Harisharkar Jaladas

At the last Ekushey book fair, Harishankar Jaladas's (b.1955) Ramgolam brought him much fame as the writer of the 'best book'. Before that, he won the Prothom-alo best book award for his Dahankaal (2010) and came to the limelight as a successful fiction writer. We can recall that he debuted with Jalaputro only in 2008 and in 2011 came another novel, Kobsi. The most significant point to notice is that all the four novels produced from Harishankar's pen sketch the life of the downtrodden, some of whom are from among fisherfolks, some from among prostitutes and some others are the 'harijons' or 'methors'.
A well-known fact about Harishankar is his getting a doctorate degree on the theme of 'Bangla Novels based on Riverine Life and Fishing Folks'. Along with that he has written some more research books on the life of the fishing community and the place of the community in the various genres of our literature. In 2008 his debut novel came out and we discovered the appearance of a mighty subaltern in the novel world of Bangladesh.
Jalaputro (Sons of Water) opens with Bhubaneshwari waiting for her husband, who went on fishing the previous night but did not return. This waiting of Bhubaneshwari, a woman of only nineteen and the mother of a child named Gangapada, never ends. When the novel ends, we find her waiting for the oncoming baby of Gangapada in the womb of Sumitra. Since his boyhood, Gangapada has experienced the severity of the fishing folks in the matter of access to education. Bhubaneshwari has always cherished a desire to make education accessible to her son Gangapada just as her son equally cherished a desire to educate his oncoming babe. With the light of a little education, Gangapada tries to unite the people of his community against the conspiracies of people of the well-off community. Seeing his efforts, his mother fears for him. Gangapada only tells her, 'Mother, please don't be afraid. The fishermen are very helpless. No one is there to show them the right way. As they love me, I have to do something for them in return'. They live in an area alienated from gentlemen's society, in the north Patenga. They have no access to education, but have access to all the evil elements of life. Out of the ignoble life they live comes a rebellious son named Gangapada, who realises only too well that only education and unity can only bring about a change in their accursed life. And consequently, Gangapada makes his people aware of the tricks made by Shashibhushon and Sukkur. In the face of all enmity even from people of his own profession, Gangapada tries to fight and at last is killed.
Gangapada can be seen in juxtaposition to the protagonist Haripada of Dahankaal. Ganga meets death but Haripada endures. Both of them rise from the same societal conditions, and as a result the first and larger part of Dahankaal seems to be an improved edition of Jalaputro itself. The differences that are prominent between these two novels lie in the last past of the second novel where we find the story of Dahankaal delving into the time of the Liberation War.
Haridas, the eldest son of Radhanath and Boshumoti, will be an educated man when he grows to adulthood. That is the dream of his parents. The dream arises from the incident of Radhanath's father's death at sea, a happening which makes him determined to educate his own son. With a plot similar to that of Jalaputro, Dahankaal proceeds and with the passage of time it takes on a different story to express life and society and the struggle of people who survive on fishing. But the second novel takes in many more facets and thus becomes a better literary endeavour.
Haridas of Dahankaal also leads his people against the military occupation forces and that event has added an additional value to the novel, though the sub-plot has not been delineated that successfully in the book. Every reader must admit that Dahankaal has many excellent characters to remember. The most noticeable one is Adabsir alias Chittaranjan Dey, who sparked Radhanath's desire in the matter of educating his son Haridas. There have been many hurdles on his way, but Haripada does not retreat and at last we find him crossing the door of secondary school, which is somewhat inconceivable to the outcastes of his society. Other characters, such as Harabanshi or Khu-u Buijja, are also worth mentioning.
In the delineation of a fisherman's life, Harishankar Jaladas is compared with the noted novelist Adwaita Mallabarman (1914-51), author of Titas Ekti Nadir Naam (A River Called Titash, 1956). But even after all these, the novels Jalaputro and Dahankaal fail to reach the zenith that was the expectation from a meritorious novelist like Harishankar Jaladas. Along with that we must admit that in respect of successful plot and rendering of a story, Kosbi is an excellent outburst. The rebellious attitude of the protagonist for betterment has been very extraordinarily delineated in Kosbi followed by Ramgolam.
The story of Kosbi evolves out of the life of prostitution, ranging from individual to general points of view. It centres on a woman named Devjani, before whom Padmabati was the most celebrated whore in the Patenga Sahebpalli. It could be noted that small touches of historical tints have added novelty to the sorrowful story that tells of the emergence of a 'jelepolli' (a village inhabited by fishing folks) and its decline into harlotry. But the greatest success of the novel is in the significant use of all sub-plots to contribute to the main plot of the story.
Kosbi sketches the daily life of the streetwalkers as well. It delves into the bygone story of Devjani too . . .the tearful story of how this much-loved and cared for daughter in ordinary Bengali life village turns into a bawd. But she does not retreat. Rather she takes revenge.
How elevating it is to read that Koilash, an SSC-passed son of Mohini, has come forth to educate the children of the prostitutes. Mohini, also a leading figure in the prostitution area, educates her son at a Christian school and thus her son emerges as a saviour for the children of the red light area. He cannot survive because of Kalu, but he shows a sort of way to the women of the locality. They demand their rights. They revolt.
It is true that the savour of Kosbi dies, but the savour of Ramgolam does not die. Ram survives even after staying for fourteen years behind bars.
When we read of subaltern life in Bangla literature, the names of writers that come forth include those of Satyen Sen (1907-1981), Gunamaya Manna (1925-2010), Mahashweta Devi (b. 1926) and Avijit Sen (b. 1945). Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) and Saratchandra Chatterji (1876-1938) wrote about them. Jagadish Gupta (1886-1957), Tarashankar Bandapadhyay (1898-1971), Manik Bandhapadhyaya (1908-1956) are the other stalwarts of Bangla literature who sketched the life of outcastes with necessary sincerity. Bidrohi Koiborto (1969), Chotti Munda O Tar Teer (1980), Rohu Chandaler Haar (1985), Mute (1992) are the very few instances that have enriched the genre with rich creations.
We know the Ulgulan was the indomitable spirit of the Santal people, as is Ramgolam, or Koilas or Haridas or Gangapada of Harishankar are spirited. Among them Gangapada and Koilas have been killed but Haridas and Ramgolam are alive even after much hardship. And thus the spokesperson of the downtrodden community Harishankar kindles the optimism that shines in his protagonists and that has his readers shine as well.

Subrata Kumar Das is the author of www.bangladeshinovels.com