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Poems on CAA, books on politics and Urdu couplets — the latest from author Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee released 13 books — including a collection of 946 poems — at Kolkata Book Fair this week, taking her tally to 101.

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Kolkata: Thirteen books penned by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were released at the Kolkata International Book Fair Tuesday. The books are in Bengali, English and Urdu. 

With this, the chief minister has taken her tally to 101 books.   

Among the books released Tuesday is a collection of 946 poems that the CM has penned. Its title, Kabitabitan, is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s immortal Gitabitan. Last year, Banerjee had released Kathanjali — another title inspired by Tagore’s seminal work Gitanjali that had won him the Nobel Prize for Literature. 

Over the last eight years, Banerjee has tried to portray herself as an artist, author and music composer. She also sketched some anti-Citizenship law graffiti on Mayo Road in central Kolkata Tuesday afternoon, along with other artists. 

Her political activities notwithstanding, Mamata Banerjee will yet again have the highest number of book releases at the book fair this year. In 2019, she released seven books and another nine were released in 2018. Over the last few years, she has had the highest number of book releases at the book fair.

And like every year, her books have been published by one of Bengal’s major publishers, Dey’s Publishing.

“So far Banerjee has written in four languages — Hindi, Bengali, English and Urdu. Her books generally do well at the fair,” said Tridib Chatterjee, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the organisers of the Kolkata International Book Fair.  


Also read: Padma awardee Muslim teacher ‘fears for life’ in Mamata’s Bengal, calls CAA protesters actors


Nagarik, a fight against CAA 

Of the 13 books released this year, six are in English, another six in Bengali and one in Urdu, said Subhankar Day, owner of Dey’s Publishing. 

Some of the other books include include a collection of poems called Nagarik (Citizen); a book of essays focusing on north Bengal called Sabuj Bangla (Green Bengal); a set of political writings on the current scenario called Manusher Pokkhe, Unnanayer Lokhkhe (For The People And Their Development); and a book of Urdu couplets (shayari) called Himmat  (Courage). 

Nagarik is about the new Citizenship Amendment Act. She has written in detail about the ramifications of the legislation,” Day added. “Every year she tries to write on issues that influence and affect the times, society and politics.”   

Varied offerings

Banerjee’s books have over the last few years ranged from Urdu shayari to jotting down memoirs of her struggle. In 2016, which was also an election year in Bengal, she released 10 books at the fair of which one was a collection of Urdu couplets. 

No one, however, knows when she learnt the language nor has she even tried speaking it at her rallies. She already has two books of Urdu shayari (couplets).

Apart from this, her books usually revolve around the current political issues and the topics have included issues such as Nandigram, Singur, and demonetisation.

For instance, in 2016 she wrote on intolerance and lynching. Titled, “Tolerance“, the non-fiction work dealt with the lynching at Dadri, UP, and the ban on cow slaughter.

“Can we not accept if somebody writes in Urdu or in Tamil? Books teach you to open up to the world. We should never encourage anything that shrinks our mind,” the chief minister said while inaugurating the 44th Kolkata International Book Fair Wednesday. 


Also read: Working to get ‘mamta’ from CM Mamata Banerjee: Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar


Didi, the artist 

Mamata Banerjee and her connection with paintings are well-known. The chief minister has often claimed that her party is funded through the sale of her paintings (apart from royalty on her books).

She has often been photographed with a brush in her hand and expressing thoughts on the canvas, be it a political platform, at her residence and this time on the streets of Kolkata, to voice her protest against the CAA.

After painting a graffiti on Mayo Road, Didi, as Banerjee is popularly called, flanked by artists like Jogen Choudhury, said, “Bengal shows the way to protest. CAA and NRC are shameful. We should protest against these through all such ways of culture and literature.”   


Also read: Acquiring Singur land doomed the Left in Bengal. Now, farmers want to get rid of it again


 

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