Rudrajit Paul
Kamini Roy (1864—1933) was the first female honours graduate of modern India. She is one of the main social figures in Bengali Modernity of the Renaissance period. In addition to being a pioneering female Bengali poet and author, she was also one of the main figures in the woman’s suffrage movement in Bengal. However, this article will discuss her as a poet. The poems discussed here have been taken from Best Poems of Kamini Roy edited by Dr. Baridbaran Ghosh (Verbi Publishers, 2001).
Almost all the poems featured in this collection are rhyming verses. Although Madhusudan Dutt had already written his famous epic, Meghnadbodh Kabya in blank verse in 1861, the blank verse form had still not been too popular among Bengali poets of that era. Kamini Roy followed the general rhyming trend of her times while writing poetry. However, there are some notable exceptions which will be discussed later.
Her first published poetry collection was Alo O Chaya (Light and Shade) in 1889. This book did not contain the name of the author as it was uncommon to name a female author in published literature during that time. The common themes of the 23 poems featured in this collection are fairly predictable: love, self-realization, dreams, sadness, prayer to the almighty among others. One notable feature of her poems was the lack of religious intonations and the predominance of secular human emotions. The influence of Madhusudan Dutt was perhaps looming large over the young poets of that era. This is evident in the two small-length epics in blank verse that she wrote during this period, “Pundorik” and “Mahasweta”. These are spectacular examples of her prowess as a poet but sadly, these were largely forgotten by the later generations. One particular poem written in this period “Ma Amar” (My Mother) needs special mention. The “mother” in this poem is not the biological human mother, but the motherland. The concept of glorification of one’s country as “mother” was still not very common in the literary representations of the last part of the nineteenth century. But Kamini Roy was perhaps quite ahead of her times in this respect. This poem was turned into a popular song by Upendrakishore RoyChowdhury.
One major theme, especially in the poems written in her later years, was female emancipation. One such example is the poem “Nari Nigraha” (Violence against women). In this poem, she directly points her fingers at men who speak a lot about patriotism but who remain silent at the incidences of domestic violence against women. She shames the men who worship the idols of goddesses, but who have no respect for the women at home. She even dares the menfolk to punish the miscreants. A second highly significant poem written during the same time is “Narir Dabi” (Demands of women). This poem was directed towards the young Bengali men of her times. She asks those enlightened men to help women break their shackles. She declares that women have equal rights in all fields, including knowledge and justice. She even says that the men have kept the women deliberately illiterate and weak in fear of losing their domestic service. Women should be confident and self-sufficient. The third and final poem to be discussed under this theme is “Nari Jagoron” (The rise of Women), first published in the collection Deep O Dhup in 1929. This was written in quite a provocative tone. She brings in the themes of Armageddon. She says that women will not remain destitute and sad forever. This state of penury was an artificial creation of society. They will break the chain of social slavery and subjugation to the family unit and taste their own freedom. Thus, the major feminist themes in these poems are gender inequality in contemporary Bengali society and the lack of initiative on the part of men, even educated progressive men, to address these centuries-old evils. Although the major male Bengali poets of that era had written extensively about women in their poems, the major themes in their poetry had been romanticism and the glorification of the domestic role of wives and mothers. The thoughts and aspirations of a woman as a person beyond the family roles had never been focused before Roy.
The third important theme in her poems was travel. As she travelled with her family, she immortalized her journeys through short and long verses. Some notable examples of this type include “Delhi”, “Yamuna Kalpana” (Dreams of Yamuna), “Shah Jahan” etc. One poem in this category needs special mention for its realism – “Panthoshala” (Travelers’ inn). In this, she says that the momentary contacts with other people in these inns enrich one’s knowledge and experience. In another poem, “Smritichinho” (Memories), written perhaps after visiting some archeological ruins, she laments that the magnificent edifices built to immortalize one’s name are all lost in time. For the coming generations, what remains are just a few unnamed pieces of stone.
The final part of this discussion is on the poems she wrote on some contemporary Bengali icons. For example, in the poem “Rabindra-Parichay” (An introduction to Rabindranath) written for Prabashi magazine, she says that lamps are not needed to introduce a bright star. She also wrote that listening to the poems and songs of Tagore made her feel as if her innermost thoughts have been exposed. Another such poem eulogizing contemporary icons is “Muktobondi” (the free Prisoners). This was written after Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Subhas Chandra Bose were imprisoned. She says that even if she did not fully agree with their political points of view, she adored them greatly. She greatly admired the fact that they had left all earthly pleasures to endure the hardships of prison for their motherland.
One of her best poems written during her sunset years was ‘Jajati-Debjani’ (1923). This poem was written in the form of a dialogue between two well-known Hindu mythological characters, King Jajati and the daughter of the famous sage, Shukracharya, Debjani. The poem addresses profound issues like emotional ties with a former spouse. Recounting mythological events was nothing new to Bengali literature. This short dialogue-poem is one important addition to that illustrious tradition. The poem recounts how Debjani, the former wife of King Jajati, comes to terms with her anger, sense of loss and jealousy at losing her partner to another woman and how she repents her impulsive actions.
Kamini Roy was an exceptional poet in her own right. A reconnaissance of her works helps us understand the thoughts and aspirations of the Bengali woman in the early part of twentieth century. She covered an extraordinary wide range of themes in her poems. She deserves to be named prominently among the stalwarts of modern Bengali poetry.
Dr. Rudrajit Paul
Dr. Rudrajit Paul is a consultant physician in Kolkata with a passion for creative writing. He has published poems and short stories in Bengali and English in many magazines.