Pratidin Surjyo

Hi

Suman here

The Heat is on!!!

Hi

Suman here!

Bhorsha Thakuk!

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Hi

Nicaragua, ultimately

It was Pete Seeger who, on learning from me that I wished to visit Nicaragua to write a book in Bengali on the Revolution, recommended me to Father Ernesto Cardenal, the priest, poet and guerilla, who was then the Minister of Culture of the Government of Reconstruction in Nicaragua. One day I got a letter of invitation from Father Ernesto Cardenal. I quit my VOA job and went to Managua as the minister of culture’s guest. My visit to Nicaragua Libre (Liberated) opened up a totally new world to me. That happened in 1985 and I am still reeling under its impact. It changed me considerably. It taught me things that I never thought of before. It made a different man out of me. I also got exposed to the New Song movement of Latin America. The New Song was a genre of songs that came from everyday experiences, from events that happen in one’s life and in the life that surrounds the individual. The New Song became important after revolutionary and radical movements started to take shape in Central and South America. But one should be cautious about forming any fixed notion as to the nature of the New Song. A love song could also be a New Song. It depended on the context. The New Song writer was not bound by any oath to deliver hard core political or partisan songs per se. The point was not to be politically or ideologically correct. To be musically creative and thematically relevant was the important thing.

Shubho nabo barsho! Today is the Bengali new year’s day.

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou was like a mother for me. On learning that I wanted to write a book on the anti-establishment personalities in the USA on the basis of elaborate interviews she told me to give her the manuscript so her publisher could publish the book. I told her that I wanted the book to be published in India by an Indian publisher. Upon that she told me, ‘But Suman, why do you have to be so mean about which country your book might be published in and by whom? Isn’t my country your country too?’ I felt embarrassed but I adamantly stuck to my idea of having my book published in India. Maya Angelou told me, ‘Well, if you were clever you would publish your book here in America. I wonder if you would find a publisher in your country.’ She was right. On returning to India I looked for a publisher and failed to find any. Samar Sen told me that his Germinal Publication might publish it but it did not have the necessary funds. When I offered him money he was quite annoyed. He said, ‘I should not publish any book taking the needed money from the author. My project The Other America never materialized. The thought of that book that never was and the memory of all the great American minds that helped me write the manuscript still make me sad. Could I ever face those wonderful people ever again? Do they still remember me, Suman Chatterjee? At that time I was Suman Chatterjee. I became Kabir Suman on the basis of a proper affidavit in 2000. Some of the interviews got published in Frontier and in Desh.

My US friends

Maya Angelou, George Wald and Pete Seeger were especially kind to me. I shall never forget the encouragement and love I got from them. George Wald, a Nobel laureate scientist, came to like me so much that he started calling me up from the Harvard University late at night and we talked till the small hours. Listening to Dr Wald was like attending a seminar of the highest intellectual order. Avoiding pedantry he enlightened me on things as varied as physics, philosophy, Taoism, Zen and radical politics. What I found remarkable was his sense of humor. Whatever he said was always with a touch of humor. He told me that as the Chairman of the Russell Tribunal he once faced an interesting situation in which some US military personnel rather stupidly asked, ‘But how the hell can we move out of Vietnam now?’ And this was what Dr Wald told them: ‘Why? That’s quite simple: in airplanes, in ships, by cars and by foot!’