Sarama and Her Children

by Bibek Debroy

  Nor is this characteristic only of works with which Tagore was associated. There is an alphabet book by Jogindranath Sarkar (1866–1937) that was quite popular. This is known as Hasi Khushi and although originally published in 1896, continues to be used even now. In several places in Hasi Khusi, there are dogs and one should not overlook the fact that Jogindranath Sarkar was not a brahmana. There is a dog named Bhulo that barks, another dog drinks milk and happily plays with a small girl and in a lesson titled “Uncle’s House”, there is a dog named Bagha, tethered near the door of the house. In the second part of Hasi Khushi, there is a pedigreed dog whose appetite is not satisfied until it is fed meat. Hasi Khushi’s successor, Hasi Rashi, is a textbook for higher grades. In Hasi Rashi, there is a gentleman named Meher Ali who hunts squirrels. Meher Ali has a beard and this is ripped out by a dog. A further sequel is titled Hasi O Khela. In Hasi O Khela, there are two dogs named Bhulo and Bagha. Bhulo’s owner (a child) does not love him and hits him. So Bhulo does not love him either and tries to bite him. However, Bagha’s owner (Sudhir) loves him and shares his food with Bagha, taking Bagha out for walks. So Bagha loves Sudhir and Sudhir has fallen asleep on Bagha’s back. In a further sequel titled Chabir Bai, a girl named Shobha owns a dog. This dog was originally owned by someone else. However, when Shobha and her family were crossing a river on a ferry, she fell into the water and was rescued by this dog. Ever since then, the dog became her pet. In another book titled Ranga Chabi, a naughty jackal named Shibu is taught a lesson by a good dog named Bhulo and a girl promises to return and play with her dog after she has finished her work. In Nuton Chabi, there are specific lessons on dogs, including one that is devoted specifically to bulldogs. In Chabi O Galpa, there is a story set in Africa, where an Englishman has gone on a hunt, accompanied by his dog and they are attacked by a snake. In Chara Para, we are told that animals like cats and dogs understand our language, and that in Germany, a dog named Rolf could perform simple addition. In Khelar Sathi, there is a poem addressed to a girl by a dog and a story about a dog and crows, where the crows trick the dog into giving up a piece of meat. All of these were very unusual for their times, such as in their depiction of companionship between dogs and children. Jogindranath Sarkar not being a brahmana was no doubt important. His other books may not have been as influential as Hasi Khushi. But collectively, they were read by generations of children and must have contributed to a change in Bengal’s canine consciousness.

  Back to the Tagore family. Dogs have a major role to play in Abanindranath Tagore’s (1871–1951) works, especially Alor Phulki. In this children’s book, the chief protagonist is a cock, a bit like Chanticleer. However, there are two dogs also, the friendly Jimma and the villainous Tamma. Jimma is a mountain (perhaps Tibetan) bitch, a friend of the birds and belongs to the same house. Tamma is from a different neighbourhood and comes to steal chicks. Tamma is a dalkutta and there is also another dalkutta in Abanindranath Tagore’s Badshahi Galpa. The word dalkutta often occurs in Bengali literature, signifying a foreign dog. In a narrow sense, a dalkutta is a dog used for hunting, such as a greyhound. Dogs also play a major role in Abanindranath Tagore’s Buro Angla. Abanindranath Tagore’s fondness was clearly for the indigenous dog, like the thin and part-blind one described in Buro Angla. The foreign dog, such as the dalkutta type, was not a nice dog. In imitation of Peter Pan, Abanindranath Tagore wrote Khatanchir Khata and a dog named Bohim figures in that book. Abanindranath Tagore also wrote a book titled Raj Kahini, consisting of annals and antiquities of Rajasthan. Raj Kahini has references to hunting dogs and dalkuttas, one of these hunting dogs is named Hingulia. In one of the Raj Kahini stories, a dalkutta chases a kid goat and the mother goat and the kid seek refuge inside a temple. The dalkutta does not dare to enter the temple and keeps barking from the outside.

  Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay (1876–1938) was an extremely unorthodox author, in his personal life, as well as in his novels. In particular, his depiction of women was powerful and unusually progressive. Perhaps inevitably, his attitude towards dogs was also different. He himself possessed a pet dog named Bhelu and his letters mention his being bitten by a stray dog, whom he had tried to rescue from Bhelu. In his autobiographical accounts, he talked about his sojourn in Deoghar, where he was befriended by a pariah dog named ‘Atithi’ (guest). Atithi came to visit him every day and Sharatchandra gave instructions that Atithi was to be fed, an instruction that the servants did not usually follow. When it was time for Sharatchandra to leave Deoghar, it was Atithi who was the most excited, accompanying the carriage to the railway station. After that, the dog must have gone back to the streets and, in memory, Sharatchandra penned a brief essay on Atithi. In one of his letters, Nazrul Islam wrote,16

  One day I heard a story from the novelist Shurendra Gangopadhdhay that Sharatchandra, with the income from the books he has written, will build a shelter for all the stray dogs. Those dogs that tire themselves roaming the streets in search of little food will find food and shelter there—free of charge. Somehow Sharatchandra has come to know that those stray dogs were writers in their previous life, now are born as dogs. I heard that he has even prepared a will to that effect. Hearing this, so many times I bowed my head in respect and said: Sharat Da, you are really a great person. We, the writers, ARE the caste of dogs. Some of us die in hunger like dogs and others die fighting with each other. He [Sharatchandra] seems to have that sixth sense; he has seen the avatar-dimension of the writers [in these dogs]. That’s why I have just one prayer today: if there is incarnation, I wish I never be born in this land as a poet. If I am born in this land, I would rather like to return as a dog in the shelter of Sharatchandra. At least, I won’t have to worry all the time for just a little food.

  In Sharatchandra’s novels, the most famous dog incident is probably the one that occurs in Shrikanta, where Natun-da, dressed in peculiar clothes and singing even more peculiar songs, is chased by some village dogs along the banks of a river.

  Prabhatkumar Mukhopadhyay (1873–1932) was a prolific and noted short story writer. But it is remarkable that in the many stories that he has written, references to dogs are extremely rare. The only exception where an Indian actually owns a dog is in a story named “Oupanyasik” (novelist), where the owner happens to be a prostitute. That Prabhatkumar Mukhopadhyay thought that a prostitute was the only Indian or Bengali who could actually own a dog is significant. Even more significant is another story titled “Puppy”. A young law student named Sharatkumar Bagchi discovers a lost puppy in a park near St John’s Wood. He adopts the puppy and brings it home. The puppy is named Toby and Sharatkumar’s landlady also becomes attached to it. A lost and found advertisement is issued in the newspapers, but there is no response. Five months later, when Sharatkumar and Toby visit that park again, Toby’s real owners are discovered. The dog has to be surrendered to the rightful owners and Sharatkumar is miserable. But Toby breaks free and dashes back to Sharatkumar and his landlady cooks up a story for the real owners that, in the process of running away, Toby has been run over by a car. So Sharatkumar gets to keep Toby. This is a story that Prabhatkumar Mukhopadhyay could very easily have located in India or Bengal and might well have done so, had he written the story today. However, writing when he did, he obviously felt that the ownership of a dog and attachment to it would not ring true in India. Therefore, he felt the need to locate the story in London.

  Moving on to a later period, there is an interesting contrast in the works of Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay (1896–1950), Tarashankar Bandopadhyay (1898–1971) and Sharadindu Bandopadhyay (1899–1970). They were roughly contemporaries and the productive periods of their literary lives were almost identical. All three were brahmanas. Bibhutibhusan usually wrote about rural Bengal, Sharadindu usually wrote about urban Bengal and Tarashankar was in between. Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay’s Pather Panchali was made into a famous film by Satyajit Ray, the first film of the Apu trilogy. In the film, there is a celebrated scene involving Apu, his sister Durga and a sweetmeat
seller, with Durga’s dog in tow. The film is an adaptation of the novel and there is no such incident in the book. However, the novel does tell us about Durga’s dog Bhulo, which was a mongrel and not quite a pet. Despite her mother’s scolding, Durga would save some of her rice for Bhulo. And whenever she called, even if it was in a soft undertone, Bhulo would come running for his food. Given the milieu that Bibhutibhusan described, the dogs were never proper companions. They were not even proper pets. They were essentially stray dogs, although they were fed and looked after.

