What Are We Weighting For? - University of Kentucky

CHAPTER-VII

BENGALI LANGUAGE : HIS THOUGHTS AND THE STYLE

7.1 Introduction :

The unavoidable impression of Bankimchandra was embeded in the field

of Bengali prose writing and prose style when Mahamahopaddhay Haraprasad

Shastri started his writings in Bengali. The first article of Haraprasad named Bharat

Mahila was published on 20th June, 1881, in the Bangadarshana. It was written

in 1874 A.D. at that time, as the model of prose writing to Haraprasad, there were

some novels of Bankimchandra, the Alaler Gharer Dulal of Pyarichand Mitra

and Hutom Pa(n)char Naksha (1862). Haraprasad personally was fond of prose

style of Pyarichand Mitra. Specially the use of colloquial language (PxlZ m²) in

the prose of Pyarichand Mitra. Haraprasad wrote an essay named Pyarichand

Mitra. There he wrote :

eøwky gwgÖk hwnwt LÖg ÌRwk, LÖg Ìb#r„ Ìj hwnwt xlxLËl “KwËdk xhZk

xbËt ikËi exml pwt,” Bpw ÌoB hwnw - ÌjËpZ× Bpw PxlZ hwnw„ GB hwnwt

Ìj ÌlËL I Ìj eËr, ZwpwËbk iËcø hwnw gxltw GKUw ebwêB awËK dw„ 1

[In the prose of Pyarichand babu, there are strength and fluency in it. It is

that language which directly enters into one’s heart, because it is day to day com-

municative language. There is no barrier in between the reader and the writter of

these prose.]

Haraprasad was respectful towards the prose style of Bankinchandra also.

Besides this respect to Bankimchandra, Haraprasad never spared him to criticise

whenever any limitation he found in Bankimchandra. In one study, Haraprasad

observed that, Bankimchandra used sixty five Sanskritr words in a selected text,

where Vidyasagar used fifty five sanskrit words.2 Not only that he also showed

that, Vidyasagar used those Sanskrit words taking their meaning in Sanskrit only,

but in Bankimchandra the Sanskrit words were not used for their Sanskrit mean-

ings :

DekìæÖ xZxd ÌbLwBtw xbtwxQËld xZxd (xgbøwowMk) ovÆÚZ m² ovÆÚZ AËaêB

xKìæÖ gxáKi AovÆÚZ AËaê gøgpwk KxktwxQËld„ 3

When Haraprasad with Rajkrishna went to Bankimchandra, with the copy

of Bharat Mahila that time Bankimchandra wanted to know that from where he

learned this type of special vocabulary in that essay. Haraprasad answered that :

“Awxi mÝyjÖ£ß møwiwPkY MwŠÖly ipwmËtk ÌPlw„’ 4

He is the follower of Shri Shyamacharan Ganguli. Shyamacharan Ganguli

was the English teacher of Haraprasad in the Sanskrit College. Shyamacharan

Ganguli does not like the Bengali with full of Sanskrit words. He wanted self

sufficient Bengali which is free from impact of Sanskrit Language. He wrote an

essay named Bengali Spoken and Written in the Calculla Review in the year 1877

about this subjcet. Haraprasad accepted the proposals by heart made by

Shyamacharan Ganguli in the said essay to free the Bengali prose from the impact

of Sanskrit and to bring it nearer to the day to day colloquial language.

So, Haraprasad did not accept Bankimchandra as ideal on thoughts of lan-

guage. He did not accept the Sanskritised Bengali of Vidyasagar also. His favourites

are Babu Pyarichand Mitra, Kaliprasanna Singha for their used of oral vocabu-

lary. But is was Shyamacharan Ganguli who inspired Haraprasad for frame his

own thoughts of language. Who being a lecturer in English stirred the then edu-

cated society writting an essay on the vocabulary and the use of some words in

Bengali. But there is no doubt that the influence of the prose style of Bankim

chandra is there on Haraprasad. Haraprasad though showed his own excellence

and established his own style in the field of Bengali prose writting.5

Vidyasagar was the Principal of Sanskrit College. Haraprasad being his

student tried to become one of the persons, motivated by Vidyasagar with a high

ideal of humanity and educdation. Satyajit Choudhury has written :

xgbøwowMk AcøqZwk oiËt Ìj ckËYk iwdÖn ÐZkyk Kaw ÌhËg ovÆÚZ

KËlËRk xmqw e¦xZ AwiÔl ovÆwk KËk GËoxQËld, iËdk PxkË¢k xbK

ÌaËK pkeÝowb mwþèyËK ÌoB AwbËmêk eÝxZkÕe glw jwt„ 6

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[When Vidyasagar was the Principal of Sakrit College, he modified the

teaching process with a view to built up an ideal class of people, Haraprasad

belonged one of them from the character of his mind.]

After writting Bharat Mahila, Haraprasad gradually built up his own style

of writing Bengali prose. Besides, he wrote many essays on Bengali language.

His thoughts on Bengali language and on grammar have been expressed in those

essays. Haraprasad wrote an essay named ‘gwvlw hwnw’ (Bengali Language) in the

Shravana issue of Bangadarshana in 1288 B.E. The thoughts of Haraprasad took

a complete shape in this essay.

7.1.2 Bangla Bhasha :

In the essay Bangla Bhasa, Haraprasad mentioned of two major types of

prose style practiced in Bengali at that time in Bengal. The first among them were

those who used so much of Sanskrit words and were fond of Sanskrit style. They

almost made the Bengali language next to Sanskrit. They never allowed any one

to use any local or foreign words other than Sanskrit. They showed their intollerence

to Persian words if used in Bengali. The second group, they were just opposite to

the first. They were against the use of Sanskrit words in Bengali. They used to

write a Bengali which is full of Persian and folk words. Haraprasad says that none

of the writers in Bengali of the groups mentioned above were duly educated in

Bengali. None of them learned the Bengali language properly.

As a result, the common people who did not know Sanskrit as well as did

not have enough knowledge in Persian words were unable to understand the lit-

erature written by the above mentioned groups. The first groups mentioned above

some times used to translate Sanskrit books in Bengali. These Bengali was full of

Sanskrit words and their sentences were written in a style of Sanskrit language.

So, the common people had to consult Sanskrit dictionaries while reading these

Bengali books. Haraprasad complained that no one was writing the pure Bengali.

The pure Bengali as Haraprasad means in such a style of Bengali where neither

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the Sanskrit words, nor the Persian will be used too much. The language of the

literature should be based on the vocabulary used by the common people in their

day to day life. The language of the common people, the language of the civil

society should be taken as a sample of the language of pure Bengali literature.

Haraprasad referred the poets - Krittibasa, Kashidasa, Kabikankan, Bharatchandra

and Ramprasad as the writers of pure Bengali language. He admitted that only

one or two Sanskrit words are there in Krittibasa and Kashidasa.

Our country, for a long time was under the reign of the rulers whose mother

toungue was Urdu. They imposed Urdu language on us. After that the Britishers

came to our country and we took many English words from them in our vocabu-

lary. So it was very hard to avoid these influences.

