The
Politics of Rebellion: Carnival and Social Hierarchy in Nabarun Bhattacharya’s
Select Fyataru Featured Narratives
Nabakishore Kumar,
Ph.D. Research Scholar,
Department of English and Foreign Language,
Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur,
Chhattisgarh, India.
Abstract:
Flying over Kolkata’s night sky, the Fyatarus
strike fear into the hearts of the city’s bourgeoisie. They are Nabarun
Bhattacharya’s anarchic creations, embodying his inner revolutionary self,
defying authority, and mocking the capitalist social order. Through characters
like Madan, DS, and Purandar Bhat, Bhattacharya crafts an alternative reality
where social hierarchies are upended, however briefly, by those whom society
has relegated to its margins. The Fyatarus,
endowed with surreal powers of flight and irreverent wit, disrupt the
controlled and ordered world of the elite, vandalizing symbols of wealth and
leaving chaos in their wake. These outcasts serve as prototypes of
Bhattacharya’s wish to dismantle the oppressive systems that capitalism has
entrenched, an impossible dream in real life but given full expression in his
fiction. In the world of the Fyatarus,
rebellion is an aesthetic experience, brimming with dark humor, absurdity, and
a liberating sense of chaos. Their exploits target the hypocrisy and privilege
that pervade urban Kolkata, laying bare the indignities suffered by the
disenfranchised. Although the Fyatarus’
triumphs are surreal and ephemeral, they give voice to Bhattacharya’s critique
of a capitalist society that thrives on exploitation. His portrayal of these
anti-heroes reflects an ironic commentary on the futility of resistance in a
capitalist era, yet it celebrates the catharsis found in defiance. By weaving
magical realism with biting social satire, Bhattacharya crafts a storytelling
aesthetic that is as rebellious as his characters, making the very act of
storytelling an act of resistance. By situating Bhattacharya's work within the
broader context of contemporary literature, this study underscores the
significance of narrative as a means of social critique and transformation.
Keywords: Nabarun Bhattacharya, Fyataru, Aesthetics of
rebellion, identity, magical realism
Fyataruas a
literary construct or symbolic entity within the narratives under examination
embodies a multifaceted and enigmatic presence that transcends conventional
character archetypes. Now when we say 'Fyataru', it appears quite unfamiliar to
an ear who is never acquainted with Nabarun Bhattacharya and his cosmological
world of exceptional beings endowed with some ambiguous names. Fyatarus are the
urban subalterns of the metropolitan city, Kolkata. This enigmatic class of
characters, derived from the Bengali words 'fyat' (the sound of a soaring kite
or a connotation of worthlessness from 'foto' and 'faaltu') and 'uru' (meaning
flight), represented an anarchic underclass endowed with the rare ability of
aerobatic levitation. Through the recitation of the incantatory mantra
'fyatfyatsh(n)aaish(n)aai,' these marginalized yet subversive beings could
transcend earthly constraints, taking flight as an embodied act of resistance
against societal norms and hegemonic structures of power. With an inclination
for social sabotage, the Fyataru archetype represented a rebellious
counterculture that questioned dominant narratives and upended long-standing
hierarchies with daring acts of aerial transgression.
There is a
significant relationship between modern storytelling and popular humour, a
concept that gained prominence in the mid-20th century through the work of
Russian thinker and philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin. In his seminal work Rabelais
and His World, Bakhtin introduced the idea that, in certain scenarios,
societal norms, hierarchies, and conventions are temporarily suspended,
inverted, or subverted. He described this phenomenon as the
"carnivalesque," a condition where roles are reversed, and the
boundaries between actors and audience blur (Bakhtin, Rabelais and His World 10).One hallmark
of the carnivalesque is the temporary elevation of an ordinary person to a
position of power. For instance, during a carnival, a random individual might
be crowned as a king for the day. This person is celebrated and honoured,
becoming the centre of attention, but only temporarily. At the end of the day,
this ‘king’ is symbolically dethroned after staged battles or pseudo-conflicts,
stripping away the power, authority, and prestige they briefly enjoyed. This
inversion of roles allows the community to exercise its repressed desires and
critique societal structures within the safety of a temporary, symbolic
framework.
