Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-10-16
THE RAsoo AND HIS ENGLISH.
An Educated Hindu Has Something to
Say to the Satirists,

Say to the Satirists.
Andra Singha in the London Specta-
tor.-Mr. Anstey in his latest book.
A Bayard from Bengal" has followed
what is now somewhat old, and. |
should think, worn tradition in poking
fun at my fellow countrymen. 1t was
in the "70s" of the last century that
the late Aberigh wrote that
when Lord Macaulay said that what
/ the milk was TO the cocoanut. what
| beauty was to the buffalo, and what
| scandal was to woman, that DR.. John
sons dictionary was to the Bengal
BabOO, he unquestionably spoke in
terms of tigurative eXaggeration."
Mr.. Anstey probably remembers and
has made literary capital of another
passage in the same essay, which says
that the true BaboO is full of words
and phrases-fuIl of inappropriate
words and phrases, lying about like
dead men on battlefield, to be
carried away promiscuously, without
| refernce to kith and kin" Not other
wise, perhaps, would a genially satiri-
cal Roman if he could return to earth
| " NV " I4lAE llSI dllCulDIS 10 MIllt
Latin.
Necessity compels us to use the Ian
guage OF our foreign masters. Our
instructors in school and college set
| before us such models as DR.. Johnson
and Lord MaCaulay, writer's whose
mannerisms are easily exaggerated by
even English imitators; and thus in
| ENGLISH Chnur -,
bosity which is not, l think, a char
acteristic of our vernacular style. But
surely some allowance should be made
| for foreigners using a strange speech,
and one whose rich vocabulary per
hapS tends to eXuberance of speech.
! Such allowance is not always wanted
The first Bengal BabOO who wrote
English, less than 100 years ago, was
the we'll known Rajah Ram Mohun
Roy. Jeremy Bentham was not per-
haps an unprejudiced critic, but he
was at least an eminent man of let
ters Writing to Ram Mohun about
the year 1880, he said: Your works
are made known to me by a book in
which | read a style which, but for
the name of Hindu, | should GER
tainly have ascribed to the pen of a
superiority (sic) educated and in
struCted Englishman." And in an
other place, after some words of
praise of James Mills History of
British India" he adds: Though, as
to style, l wish | could with truth
and sincerity pronounce it equal to
yours"
In truth, Englishmen, however
benevolently disposed toward us Ben
galese, do not seem to realize how
recent is our start, how rapid our
progress in letters. So lately as 1890
no work had ever been written in
Bengal prose. Our literature was ell
tirely composed as songs, stories,
epics all composed in primitive
rhyme. In 1890 Rapah Ram Mohun
wrote his "Himdudiger Pauttalik
Dharmapranali," or disquisition on
Hindu idolatry. A hundred years
ago we were in something of Mr..
Jourdian's predicament, and did not
know that we could write prose, even
in our own language. 1t was the
study of English literature which
opened our eyes to the possibilities OF
our own speech. Ram Mohun Roy
was an innOvatOr and his attempt
was not very successful But since
then We have had the exquisite prose
style, as Charmingly naive and artless
as that of your own Goldsmith of
Iswar Chandra, the richly moduIated
blank verse of Madhu Suhdan, the
picturesque and rapid prose of Ban
kim Chandra, to say nothing of the
works of many others whose names
would be unfamiliar to Englishmen.
In English literature we can hardly
nope to find a place though many of
your readers must have admired Miss
Toru Quits Ancient Ballads and
| Legends of Hindostan' Let me. in
passing quote one verse as a sample
of her deXtrous use of your Ian
guage:-
Still barred thy doors! The far East
CLOVIS,
The morning wind blows fresh and
free.
Should not the hour that wakes the
rose
Wake also thee?
That is pretty well for a Bengal
girl Of II, who could write even better
than that in French Romesh Chun-
der Dutt writes with equal ease in
Bengal and English, and many OF
our journalists and lawyers are, what
few English are, biglot beings, who
can enjoy two literatures, and write,
not without distinction, in two Ian
guages. Only a hundred years ago
our literature was not yet at the stage
yours reached when ChauCer and
Cover wrote. Perhaps we have some
of the drawbacks OF precocity and
too rapid intellectual growth. But at
( least we are young pupils and, as even
Mr. Anstey's fun shows apt pupils.
We shall do better yet. wish Mr..
Anstey could read am sure he
would enjoy-Bankim Chandra's
amuseing "Lokrahaaya He would
there see the man painted by the lion,
and with a sense Of good natured fun
as keen as his own Unfortunately