Saturday, May 25, 2019

Agni Roy


Gour Mallar

Debayudh Chatterjee



[ Gaur Mallar by Agni Roy - Translated into English by Debayudh Chatterjee ]

One


Coordinates

The final decade of the twentieth century has just begun its run. We would soon realize that the world is essentially a little hamlet. Satellite channels have almost pervaded our households. The essence of old world politics was still ubiquitous in the tattered posters and graffiti on the backside walls of union rooms across colleges. The peripheries of the canteen were rejoiced by the Dark Side of the Moon, reminiscences of the Woodstock Festival, and the music of Ali Akbar.
In these coordinates of time and space shall we locate the monochromatic beings of our poetic drama, replete with the rain, moonshine, and misunderstandings of juvenilia. There are a few murders and a bit of bloodshed as well. For the lack of better evidence, we must suppose that these confessions, conversations, and the poetics of assassination pour from a cloud floating from the territories of Muhammad Ali Park. Therefore, to the clouds must they return.

Index of Characters

Aritra
Omnipresent in the canteen. Steals the spotlight in any conversation. But recluse by mannerism. Could be identified by the halo of his smile that appears to be a howl under scrutiny. He is clad in a kurta and a pair of jeans for the time being. His tote bag contains a sonnet cycle and a chillum.

Pramit
Changes seasons within the realm of particle physics. Nocturnal by mood. Survives simply because the laboratory and library exist. If there be anything that amazes him except mathematics, then that is the overflowing spell of music. He is in correspondence with a few American universities. His merit is knocking at the doors of the first world.

Shreemoyee
The old proverb goes as when she sits near the Arts Library, even the pulse rates of the antiquated trees undergo a rise. To call her beautiful is an understatement. A brilliant student of English literature, her mastery in Indian classical music has earned her a silent majority of fans. Apparently a snob, though she was in tears when the corporation sent a van to pick up two stray mongrels. She evokes so many sighs and regrets that, however, are never able to stir her.

Debabrata
A poet. Doesn’t generally show his manuscript to anyone. But when Aritra bumped into his line, ‘I feel like putting my household on fire to see if the flowers have bloomed in the campus’, they became friends. They have read Hart Crane together. He is either ignored or a third umpire in this poetic drama. He has a third eye and Aritra is aware of that.

Apala
Has to look after the student union, teach a few kids and do a bit of welfare, though manages her peace of mind very well. Her laughter is nothing less than a song. Probably, leaves behind the darkness of a lower middleclass household in the alleys of her neighbourhood. She dreams of finishing her studies as soon as possible to secure a job and ensure that her sisters get an opportunity to study. Nobody else knows what her family members do.

Udayan
Pramit’s classmate at the Physics department. Remains scattered like coins as he gives in to each whim. No recognisable ambition. Street smart and knows his drugs well.

Debjani
Mostly drowsy, but finishes her work. No accusations of being perturbed by whatever that’s happening around her. Rumours say that an accomplished groom has already been fixed for her. Would board the flight abroad right after graduation. But before that, she will tie the knot.

Time and Place

A tremendously cold December night. Add a few bouts of rain to that. These college kids have come to visit Shantiniketan to enjoy the Poush festival. Not that their parents are entirely aware of their rendezvous. At least, it is nothing short of an adventure for Shreemoyee and Debjani. Aritra is a common friend; all their guardians are familiar with him. The girls were not acquainted to the other boys until they boarded the train together.
Now, after a few hours of knowing each other, we can see them walking from Goalpara towards Ratanpalli. Not in the same rhythm though. They are changing companions as they are walking. Let us be introduced to them and spend a while together. Thereafter, we may dump them in the stream of time and move on.

Two 



 


Apala:  Is this evening an episode from a novel? Or from a thriller film? Or is it something that really happened and shall transpire with the evening leaving no traces behind?

Shreemoyee (absent minded as usual):  It needs no saying that traces will not remain. Though the semantics of the ripples created once a stone is thrown into a pond are ephemeral, I wouldn’t say I have ever been on a tour so momentary and puzzling.

Apala: Momentary, I agree. But is it legit to tag it to be puzzling?

Shreemoyee: What else but puzzling? Only the lines on our palms know what future has in store for them.

Apala: We all trust Aritra. He knows where to draw the line as much as when to throw the sand in the wind.

Shreemoyee: Then again, to have secured consent from our families, it must have been in our stars. It would have taken at least a few years for me to share the vast meadows of the Kopai at night with all of you here.

