Must Read :: An Open Letter from Kabir

[aloke]

Friends,

This is the open letter from Kabir Suman to us . He has asked me if it could be made available at forum , and here it is ..

This is a must read for all of us . Kabir ke dhonnobad , eii forum-e tnar moner katha gulo bhag kore nebar jonno ..ei bhroshar jaygatukoi ei Forum-er sob theke boro paoa..

[mainak]

thanx alokeda..for making it available it to us....

[kashibhatta]

sei jhaanjh, sei tubri, sei bidrup, just what had made him! Sometimes I really feel, how come a person be castigated relentlessly for his endeavour to try and enlighten us through his works? Why?

[niladribagchi]

Its only Kabir Suman who can write this letter with open mind.Hats of to u DADA.

[kabirsuman]

Originally Posted by aloke

Friends,

This is the open letter from Kabir Suman to us . He has asked me if it could be made available at forum , and here it is ..

This is a must read for all of us . Kabir ke dhonnobad , eii forum-e tnar moner katha gulo bhag kore nebar jonno ..ei bhroshar jaygatukoi ei Forum-er sob theke boro paoa..

Dear Dear Aloke and my Other Friends,
This is Kabir Suman. I am glad that Aloke posted that piece. May be it will serve to bring a few important things in a better perspective.
Oscar Wilde, the great English playwrite and prosewriter, was once jailed for several years on charges of sodomy. In jail, he wrote a book, 'The Soul of Man.' There he says (I am paraphrasing his words): The tyranny of the King is dangerous, and so is the tyranny of the Church. But the tyranny of the people is the worst. That's the most dangerous of all.
There ARE contradictions in my character, like I used to be quite impatient and impulsive. I have seen, heard, read, learned a lot through my years out there in other countries. I know I have shortcomings and weaknesses. But I have never taken any favour from the powers that be, never bowed down to State Power, the Power of the Rich and Mighty, the Power of political bigwigs, the Power of the Media Moghuls. Once I was at the top of everything. At that time, if only I had so much as nodded my head in agreement I would have acquired supreme power, fame and wealth. My enemies, both political and social, have never been able to show to the world that I took this or that from some political 'dada' or some media 'dada'. If I had done so, they would by now have published a series of documents on that.
Essentially I remain a nihilist-anarchist in the classical sense, and by faith I remain an AGNOSTIC. Note the new name I took: KABIR SUMAN. There is no trace of any religion in this name. I was extremely careful in selecting my new name. It has nothing religious about it. Many Hindus go by the name of Kabir. An example, the name of Mr Anirban Chatterjee's (ABP) son is Kabir Chatterjee. However, when some pathologically intolerant people make big eyes at the name 'kabir' I feel that I did the best thing possible. The day I made the magisterial affidavit, I told my Ma that I was going to do it. She asked me what name I had adopted. She heard the name, smiled, and showed me that morning's Statesman. The daily reported that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had forced many poor Adivasis (the real inhabitants of this land) and Muslims to Hinduism in a grand re-conversion ceremony. So I told her, "ami jacChi nijeke jor kore musholman banate Thik jemon oi Hindu fascist-gulo becharider jor kore Hindu baniyeChe." - Both of us shared a good laughter. In the early days of my emergence as Kabir Suman, anomymous people, mostly women, called up my Ma and told her, "Your son is spreading Islam through his concerts : he is saying "Assalamaleikum" and even taking the name of Allah!" My poor Ma took this in her stride for many days till one day she started telling those callers, "shono, amar moto Ma thakle tobei orokom ekjon lok Musholman hote pare. o amar-i Chele to, tai aj Musholman. HoyeChe?" -
Well well well, I don't care who thinks what of me or my mother, whether he/she is a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or a communist. Personally I feel, the more I see this country the more I feel that civilization can hardly flourish in a land where there are Hindus-Muslims-Communists (HMC, I say) - PLEASE, MY FRIENDS, NO MALICE INTENDED. I can only smile at people who call themselves 'Atheists', because philosophically one could neither be a theist or an atheist, for neither the existence nor the absence of God can be logically proved! Philosophically, one could only be an AGNOSTIC, which I am by faith. A contradiction? Ha ha! I know many people might have their mouths agape at this statement, but I mean what I say. I am a strict follower of Rabindranath ONLY WITH REGARD TO THE ENTRY HE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE MADE IN THE GUESTBOOK OF A CERTAIN UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND: 'MY GREATEST VIRTUE AND MY GREATEST VICE IS MY INCONSISTENCY.'

