Kolkata: Handling the Covid-19 outbreak is a 24-hour high-pressure job for most chief ministers in India, and West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee is no different. But she’s still finding an outlet for the creative side of her personality.
On top of all the meetings, physical checks on social distancing and coordinating with other states and the central government, Banerjee has written two poems, penned and composed a song, and conceptualised a short film over the past two weeks — all related to creating awareness about the deadly novel coronavirus.
Blame the rich
Banerjee is known to write poems during any crisis hour — she also penned some at the time of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.
She mentioned the coronavirus in passing in a poem written some time in early March, but later, she wrote an entire poem on the microbe, titled ‘Corona’.
Banerjee calls it an “imported” disease, blames the rich and elite for spreading the virus through their “negligence”, and praises the poor — her traditional vote bank in rural and urban areas — for being more informed and aware.
“Kintu jader sachetanata, ei samaj ke banchate parto, tara ki sachetan? (Are the educated people, who could save the society, aware enough?” the poem asks.
“Na, sab jeneo, jak na jagat ta ucchhanne — ei vab kichu damider (No, despite knowing everything, the literate well-off thought that ‘the world can go to hell’,” it continues.
“Nijeder bhalo chhara, kichu bojhe na java (they are selfish, who only understand their whims and well-being, and care for nothing),” it adds.
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Song and short film for awareness
To raise public awareness on Covid-19, Banerjee has also penned and composed a song, which has been sung by her cabinet colleague Indranil Sen and is now being played at traffic signals, government and party programmes across the state. It is also being played on radio and TV channels.
“Bhir theke sabbai dure thako/Coronake chhute diyo na (Everyone, keep distance from crowds, don’t allow corona to touch you),” one line of the song goes, while another adds that “Bangla” will never lose, and win this battle against the coronavirus.
On 14 April, when the Bengali new year Poila Boishakh was celebrated, a short film was released, starring top Bengali film actors including three Trinamool Congress MPs Mimi Chakraborty, Nusrat Jahan and Dev. The film, titled ‘Jhhar Theme Jabe Ekdin’ (the storm shall pass one day), was conceptualised by Mamata Banerjee, and directed by Arindam Sil.
The film explains the need to stay at home and practise social distancing to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic. It depicts the story of a girl who works in the city and tries hard to reach her ailing father in Bankura. All her neighbours, police and doctors come together to help them.
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Not art, but message for the masses
While many criticise the CM’s creative work for its lack of literary and artistic merit, some top authors and filmmakers say the words are meant for the common people, and that’s a good thing.
Noted author Sirshendu Mukherjee told ThePrint: “During this crisis, this is a wonderful initiative by the chief minister. There should not be a negative approach towards this. Any effort taken for the common people should be praised.”
Mukherjee added: “We all know that her work is not of literary excellence. But for the masses, you do not need to have a poem by Jibanananda Das or a song by Rabindranath Tagore. You need a language that people at large will understand. Her poem is an expression for the people, and it is between a mass leader and the masses.”
Filmmaker Sandip Ray, son of Satyajit Ray and the fourth-generation scion of a family that has shaped Bengal’s cultural landscape, termed Banerjee’s initiative as “commendable”.
However, there are those like theatre artiste Kaushik Sen who feel Banerjee’s creative work merits no discussion, and that it’s her political work that should be talked about.
“As a chief minister and an administrator, she has done a lot for the state. But her work of art and literature is not worth discussion. Even though we all know she paints, writes and composes songs, frankly, this is an area where she is not capable,” Sen said.
“Discussing her artistry is also being unfair to her. She would be remembered for her work as a CM and her politics, not for her literature or art. I do not support the people who praise her or the ones criticise her on this, because her artistic work does not call for any discussion,” he added.
Also read: No end to Modi-Mamata row, MHA slams Bengal with 3rd letter in 8 days over Covid crisis
This is WW III we are fighting and Winston Churchill painted well but he did so preceding and post the WWII of which he was an ideal leader for UK, almost same geographical and demographic size (with English, Muslims, Hindus mixture) as West Bengal incidentally.
Are all our State and Central Leaders the right Leaders at this time? Is the Media cracking the right stories to sustain spirits of citizens? Is the Media right? Is it the Indian Media appropriate Message, Massage and Mass Age of these critical times? Or are they tools of the larger, more vicious force?
These times and period are also no pass-over, so to speak. Like whether history will accept the opinions and comments shared in this article of the writer on the artistic capabilities of the Bengal CM remains to be seen in January 2021 or thereabouts. We are in WWIII and the journalist has heightened a not too critical issue that makes one feel these are no exceptional times. It is almost an insult to Ms. Banerjee!
People are dying, separated from homes and families by 500 more miles than necessary! Laborers are stranded, no shelter, eating off thrown away bananas in crematoriums. Bureaucrats are losing jobs, being penalized for not making that extra effort. Citizens in towns and cities are apprehensive of the future. And your article speaks of a CM writing poems and painting? It is like Marie Antoinette and her urge to eat cakes in the late 18th century!
Parroting hackneyed and worn out leadership traits courtesy media in such times as King Corona is dangerous for the PM, CM, and all others in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. It is a sin. The writer of this article has displayed opportunistic and juvenile skills without linking the content to the more serious concerns of the millions of lives of children, elderly and others who are at the receiving end of the situation now. Could the occasion have demanded more sense than writing upon literary talents of assembling poems and paining by leaders? Is this not demeaning the person even more and is PRINT having such indecent objectives? Journalism, like human emotion, is very elusive indeed! Weren’t more substantive observations relating to the CM be more relevant?.
We all hope greatness comes to Ms. Banerjee and her followers. We all hope for the same goodness for our PM, MPs, MLAs also. But will they be able to steer the ship out of this Corona karuna is more important. 10000s, may be millions, are not having food in metros-workers from unorganized/ organized sectors are tottering on the brink of hunger and shelter today. Even governments are incapable at times of providing all assistance. And you write on poems and paintings? Mr. Kaushik Sen, the artist, has commented very judiciously indeed.
There are other worries. Can the government, if its nuts are totally loose, tilt toward the License Raj form of government and if so, what will our PM, CM, MLAs and MPs do, if they do anything at all excepts silently accept and “bray” in Parliament post Sept 2020? Is this time for a State vs Central feud as is happening? What is wrong or right with the Governor in the State of WB? Cannot our Leaders unite even once or are they so comprador in their elements that they only think of personal revenue improvement programs only and never general revenue improvement programs for , by and of the peoples of India?
Will the Bengal CM now quieten down from her allegations of Federal mismanagement against the Center and ask her soldiers to focus on the critical issues or will she do both to keep the media happy with somethings as trivial as her poems to write upon?? Can the CM use this moment to bring in self discipline and community discipline (herd mentality?) along with the much needed herd immunity in Calcutta?
We are more worried on such issues. At least a good number of poor, uneducated, middle class and educated and even unconsciously incompetent Bengali citizens are seriously thinking if they will live…..and intellectuals in Bengal, dissected from reality, can comment on the CM’s artistic gifts which make no sense at all? Crazy man. We read of Donald Trump’s madness, Johnson’s’ carelessness, XiJipeng’s brutality but this is the first time we are reading upon a leader’s artistic talents even as her people suffer and possibly, tomorrow die en masse.
Do I make sense? And I am a well wisher of PRINT. Total
Well Said Mr Partha ?
There should be some sense used, rather than reporting on the ground realities of the common man during such hard times, this article seems to be a campaign to make Ms Banerjee a literature great!