Apala: Shree, let’s not give way to philosophical allusions. Whatever that happened in the train was pure flesh and blood. That bearded Physics major seems like Socrates straight out of the books. Out of the world he is, perhaps from Mars. Then again, just before the train crossed Burdwan, he stared at you as if you were a painting by Matisse. He wouldn’t even fathom if his heart was stolen...

(Shreemoyee doesn’t seem to hear. She is in a haze. She slows down.)

Aritra (has crossed the others as he has increased his pace): The sky here is as blue as Debjani’s Denims.

Udayan: Quite romantic, very well. But to speak the truth, Ari, do you not think that the night will be as black as the hash we scored on the train? Ah, a bit of that would have brought heaven on earth.

Apala: Fuck the poetics of narcotics and get straight to the point. Hunger is screeching in my stomach like a rat and I’m wondering where we would put up for the night. Shall there be a continental dinner and honey pie for dessert?

Aritra (As if to announce, still stoned from the pot consumed before): Friends, Romans, and countrymen, there is an empty house waiting for you all. Walk a bit more and you shall have nectar, honey, and bread, the warmth of the room heater and anything else you’d like. That’s all that I and you need to know. The rest depends on scotch and Debjani.

(Collective support. One can’t figure out who’s ahead or lagging behind because of the darkness)

Debjani: I’m bored of this crap, of this darkness, and mosquitoes. I need a hot shower asap. And subsequently, a nap.

Udayan: Let us reach first and please do not make trouble before that. Let the others do whatever they want, but the abodes of the Bauls tonight shall I haunt and see if I can find a partner to meditate. Or see if this hullaboo is at all real or fake.

Their boisterous rally finally reaches a two-storied house. There are a few yards in the back and front, a few flowers embellishing the garden. The path to the door is paved with cobblestones. A balcony adjoins the house. The old couple in charge of the establishment are fast asleep. Aritra forbids his companions to not make a noise. They enter one by one.

Let them freshen up and begin another chapter. Meanwhile, let us go back to another night, a few months ago at the college fest.  


Three 


Another wintry night at the college fest. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is on the stage, rendering the tender notes of the raga Gour mallar. There is thunder in the hall, there are clouds roaring as well. As the evening merged into the night, Bhimsen began with another song.
Aritra went out for a smoke and saw Shreemoyee standing alone a foot away and listening to the performance. Although her heart was immersed in the music, her mind was toying with Aritra. The music is out of bounds.

Shreemoyee: Do notes have colours, Aritra? A hue outside our range? Do you feel at all? I do. For instance, right now, I believe that there’s a fiery red ball in proximity with the blue and shall soon burn the entire city down. All my memories have been extinguished. Nothing in front and none in the back, I’m born everyday to be in flames soon after. I hear someone calling out to me, to plunge into saudade and rise up to laughter.

Aritra: Not often, but once a while do I know that you have been left here alone to spend a few days like a pen. You do not belong to this campus, not even to the world. You glimmer with the stars and I do not know what shall happen to you over time. Who knows whose muse you’d eventually be and who deserves to be your partner in crime.

Shreemoyee: You are bloody garrulous. I’m not a poet. But when the night strums E major and returns to C, I feel I’m done with things. It’s time to pack up. Your moment has transpired. glory be to the game of hearts!

Aritra: Let me note down the lines, dear poetess of the Greeks. Glory be to the music, to the incorrigible geeks! If you were a little girl, I’ll be your red bicycle.
Shreemoyee: Stop shitting around and be of some use. Our chauffer is on leave and it’s too late for the busses to ply. Find me a cab or take me home. All by myself, I’m reluctant to fly.

Aritra:  Such a rare opportunity! I have hit the deck tonight. Give me a few minutes, I’ll get done with my work here and shall accompany you in your flight.

Shreemoyee: Flirtation is an art, Aritra. Only if you knew, you could have at least picked up Grendel’s mother by writing a line or two. I’d have applauded you for sure.

They went back home together that night. Shreemoyee flouted her own rules and was decked up for the show. She wore her mother’s saree, kohl, and a lovely bindi to go with that. Such magic realism prompted Aritra to light a candle in him. The taxi driver adhered by poetic justice took a longer time to reach Golf Green. Shreemoyee got down and was eager to pay the bill before she disappeared in the prose of her apartment.
Aritra ventured on conjuring his plans since that night. He decided to arrange that trip to Shantiniketan and looked for an opportunity, in the solitary expanse of Kopai, to tell Shreemoyee whatever he had to say. An immortal moment was all that he craved for, nothing before or after it.