Bakhtin observed
how carnival culture transcends the boundaries of time and place, penetrating
literature to become a universal phenomenon. In this context, he referenced the
1262 French drama The Play of the Bower by Adam de la Halle, where the
protagonist desired to go to Paris for higher study, and his journey was
foretold by three fairies who were the traditional folk-carnival figures from
the May festival. Thus, the drama submerged the past and the present, the real
and the surreal in the arena of carnivalesque. This phenomenon saw a
significant resurgence during the Renaissance, a period marked by its embrace
of such subversive and dynamic expressions. However, after the Renaissance, the
prominence of the carnivalesque in cultural and literary narratives began to
wane (Chatterjee 108).
In a liberated
atmosphere akin to a carnival, where parody and humour are employed to subvert
societal hierarchies, Indian literature, too, has embraced such elements, as
seen in Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana,
and R.K. Narayan’s The Man-Eater of Malgudi. In Bengali literature, too,
the influence of the carnivalesque is quite prominent. Nabarun Bhattacharya,
the son of the renowned dramatist Bijan Bhattacharya and the iconic writer
Mahasweta Devi, was deeply attuned to this tradition of carnival laughter and
subversion. A voracious reader, Bhattacharya counted Mikhail Bakhtin among his
favourite thinkers, and this influence is evident in his literary works, which
often mirror the disruptive, liberating spirit of the carnivalesque. Let us
understand through Bhattacharya’s own words:
“এই যে মানুষের হাজার দুঃখের মধ্যেও তার বেঁচে থাকার প্রাত্যহিক সেলিব্রেশনএইটা
আমাকে অসম্ভব,
মানে কী বলব মোটিভেট করে। তার প্রাত্যহিক জীবনে
সেরকম কিন্তু কোনো দুঃখ নেই। সে যখন একটা বিড়ি ধরায়
সে কিন্তু রাজা। তার এই রাজকীয় ভাবটুকু আমি তার কাছ থেকে গ্রহণ
করি। এই celebration of life- এইটা কিন্তু আমার কাছে খুব দরকারি একটা ব্যাপার। …আমার মনে হয় আরও বড়ো এক সেলিব্রেশনের অপেক্ষায় এই কার্নিভালগুলো অ্যারেঞ্জ করা
দরকার। যে সেলিব্রেশনের কথা সম্ভবত লেনিন প্রথম বলেছিলেন”
(The daily
celebration of life amidst the countless sufferings of people gives me immense
joy—it motivates me. In their everyday lives, people may not have any great
joys, but when someone lights a bidi, at that moment, they are a king. This
regal quality, however small, is something I draw inspiration from. This celebration
of life is something deeply significant to me… (it) has led me to believe
that we need to arrange for an even greater celebration. A celebration that
perhaps Lenin spoke of for the first time." (Bhattacharya, my translation,
Sob Kathabarta 52)
The celebration
Lenin referred to was, in essence, another name for revolution. In his Two
Tactics of Social-Democratic Revolution, he famously wrote, “Revolutions
are the festivals of the oppressed and the exploited.”(Lenin 117) In
Bhattacharya’s writings we can see the humour and the celebration turned into
revolution. And it becomes the most prominent when he created the magical
characters Fyatarus, his subversive yet progressive characters. These
marginalized, supernatural figures embody a carnivalesque spirit, disrupting
societal norms and hierarchies through their absurd and anarchic acts. A
Bakhtinian analysis of the Fyatarus raises some intriguing questions:
What if the downtrodden could fly? What if they could soar above the city’s
bustling streets, mocking the rich and powerful, dismantling symbols of
privilege, and creating disorder? What if rebellion took the form of absurd,
supernatural antics, turning the capitalist social order upside down? These
subaltern outcasts, endowed with the power of flight, wreak havoc on Kolkata’s
bourgeoisie. They expose the hypocrisies of the elite while articulating the
frustrations of the marginalized, offering a temporary inversion of power.
These stories
are not mere fantasies of rebellion; they are Bhattacharya’s scathing critique
of the exploitative systems entrenched by capitalism. Characters like Madan,
D.S., and Purandar Bhat are prototypes of Bhattacharya’s inner revolutionary
self, living out his impossible dream of demolishing the social hierarchies
created by the capitalist bourgeoisie. Fully aware of the futility of such
resistance in reality, Bhattacharya channels his dissent into fiction,
constructing an alternative world where the powerless can temporarily triumph.
