I am passing through a valley of deaths in the last three years. The latest addition is my friend since 1979, Kumar Hassan from Sambalpur. I fondly recollect the memories of a visit to his place at Bhutapada a number of times between 1981-90. He was a good man. Though poor, he was always hospitable. When Poet Pradeep Biswal and I visited him in 1980, he offered us rice, dal, and curry. He had named his small house Manisha International and used to edit a mini magazine called Manisha, possibly the eldest child out of his seven children. His wife was an equally good woman who died two years ago.
When you look at the bright side of everything and the positive aspect of every individual, you will be automatically pushed to darkness as nobody shares a position! This is the reality of life. Kumar Hassan never did harm to anybody as far as I remember; he used to appreciate others.
I was the Director of Art and Culture of the North Eastern Region for three years and was involved in setting up or preservation of various centers of Culture in Manipur. Now, what is happening in Manipur really disturbs me. I decided yesterday to write an article on Manipur. But, suddenly, this bad news has not only disturbed me but has destabilized my thought process.
Kumar Hassan was from the masses displaced by the Hirakud Dam project of the Sambalpur district of Odisha. He lost his parents when he was a young adult and so could not complete his matriculation. A school dropout, he struggled for his whole life for a decent living but continued his effort to translate contemporary young poets like me and publish them in Hindi journals. He also edited an anthology of Odia poems, ‘Samkaleen Odia Kabitaen’ half a century ago, which was published by a publisher from Delhi. It was a great honor for us those days.
Stunned since yesterday to receive news regarding the suicide of my long-time friend Nitin Chandrakant Desai. He was a visionary who redefined the role of Art Direction in Indian Cinema. We have known each other since my Lucknow days for his ‘ Bharat Ek Khoj.’ Our common friend was Motilal Khare from NSD.
Communal brigade friends have got a lot of mileage from him, but none of them has shown concern till now.
I am sad, my friends are departing, and I remain a mute spectator. The latest loss is Kumar Hassan. When you operate on a global platform, you are bound to tolerate widespread losses.
When I began writing half a century ago, print was the only medium. Gradually, digital and audio-visual mediums emerged. I have worked on a global platform, and therefore, I offer my same articles to various mediums for larger circulation at the same time. This is permissible as per copyright law.
Unfortunately, Odia publishers don’t pay, and I give my writings for publication free of charge as a token of my social commitment. Now, I am seriously thinking of stopping this good gesture. But Kumar Hassan was different. He used to write, whether he got something out of it or not. Except for NBT and Sahitya Akademi, he did translations for others almost free.
I don’t belong to any group or any political party. So, I don’t find a place in the list of beneficiaries. No more fabulous invitation is expected now for me except the invitation for my final exit from eternity. But, I will continue to write till my death against injustice. It’s unfortunate that a great translator like Kumar Hassan didn’t get a national award or recognition, while Pigmies could manage it through lobbying.
Media during the Nirbhaya incident was free to cover it 24X7. Now, surplus advertisements have killed it! Forget about national media; Odia channels are yet to cover the news of the death of such a luminary as they are busy covering the news of Odisha’s visit of the Home Minister.
Intellectuals are the most vulnerable community in history through the ages. While Plato discarded them from his Republic, Marx subdued them as Lumpen Proletariats. In Bengal, at one point of time, Anand Bazar Patrika used to employ authors in editorial positions. Odisha doesn’t have that tradition. Kumar Hasson was employed in some newspapers for short periods. Rajendra Kishore Panda employed him for a short period in the RDC office. But that was not a permanent solution. The only lucrative payment Kumar Hassan get was the translation fee from NBT, but it was stopped by my successor once I left Odia Language Editorship to become Head of the National Centre for Children’s Literature. Odisha Sahitya Akademi or Odisha Government didn’t come to his rescue.
An author died unattended in a so-called Republic!
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