By Atanu Roy
Kolkata, Nov 19 (UNI) Chidananda Dasgupta, the name itself speaks a thousand words. It's also true that we collectively failed to give him what he deserves.
We know very little about the legend b ut we should have learned more about one of such stalwarts who introduces World Cinema to us. Not only the introduction of World Cinema but he took film criticism to a different standard. Today, when stalwarts from different art forms are celebrating his centenary, I tried to visit his journey of becoming a legend. And who can tell it better than his daughter? We had an exclusive talk with the legend herself, Aparna Sen. Here is the excerpt:
Q: How can one become 'Chidananda Dasgupta' even from a place like Hazaribagh?
Aparna Sen: My father did not stay in Hazaribagh all the time. My grandfather was a Brahmo missionary and used to visit different places. After a certain age, my grandfather came to Hazaribagh. But baba (father) was born in Cherrapunji and to some extent grew up there. Then he came to Hazaribagh after visiting different places. Later he used to study in a very famous Christian college in Hazaribagh or Patna. My grandfather was always a man with a very strong determination. He always used to do what he felt was right. He was a fearless man. My father and uncle used to fight for freedom. Of course, many boys used to do that in those days. Baba used to run away from there after any activity. He was very practical and kaka was the other way around. Kaka went to jail also. A situation has arisen where baba was on the verge of expulsion from the college for doing those activities. Since he was a very good student, it was said that they do not want to expel such a good student. However, if he writes a bond that he will do nothing more against the British then the college will take him again. My grandfather then said, "If he writes a bond, I will get him out of the house first."
Q: Was there a very strict 'rule' at home?
Aparna Sen: My grandfather was a Gandhian and used to cut the yarn on the spinning wheel. From the time my father was nine or ten years old, my grandfather used to send him to the market with a bundle of clothes and yarns. He had to give a detailed account of sales after returning from the market. The moral constancy of my grandfather's character also came into him but in a different way. He was not a God believing person and my grandfather was a believer. Grandfather was the Acharya of Brahmo Samaj at Hazaribagh. He has his dispensary too for free treatment. There was an intellectual honesty in my father. That's why there was no dishonesty in his writing. There was a morality intact in both my father and maa that came in me and my sisters. This is how he became 'The Chidananda Dasgupta'. Then he moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata). One more thing I will say, since I was born when my parents were very young, I have seen a lot of this how he became 'The Chidananda Dasgupta'.
Q: Is his impeccable command over the English language developed from a very young age?
Aparna Sen: At that time, those who were 'inspectors of schools', were British. My father noticed that the gentleman speaks English quite differently. He asked him, "there is a big difference between the way you speak English and the way everyone else speaks. Why is that?" He also sought his guidance to speak English like that. Then the gentleman happily guided him on how to use the dictionary and how to pronounce words keeping the accents in mind. He learned that very carefully. Baba, and I must say Manik Kaka (Satyajit Ray) used to speak very good English. I think they spoke English very well because of the British influence. My father could speak both Bengali and English equally well. It also came to me from him I think.
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