On Monday, Western Bengal fiction writer Samaresh Majumder passed away. Maybe, he is big as a writer. It may be that he is not even worth discussing. But on the day he left for the other world, can’t we say goodbye to him with respect?
A writer who died today, let him die with dignity. He deserves this goodbye. He has done no harm to you personally, nor to humanity. Kale Barajor has done some ‘damage’ to literature.
No one has given you the sacred responsibility of protecting the purity of literature, you have shouldered it yourself. A lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders, but it cannot be the dead person’s ‘fault’. Forgive him. Another day, Chulchera will sit down to analyze his literature. not today Today is his death day.
Why should it be remembered on the birthday or death day of popular authors that nothing is written by them? If you can, remember them with respect on this day, if you can’t, you can stay silent. No one will think you a fool if you remain silent, but if you open your mouth, the danger is greater.
Someone died today, be it a writer, actor, film maker or someone famous – right after the death a ‘tornado’ of discussion and criticism flows over him on social media, is it becoming a ‘trend’ day by day?
The novelist who died today or whose birthday is today has numerous fans, family members, relatives and friends. This day is something special for those people. On this day, they want to remember and welcome their loved ones with respect. But negative comments from critics only add to their grief and sorrow. Can’t do more than that.
This is how Samaresh Majumdar, a poet of Upper Bengal, passed away on Monday. Maybe, he is big as a writer. It may be that he is not even worth discussing. But on the day he left for the other world, can’t we say goodbye to him with respect? Those of us who are criticizing him today, saying that not a single novel of his is worth it, that even after writing a hundred novels, he could not actually write a single novel properly—couldn’t these words have been discussed later? Is today the right time?
When a novelist writes, he knows for sure that he will be subject to negative criticism. No art in the world can satisfy everyone at the same time. That is not possible. A writer writes knowing this.
But you’ve only done one thing right by commenting insensitively on the day of an author’s death. That is, to make yourself a little smaller as a person.
Anyone has the right to like or dislike anyone’s writing. But it should never be forgotten that the writer whom you are criticizing has devoted his entire life to literature. He has written page after page after eating and not eating. Maybe they are not great literature. But today as he leaves the world, neither you nor I can ‘cancel’ him in one fell swoop. This is not what civilized people do. On this special day we can only pay tribute to him for his ‘dedication’. Disrespect is not the work of sensitive people.
There are many allegations against Samaresh Majumder. He capitalized on leftism and became a popular writer. ‘Cashed’ the Naxal movement, fabricated stories. There are similar complaints about Bangladeshi fiction writer Humayun Ahmed. He sold middle class emotions. Did not write novels, wrote ‘novels’ etc.
Talking about them is not a problem. Rather, literary criticism is important. The problem is, why choose their birthday or death day to say these words? Why do some people rush to say such insensitive words on these special days!
The novelist who died today or whose birthday is today has numerous fans, family members, relatives and friends. This day is something special for those people. On this day, they want to remember and welcome their loved ones with respect. But negative comments from critics only add to their grief and sorrow. Can’t do more than that.
This trend is a form of cyberbullying. Humayun Ahmed wrote cheap essays that will not stand the test of time—we only remember that on November 13 and July 19, his birth and death days. This tendency is seen not only among our people but also among great writers.
It is beyond polite to make disrespectful remarks about a popular novelist on the day of his death. On someone’s death day we should express our condolences to that person. As readers, we may or may not like his writings. But we can show ’empathy’. We can try to build a culture of empathy online or offline.
I can keep quiet if I can’t say anything good. It would not at least reveal that we as humans are insensitive.