Haraprasad mentioned of the narrators, of our folk and ritualistic perfor-

mances. These Kathak Thakurs (KaK VwK×k) use the language nearer to the day to

day verbal communication. Though they deal in the stories written in Sanskrit.

Haraprasad laments that no one wrote a single book in such a language which is

nearer to our day to day verbal communication at that time. The reason behind it,

he mentioned that, no one among those who wrote in Bengali learned Bengali

language properly. They learned either English or Sanskrit. Haraprasad wrote :

KawxU GB Ìj jwpwkw G ejêìæ gwvlw hwnwt ÌlLdy cwkY KxktwËQd, Zwpwkw

ÌKpB gwvlw hwnw hwl Kxktw xmqw KËkd dwB„ pt BvkwRy exrtwËQd, dw

pt ovÆÚZ exrtwËQd, exrtwB AdÖgwb KxktwËQd„ KZK†xl AeÝPxlZ

ovÆÚZ I dÔZd Mrw ÌPwtwl hwOw Kaw PxlZ Kxktw xbtwËQd„ xdËR hwxgtw

ÌKp gB ÌlËLd dwB, oÖZkwv xdËRk hwnwt Ky AwËQ dw AwËQ ZwpwËZ

ZwpwËbk dRkI eËr dwB„ 7

[The thing is, whoever has written anything in Bengali till now, has not

learned the Bengali language properly. They learned either English or Sanskrit

and they have translated the books they read in the syllabus. They in their books

used some old and hard Sanskrit words. No one wrote any book of their own...]

Haraprasad has clearly mentioned one thing here and that is which should

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be called the pure Bengali? The Bengali written before the Britishers came to our

country were pure Bengali. Krittibasa and Kashidasa --- they translated from San-

skrit books. So, there are some Sanskrit words in their translation. But other Bengali

writers of mediaval like Kabikankan Mukunda Chakraborty, Bharatchandra,

Ramprasad they wrote pure Bengali. At that time, there was no evidence of writ-

ing literature in prose. The vocabulary used in the Bengali civil society has been

called the pure Bengali by Haraprasad.

After the Muslim invasion there were three types of Bengali language used

in Bengal. Firstly, the Muslim rulers who tried Bengali toungue used a Bengali

mixed with Urdu. Secondly, those who practiced Sanskrit and performed Hindu

rituals used a Bengali mixed with Sanskrit. Thirdly, the language of common

people. Haraprasad has catagorised the Kathak thakurs also in the category of

common people.

We have taken many Urdu words as a loan in Bengali language but such

thing did not happen in case of English. India was under the British rule for al-

most two hundred years. But English vocabulary has not been mixed with Bengali

in a large scale like Urdu.

The British rulers engaged some pandits for composing Bengali books in

prose form. These pandits translated some Sanskrit books which they studied

earlier, into Bengali. These pandits were detached from the common people. So,

they did not know the vocabulary of the common people. Mainly the pandits of

the Sanskrit College did this work.

According to Haraprasad, these pandits wrote Bengali prose by just avoid-

ing the Bibhakis of the Sanskrit sentences. They maintained the syntactic form in

Bengali as it was in Sanskrit. Rather they transcripted the Sanskrit sentences into

Bengali. Thus, the Bengali prose mixed with lots of Sanskrit words was written.

Haraprasad wrote :

Zwpwkw Ìj oKl AeÝPxlZ MÜìÿ ewV KxktwxQËld ZwpwkB ZRêiw Awkº

KxkËld„ kwxm kwxm ovÆÚZ m² xghx£ß exkgxRêZ pBtw gwvlw AqËk

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D£i KwMËR D£i kÕËe iÖxbÜZ pBtw eÖþæK iËcø xgkwR KxkËZ lwxMl„ 8

[They started translating the books they studied earlier. Lots of Sanskrit

words excluding the Bibhakis being used in Bengali prose were printed in good

quality of paper and existed there in books.]

As an example of these type of work, Haraprasad referred to the book

Kadambari written by Tarashankar Tarkaratna. And those who wrote Bengali prose

taking the English books as their model, they followed the English syntax in

writing Bengali sentences, as an example of these type of books Jivancharit writ-

ten by Vidyasagar was mentioned.

So Haraprasad opined that since the responsibility of development of

Bengali language has been rendered to these type of pandits, there is no hope of

real development of this language at all.

Gradually, the Bengali were being written with the sentences full of San-

skrit words with the syntax as in Sanskrit. As an example of this kind Haraprasad

has mentioned the book Bharatbarshiya Upashaka Sampradaya, written by Akshay

Kumar Dutta.

For these reasons Haraprasad criticised his seniors and he did not spared

Vidyasagar also whom he respected very much. Here we can find Haraprasad’s

rationality and modernity.

7.1.3 Criticism of Chalantika :

Haraprasad expressed his views on the Bengali dictionary and Bengali

grammar in the essay written for the criticism of the Chalantika a Bengali dictio-

nary composed by Rajshekhar Basu. The Chalantika was published in 1930 A.D.

After the publication of this Bengali dictionary, Haraprasad wrote a criticism on

this valuable work of Rajshekhar Basu in the journal Prabasi, in Ashvin issue of

1337 B.E. The tittle of the essay was Abhidhan. A chronological description of

Bengali Dictionary has been given in this scholastic essay. The definition of a

dictionary and the inheritence of Sanskrit dictionaries have also been

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discussed here.

He presented his valuable comments on the Sanskrit dictionary Amarkosha.

He mentioned that the explanation written by Sarbananda Bandyopaddhay in 1159

A.D. is the best explanation of Amarkosha. Dictionaries written in Bengali there

are many. He named only four of them. These are Prakritibad Abhidhan by

Ramakamal Vidyalankar, Saral Bangla Abhidhan by Subal Chandra Mitra, Bangla

Shabda Kosha by Yogesh Chandra Roy and Bangla Bhasar Abhidhan by Jnanendra

Mohan Das. Among the four dictionaries mentioned above, first two are the dic-

tionary of Sanskrit words, the third is of the Bengali words, and the forth is the

dictionary of both the Sanskrit and Bengali words. But these are very big in size.

So cannot be used anywhere anytime. He opined that the dictionary of Rajshekhar

Basu will serve the purpose in this case.

In the introduction of Chalantika, Rajshekhar Basu suggested that the long

‘S’ the long and short ‘9’ and the ending ‘g’ should be eliminated from the Bengali

Alphabets. But Haraprasad differs. He says :

byNê ‘F’, pÛÈ ‘9’, byNê ‘9’ GB xZdxU Aqk DxVtw jwItwt qxZ dwB„ KwkY

ovÆÚËZ byNê ‘9’ oKËl ÈyKwk KËkd dw„ ewxYxdI KËkd dw„ ovÆÚÚËZ pÛÈ ‘9’

I byNê ‘F’ gøgpwk LÖg Ki„ gwvlwt DxVtw jwBËl qxZ dwB, xKìæÖ Aìæ:þÿ

‘g’ Z×xlËl PxlËg xK? ovÆÚËZ Aìæ:þÿ ‘g’ gMyêt ‘g’ AËeqw AËdK Ìgmy„ 9

[There is no harm if the long ‘S’ and both the ‘9’s are abolished from Bengali

Alphabets because there are many who does not admit long ‘9’ in Sanskrit, not

even Panini. The short ‘9’ and long ‘S’ are seldom used in Sanskrit. No harm if

these are also abolished. But, ending ‘g’ should not be eliminated. The use of

ending ‘g’ in Sanskrit is greater than the regular ‘g’.]

