Syed Mujtaba Ali: The rare genius

Today (September 13) marks the 110th birth anniversary of Syed Mujtaba Ali, the greatest satirist in Bangla Literature. Syed Mujtaba Ali was a masterly humorist, gifted polyglot, prominent academic and brilliant storyteller. He was born on the Janmashtami Day of 1904 in Karimganj town, which, before the partition of India, was part of the Sylhet District. He wrote 30 books that include travelogues, novels, short stories and satires. Each unique in its own way, Mujtaba’s books epitomize his distinctive style of writing and reflect his incomparable versatility and punditry. He was accomplished in more than a dozen languages.
It was in Grade Nine when I first read a story by Syed Mujtaba Ali. Part of our syllabus was Roshogolla, one of the stories from his book ‘Dhupchaaya’. It was an abridged version, yet we found it hilariously sarcastic even at that age. But, I became a fan of his mesmerizing writing style when I read ‘Panchatantra’ few years later. What amazed me most was that humour is not only inseparable from his writings, it’s a means he often used to describe the bitter realities of life. Since then, I have devoured all his books one by one and re-read them many times.
Though he had been writing columns earlier in journals like Anandabazar, Desh, Bashumati etc., Syed Mujtaba Ali marked his foray into Bangla Literature in 1949 with ‘Deshe Bideshe’, a travelogue based on his eventful days in Kabul, Afghanistan. The extraordinary portrayal of the journey from Peshawar to Khyber Pass, satiric description of the physique and nature of the Pathans and Punjabis, and the concise delineation of the history of Afghan politics has made ‘Deshe Bideshe’ one of the most enthralling books in Bangla Literature. No surprise that the book was an instant hit and went onto win the hearts of many from both parts of Bengal.
‘Shabnam’ is his another popular book, also narrated in first person. But unlike ‘Deshe Bideshe’, it is a Romance, the titular character manifesting a strong and independent woman. One of my personal favourites is ‘Chacha Kahini’, which speaks of life, love and pain. The book is a compilation of short stories, most of which are narrated by the central character Chacha. All the stories are captivating, but Mujtaba saves the best for the last with ‘Beche Thako Shordi Kashi’, a love story stitched together impeccably. He had this uncanny gift of being able to delve into the minds of his readers. He makes you laugh, cry and wonder at the same time.
Rabindranath Tagore had a great influence on the life and literary works of Syed Mujtaba Ali. When he came to Sylhet in 1919, Tagore delivered a speech on ‘aspiration’ to the students at M C College. Among the audiences was also 14 years old Mujtaba. An engrossed Mujtaba could not resist himself from writing a letter to Tagore, in which he said, “What does it take to raise one’s aspiration level?” A week later, came the reply written on a sky-blue paper wrapped in a sky-blue envelope. The summary of what Tagore said would be something like this: “Man must not act only for his self-interest. Altruistic initiatives of a man for the welfare of the society guide him to the path of prosperity.” Tagore’s reply was a pleasant surprise for the Mujtaba family and it also led Mujtaba to convince his father to get him into Tagore’s presence. Eventually, he got admitted to Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan in 1921 and there he had the privilege of studying Shelly, Keats and of course Tagore under Tagore himself. Five years later, in 1926 Syed Mujtaba Ali became the first ever graduate of Visva-Bharati. Tagore and Santiniketan, both have been mentioned later in many of Mujtaba’s literary works.
Mujtaba was then recommended by two distinguished professors of Santiniketan for a job at the Department of Education in Kabul. He spent two years in Kabul teaching English and German languages at a college. Then he went to Germany in 1929 to study at the University of Berlin with a scholarship. Eventually, he got admitted to University of Bonn next year, where he studied on ‘Comparative Religion’ at the Department of Philosophy and obtained his Doctorate degree in 1932. He also studied at the Al Azhar University of Cairo in 1934-35 before joining as a professor in Baroda College. During these years, Mujtaba travelled a lot, mostly in Europe. His books Joley Dangaai, Musafir, Voboghure, Bideshe give us some amusing description of the places and people he met.
Many people will be surprised to learn that Syed Mujtaba Ali was one of the forerunners, who raised their voices in support of Bangla Language realizing the importance of the Pakistani Government’s declaring it as one of the state languages. On November 30, 1947, just three years after the partition of India, Mujtaba forewarned the audiences at a conference in Sylhet Muslim Sahitya Sangsad, about the consequences they might face afterwards if Urdu were imposed as the state language on Bangalis. Many tried to muzzle him and conspire against him, but Mujtaba never gave in. His speech was later published with the title ‘Purbo Pakistaner Rashtrovasha’ in the journal ‘Choturanga’.
It can be said, at the risk of only slight exaggeration, that there will never be another like Syed Mujtaba Ali. It’s a shame he received far less recognition than, I believe, he richly deserved. The fact that he was never awarded the Independence Day Award doesn’t belittle his contribution to the nation; rather it points out how we often failed as a nation to honour our true patriots. I would like to borrow the last two words from his short story Nonajol to finish my note -“Insaaf kothai?”
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