  Tarashankar Bandopadhyay’s novel Dhatri Devata mentions a dog named Kalua that lived in the household. Kalua actually seemed to smile when he was happy. Tarashankar’s novels and stories do not always portray dogs in a particularly good light. For instance, packs of dogs frequent cremation grounds and feed off dead bodies and stray dogs survive on garbage and waste food thrown out by households. In the novel Panchagram, dogs are identified with places where cobblers and harijans live. There are personal and owned dogs too, with a role in the story, but typically, there are owned by the lower castes and even used for hunting. This is also true of another dog named Kalua in the novel Hansuli Banker Upakatha. There is attachment between Kalua and his master Karali A and when Kalua dies, Karali buries the dead body rather than leave it to vultures and jackals. However, Karali is a young tribal chief, outside the traditional Hindu fold. There is a slight exception to this principle in the novel Nagini Kanyar Kahini, where there are two foreign dogs owned by a rich babu household. These dogs attack a bede and are killed by the tribe. In one of Tarashankar’s stories, a dog has a major role, as a metaphor. This story is titled “Putreshti”. The protagonist is the second son (Mejokarta) of the Bandopadhyaya family, and he is obsessed with making money. They have no son, because Mejokarta’s wife is infertile. But Mejokarta has not got married again. It was decided that they would adopt a son of his younger brother. However, that did not work out. Mejokarta now encounters a tantrik sannyasi and the sannyasi promises that a putreshti yajna, conducted in the forest, will bring them a son. However, a human sacrifice is needed for this purpose. An orphan child is adopted. At least Mejokarta’s wife thinks this orphan is going to be adopted as a son. Mejokarta knows this orphan will actually be sacrificed. In the middle of the night, Mejokarta, who is drunk, comes to steal the orphan away from where the child is nestled in his wife’s bosom. The yajna is going on in the forest and one cannot afford to wait. There is a bitch that lives in the household. It is not a pet, but it survives on the waste food from the house. The bitch had a puppy, but the puppy has been stolen by a fox. As Mejokarta steals away with the orphan human child, he hears a howling and is accosted by the bitch, who howls at him, expressing her pain at having lost her pup. The story ends with Mejokarta bursting out in tears and telling the bitch, ‘I haven’t taken yours, I haven’t taken your son.’ As time passed, Tarashankar’s attitude towards dogs presumably changed and is reflected in short stories written many years after his major novels. For example, a story titled “Shuku and Bhuku” was written in 1961. Shuku or Sukumar is a young child aged eleven or twelve and he picks up and adopts a stray puppy named Bhuku. The household does not approve of Bhuku’s mongrel-like behaviour and Bhuku is shooed out. However, he fights a snake that approaches the house and, in the process, dies from the poison. Bhuku is buried nearby. Two years later, a dog returns to the house, having scared off the neighbourhood dogs, and it is discovered that this is Bhuku. Bhuku never died. He was adopted by a tribal and having been cured, has become a sturdy hunting dog. Tribals know how to take care of dogs. Others do not, even if they begin to keep dogs. Another story titled “Doggie” was written in 1967 and this changes the perspective a little more. Because we now have a young man (Ratan), not a tribal, who buys and owns a mongrel dog named Doggie. Ratan wants an Alsatian, which Doggie is not. Despite beatings, Doggie does not change his mongrel habits and associates with other mongrels that are actually strays. However, Doggie saves the house from a thief and that endears him to everybody in the house. This is the kind of story that would have been impossible to find in the earlier Tarashankar.

  Many of Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay’s works have references to dogs. Indeed, there are some where the dog is a hero. Sharadindu is the creator of a detective named Byomkesh. In one of the detective novels (Simanta-Hira), there is a description of a Kumar Bahadur’s house, the house being well-protected with security guards and high walls. That apart, there are four English mastiffs, that are let loose in the compound at night. When Sharadindu’s heroes become dogs, they are not of this imported and pedigreed variety. There is a children’s story, where a cat (Pushi) and a dog (Bhulo) take to the forests and have various adventures there. Bhulo was a white mongrel, busy scratching for ticks and shooed away from assorted kitchens when he entered to steal some food. He did have an owner, but decided to run away when the owner began to tie him up. Eventually, Pushi and Bhulo return to their village. A dog, more accurately a bitch, is a hero in yet another Sharadindu story. This dog’s name is Hemanalini. A gentleman named Vaidyanath retired from government service at the age of fifty-six. He had a son, a daughter-in-law and a wife and Vaidyanath had been henpecked all his life. Having retired, he absconded and disappeared to another city, not informing his family where he was. On a wintry night, Vaidyanath went for a walk, with some biscuits for refreshment and was seated in a park. He suddenly discovered a puppy under the bench he was seated on. The puppy was dirty and yellow in colour and licked his feet. Vaidyanath fed the puppy some of his biscuits and tried to shoo it away. But it followed him home. This mongrel puppy became Hemanalini. To quote Sharadindu in translation, ‘Such dogs are born in the roads. They live on the roads and at the end, die on the roads. They have no homes.’ However, Hemanalini got a home. She accompanied Vaidyanath everywhere and was generally non-aggressive in character. But one day, when Vaidyanath was away from his house, his wife turned up, having discovered where Vaidyanath was absconding. From a distance, Vaidyanath observed his wife get down from a carriage and enter the house. And from a distance, he again watched Hemanalini chase his wife away. So far, Vaidyanath had displayed affection for Hemanalini. When a neighbour turned up in the evening, he discovered Hemanalini sitting on Vaidyanath’s lap. ‘Can you find a good groom for Hemanalini?’ said Vaidyanath. ‘I have decided to get her married off.’ A dog is the hero in another of Sharadindu’s stories also. This story is titled “Pintu” and that is the dog’s name as well. Pintu was an unadulatered Indian dog, not tainted by foreign blood and he was a bit of a coward, scared of neighbourhood dogs, probably because he only had milk and rice. But Pintu was of enormous help as a retriever. When his master went out on hunting expeditions, Pintu retrieved the dead birds. His master, accompanied by Pintu, went on a hunt to a village and was discouraged from going out at night, because that area was frequented by a petni (ogress). Thanks to his gun and his beliefs, Pintu’s master disregarded these warnings and went out to shoot at night. They neared a marsh and Pintu tried to dissuade his master from proceeding further. His master paid no heed and soon he was in the thralls of the petni, being dragged down into the swamp, oblivious of what was going on. At this, overcoming his fear, Pintu jumped at the petni’s throat. In the process, his master was saved, but Pintu got dragged down into the swamp and eventually, his dead body was all that remained. Pintu gave up his life to save his master.