Now let's forget that all. Don't you folks think Kabir Suman is a proper Indian name, thoroughly secular in nature? "Suman Chattopadhyay" had the right to sing "ami chai dhormo bolte manush bujhbe manush shudhu", but NOT Kabir Suman!!! Many people, all of them professed 'secular' and 'progressive' people, argue in that line! Ha ha! A "Chattopadhyay", a HINDU BRAHMIN MUST HAVE THE NATURAL RIGHT TO BE SECULAR, BUT NOT A MUSLIM!! That's the holy assumption, the hypothesis that cannot be questioned. No one told me to first drop the 'Chattopadhyay' thing officially, adopt another name, may be GaCh, PahaR, gobor, ghNuTe, kocChop, and then sing that song. But when I adopted a truly secular name thousands of people, also some Muslims (ha ha!) protested! Well, in the face of such a (non)argument I AM A MUSLIM!!! Folks heard that song as performed by a Hindu Brahmin, and now they hear it as performed by a Muslim: a nice trade off.

Music is all that matters. Music, Expression, Love.
Also tolerance. I am sure history would absolve me of my naughty acts and forget me altogether. That would be good riddance to bad rubbish.
But LOVE is what moves me on, propels me forward. The songs I write, the music I put them in, the melody, the instruments I use, the pickings on my guitar, my fingers on my guitar and on my keyboard, the prose I try to write, the tears I weep, the emptiness and deep sorrow I feel, the smile I smile - all come from my endless quest for Love and Expression.
I am absolutely, irrevocably in Love. The more I age, the more I am in Love. "khodar kasam, Jaan, ami bhalobesheChi tomay."

And I love you too, Aloke, and my Friends here.

I wish to quote one of my Prophets, Walt Whitman:
"I bequeath myself to the dust
To grow from the grass I love,
If ever you need me
Look for me under your bootsoles."

Love again!

[kabirsuman]

Hey hey hey, I made a mistake!!! A serious one!!!
Whitman's lines should read:
"I bequeath myself to the dust
To grow from the grass I love,
If ever you want me again
Look for me under your bootsoles."

Extremely sorry! I wrote the lines, looked at them and I felt that something was wrong. But before the right words agreed to visit my aging head I had clicked on 'submit.' So now you have another addition. KOBRE-TA BUrO HOYE JACcHE RE! BILKUL BUrO!

[kabirsuman]

