চন্দ্রকান্তি এক কবি চন্দ্রাবতী

প্রথমেই কঠোর কন্ঠে মাইনাস, মুক্তমনার আঙিনায় একেবারেই না আসার জন্য। তারপরে আন্তরিক ধন্যবাদ চমৎকার একটা বিষয়ে লেখা দেওয়ার জন্য। চন্দ্রাবতী সম্পর্কে আগে শুনেছিলাম কিন্তু এত বিস্তারিত না। এই ফাঁকে চন্দ্রাবতী সম্পর্কে একটু পড়াশোনা হল।

চন্দ্রাবতীকে মধ্যযুগের বাঙলা সাহিত্যের শ্রেষ্ট মহিলা কবি বললেই মনে হয় সেইফ সাইডে থাকা হয় কারন অনেকেই খনার প্রভাব অস্বীকার করতে চাইবে না প্রথম হিসাবে।

কেউ মধ্যযুগের মহিলা কবি বুদ্ধিজীবিদের সম্পর্কে জানতে চাইলে Susie Tharu আর K.Lalitha লেখিকাদ্বয়ের Women Writing in India, 600 B.C. to the present – Volume 1 পড়তে পারেন।
এই বইয়ের চন্দ্রাবতী সম্পর্কে অধ্যায়টা উঠিয়ে দিচ্ছিঃ

CHANDRABATI
(ca. 1550-1600)

The relationship between art and spiritual experience or religious reform
was clearly established in the bhakti tradition that continued well into the
seventeenth century. In Chandrabati, however, we have one of the earliest
artists whose compositions were more explicitly political. Her long poem
Sundari Malua was directed against unjust laws and focused on the prob-
lems they created for women.
Chandrabati’s father, Bansidas, came from Paturi, a village now in
Bangladesh, scenically situated on the banks of the river Phuleswari. Ban-
sidas earned his living as a poct-singer, composing and performing the
popular ballads of the time. Some of his compositions have come down
to us, and his Maanasa Bhajan is well known even today. Scholars have
suggested that Chandrabati might have helped in its composition. Besides,
she herself wrote a short Rattiayana, Dasyu Kenaram (Kenaram the Dacoit),
and the important text, Sundari Malua, which we have excerpted from
here. Chandrabati composed this long poem in the pala gati form, which
the dictionary defines as a narrative opera, in ballad meter. It usually deals
with mythological themes and is sung. Chandrabati’s Sundari Malua has
1,247 verses and is divided into 28 parts.
Poetic convention in her time required that a writer preface the work
W’ith a biography in verse. In the prologue to her Ramayana, Chandrabati
describes the extreme poverty, verging on destitution, in which her family
lived. They were wholly dependent on Bansidas’s meager earnings as a
poet. Her father educated her, however, and also taught her the rules of
poetic composition. Legend has it that she, like the heroine, Malua, of her
poem, was very beautiful and attracted many suitors. But she was in love
with Joychandra, a childhood sweetheart, and rejected all other offers of
marriage. Joychandra and Chandrabati had studied together, played to-
gether, and, as adolescents, even composed verses together. It seemed in-
evitable that they would marry each other. But Joychandra fell in love
with someone else. He even took on her religion to marry her. Chandra-
bati, we are told, never recovered from the shock.
Seeking to rebuild her life, she asked of her father two things: that he
build a temple for her and that he allow her to remain unmarried. Chan-
drabati dedicated her life to worship. She continued to compose her verses
and worked on a version of the Ramayana. Meanwhile Joychandra seems
to have tired of his wife and returned in search of Chandrabati. But for
him the doors of the temple were barred. Chandrabati would not meet
him. In anguish he left verses addressed to her on the door of the temple,
written with the sap of a poisonous plant before he drowned himself in
the Phuleswari. Chandrabati, the legend has it, stopped writing after this.
Archaeologists have recently found the remains of the temple at which
Chandrabati worshiped.
Some critics of Bengali literature dispute the authorship of Sundari Malua,
but the biographical details in the prefatory dedication are Chandrabati’s,
and the ballad singers of Mymensingh attribute it to her. The pain and
anxiety of a woman in love are movingly evoked, and the descriptions of
household activities, the accounts of how food is prepared, and the recipes
discussed in such detail indicate that the author must have been a woman.
The story is set in the reign of the Mughul emperor Akbar (1556-1606).
Akbar had the reputation of being one of the most enlightened, just, and
benevolent of emperors, but Chandrabati’s poem was directed against two
laws that caused a great deal of hardship for the people. These laws were
with someone else. He even took on her religion to marry her. Chandra-
bati, we are told, never recovered from the shock.
Seeking to rebuild her life, she asked of her father two things: that he
build a temple for her and that he allow her to remain unmarried. Chan-
drabati dedicated her life to worship. She continued to compose her verses
and worked on a version of the Ramayana. Meanwhile Joychandra seems
to have tired of his wife and returned in search of Chandrabati. But for
him the doors of the temple were barred. Chandrabati would not meet
him. In anguish he left verses addressed to her on the door of the temple.
written with the sap of a poisonous plant before he drowned himself in
the Phuleswari. Chandrabati, the legend has it, stopped writing after this.
Archaeologists have recently found the remains of the temple at which
Chandrabati worshiped.
Some critics of Bengali literature dispute the authorship of Sundari Malua,
but the biographical details in the prefatory dedication are Chandrabati’s,
and the ballad singers of Mymensingh attribute it to her. The pain and
anxiety of a woman in love are movingly evoked, and the descriptions of
household activities, the accounts of how food is prepared, and the recipes
discussed in such detail indicate that the author must have been a woman.
The story is set in the reign of the Mughul emperor Akbar (1556-1606).
Akbar had the reputation of being one of the most enlightened, just, and
benevolent of emperors, but Chandrabati’s poem was directed against two
laws that caused a great deal of hardship for the people. These laws were
enacted in the thirteenth century, during Allauddin Khilji’s rule, but con-
tinued to be enforced. Both laws required the payment of taxes, but since
there were no amounts specified, people were at the mercy of local land-
lords or officials, who could set extortionist rates. Property could be seized
and the womenfolk in the family kept in custody or sent to the hauli,
which was a prison for women. Sundari Malua depicts the sufferings of
women under these unjust laws.