  There is a dog in Bimal Mitra’s Saheb, Bibi, Ghulam, although the dog has been left out in the film. A stray dog adopts Bhutnath, even though Bhutnath tries to shoo it away. When Bhutnath returns much later to the house in Banamali Sarkar Lane, the dog is still there and recognizes him. It tugs at his clothes, trying to prevent him from going away again. It is almost as if Bhutnath’s past is tugging at him, like the dog. And like the dog, his past is dark, disabled, half-dead and unclear.

  The Ray family is again a brahmo one, Sukumar Ray’s (1887–1923) father, Upendrakishore Raychoudhury, having been mentioned earlier. In Sukumar
Ray’s Pagla Dashu, there are assorted references to dogs belonging to security guards or dogs chasing one on the streets. Sukumar Ray also wrote a story titled “Owner of a dog”. There were two friends named Bhajahari and Ramacharan and they pooled their money to buy a foreign dog. Since this was a foreign dog, it had to be bought, and each paid half. Having brought the dog home, they decided that each should own half of the dog. Ramacharan opted for the front half and Bhajahari opted for the rear half. This caused some tension, but matters became serious when the dog began to play with its tail. Ramacharan, who owned the head, chopped off part of the tail, which belonged to Bhajahari’s half. And Bhajahari let the dog loose on Ramacharan, which was legally incorrect, because the head was owned by Ramacharan. And so the dispute dragged on.

  In Sukumar Ray’s son Satyajit Ray’s (1921–92) stories, there are also assorted references to dogs, especially in the story titled “The Hunger of Septopus”. However, the Satyajit Ray references are usually to pedigreed and imported dogs, this story also being an example of that. One of the protagonists of this story (Abhijit) breeds dogs like mastiffs and they also win prizes. Abhijit possesses eleven dogs. And when the protagonists go out in their car, a Rampur hound named Badshah accompanies them, occupying the back seat of the car, sticking his neck out from the window and sneering at village mongrels that they pass. Badshah attacks the carnivorous plant (Septopus) and Abhijeet then attempts to fight the plant to save his dog. Septopus is killed, but Badshah cannot be saved. Another Satyajit Ray story is titled “The Nightmare of Indigo”. In this, Aniruddha Bose, who is twenty-nine, gets lost when driving to Munger and arrives at a dak bungalow. This dak bungalow is actually haunted and used to be occupied by an indigo planter earlier, precisely, one hundred years ago. This British indigo planter owned a greyhound named Rex. Concerned that the natives, whom he had oppressed, would kill Rex after his death, the planter shot Rex and then committed suicide. In another story titled “Khagam”, there is a dog that belongs to two Americans named Bruce and Michael. This dog is killed in the night. So the dog does play a role in the story, although not as important a role as Badshah or Rex. However, the most memorable of Satyajit Ray’s dogs is not a pedigreed dog, at least, it is not a dog of known pedigree. This dog (Brownie) appears in the story “Asamanjababu’s Dog” and is unusual because it has a sense of humour and can smile and laugh. Brownie is a laughing dog.