Four   

 

 


Let us go back to that balcony Shantiniketan once again where they are now scattered. They’ve had dinner. Now it is time for a few pegs of vodka.

Udayan:  It’s getting late. Let’s return to the fair. Else you’ll be drunk very soon.

Apala:  I’m game, I’m prepared to go out. I haven’t changed into pyjamas, nor drunk too much strout. But however I shall comb my hair, do you guys have five minutes to spare?

Udayan: I’ve heard midnight Ikebanas are beautiful in Japan. But here, in Tagore’s own land, the hibiscus has it’s day. Let your tresses be let loose, I prefer them that way.

They continue their banter as they arrange to go out. Shreemoyee was sitting on a chair in the corner. Pramit came and sat beside her.

Shreemoyee: When I see you in college, you seem so grumpy . Why so grave? Are your mathematics and outer sky so inadvertent to escape? What if we are digits? Finite or infinite? Shall we last then? At least see through the night?

Pramit (taken aback, as those words were spoken to him):  So you have noticed me in college? Of course I can’t escape your eyes, the campus is too small. But I do not hang out in the canteen. Aritra brought me here. Now, it seems, it hasn’t been wasted.

Shremoyee: Wasted? That is so ugly a word. In the wasteland of Kolkata, what can you carry forward? Are our lives not indebted to the diamonds twinkling in the sky? Our battles, accomplishments, and our blood, do they mean nothing, nothing at all? What do we take back as we walk along? What do they mean, these brawls?

Pramit: What I find wasted is myself. The free flow of vodka is speaking now. I haven’t got a chance to sit so close to you. The sky is sitting beside us now. The moments are fulfilled, you know I hardly drink. But nothing has been wasted that’s what I think.

Pramit is taken aback by his drunkenness. He chooses to be silent.

Udayan: What’s cooking, scientist? You never speak a word in college. Let them be, Aritra, let us leave. We cannot allow such a night to go untrodden. Get up guys, let’s make a move now and listen to a few songs and then we’ll figure out how...

Pramit doesn’t move. Shreemoyee seems to not have heard what Udayan said. Thus the rest leave without them.

Debabrata: The path that lies ahead like our lives is long and dark. What they call civilized and social is but a game of tic-tac-toe. Aritra, what are the rules of the game? Do they keep changing time and again? The referees change, the players alter. Though we keep making the moves, we rise up and falter. Our destinies have been fixed, ages ago. Like Sisyphus, let us shove the rocks and see how far we go. Such an amazing long march towards failure is ours!

Aritra: Perhaps all our lives are in the same crossroads since eternity. A bit of it has worn out with time, the rest glistens in the golden sun. In our family our insects, they all come and go, sticking cellophane on our lips. The wisest owl sits and watches it all like an ill open that predicted man’s fall. Our lives are insured but never secure. And yet we return at the day’s end to seek more.

Udayan: Sins are transmitted into our lives through words. The bard alone knows that neither there is sleep nor respite. We are like dishes waiting to be washed again. The winds of change will carry you to Dante’s inferno where words prove too banal to be true. Leave it alone and let us sit by the fire and be at one with music, be high on life and weed for this night shall never return again.

 Everything else will come out in tomorrow’s Khoai daily and we’ll know for sure that nothing is in vain.

Once everyone was soaked into that gathering, Aritra came out in the midnight with a drum beating incessantly in the silent highways of his heart. He had to disclose what was pending to Shreemoyee. The door was just a few yards away. The moon regained its glory once the clouds were gone. This is the treacherous light that deceives the birds of the dawn. The balcony is still shrouded by a fog. No one seems visible, though one can hear a melancholy strain from the backyard. After a few steps, Aritra couldn’t move. He stood fixed like a wax effigy. It was his destiny to be frozen in wonder tonight.
Shreemoyee is sitting on a couch and singing a raga. Was it Gour mallar? Is she really singing or caressing the tunes? Not simply the notes; Pramit is on his knees in front of her. Pramit, the nerd, the topper, who never stepped into the thresholds of any woman before. The shackles of Shreemoyee’s erudition are shattering in the moonlight. All of it happened in the acquaintance of an evening! They’re drawing themselves close to each other.
Aritra is gazing at that frame. Isn’t it spellbinding? He cannot step back despite he wants to. His feet, like a tree, have plunged their roots deep into the earth beneath him, into the darkness devoid of light and air enmeshing the civilization for centuries.
Aritra desperately goes through his pockets in search of a cigarette. 

The End

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সম্পাদকীয় দেহ্‌লিজের চতুর্থ সংখ্যা প্রকাশ হলো অনুবাদ Agni Roy ...