Chandrabati’s women characters, the critic Jharna Dhar comments, are
nearly always more liberal and magnanimous, stronger and more deter-
mined, than her men. The relationships between women, too, are refresh-
ingly unstereotypical. Indian literature of all kinds is full of the enmity
between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. But in this story, when
Malua is released from the hauli, her mother-in-law stands up for her and
argues, in a remarkable passage, against the elders of the village, who want
to exile her. Chandrabati also depicts the village women as joining to-
gether to argue Malua’s case.
A brief outline of the elaborate plot will help the reader place the extracts
translated here. Binod, the son of a poor widow, and Malua fall in love.
Malua is extraordinarily beautiful. Though her father, Hiradhar, has received
several offers for her hand, none of them meets with his approval. He likes
Binod, but hesitates because the boy is poor. Irked by Hiradhar’s attitude,
Binod sets out to earn enough money to ask for Malua in marriage. The first
extract translated here describes the wedding night. The first night after a
wedding is passed in revelry. Young people, friends, and relatives of the bride
and groom play traditional games and make merry. The bride and groom are
not allowed to sleep. On the second night, the kaal raat, or Black Night, the
bride sleeps beside her mother-in-law. The third night is the Bright Night,
or night of consummation. A bed of flowers is prepared for the young people
and they are alone for the first time. A description like this is often a set piece
in such narratives, but the freshness of Chandrabati’s imagery and the dra-
matic presentation arc remarkable.

The main sections of the narrative poem deal with two episodes in which
the family is harassed and attacked by priests and administrators, who use
the black laws, which arc Chandrabati’s principal concern in the poem, to
further their personal ends. Malua, her husband, and her mother-in-law, the
story goes, live together happily for a while, but problems arise when the
local qazi (magistrate), attracted by Malua’s beauty, propositions her. An-
gered by her rejection, he imposes a fine of five hundred silver coins. Because
the family is impoverished, Malua and Binod have to sell their property to
pay the fine and again to find money to support themselves. Malua struggles
to keep herself and her mother-in-law alive. Binod returns and is able to
redeem his land, but they are soon in trouble once more. Encouraged by the
qazi, the diwan (a powerful local administrator), demands that Malua be sent
to live with him as his mistress. Unless his wishes are complied with, he
decrees, Binod will be buried alive. Malua is determined to save him. She
goes to the hauli and tells the diwan that she is bound by a vow to sleep with
no man for a period of time. The diwan agrees to wait. Meanwhile, Malua’s
brothers come to the rescue. In a surprise attack they kill the diwan’s guards,
though he himself escapes. Malua, Binod. and Binod’s mother decide to go
back to Malua’s parental village and set up house there.
The second extract translated here is taken from section 27 and refers
to a subsequent episode. Since Malua has lived in the hauli, she cannot,
the elders declare, be allowed back into the village. So Malua sets up house
on its outskirts. Her mother-in-law goes with her, but Binod stays behind.
Once, while out hunting. Binod is bitten by a snake and almost dies.
Malua finds him and nurses him back to health. This time the village
women rally round Malua and demand that she be allowed back into the
village. It is the power of her virtue that has brought Malua’s husband
back to life, they claim. But the elders will have none of it. Binod, his
mother, and the other women comfort Malua, but disappointed, unwilling
to burden the family further, she drowns herself in the river.