Originally Posted by kabirsuman

Dear Dear Aloke and my Other Friends,
This is Kabir Suman. I am glad that Aloke posted that piece. May be it will serve to bring a few important things in a better perspective.
Oscar Wilde, the great English playwrite and prosewriter, was once jailed for several years on charges of sodomy. In jail, he wrote a book, 'The Soul of Man.' There he says (I am paraphrasing his words): The tyranny of the King is dangerous, and so is the tyranny of the Church. But the tyranny of the people is the worst. That's the most dangerous of all.
There ARE contradictions in my character, like I used to be quite impatient and impulsive. I have seen, heard, read, learned a lot through my years out there in other countries. I know I have shortcomings and weaknesses. But I have never taken any favour from the powers that be, never bowed down to State Power, the Power of the Rich and Mighty, the Power of political bigwigs, the Power of the Media Moghuls. Once I was at the top of everything. At that time, if only I had so much as nodded my head in agreement I would have acquired supreme power, fame and wealth. My enemies, both political and social, have never been able to show to the world that I took this or that from some political 'dada' or some media 'dada'. If I had done so, they would by now have published a series of documents on that.
Essentially I remain a nihilist-anarchist in the classical sense, and by faith I remain an AGNOSTIC. Note the new name I took: KABIR SUMAN. There is no trace of any religion in this name. I was extremely careful in selecting my new name. It has nothing religious about it. Many Hindus go by the name of Kabir. An example, the name of Mr Anirban Chatterjee's (ABP) son is Kabir Chatterjee. However, when some pathologically intolerant people make big eyes at the name 'kabir' I feel that I did the best thing possible. The day I made the magisterial affidavit, I told my Ma that I was going to do it. She asked me what name I had adopted. She heard the name, smiled, and showed me that morning's Statesman. The daily reported that the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had forced many poor Adivasis (the real inhabitants of this land) and Muslims to Hinduism in a grand re-conversion ceremony. So I told her, "ami jacChi nijeke jor kore musholman banate Thik jemon oi Hindu fascist-gulo becharider jor kore Hindu baniyeChe." - Both of us shared a good laughter. In the early days of my emergence as Kabir Suman, anomymous people, mostly women, called up my Ma and told her, "Your son is spreading Islam through his concerts : he is saying "Assalamaleikum" and even taking the name of Allah!" My poor Ma took this in her stride for many days till one day she started telling those callers, "shono, amar moto Ma thakle tobei orokom ekjon lok Musholman hote pare. o amar-i Chele to, tai aj Musholman. HoyeChe?" -
Well well well, I don't care who thinks what of me or my mother, whether he/she is a Hindu, Muslim, Christian or a communist. Personally I feel, the more I see this country the more I feel that civilization can hardly flourish in a land where there are Hindus-Muslims-Communists (HMC, I say) - PLEASE, MY FRIENDS, NO MALICE INTENDED. I can only smile at people who call themselves 'Atheists', because philosophically one could neither be a theist or an atheist, for neither the existence nor the absence of God can be logically proved! Philosophically, one could only be an AGNOSTIC, which I am by faith. A contradiction? Ha ha! I know many people might have their mouths agape at this statement, but I mean what I say. I am a strict follower of Rabindranath ONLY WITH REGARD TO THE ENTRY HE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE MADE IN THE GUESTBOOK OF A CERTAIN UNIVERSITY IN ENGLAND: 'MY GREATEST VIRTUE AND MY GREATEST VICE IS MY INCONSISTENCY.'

Now let's forget that all. Don't you folks think Kabir Suman is a proper Indian name, thoroughly secular in nature? "Suman Chattopadhyay" had the right to sing "ami chai dhormo bolte manush bujhbe manush shudhu", but NOT Kabir Suman!!! Many people, all of them professed 'secular' and 'progressive' people, argue in that line! Ha ha! A "Chattopadhyay", a HINDU BRAHMIN MUST HAVE THE NATURAL RIGHT TO BE SECULAR, BUT NOT A MUSLIM!! That's the holy assumption, the hypothesis that cannot be questioned. No one told me to first drop the 'Chattopadhyay' thing officially, adopt another name, may be GaCh, PahaR, gobor, ghNuTe, kocChop, and then sing that song. But when I adopted a truly secular name thousands of people, also some Muslims (ha ha!) protested! Well, in the face of such a (non)argument I AM A MUSLIM!!! Folks heard that song as performed by a Hindu Brahmin, and now they hear it as performed by a Muslim: a nice trade off.

Music is all that matters. Music, Expression, Love.
Also tolerance. I am sure history would absolve me of my naughty acts and forget me altogether. That would be good riddance to bad rubbish.
But LOVE is what moves me on, propels me forward. The songs I write, the music I put them in, the melody, the instruments I use, the pickings on my guitar, my fingers on my guitar and on my keyboard, the prose I try to write, the tears I weep, the emptiness and deep sorrow I feel, the smile I smile - all come from my endless quest for Love and Expression.
I am absolutely, irrevocably in Love. The more I age, the more I am in Love. "khodar kasam, Jaan, ami bhalobesheChi tomay."

And I love you too, Aloke, and my Friends here.

I wish to quote one of my Prophets, Walt Whitman:
"I bequeath myself to the dust
To grow from the grass I love,
If ever you need me
Look for me under your bootsoles."