Through magical realism and dark humour, his storytelling transforms rebellion
into an aesthetic experience—grotesque, absurd, and liberating.
Here,
storytelling is treated as an act of artistic rebellion by transforming
subversive content into a creative and imaginative critique of societal
hierarchies. Bhattacharya’s storytelling challenges the established norms of
power and privilege, using satire, absurdity, and magical realism to expose the
hypocrisies of the capitalist elite and to amplify the voices of the
marginalized. By crafting the the set of characters names as Fyataru, the
ordinary and downtrodden individuals who gain the supernatural ability to fly
and wreak havoc on symbols of authority, Bhattacharya constructs a world where
rebellion becomes both a thematic and stylistic element of his narratives.
These characters engage in acts of vandalism, chaos, and mockery, subverting
urban elitism in ways that are grotesque, humorous, and profound. The surreal
actions of the Fyatarus reflect a deliberate inversion of power, turning
storytelling into a carnival-like space where the powerless momentarily become
dominant. Storytelling in Bhattacharya’s work transcends mere narration; it
becomes a political and artistic statement. By blending humour with critique,
and the fantastical with the real, he demonstrates how fiction can challenge
dominant ideologies and offer a space for rebellion, imagination, and
subversion.
Rebellion, as
depicted in Bhattacharya’s narratives, unfolds through a lens that challenges
conventional notions of resistance. It is not the typical rebellion born solely
out of frustration or systemic oppression. Instead of being a “strategy”, it
becomes what De Certeau calls “tactics” (37). It rejects the normative
frameworks of protest that are often co-opted by the structures of power. Michel
Foucault’s concept of power posits that power is omnipresent and operates
through networks rather than being held by a singular entity, Bhattacharya
critiques the ways in which rebellion itself can be subsumed within the power
grid. In traditional forms of protest, the oppressed may resist the
bourgeoisie, but often within parameters implicitly defined by the very systems
they oppose. For instance, in a state-sanctioned protest where participants are
granted police protection to successfully carry out the protest which is meant
to be against the very state force. It demonstrates how rebellion can be
mediated and controlled by the mechanisms of state power. As Foucault argues in
Discipline and Punish, power not only represses but also produces
certain behaviours and discourses, shaping even acts of resistance to align
with its overarching framework. Thus, rebellion, when carried out under the
rules and regulations of the state apparatus, risks being psychologically and
institutionally guided by the same forces it seeks to challenge.
Bhattacharya’s
narratives expose this paradox by presenting acts of rebellion that operate
outside the sanctioned framework of power. He began his literary career with
the novel Harbart. At the end of the novel, when Harbart Sarkar’s dead
body is inserted in the electric crematorium, the furnace explodes. While some
suspect that Binu, Harbart’s nephew, and his friends were responsible for the
explosion, the event remains ambiguous and unexplained to the state
authorities. Bhattacharya subtly signals this uncertainty with the line,
“...when and how an explosion will occur, and who will cause that explosion—of
all such knowledge the state machinery remains woefully ignorant still”
(Bhattacharya, Harbart 81).
But this sense
of rebellion takes a huge form in the stories which feature the enchanted
magical characters named Fyataru. Another set of characters are named as
Chokhtars. Bhattacharya is of the opinion that
“…ওর মধ্যে কতকগুলো সোসিওলজিক্যাল এবং সাইকোলজিক্যাল ট্রুথ রয়েছে। কোনো পার্টি প্রোগ্রাম করে ফ্যাতাড়ু বানাতে পারেনা।ফ্যাতাড়ু আপনিই তৈরি হয়”
(“…there are
certain sociological and psychological truths embedded in these characters. No
political party neither any program can create Fyatarus. Fyatarus
emerge on their own.” (my translation; Sob Kathabarta 66)
He sought to
find these underdogs in the booze shops and the places where the country liquor
is sold illegally. Fyatarus are gifted with the power of flight, they can study
the forehead of people, any kind of astrological influence of any planet or any
star won’t work for them, and their sole purpose is to damage. Nabarun said,
“Fyatarus are the celebration of our dream, they are the celebration of our
passion”.
