THE
CONTENT, NOT THE CONTAINER THAT IS VALUED EVERYWHERE
-
Biswanath
Kundu (India)
It was in the month of September, 2015. Samir
went to Hyderabad for the first time to attend an International poetry
festival. Samir was a student of chemistry and he worked in a central
government organization. Science was the means of his livelihood but literature
was the essence of his existence. Since school days he used to unfurl his mind
in the diary. With inspiration of his dear and near ones he had already got a
few books published in his name on various categories like poetry, short
stories, biographies etc. in Indian English. In response to an invitation for
submission of two poems for an international poetry festival he tried his luck
and got selected with free accommodation and free meals for three days. With
permission from office and good wishes from the family, he boarded the train
and reached the venue half an hour earlier of the scheduled program. Being the first timer of such a mega event,
while he was wandering around the premises, he met an aged person in
traditional Bengali dresses with uncombed hairs on head and uncared beard on
face, on the lawn. Samir took the gentleman as a gardener and felt so happy
conversing with him in mother tongue on different issues related to Bengal. The
conversation continued for more than twenty minutes. Samir now got ready to
enter into the auditorium and said good bye to the gentleman still seating on a
bench in the garden. Samir took seat in a corner of the full packed auditorium.
After formal inauguration, the distinguished guests and participant poets were
requested to come on the stage. Samir could not believe his eyes when he saw
the gentleman whom he mistook as the gardener adorned the chair meant for the
chairperson of the session. It was an eye opener to him. Now he felt that it
was the content not the container that is worshiped everywhere.
At the end of the seminar Samir came back
home being enriched with the notion that only a potion of the ocean of true
knowledge is sufficient to taste the nectarine flow of glow of life. That
gentleman whom he discovered there at Hyderabad was none but a retired teacher
of a college. His name was Dr. Rajesh Chatterjee who was a walking
encyclopedia. Truly he was the
embodiment of simple living and high thinking. The other day Dr. Chatterjee
ranged Samir at around 9-30pm and said: “Samir, would you please manage time to
come to Tarakeswar next Sunday?”
Getting an invitation from Dr. Chatterjee,
who drew all towards him through his magnetic personality and sage like
prudence, Samir Said, “Yes, Sir, I must be there to take part in that special
program of serving god through attending the needs of the needy.”
In an age of self advertisement when the poor
and the distressed people are often seen standing in long queue before being
offered some gifts, be it dresses during Durga puja festivals or blankets
during winter time and the like, here the distribution of some essential items
like clothes, Edu-kits for kids etc. after free lunch were all done in camera. A group of dedicated
people mostly from educational fields joined in the program smilingly with
their generous contributions for the service of the needy. Samir could not
believe his eyes when he looked at the guests Dr. Chatterjee addressed by
saying: “Look, my guests have started coming. Go to gate and welcome them.”
The above incident that happened in a big
rest house within the premises of Tarakeswar Temple in West Bengal, a few years
back is still carried in the loving memory of Samir as the specimen of silent
and selfless love for the needy. Samir felt once again that it was examples
that served much than precepts.
With passing of time Samir now got associated
with different literary circles in the country and continued to enrich him
gathering diverse experiences from people of varied orientations. He used to
enjoy the august audience in such national and international literary meets
held in the capital states of the nation. Managing leave from office he
attended to these events either as a poet or as a paper presenter. This became
the food of his mind to relieve the strain of his body from the pressure of
work at office. Samir got accustomed to this routine of balancing his love for
words and duty for the family. While life was going on in its own way, one day,
Samir got a call from Dr. Chatterjee at around 9-30 pm. Dr. Chatterjee said to
him in his usual affectionate tone “ Samir, can you manage time to join an
international seminar to be held in Mumbai in the next month?” Samir recalled the awe-inspiring session of Hyderabad
meet where he won the heart of the audience through his explications of the
poems presented there in an erudite and baritone voice. He humbly said to him,
“Sir, I also got the invitation from the organizers and I was asked to confirm
by the next week but could not decide about my joining there. But now I will
definitely join in it. It will be a great honor and privilege to enjoy your
loving company for so many long hours.”