In the introduction of Chalantika, Rajshekhar again said that, the spelling

of Sanskrit words are pre-defined, but it is not so in Bengali. Haraprasad protests

this. He says that it is not like that. Different spellings are found of a particular

word in Sanskrit also. He wrote :

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ovÆÚZ mË²k gwdwd xK LÖg oÖxdxbêûU? gxmüV, gxoüV, ÌKwml, ÌKwol pt;

moø, ooø pt, jÖgZy, jÖgxZ pt, oÖZkwv ovÆÚZ mË²k gwdwd Ìj LÖg oÖxdxbêûU

Zw dt„ 10

[ Are the spelling of Sanskrit words pre-defined? Bashistha, Basistha,

Koshala, Kosala, Shasya, Sasya are found in Sanskrit. So, the spelling of Sanskrit

words are not so pre-defined]

Haraprasad opined that the Chalantika has accepted the Bibhakti in Bengali

grammar, thus, some complexity have been avoided. Haraprasad commented on

the rules of Sandhi (joining of two words) adopted in Chalantika. Haraprasad

thinks that Sandhi is the matter related to pronounciation, it is not related to gram-

mar directly. He again says that the padanta sandhi (word ending sandhi) is avail-

able in Sakskrit, not in Bengali. The Sandhis in betwen the words are also not

found in Bengali. In this case we cannot support Haraprasad, because there are

the system of joining two or more words in Bengali of its own and it is very much

useful. Satyajit Choudhury things that there is Sandhi in Bengali. He writes :

gwvlwt I ox¬ AwËQ„ Ggv Ìo kyxZ gwvlwk xdRÈ„ gwvlwt ox¬k gøgpwk

DâPwkËYk ÌSwËKk Iek xdhêk KËk„ gwvlwt DâPwkËYk Rdø Ìj ox¬ pt

Zw ovÆÚËZk xdtËi ovÆÚËZk iZ dt„

Ìjid -- jw+ BËâQ+ZwB=jwËâQZwB, Mw+ÌiwQw=MwiQw,

ewZw+Zwxr=ewZZwxr, ÌKwaw+ÌaËK=ÌKwË¤ËK„ 11

[There are rules of joining of words in Bengali also and that is of its

own.These joining of words depends on the accent of pronounciation of particu-

lar word ... and the rules here are not like the rules followed in Sanskrit ...]

The chronological description as well as the definition of dictionary given

by Haraprasad Shastri are of the great value to us. But his comments made on

Sandhi or the joining of words is not always acceptable. The other comments and

suggestions of Haraprasad Shastri about the dictionary were of much significance.

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7.1.4 dÔZd Kaw Mrw dÔZd Kaw Mrw dÔZd Kaw Mrw dÔZd Kaw Mrw dÔZd Kaw Mrw (Nutan Katha Gara) :

Haraprasad Shastri has focused on a fundamental question of that time in

his essay Nutan Katha Gara (coining a new word). This essay was written in

1288 B.E. that is in 1881 A.D., when the Bengali language was steping to its

golden age. The scholars who tried their hands in this time were practicing Euro-

pean concepts along with those of India also. The scholars who wrote in Bengali

in this time faced a problem and the problem was to coining a new word in Bengali.

They were facing the problem to express the meaning of a foreign word in Bengali.

It was a common problem to the most of the writer whoever wrote in Bengali at

the time of the publication of this essay.

For the development of a certain language it is necessary to in take new

words from other languages. The same expression may not be available in the

language concerned which took loan words from other languages. But it is neces-

sary to have such expression in the language concerned. For resolving this prob-

lem Haraprasad has suggested three ways; those were :

1„ Adø hwnw ÌaËK dÔZd hwnw Awibwxd Kkw ÌpwK„

2„ PxlZ hwnw xbËt Ìj ÌKwd kÕËe hwgxU eÝKwm ÌeËlB pl„

3„ D£ß hwg eÝKwËmk Rdø eÝËtwRËd bÖB xZd Q¢ ÌlLw ÌpwK„12

[Those three suggestions were -

1. Taking synonimous word from other languages.

2. Expressing the word with the colloquial languages any way.

3. Expressing the meaning with two or three sentences if necessary.]

As the example of his suggestions Haraprasad took the word ‘Competi-

tion’ from English language. There is no word in Bengali which can directly rep-

resent the English word ‘Competition’. Haraprasad suggesting to coin the word,

or to write two three sentences in Bengali to express the meaning of the above

mentioned word. Ultimately he thought that there are both merits and demerits in

those two ways mentioned above. So he inclined to use one word from colloquial

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Bengali which might express a meaning nearer to ‘Competition’. Otherwise the

foreign word itself could be taken as it is as a loan word. He suggested to become

rational in resolving the problem.

7.1.5 AûUi gŠyt owxpZø oËiôlËd owxpZø mwLwt ohwexZk oË¹wcd AûUi gŠyt owxpZø oËiôlËd owxpZø mwLwt ohwexZk oË¹wcd AûUi gŠyt owxpZø oËiôlËd owxpZø mwLwt ohwexZk oË¹wcd AûUi gŠyt owxpZø oËiôlËd owxpZø mwLwt ohwexZk oË¹wcd AûUi gŠyt owxpZø oËiôlËd owxpZø mwLwt ohwexZk oË¹wcd (The address of the Chair-

man of literature section in the Eighth Bengali literature conference) :

In the speeches given on various occasions, Haraprasad expressed his views

on style of Bengali Prose. One of such views we find in the address of the Chair-

man of the literature section in the Eighth Bengali literature conference.

Haraprasad has mentioned that the writers of that time were in search of a

proper prose style in Bengali. Those who are trying new style in Bengali prose,

were consciously doing it. The style and the diction they were using were the

selection of there individual choice.

Haraprasad mentioned that the Brahmin Pandits tried to avoid the words

related to Muslims when they used to write in Bengali. As the example, he has

referred to some words like ‘Kli’, ‘ew›w’ etc. Since the word ‘Kli’ (Kalam) has

come from Persian language, so the pandits, avoided the word and they wrote

‘ÌlLdy’ for the word ‘Kli’. The word ‘ew›w’ (Patta) is also an Islamic word, came

from Persian language. So, the pandits wrote ‘ÌhwM xgcwtK e¢’ (Bhog Bidhayaka

Patra). Haraprasad wrote:

‘Kli’ iÖoliwdy m² Zwpwkw KlËik gbËl ‘ÌlLdy’ m² gøgpwk KxkËgd,

AaP ‘ÌlLdy’k Aaê- DËrËbk ZwlewZwk AwKk KwxUgwk Ìlwpwk LÖxìæ,

ZwpwËZ Kwxl lwËM dw„ ‘Kli’ I ‘ÌlLdy’ GËKgwËkB xhÒ xRxdo„ ...