The Fyatarus
engage in anarchic and disruptive actions that are not legitimized by
institutional structures, embodying a form of resistance that defies
co-optation. Their rebellion is carnivalesque, chaotic, and grotesque. The very
act of flying, initiated by the mantra "fnyatfnyatsnaisnai," serves
as a potent metaphor for liberation and autonomy. As D.S. learns to fly, he
experiences a profound transformation, symbolizing the reclamation of agency in
a world that seeks to confine him. This defiance is not merely physical; it
represents a psychological emancipation from the burdens of societal
expectations and personal trauma. The Fyatarus' ability to navigate the skies
contrasts sharply with their grounded realities, highlighting the tension
between aspiration and oppression. They engage in acts of vandalism, such as
ripping apart cables, pelting water bombs, setting fire in the book fair,
breaking mirrors, and letting out cockroaches in literary meet which serve as
tangible expressions of their rebellion against the structures that marginalize
them. They are not here to completely eradicate the capitalist system but their
primary motto is to delay the progress. These actions reflect a conscious
choice to disrupt the status quo, embodying a critique of the societal norms
that dictate their existence. The dialogue surrounding these acts reveals a
deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas faced by the characters, as they
grapple with the consequences of their rebellion.
In Fyataru,
Nabarun Bhattacharya uses slang and parody as powerful tools of rebellion,
challenging dominant cultural narratives and the socio-political status quo.
The use of slang becomes a defining feature of the Fyatarus, creating a
distinct identity that resists the homogenizing pressures of mainstream
society. This informal language not only reflects their marginalized status but
also serves as an act of defiance against the linguistic elitism upheld by the
upper classes. Through colloquial expressions, Bhattacharya amplifies the
voices of the disenfranchised, asserting their presence in a world that often
seeks to silence them. Parody further strengthens this rebellion, allowing the
Fyatarus to mock and critique the absurdities of their socio-political
surroundings. By overturning norms and conventions, parody exposes the contradictions
within societal structures, undermining the authority of those in power. This
aligns with Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of carnivalization, where parody
temporarily disrupts the established order, creating space to re-examine power
dynamics. Through the combined use of slang and parody, Bhattacharya emphasizes
the resilience of the Fyatarus while demonstrating the transformative power of
language in resistance. This linguistic subversion challenges readers to
reconsider the boundaries of acceptable discourse and recognize the importance
of marginalized voices in confronting oppressive systems. Ultimately, the
Fyatarus emerge as symbols of rebellion and agents of change within their
socio-cultural landscape.
The Fyatarus,
with their anarchic acts and subversive use of slang and parody, destabilize
linguistic and cultural hegemony, exposing the ways in which resistance is
often co-opted by state apparatuses. Their grotesque humour and surreal
defiance not only subvert societal norms but also reclaim agency in a world
that marginalizes their existence. Through the blending of the real and the
surreal, Bhattacharya transforms storytelling into a radical praxis,
positioning rebellion as both an aesthetic and political act. The Fyatarus’
chaotic resistance challenges entrenched systems of oppression, asserting
autonomy while inviting readers to reconsider the boundaries of rebellion.
Bhattacharya’s narratives affirm the resilience of those who dare to disrupt
the status quo, offering a powerful exploration of identity, liberation, and
the transformative potential of literature as a space for subversion and social
change.
Works Cited
Bakhtin, Mikhail Mikhaĭlovich. Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics. U of Minnesota Press, 1984.
---. Rabelais and His World. Indiana UP, 1984.
Bhattacharya, Nabarun. Harbart. New Directions Publishing, 2019.
---. Sob Kathabarta. 1st ed., Bhashabandhan, 2019.
---. Srestha Galpa, Dey’s Publishing, 2017.
Chatterjee, Soumi. “NabarunerAkhyan O Carnival Sanskriti”. Nabarun Bhattacharya: Manan O Darshan, edited by Adway Chowdhuri and Arko Chattopadhyay, Boibhashik Prokashoni, 2021
Lenin, V. I. Two Tactics of Social-democracy in the Democratic Revolution. Foreign Language Press, 2021.
De Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life. (Trans. Steven Rendall)University of California Press,1988.