Dr. Chatterjee said, “Okay, get ready. But I will travel by Sleeper
Class as it will help me complete the journey with common people conversing
with them freely and happily.” The wish
of Dr. Chatterjee was followed and Samir started counting hours of joining him
during the two daylong seminars in Maniben Women’s Government College (PG) in
Mumbai. Besides reciting poems in the poetry reading session, Samir prepared an
academic paper on digital humanism under his guidance within very short period
and enrolled his name as a paper presenter on the second day of the seminar. On
reaching there, he met a galaxy of high profile resource persons who had
already joined in the seminar. Amongst them there was a soft spoken and most
humble Professor M. Pathamanatham of Sri Lanka with whom Samir had the
privilege of sharing his room for one day. His area of specialization was on
translation literature. He was a guest speaker on the above topics. On the
second day at the recess hours Samir found him discussing on some characters of
Ramayana written by different writers in different regional languages with
distinguished guests present there. Samir was standing at a distance. It was a
lively interaction of the learned assembling. At certain point of time he
noticed them to pause for a moment. With Dr. Chatterjee joining to it, it
became vibrant again. When Samir met Dr. Pathamnathan in the afternoon the
comment that he made about Dr. Chatterjee , still echoes into his ears, “He is
a very knowledgeable person”. At the end of the seminar Samir returned home
carrying the precious dictum that knowledge needs no advertisement.
After coming back to Kolkata Samir enrolled
himself as a devoted student to Dr. Chatterjee, who was such a sage like
erudite scholar who used to be surrounded even by college and university
teachers for the pursuit of their excellence. Since childhood Samir has had the
privilege of coming into contact with people of diverse orientations for his
involvement with different social activities. From the school of life he has
known the true difference between goodness and greatness. During the last few years Samir met Dr. Chatterje
several times in his old house which was like a hermitage. Of course every time
after getting his appointment as he was always busy catering the needs of all
like a big banyan tree. In the age of speed and commerce Samir could hardly
recollect anyone who enjoyed the qualities of both goodness and greatness like
him in one entity. Samir feels fortunate for having the privilege of enjoying
the kind guidance of Dr. Chatterjee, who could teach any subject anywhere and
wonders how such a truly good and great person could remain as humble and
unassuming as contrasted to the majority of the present day self-advertisement.
Though Dr. Chatterjee is now no more with Samir in physical form, he lives on
in the minds and heart of him. Samir still hears the call Dr. Chatterjee made
to him a few years back to kindly introduce him with two eminent professors of
literature from Latvia who had been staying in a five star hotel in Kolkata. It
looked like: “Samir, come to my home by 11 o’clock, tomorrow if possible. I have
invited two guests to my house.” He
further added and joked, “I am not sure if they will accept my invitation or
not.” By the time Samir had already known that Dr. Chatterjee was a blessed son
of the Goddess of learning though he was always unassuming. So he was sure that
none could deny his invitation that had happened to have a minute’s talk with
him. So Samir took an off from office
and reached there in time.
On reaching there, Samir found them enjoying
Dr. Chatterjee’s charming presence to their heart’s content as was evident from
their beaming faces. After formal introductions with others present there,
songs on Kali, the Mother, sung in Bengali by Dr. Moumita Banerjee were
explicated in English by Dr. Chatterjee. Lady Guest who herself was a famous
music composer besides being an eminent professor of literature made the
atmosphere more enjoyable by singing two melodious English songs. Then when it
was lunch time they were served pure Bengali dishes with no spoon on. Dr.
Chatterjee described in English every menu and guided them how to use hands to
swallow them. Really it was an amazing experience. Samir felt instantly how
much love and regard he commanded on all he once happened to come in touch
of.
Samir has recently retired from service. Now
when he is no more required to take leave from office to get his all queries
solved by this Universal Mastermashai, God smiles a cruel smile and asks Samir
to accept the truth now. Samir understands the divine inscription that reads
like it’s time now for Dr. Chatterjee to guide all from above, his permanent
abode in heaven. Samir now gets in a reverie off and on and feels fortunate to
have enjoyed his kind presence in different literary meets in the most ordinary
attire with sandals as contrasted to the suited booted distinguished guests but
commanding awe-filled attention of all. Is it that Dr. Chatterjee was the
embodiment of “the content, not the container that is valued everywhere’?
****