why a magazine with the same name ?
Prabal:
Its not only the magazine. Barnali has a publishing house of the same name and now she has an Art gallery called Yapanchitra . I feel Barnali would have been in a better position to clarify this. May be the name attracted her or it best describes her editorial ideal. Also I didn’t register the copyright of the name. She is well known to me and after my return from the Wellington International Poetry Festival when she requested me to edit a Yapanchitra issue on International Poetry, I agreed.
Aryanil:
Tell me something about your poem "South Africa -1". Did you write a series of poems entitled "South Africa" ? Where did the inspiration come from ?
Prabal:
The inspiration was Nelson Mandela. He got released at that point of time. I think 1988 or 89. The story of his struggle, and of his wife then, inspired me. When he visited Calcutta this was one of the two poems that were read out to him. I wrote both of them - South Africa 1 & 2.
South Africa-1
Steven Steven! A dead man walks out
of his coffin
Steven Steven! The dead man etches on his tombstone.
It isn't home
Steven Steven! There's your blanket
in the cold that holds you
The coffin-door swings and another man walks in
Lies down with your blanket wrapped...
People thought Steven lies there
They knew Steven has stopped hunting birds
at the south seas
Steven Steven! Dead man walking outta coffin
Steven Steven! Where did you go out in the cold?
Translated by Aryanil Mukherjee
Aryanil:
Over the years, you have shared with me unforgettable memories of your association with Shakti Chattopadhyay and Binoy Majumdar. Could you recall a single incident involving each poet that will remain with you for ever?
Prabal:
Yeah, not too many poets of my generation had this fortune. I would like to put on record two incidents. Shakti once told me he got the idea of the Hungry Movement from one of Binoy’s poetry book which he was reviewing.
About Binoy, I remember having asked him once whom do you consider the major poets of your time. He said, "No. 3 and 4 are earmarked for Shankha Ghosh and Alokranjan Dasgupta. One of the first two might be Shakti Chattopadhyay." I asked - who is No. 1 ? He smiled, "Time will tell".
Shakti was more of a family friend. He was one of the witnesses when I got married.
.
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Prabal Kumar Basu started writing poetry in the 1980s and has authored eight volume of poetry till date. He has also published a collection of verse drama and short stories. UBSPD has published an English 
translation of his selected poetry. Prabal was involved in the production of verse drama and performance poetry (poetry ballet) at a very young age. He organized a creative meet for two days on behalf of P.E.N. in 1999 where poets, painters, and other creative artists participated in an interactive discourse. Prabal edited SIGNPOSTS - a translation anthology of Bengali Poetry since India’s independence, published by Rupa. He also guest-edited for YAPANCHITRA (a noted Bengali magazine) an international poetry issue in English. He participated in Kavya Bharati (Mumbai) - an all India Poets meet organized by Sahitya Academy in 2004; represented India in the 3rd Wellington International Poetry Festival in 2005 and was also invited to read poetry in Bangladesh during their New Year festival in 2006. Prabal Kumar Basu is a much awarded poet. He received Gouri Bhattacharjee Memorial award for his first book ‘Tumeei Pratham’ and the State Academy Award for poetry for ‘Jamon Kore Gaiche Akash’ (2005).
Prabal makes a living as an engineer. He lives in Kolkata.