Love again!

Ki shorbonash, eke to buRo hoye jacChi bole sMriti lop pacChe, tai Whitman-er tritiyo line-Ta bhul likhlam.ekTu boshe boshe bhabtei mone poRe gelo. oTa hobe:
If ever you want me again
Look for me under your bootsoles.

tar opor amar lekhaTa poRte giye dekhi, ha ha, ek jaygay neither... nor na likhe taRahuRoy 'neither... or' likhe boshe aChi. KHOMAR OJOGYO. banglar choritrobanera bolben - HNu hNu bawa, oto prem kore beRale erokom-i hoy.
Besh tahole aro prem korbo, gan baNdhbo amar premer jonyo, amar bondhuder jonyo, aro koyekbar taRahuRoy bhul likhe phelbo, tarpor ekdin "Tuki" bole poTol tulbo.
Bhalobasha nao shokkole,

Kabir




AND FINALLY:

[sreyashi]

kabir

apnar lekhagulo amader sobar kachhe ekras khola haowa. forum-e
apnar lekha dekhle bhalo lage. jemon apnar ei mail gulo, kothao byango,
kothao nichhok moja ,kothao anondo abar kothao byathadag! apnar bhasay
amader moner bhabta dhora achhe----

''kothao ekTu ghas
ghaser sisire alo
bolchhe amay manush tomay
amra besechhi bhalo.
kothao poddopata
poddopatay jol
bolchhe amay osrur moto
jibon kahini bol.

kothao akashe megh
banglar morshum
bolchhe amay megher neshay
asbe tomar ghum''-----

[niladribagchi]

Originally Posted by kabirsuman

Ki shorbonash, eke to buRo hoye jacChi bole sMriti lop pacChe, tai Whitman-er tritiyo line-Ta bhul likhlam.ekTu boshe boshe bhabtei mone poRe gelo. oTa hobe:
If ever you want me again
Look for me under your bootsoles.

tar opor amar lekhaTa poRte giye dekhi, ha ha, ek jaygay neither... nor na likhe taRahuRoy 'neither... or' likhe boshe aChi. KHOMAR OJOGYO. banglar choritrobanera bolben - HNu hNu bawa, oto prem kore beRale erokom-i hoy.
Besh tahole aro prem korbo, gan baNdhbo amar premer jonyo, amar bondhuder jonyo, aro koyekbar taRahuRoy bhul likhe phelbo, tarpor ekdin "Tuki" bole poTol tulbo.
Bhalobasha nao shokkole,

Kabir




AND FINALLY:

Dada, apni gan badhun, amader sathik disha dekhan,valobasun ebong valo thakun.'potol tolar' kotha bolben na,ro onek din apnak ro ful futie jete hobe.

[kolkata]

kabir apnar khola chithir pariprekhite mathay katogulo prohno jakiye boshlo,seguloke konomatei upekhha korte parlam na tai sahas kore forum e dhuke ei post ta kore fellam.asha korbo adhamer tarafe chintay,vabnay ebong abashoi tathye kono kamti theke gele ta apni khama,ghenna kore neben.
apnar chithi te ek jaygay bolechen apni bishwas koren je logically kono manush e theist ba atheist hote parena,barong apni philosophically agnosticism e biswas koren,kintu ekhanei amar prohno ,je logical tarker bhittite apni bolchen sei juktite agnosticism e o biswas rakha ki kore sambhab, ishwarer uppostithir promaner abhabe atheist der jukti badha pore jay tabe sei ek jukti te agnostic der philosophy o ki badha pore jay na...age proman koro tini achen tabei amra ta biswas korbo....agnostic der ei kathatar o to tahole ek jaygatei ese atke jay..

apnar kache arekta prohno rakhte chai...amader dekhchi religion wise secular ebong non secular ,erokom ekta bipolarityr dike nazar ache,kintu amar prohno manush ki kono institutionalism er baire giye ,procharito orthodoxyr baire giye thakte pare na,bachte pare na ,ar jara bachte pare sei nonreligious minorityr katha keno keu bolen na................................................ ..............