From: exuhaak@exu.ericsson.se (Haseeb Akhtar)
Subject: Re: Nirod C. Choudhuri
Reply-To: exuhaak@exu.ericsson.se
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 17:31:43 GMT

In article 22JUL199210282022@zeus.tamu.edu, a0h9342@zeus.tamu.edu (HAQUE, ANISUL) writes:
>In article <20JUL199222401802@vax2.concordia.ca>, debchat@vax2.concordia.ca 
>(DEB CHATTERJEE) writes...
>
>> My dear Anindya Banerjee,
>> 
>>  Sorry for being abusive about your guru (Nirod C.Choudhuri) on the SCB. A
>> point that I might remind you is that this old crow (N.C.C) has taken up a
>> project in establishing the sexual relationships between Kobiguru and his
>             ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> bouthan Kadambini Debi. (I do not agree with Tagore's philosophies on his
>> attitude towards 1930 Chittagong movement, but, definitely his is of supreme
>> intellect.) Denigrating ALL and ANYTHING that is Indian has been your gurus
>> favorite pastime - to earn his British bread and butter. This earns him a big
>> hand from those people who divided Bengal twice - 1905 and 1947. Moreover that
>> Bengali (is he one ?) does not hesitate criticize Durga Puja that is dear to
>                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> both Hindus and Moslems in Bengal. How do you think that I should value his
>> `elitist' works with kudos - that you seem to have ????? I do feel that we
>> Bengalis may not have the world's best religion/ culture, e.t.c but what is
>> ours is ours. It is an admixture of the sweet/sour and bitter - because that's
>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> what our human life is. Ole' Nirod may not think so, but, his comments and
>> `noble' conclusions cannot be taken with respect or any seriousness. Thus we
>          ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> must continue to ignore that guy whose main objective has been to attempt in
>> taunting anything that is Bengali/ Indian or from the subcontinent !!!
>
>
>I don't like Nirod Chowdhury either, (he is a snob) but the reasons you have 
>mentioned to discard him aren't strong enough. OK, he doesn't have enough 
>respect for what is Indian. So? Does it make his comments null? Not necessarily.
>Yet his writings may contain enough substance. The fact that he is studing 
>Tagore's personal life and he has come up with a hypothesis which isn't sweet 
>to us, or that he criticizes Durga-Puja need not be viewed with animosity. We 
>don't have to accept every tradition and every accepted belief at its face 
>value without any question. Remember, "Satidaha" was once our tradition!!! We 
>don't have to like what he says, but we better listen. Ignoring someone just 
>because I don't like his attitude wouldn't lead us anywhere. I agree, our 
>culture is an admixture of sweet/sour and bitter (like any other culture), but 
>most important it is also a changing one. And challenging things that are 
>established is what keep the culture rolling.
>
>> - deb chatterjee
>>(a good samaritan)
>
>Regards,
>
>Anisul Haque
>Texas A & M University

I agree with Anisul Haque. Another example is worth noting. The struggle of Ishwarchandra Biddashagar (sorry about the spelling) for "Bidhoba Bibaho" - a remarkable stance against a prevalent tradition of that time.

Got a little objection about making Durga-puja "dear" to Muslims of Bengal. I've spent most of my childhood in north Bangladesh and never saw Muslims eagerly waiting for Durga-puja (any puja for that matter) as much as Hindus did not aspire to celebrate the month of Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Adha (when slaughtering of cow becomes the norm). 

Please, don't get me wrong, I'm not talking intolerence. I think, we should know and recognize our differences and learn to live in harmony with those differences. I do respect Durga-puja and the spirit of it. However, as a Muslim, that is still a form of idol worship which can hardly be "dear" to me.

With all the respect to other religions. Regards.

ha