GBkÕËe Zwpwkw gwvlwËK Â¦ gw iwxRêZ Kxktw lBËZ Pwd„ ZwpwËbk Ìo

ÌPûUw KLdB ofl pBgwk dt„ 13

[Kalam is a Persian word, therefore they wrote Lekhani in stead of Kalam.

But the meaning of Lekhani is the iron equipement used for writing on palmleaves,

by the Oriyas, which can write without ink... so the word Kalam and Lekhani

refer to complete different things ... thus they tried to purify the Bengali language

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But this practice will never be successful.]

There is another group who do not like to use the colloquial language at

all. They say that the use of colloquial language in Bengali prose is improper.

They want to use Sanskrit words instead. Haraprasad, in his essay— Nutan Katha

Gara has given an example of this type of practices :

Awikw gxl, “oit Awk KwËU dw, Zwpwkw gËld, ‘KwËU dw xQ! -- BzZ×Ëk

Kaw’ gËld, ‘oit KZêd pt dw’ ... Awikw gxl, ‘høwgwËPKw LwBtw ÌMl’,

Zwpwkw gËld, ‘xKvKZêgøxgiÔs pBl„’ 14

Haraprasad has criticized those who translated from English to Bengali or

those who think in English and transcribe them into Bengali. Some of the writers

among this group have followed the English syntax while writing in Bengali.

Shastri has given an example of this kind in his essay :

“ÌbxLlwi Mki ÌewlwI Awk iwvo Awiwk AwpwËkk AËeqw KxkËZËQ„’15

Some are there who use English words in Bengali sentences anywhere

they like, without taking care of the purity of the Bengali language. An interesting

example has been given of this type of Bengali writings :

Awxi løwË«w MwxrËZ WÛwBh KxkËZ KxkËZ pwIrw ÌûUmËd epÖxQtw ÌgdwkËok

Rdø gÖK Kxklwi„ fwýUê KöwËo Ìlwtwk gwaê ÌhKwëU xQl dw, Awewk gwËaê ÌgxWvUw

ÌýeÛW Kxktw GKU× mUêdøwe xbgwk ÌPûUw KxkËZxQ, Gid oit pÖBxol xbtw

ÌUÛd ýUwUê Kxkl„16

According to Haraprasad, the above mentioned sentences cannot be said

Bengali. He thinks that those who wrote a Bengali like this, did not learn the

Bengali language properly. Haraprasad inclined to write a Bengali which will be

understood by the common people very easily as it should be very nearer to the

colloquial language. If the synonymous word is not available then, Haraprasad

suggests to keep the foreign word in Bengali and to accept it as a loan-word. He

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suggested for establishment of an Academy to meet this problem and to bring

uniformity in the prose style in Bengali. This suggestion was like a light house to

the writers of Bengali prose.

7.1.6 Bangla Byakaran (Bengali Grammar) :

Haraprasad wrote another important essay on the Bengali language and its

grammar. It was published in the first issue of the journal of the Bangiya Sahitya

Parishad, in 1308 B.E. before that it was read in the sitting of the Parishad. In the

audience there were Rabindranath Thakur himself and Satyendranath Thakur et

al. among others. All of them supported Haraprasad on the comments he made in

this essay.17

In this essay Haraprasad mentioned that about 250 numbers of grammar

books were written on Bengali language so far up to that time. He also mentioned

that two types of blind imitations are seen in those 250 numbers of grammar

books.

The first group tried to impose the Sanskrit grammar in Bengali. The other

group tried English grammar to impose on Bengali. None of them thought of

writing a grammar book of the Bengali language. Haraprasad wrote :

¢ßËi GB eøwËUËëU ovÆÚZ oÔ¢†xlk ZRêiw, Awk GK eøwËUËëU BvkwRy

kØl†xlk ZRêiw„ gwvlwUw Ìj GKUw ÈZìè hwnw, Dpw Ìj ewxl iwMcy

AcêiwMcy ovÆÚZ ewkxo BvËkRy eÝhÙxZ dwdw hwnwk ovximÝËd DueÒ

pBtwËQ, MÜìÿKwkMY Ìo Kaw GKgwkI hwËgd dw„ AËdËK Awgwk bÖB

eøwËUëU xilwBtw GK eÝKwk xLP×xr eÝþæÖZ KËkd„ Ìo AxZ DuKÚûU ebwaê„18

[Gradually in one patent the translation of the Sanskrit rules and in other

the same of the English rules were done. The authors of those books did not ever

think the Bengali is a different language and it has come from mixture of the Pali,

Magadhi, Ardha-Magadhi, Sanskrit, Persian, and English etc. Some of them mixed

the two types of rules— both Sanskrit and English together and made a hotch-

potch out of the grammar book.]

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Haraprasad opined that studying these books, the Bengali students will not

be able to learn the grammar of the Bengali language. Haraprasad made another

significant comments on the bibhakti (¢hi¢š²) in this essay. This essay was written

much earlier than the Chalantika of Rajshekhar Basu was published. Here Shastri

mentioned that, there are only three-four numbers of bibhaktis are there in the

Bengali language. There is no need of using a long tree of the Sanskrit bibhaktis

like Prathama, Dwitiya and so on in Bengali.

Shastri concluded the essay with the hope that the Bengali grammar should

be written for the Bengali language only. The syntax, the morphology and other

rules should be discussed in these books as it is used in Bengali language of the

people of Bengal.

It is clear that Haraprasad framed his own idea on the language and he had

some distinctive thoughts on the Bengali prose style. His main objectives, in those

essays are to make the Bengali language self-sufficient. Haraprasad appealed to

everyone to follow the rules of the Bengali language while writing Bengali. He

also appealed to accept loan-words from foreign languages if necessary. And we

saw that even Rabindranath Thakur also responded to this appeal of Haraprasad.19

Adopting these means, today we can say that, the Bengali language has attained

an honourable place in the world.

Haraprasad always showed his inclination towards the use of folk and col-

loquial words in standard Bengali prose. Which presently being profusely used

by the sub-altern writers and proved its vitality. Haraprasad realized the possibil-

ity and the strength of the Bengali folk and colloquial words so early at his time

itself. He expressed thiese thoughts repeatedly in various articles to come back to

the colloquial of the common folk, to come back to the root. He always advocated

not depend upon the foreign languages unnecessarily. To use Jadughar the collo-

quial word, instead of using any foreign word for it like ‘museum’. This tendency

of Haraprasad made him one of the notable modern researchers of Modern Indian

Languages. His suggestions are still relevant to the researchers of latest time also.

170

7.2.1 Prose style of Haraprasad Shastri :

Prose is a form of language which applies ordinary grammatical structure

and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure (as in traditional po-

etry). While there are critical debates on the construction of prose, its simplicity

and loosely defined structure has led to its adoption for the majority of spoken

dialogue, factual discourse as well as topical and fictional writing. A good prose

is that which is clean, simple and lucid.20 Novels, essays, short stories, and works

of criticism are examples of prose.