From SUNDARI MALUA
Section 15 [After the Black Night comes the
Bright Night]

After the Black Night comes the Bright Night
And the bed of flowers awaits bride and groom
With a lamp, like the evening star, lighting the room.
While Malua stands by the door, the night
Deepening, her eyes heavy with sleep, as Binod
Gently raises the veil from her face that
Glows like new gold, like the full moon.
Passionate, Binod lifts Malua’s heavy hair.
Which hangs down to her feet, and spreads it wide.
“Friend of my heart,” breathes Malua, “What
Are you doing? Wait, the time’s not ripe. Do bees
Come to a flower before it fills with honey? Do wc
Pluck buds before they blossom? Don’t we
Leave the hot rice to cool before we eat? Let
The night grow chill. Your brothers’ wives are yet
Awake, watching through chinks in the wattled
Wall, listening to our clothes rustic, to
My jewelry tinkle, waiting to tease us, to make
Their jokes in the morning, so no more tonight, I beg’’

Now the lamp.is out, the room quiet, auspicious
The night, auspicious the hour. At dawn
They rise and wash with water drawn
The day before: Binod, 011 a low stool, washes
His hands and feet.

Section 27 [Back to life she’d brought
her husband]

Back to life she’d brought her husband
The faithful wife, the virtuous wife.
In crowds women thronged to see her
Greeting her with triumphant cries
Singing her praises everyone.
“How can you welcome her with flowers?”
Asked the elders, “How offer her pan?
Is she so virtuous? So faithful? Why should she
Resort to sorcery then?”
The brother of Binod’s mother, Halwal Sardar,
A village elder, decreed: “Taking this woman back
Will cost us rank and caste. For three long months
She lived between Muslim walls. The shame of it
Would shatter a tiger! Who can save a doe
Caught in the wild beast’s claws? We can do
Nothing once chastity and caste are gone.
Have we not turned away other weeping
Women who came back in shame from the Hauli?”
Then the brother-in-law of Binod’s father spoke
After careful thought: “No. We cannot
Take such a woman into our house. I warned
Binod’s mother at the wedding, but she thought
She knew better. Is it easy, in times like these,
To protect a beautiful woman? Even
The wives of kings arc not safe. Muslims
Veil their women. Only peasants’ wives
Go about openly, taunted at market and riverside,
Deaf to news of the times. Binod should not
Have married such a beauty!
Now she’s lost both caste and standing. Beauty
Invites disaster. We’ve supervised her conduct,
Chastised her, wasted money to protect her—
And all for what? Don’t let her into the house!
What more shall I live to see!”

“She’s my heart’s gold,” Binod’s mother said.
“My son’s wife. No matter what you decree,
I shall never renounce her. She stood by me
In times of trouble, toiled long days
To keep us alive. She brought Binod back
From the clasp of death; no truer Sati
Can you find. She’s the light of our
Sorrow-dark house, the roof of a hut
That had none. How can I live without her?
You think she’s a sorceress. You want
To turn her away. She sleeps out of doors,
Lives like a ficldhand. I’ll make my bed
With her, she’ll sleep in my arms, we’ll weep
The whole night through. I know I won’t
Live long. Banish her, if you must,
But not before I die.”

Translated by Madhuchhanda Karlekar.

লক্ষনীয় যে এখানে “জয়ানন্দ” নামে কেউ নাই। আছে “জয়চন্দ্র”। যদিও বেশিরভাগ রেফারেন্সে জয়ানন্দ নামেই একজনকে পাওয়া যায়। যে কিনা চিঠি পাঠায়ঃ

অমৃত ভাবিয়া আমি খাইয়াছি গরল
কণ্ঠেতে লাগিয়া রইছে কাল হলাহল ।

চিঠি পেয়ে উলটো ঘটনা ঘটলো। অনুতপ্ত জয়ানন্দ ছুটে এলো শিবমন্দিরের দিকে। চন্দ্রাবতী তখন শিবপূজায় বিভোর। মন্দিরের দরজা ভিতর থেকে বন্ধ। চন্দ্রাবতীকে ডাকার সাহস হলো না জয়ানন্দের। আঙিনার ভিতর সন্ধ্যামালতীর ফুল ফুটেছিল। তা দিয়েই কপাটের উপরে চারছত্র কবিতা লিখে বিদায় নেয় জয়ানন্দ।

শৈশব কালের সংগী তুমি যৈবন কালের সাথী।
অপরাধ ক্ষমা কর তুমি চন্দ্রাবতী
পাপিষ্ঠ জানিয়া মোরে না হইলা সম্মত
বিদায় মাগি চন্দ্রাবতী জনমের মত।

কোন কোন বয়ানে পাওয়া যায়ঃ

দ্বার খোল চন্দ্রাবতী দেখা দেও আমারে। বলে জয়ানন্দ শেষবারের মত চন্দ্রাবতীকে ডেকেছিল।

সবশেষে পাঠকদের জন্য চন্দ্রাবতীর মন্দিরের ছবিটা দিলাম।

[img]http://www.kishorgonj.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/chondra.jpg[/img]

আবার কবে পরবর্তী লেখা পাব ফরিদ ভাই? 🙂