Writing style is the way in which the authors choose to write to their read-

ers. A style reveals both the writer’s personality and voice, but it also shows how

the writer perceives the audience, and chooses conceptual writing style which

reveals those choices by which the writer may change the conceptual world of the

overall character of the work. This might be done by a simple change of words; a

syntactical structure, phrasing prose, adding diction, and organizing figures of

thought into usable frameworks.

The writer needs to adapt style to the situation. The author needs to decide

whether the goal of the writing is to inform, persuade, or entertain.21

In fiction, the situation is the events that comprise the plot. Style must

represent the author’s personal expression of these events setting mood, and lead-

ing the reader to a subjective, non-literal, emotional understanding of the subject.

A writer controls not only the destiny of thin the rules of grammar, the writer can

arrange words in many ways. A sentence may state the main proposition first and

then modify it; or it may contain language to prepare the reader before stating the

main proposition.

Varying the style may avoid monotony. However, in technical writing, us-

ing different styles to make two similar utterances makes the reader ask whether

the use of different styles was intended to carry additional meaning.

171

Stylistic choices may be influenced by the culture. In the modern age, for

instance, the loose sentence has been favored in all modes of discourse. In classi-

cal times, the periodic sentence held equal or greater favor, and during the Age of

Enlightenment, the balanced sentence was a favorite of writers.

The writer’s voice is the individual writing style of an author, a combina-

tion of typical usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character

development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text can be thought of in

terms of the uniqueness of a vocal voice machine.

The words of one author have a different sound than the words of another.

One author may have a voice that is light and fast paced while another may have

a dark voice.

On the other hand one word may carry more than one voice at the same

time, which is called the heteroglossia. The term heteroglossia introduced by M.

M. Bakhtin, the Russian critic and philosopher.

‘Discourse in the novel’ is one of Bakhtin’s most complete

statements concerning his philosophy of language. It is here that Bakhtin

provides a model for a history of discourse and introduces the concept of

heteroglossia. The term heteroglossia refers to the qualities of a language

that are extra-linguistic, but common to all languages. These include quali-

ties such as perspective, evaluation and ideological positioning. In this

way most languages are incapable of neutrality, for every word is inextri-

cably bound to the context in which it exists. 22

Bakhtin believes that this personal touch is the life of any discourse. If it

is taken away from any given context, the discourse in a moment, becomes the

naked corpse of the words :

‘Discourse lives, as it were, beyond itself, in a living impulse toward the

object; if we detach ourselves completely from this impulse all we have left is

the naked corpse of the word, from which we can learn nothing at all about

172

the social situation or the fate of a given word in life. To study the word as

such, ignoring the impulse that reaches out beyond it, is just as senseless as to

study psychological experience outside the context of that real life toward which

it was directed and by which it is determined.’ 23

In the novels of Haraprasad we find that even the society is speaking through

his language. Even Haraprasad’s inclination to some of the characters can be

found very easily. In Kanchanmala it is with Kunal and other Buddhist characters

and in Bener Meye it is present in the whole discourse.

Rabindranath Thakur wrote an article named Haraprasad Shastri and it

was published in the Haraprasad Sambardhan Lekhamala Vol-2. This very ar-

ticle again was collected and published in the Haraprasad Shastri Smarak Grantha,

edited by Satyajit Choudhury, Debaprasad Bhattacharya and others. In this article

Rabindranath commented that the prose written by Haraprasad is very fluent and

an example of pure Bengali. The simplicity, fluency and the genuine Bengali

found in his prose, are not found anywhere else.

Haraprasad Shastri was a student of Sanskrit Literature. He was one of the

brightest students of Sanskrit College. But in his creative writings, he always

tried to use a diction which was close to the language really used by men. As a

result, his language was never affected by the influence of Sanskrit.

In Bharat Mahila, a composition of his student years, the language he

used was not very Sanskritised. Though he admitted that in the earlier parts of the

work, he had intentionally used a Sanskritised diction.24

When Bharat Mahila was published in Bangadarshan, Bankimchandra

praised the felicity of his use of diction. In reply, Haraprasad mentioned that in

the matter of the Bengali language he was a follower of Shyamacharan Ganguly,

Professor of English in Sanskrit College.

173

7.2.2 Prose Style of Kanchanmala :

The language used in Kanchanmala is a little different from that of the

other writings of Haraprasad. Though he was able to leave a distinct impression

of his very own style. The plot of Kanchanmala has a setting in the very remote

past :

‘bÖkMZ KwËlk AwgpoÙxûU Ggv xgnËtk Mwºyjê hwnwËK AxcK iw¢wt †kØMºyk KËkËQ„’25

This remark of Shipra Rakshit Dastidar can not be accepted totally. Be-

cause the language used in ‘Kanchanmala’ is not that affected by Sanskrit. And

whenever he used a Sanskritized Bengali, he had a definite purpose behind such

use. He used Sanskritized language intentionally in two or so parts for instance in

the first paragraph of the third Chapter of Kanchanmala, he used a language which

was Sanskritised. Let us have a look at this :

ÌoB ÌNwkw x§eÝpkw, mwìædxldy, K×iÖbM¬wËiwxbdy, xSÁykgkØZiwkØZovËoxgdy,

xgpMK×lKlkgxPcðvxody, eÖ™eÖ™ i™ÖZwkKwkwxRgøw®w, jwxidy jLd oht

KñxPbÖøxq®dtdw Kwxidy Ìc#ZxgËc#ZoÖkxhPxPêZ gbd mwUø—Ël AwâQwbd KËk,

Awed Awed eÝwYKwËìæk xdKUwxhowxkKw pËZËQd, ZLd eÝpkwxcK

MwseÝMws gwpø šwdexkmÔYø Ìicøwid:ovËjwMgu, eÔkyZKyid:ovËjwMgu,

kØ¦gwpøKkY KcøwËdk ek opow Kw—diwlwk iËd eÝf×ÁZwk o—wk pBl„ 26

Binoytosh Bhattacharya, son of Haraprasad Shastri, remarked :

GB GKxU Avm exrËlB gwYhË›k ‘Kwb¹ky’k Kaw oôkY pt„ GB kÕe

owvNwxZK ovÆÚZ hÔxtüV ÌlLw xeZÙËbgËK Awiwk Ryg§mwt xlxLËZ ÌbxL

dwB„ ... xZxd ‘opËoÛk’ eqewZy xQËld dw, xZxd gxlËZd I xlxLËZd

‘pwRwk’„ ‘eÝwPyd’ gw ‘eÖkwZËd’k gbËl xlxLËZd ‘eÖkwY’„ 27

As a matter of fact, this sanskritized part is formed of a ‘PÔYyê’ (a form of

emphasised narration) used generally by the narrators (KaK). Haraprasad said :

KaKËbk PÔYyê†xlËK Awxi gwvlw hwnwk AZ×ldyt oóex£ gxltw iËd Kxk„

Zwl I lËtk oxpZ DâPwkY KxkËl pwRwk pwRwk ÌlwK iÖ pBtw jwt„ Bpw

Awxi ÈPËq ÌbxLtwxQ„ 28

174

Besides this part, the language of Kanchanmala is simple and straight

forward :

‘hwnwxU Ìgm oÖëbk, exkÆwk ...„’29

As in his writing, he was dealing with a historical story of the remote past,

he, quite naturally, used a language full of ‘Tatsama’ words, But whenever he got

an opportunity, he resorted to words of current usage. He even did not hesitate to

use words of folk origin (ÌlwKwtZ m²). In the fourth paragraph of the tenth chaper,

we have such use of language in the conversation between two ‘chandals’:

AwxotwB GKRd Awk GKRdËK gxll, “IËk, GB mwlwUwk xK ÌPwL Z×lËZ

pËg? xKìæÖ mwlwk ÌPwL bÖUw xK gËrw„”

x§Zyt P«wl gxll, “ÌlLd Lwdw Ik pwËZ Ìb„”

As regards the linguistic style of Haraprasad Shastri, Rabindranath Tagore

has remarked :

‘Zwk kPdwt LwxU gwvlw Ìjid ÈâQ I okl Gid ÌZw Awk ÌKwawI ÌbLw jwt dw„’30

Binoytosh Bhattacharya, son of Haraprasad, writes :

AwiwËK GKgwk xZxd gxltwxQËld, gxáKigwgÖk hwnwt ‘okØ ÌiwUw ÌLËl’„

Aawêu KLdI xZxd †kØMºyk oiwo - gpÖl ovÆÚZ m²wglyk eÝËtwM KËkd,

Awgwk KLdI KLdI PlxZ, opR GidxK MÜwiø hwnw GKB eÖþæËK

gøgpwk KËkd„ xeZÙËbËgk iËZ BpwB xQl “okØ ÌiwUw” ÌlLwk lqY„

‘Kw—diwlw’ exrËl iËd pt, MÜìÿKwk BpwËZ gxáKigwgÖk AwbËmê AdÖeÝwxYZ

pBtw GBkÕe “okØ ÌiwUw” hwnwt ÌlLw Ahøwo KxktwxQËld„ ZwB þÿwËd

þÿwËd KxVd I bÖËgwêcø, oiwogpÖl hwnw, Awgwk þÿwËd þÿwËd opR, NËkwtw

Ggv AxZ-exkxPZ hwnw Zwpwk GKB “Kw—diwlw” DedøwËo ewItw jwt„ 31

[Once he told me that Bankimchandra used classical diction as well as

folk-diction at the same time ... We see the same practice in his Kanchanmala.]

7.2.3 Prose Style of Bener Meye :

The writer has not claimed that Bener Meye is a historical novel :

‘ÌgËdk ÌiËt’ BxZpwo dt; oÖZkwv HxZpwxoK DedøwoI dt„’32

His words contain a dig at the contemporary ideology of a novelist. Haraprasad

175

was antagonistic to that ideology. In the very begining of the novel Bener Meyewe

find a description of catching fishes in Tarapukur. This is no sudden introduction

but the writer has began the book this way to show what style he follows. The

narrating of the fast moving rider riding his horse in the dim light of the setting

sun as in Durgeshnandini of Bankimchandra may be referred to here for a com-

parison with Haraprasad’s style for a better understanding of the model he fol-

lows. He makes it clear in the very beginning what style he is going to follow and

where he is going to focus on his point of view. He deeply considers the material

elements of the novel as forming a part of real life and also the basis of reality he

is going to follow -- this explains why the beginnings of his novels are unique. He

has also forsaken here the narrative style of Kanchanmala as it was only an

imitation of Bankim style. Haraprasad’s employment of the slow paced meaning-

ful style reminds one of Rabindranath’s definition in which he stressed on finding

out of what is called ‘AwËZk Kaw’. As a result, slowly and gradually, at every level of

the novel, at every knot it has become possible to analyse the complications aris-

ing out of social conflicts.

Haraprasad was an earnest researcher of ancient history and he did not

lack the knowledge about the trends and tendencies of life necessary to work

within a historical frame work. The result was that he collected different elements

from ancient Bengali texts, Buddhist literature, legends and folklore and

deconstructed the ancient life. The more he collected thougtful, serious elements,

the more he was able to attain a slow, calm and quiet style.

The novels are born with it’s style of prose. Prof. Achintya Biswas says

that the discourse of a novel is co-related with it’s context. It can not be differen-

tiated. It is inseparable and the bonding between these two is ultimate :

DedøwËok hwnw xgxâQÒ ÌKwd xgnt dt„ DedøwËok Kad xgËmð KaK

Awk ÌlLK, PxkË¢k hwnø Awk Zwk ovlwe GK Addø ximÝY gw AhwxgZeÔgê

ekóexkZ oÔË¢ MËr IËV„ DedøwËok hwnw I Kwxpdy Awcwk AwËct dt, Zw

GK Axdgwjê AxgxâQÒ kPdwÐmly„ 33

176

In this novel, the writer has extensively used words associated with vari-

ous folk items of ancient Bengal--- tools, vehicles, trade and commerce, customs

and principles. But the story of the ups and downs of the society surpasses all.

Towards the end of the seventh chapter, further change was hinted at. On reach-

ing Kanouj, Maskari finds :

‘oKËlk iÖËLB GK Kaw„ iÖoliwd AwxoËZËQ„’ 34

Haraprasad closed his novel in an epoch making era expressing his fear

for a Turkish aggression. Later, the whole discipline of the society of Bengal got

topsy turvied owing to the Turkish aggression. From the ruins of the aggression,

gradually a new Hindu-Muslim mixed culture grew up in Bengal.

Hence, it seems Haraprasad has ended his novel in the right place. The

linguistic style used in the novel is Haraprasad’s own. He even made of the mod-

ern psychoanalysis in characterisation. 35

Haraprasad has used one or two English words also in the novel :

‘ixëbËkk pwZwk PwxkxbËK ewaËkk Ìkxlv ...„’ 36

or

‘ÌjLwËd QwxZ Awkº, ÌoLwËd GKxU xKDËgk PwxkxbËK PwxkËRwrw ÌPwL ...„’ 37

At the same time he has used Arabic and Persian expressions :

‘Ìg#¦ Mtwk ixëbËk ZLd grB Ìg-ÌikwiZ ...„’38

7.2.4 Prose Style : His Speciality :

Practically, this is the best criticism of Haraprasad. The pure Bengali words,

simple and fluent structure of the sentences are the characteristics of the prose of

Haraprasad. We will examine the usage of above mentioned characteristics in the

works of Haraprasad Shastri. For that, we will quote from his works in Bengali. :

1. ÌZl jZ bÔk jwBËZ lwxMl, oiÖbÜ xþÿk pBËZ lwxMl; gwZwËok Ìj ÌRwk, ÌoB ÌRwkB kxpl,

xKìæÖ oiÖËbÜ Awk ÌXD DËV dw„ oiÖbÜ beêËYk iËZw xþÿk pBl, Ìd#Kw ÌRwËk PxlËZ lwxMl, xKìæÖ

UËl dw„ 39

177

2. AËdKqY GBkÕe Nøwdk-Nøwdk Kxktw gÖry DxVtw jwBZ - iwtw pwf Qwxrtw gwxPZ„ jwgwk

oit gÖry gxlZ, “ÌbL iw, ÌZwk Rdø ÌhËg ÌhËg Awxi ÌZw Awk ewP ÌbwËk ÌjËZ ewklwi dw,

Awiwk ÌeUUwk iËZw PwkxU Pwl AwR Z×B Ìb iw„” iwtw Zwk U×Kxd hxktw Pwl xbZ, Ìo I

Awmygwêb Kxktw Pxltw jwBZ„ gxltw jwBZ, “oÖMËZ ÌZwk hx£ß pDK„ 40

3. ÌbxLËZ ÌbxLËZ fwùMÖd iwËok eÔxYêiwk Pwb hwxoËZ hwxoËZ ohwk iwawk Dek Awxotw bwrwBl„

PwËbk Ìj Nd AwËlwt ohwþÿl DŒðl pBËZ DŒðl pBtw DxVl„ PwxkxbËK MŠwk RËlk Dek

Ìjd bÖc Xwxltw xbl„ ohw hŠ pBl„ mZ mZ KyZêxdtwk bl ÌLwËl PwxU xbl„41

In the above mentioned excerpt we saw the simplicity of the prose style of

Haraprasad Shastri. Use of colloquial Bengali has made the style special. In the

second excerpt, we see the special idiomatic use of the Bengali language, which

is one of the specialties of any language. In the second excerpt Haraprasad has

used ‘OÉ¡el-OÉ¡el, Bj¡l ÌfVV¡l ja Q¡l¢V Q¡m’, in the third excerpt—‘Qy¡cl Ìp Oe

Bm¡’these phrases brings the flavour of the unadulterated Bengali to us. Besides

these, the use of the folk-tradition of Bengal has made his style exceptional.

We assumed that there were no difference between the readers of

Bankimchandra and Haraprasad. The works of both the writers were published

together at the same time in the pages of Bangadarshana. There target readers

were also the same. While Bankimchandra adopts a prose style full of Tatsama

words with deep meanings, Haraprasad presents a style taking his readers as the

audience of a narration or storytelling. Narendranath Dashgupta writes :

gxáKiPËëbÝk ewVK oiwËRk oËŠ pkeÝowËbk ewVKËbk Pxk¢MZ ÌKwd

ewaêKø xQl dw„ xKìæÖ mwþèy imwB Zwk eÝgË¬k ewVKËbk MùeKad,

KaKZw RwZyt AwoËkk ÌmÝwZw kÕËeB Kùedw KËk xdËtËQd„ ... ewxVKwËbk

KwËQ xdËRk Ðgbˆø, ÐdtwxtK gÙx¦k PwZ×jêø Ggv kPdwK×mlZw eÝbmêd

KkËZ Pwdxd„ 42

178

[There were no difference between the readers of Bankimchandra and

Haraprasad. Shastri Mahashay took his readers for the audiences of a narration or

storytelling. He did not try to show his scholastic abilities, logical intelligence or

the capability of writing a good Bengali.]

Our assumption gets another support from another comment of

Narendranath Dashgupta. He thinks that :

“ewVKËbk Mùe KaËdk AwoËkk NxdüV g¬Ö døwËkxUËhk ÌbmR kyxZËZ GB gwþæg Rygd - koËgwc

jawaê Agl¹d ewt„” 43

[He took the readers for the audience of narration or a storytelling. So he

takes on a style of folk-narrative, which gives his way a support of vivid reality of

life.]

We will present some more examples of the above mentioned style of

Haraprasad from his works :

1. Awgwk jLd AbmêËd Adìæ AwKwËm hynY SxUKw DËV, jLd SxUKwt Adìæ AwKwm I Adìæ

oiÖËbÜ GKUw eÝKw« Kw« DexþÿZ KËk, ZLd ÌbxLtwQ xK? ÌbxLËg ÌKwaw pBËZ? AËgwc iwdÖn

AwpwËkk Rðwlwt gøþæ, GkÕe ÌbgbÖlêh ÌeÝikwxm ÌKwaw pBËZ ÌbxLËg? eÙxagyËZ GkÕe Aewk,

AMwc, Adìæ, eÝmwìæ, xdiêl, ÈâQ, ÌeÝikwxm KbwP KLËdw xiËl gxltw Kxgkw ÌlËLd gËU, xKìæÖ

KwËR xiËl dw„ 44

2. LwËbk RËlk bÖB ewËmðê bÖB eÝKw« gwxlk Prw, Awk ewr LÖg DPw, ewr pBËZ ÌNwkwËlw dylkËOk

ÌgZMwQ SÖxltw gwxlk Prwt exrtwËQ, GKU× oëiÖËL DP× pBËZ Pwxptw ÌbxLËl Ìgwc pBËg ÌLwlwk

bÖB ewr ¢ßËi okØ pBtw Ìmn xixltw xMtwËQ, LwËbk bÖB ewrI AËùek iËcøB ¢ßËiB okØ pBtw

xixltw xMtwËQ - GLd PrwUwk AwKwk xKkÕe pBtwËQ gÖxStwQ xK? 45

3. ÌiN gxlËZ ewËk, ‘AwâQw Awxi Ìj ÌZwiwk Zkf pËZ Zwk KwËQ jwg Zwk GKUw xdbmêd bwI, Ìo Ìj

xPxdËg, dxpËl Ìo jxb Awiwt AwilB dw Ìbt„’ ZwB jq gxlËZËQ -- ‘ewMËlk Gid dwryšwd -

Ìj jwgwk oit GKUw xdbmêd ÌbItw bkKwk„’ xdbmêd lBtw Kxg xKQÖ ÌMwËl exrËld„ pdÖiwd

kwËik AwOxU lBtw xMtwxQzËld„ ÌiN Ky lBtw jwBzËg? jËqk AwËQB gw Ky? 46

179

We have just observed the thoughts of Haraprasad expressed in various

articles and speeches. There we have seen that Haraprasad does not like the San-

skrit or the Tatsama words to use unreasonably. He has repeatedly said in differ-

ent occasions to avoid Sanskrit words or other cliché usage if there are

words available in our colloquial Bengali. Even he suggests for the words

from folk origin frequently used in day to day life. Besides, the foreign words

which are being used in Bengali recurrently should be used without hesita-

tion. He had no fastidiousness in using any folk-originated or informal words

if the new word for any new expression is arranged.

Haraprasad, in his works, has conformed to the suggestions he presented

regarding the language in different places. He has implemented his decisions

in his creative writings, whether it is a short story or a novel. We will take a

note of such use of the language from his works :

Foreign words Indigenous words

Ìh-jl¡ja (Arabic) Bya¢l=j¡Rl Bya

Ìl¢mw (English) ÌME¢s=j¤äe

¢LEh (English) c£fN¡R¡=c£f¡d¡l

h¡S¾c¡l=h¡Se¡c¡l

V¥L¢e=ÌR¡V f¡œ ¢hno

(¢ir¥l)L¡Q L¡¢Qu¡R= p¡S ÌpÌSR

Ìjs¡=Ìis¡

L¥yLs¡=Ìj¡lN

e¤ed¤N¢sf¡e¡=N¡hÚc¡-ÌN¡hÚc¡

The other authors of that time were not using these types of dictions very much.

The indigenous words are still abandoned to some of them. Akshay Kumar Datta,

Bankimchandra Chattopaddhay, Ramesh Chandra Datta or even Vidyasagar also

did not show any interest to such practices. But Haraprasad used these words

spontaneously and successfully.

He even used the rhymes of folk-origin. In his novel Bener Meye Haraprasad

has used such a rhyme while describing the war-parade of Rupa Raja :

180

AwMËWwi gwMËWwi ÌNwrwËWwi owËR

Wwl iÙMl NwMk gwËR„

gwRËZ gwRËZ erËlw owrw

owkw ÌMl gwidewrw„ 47

[Aag Domes, bag Domes and the horse ridden Domes are preparing for

war. The war music is on … and sound goes up to the village of Brahmins.]

This use of the rhyme shows the respect and the interest towards the folk-

literature and rhymes.

Haraprasad complained that the persons who were writing Bengali prose

or translating it from English or from Sanskrit, did not know the Bengali prop-

erly.48

Many among them were not conscious enough about the altered form of

the Bengali language; in which they were writing. Haraprasad engaged himself to

educate the people in this regard. A movement on in this regard was set up to

edify the common people from the platform of the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad in

1901 A. D.49

He got the support of Rabindranath Thakur with him. Haraprasad read the

essay Bangla Byakaran at the third monthly sitting of the Bangiya Sahitya Parishad

on the 11th Shravana, in 1308 B.E. Satyendranath Thakur presided over the func-

tion. Many of the members present took part in the debate for and against the

proposals Haraprasad made in the said essay. Among them there were Bireshwar

Pande, Charuchandra Ghosh, Satish Chandra Vidyabhushan, Hirendranath Datta,

Rabindranath Thakur, Ramendra Sundar Trivedi, Yogendranath Basu, Suresh

Chandra Samajpati and the Chairman of the house —Satyendranath Thakur him-

self. Though many among them opposed Haraprasad, Rabindranath supported

him.

All his proposals were not incorporated in any of the dictionaries written

afterwards. His proposals were not honoured wholly even in the Rules of the

Bengali spelling, brought out by the University of Calcutta., in 1936 A. D. Still181

we are having some controversies over the spelling of certain Bengali

words.Therefore the researchers think Haraprasad relevant today also in the field

of Bengali grammar and spelling. Prose style of his novels has been dicussed in

the Chapter-II of this paper for better Understanding of his novels.

It seemed to us that the prose style Haraprasad followed is not over bur-

dened with Sanskrit words as it was in Bankimchandra or in Ramesh Chandra

Datta. Besides, it is not as wispy as it was in the prose of Kaliprasanna Singha,

who wrote in colloquial Bengali only. In the field of composing Bengali prose

Haraprasad, who was inclined to Buddhism, followed the middle path preached

by Lord Buddha. For following the middle path his composition never became

over burdened by any means : neither by the over use of Sanskrit words, nor by

the use of numerous indigenous words. Ganapati Sarkar, the biographer of

Hraprasad Shastri wrote :

Ìg#¦ cËiêk PPwê Kxktw gÖ¦ËbËgk icøea Agl¹Ëdk DeËbm xZxd Ìjd

GB hwnwËZ iwxdtw lBtwxQËld„ Zwpwk hwnw bÖB xbK gRwt kwxLtw LwxU

gwOwlwB pBtwËQ; ovÆÚZwdÖowky pt dwB gw PlxZ hwnwI pt dwB„ Zwpwk

hwnw ÈâQ okl Adwxgl Ggv AxZxgÂ¦ gwOwlw„ gwOwlw hwnwk Awbmê

cxkËZ pBËl Zwpwk hwnwB eÝcwdZ DeËjwMy„ 50

[Carrying out the research works on Buddhism, he followed the middle

path preached by Lord Buddha in his language also. By balancing both the poles,

he wrote a real Bengali, which is not tilted to Sanskrit or colloquial. His language

is transparent, simple and unadulterated Bengali. If one needs to identify the ideal

Bengali, then his language is the most suitable one.]

Haraprasads modernity can be found from his lucid syntax and the use of

words. This style made Haraprasad extraordinary from the writers of his time.

_____________

182

NOTES

1. Rachana Sangraha-2, p.150

2. Amulya Chandra Sen : Haraprasad Shasti, p. 21

3. Ibid, p.21

4. Ibid, p.71

5. Shipra Rakshit Dastidar : Haraprasad Shastrir Sahitya Karma, p. 347

6. Satyajit Choudhury : Introduction, Rachana Sangraha-1, p. 31

7. Rachana Sangraha-2, p. 561

8. Ibid, p. 563


10. Ibid, p. 797



13. Ibid, p.368

14. Ibid, p. 368

15. Ibid, p. 369

16. Ibid, p. 369

17. Sukumar Sen, Rachana Sangraha-2, p.604


19. Ibid, p. 603

20. William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White : The Elements of Style, p. xiii)

21. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_style

22. Frank Farmer : Landmark Essays on Bakhtin, Rhetoric and Writing, Intro

duction, p. xi

23. Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin : The Dialogic Imagination. p. 292


25. Shipra Rakshit Dastidar : Haraprasad Shastrir Sahityakarma, p. 111

183

26. Kanchanmala, Chapter-III, Para-I

27. Binoytosh Bhattacharya : Haraprasad Rachanabali, Vol-II, Preface, p. 46


29. Akshay Chandra Sarkar, quoted in Rachana Sangraha-2, p. 131

30. Rabindranath Tagore : Haraprasad Sambardhan Lekhamala, Part-II, quoted in Smarak

Grantha, p. 175

31. Rachana Sangraha-I, p.586

32. Preface, Bener Meye, Rachana Sangraha-I, p. 189

33. Achintya Biswas : Samartha Pancham:Tarashankar Bandyopashyaer Ha(n)suli

Ba(n)ker Upakatha, p. 85


35. Ibid, p. 322


37. Ibid, p. 366

38. Ibid, p. 364

39. Bener Meye, 3rd Chapter, Rachana Sangraha-1, p. 232

40. Bener Meye, 5th Chapter, Rachana Sangraha-1, p. 243

41. Bener Meye, 18th Chapter, Rachana Sangraha-1, p. 388

42. Narendranath Dashgupta, Smarak Grantha, pp. 304-05

43. Ibid, p. 307

44. Kanchanmala , First Chapter, Rachana Sangraha-1, p. 82

45. Meghadoot Byakhya, ‘Purbamegha’, Rachana Sangraha-5, p. 96

46. Meghadoot Byakhya, ‘Uttarmegha’, Rachana Sangraha-5, p. 120



49. Satyajit Choudhury : Rachana Sangraha-2, Preface, p. 35

50. Ganapati Sarkar : Haraprasad Jibani, p. 61

_____________

184

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