Invaluable words of Soumitra Chatterjee
Soumitra Chatterjee was no less than an ‘institution’ to actors and culture-related people. His wisdom, memories and values have come up in various interviews or in his own writings. Here are the selected words out of respect for him …
I would grow like a tree
On the way to school, two brothers would cross the yard with two huge bronze glasses from the kitchen and stand in the backyard. That morning I would fill the bronze glass with cow-prayer foam-raised hot milk, eat it and go to school. Now I hear that if we drink raw milk or there is an infection, we have eaten it year after year, no problem. Attempts to make people like today’s children are not made in our childhood. We would grow like plants.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 11 June 2018
Memories of Bagha Jatin
Like the love of acting, another love was awakened in that childhood. That is love of country. My grandfather was imprisoned in the Howrah bomb case, my father was imprisoned during the non-cooperation movement, I have been hearing these stories since dawn. Grandfather was the youngest of the brothers, they had a large extended family. The daughters of the family did not have to leave their father’s house even after marriage. His son Jyotindranath Mukherjee was a grandfather’s peer and friend, known in the history of the freedom movement as ‘Bagha Jatin’. I don’t remember how the spelling of his name was changed to ‘y’ instead of the square ‘j’. However, I grew up listening to the various stories or events of this extraordinary life of this extraordinary man, various signs of greatness, all of which are still fresh in my memory.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 11 June 2018
Ghee fried book
In the winter mornings, old books, which matched the new syllabus, had to be collected from time to time. After getting up in the new class, I would get the syllabus of the new books, but not all the books would be bought new. Secondhand books, those who had passed that class last year, had to be bought at half price to find them. The only thing to keep in mind was whether the books were ‘fried’ or worn out. Maybe I went to the house of a boy of the previous class called Dada to look for books, in the mud yard of their house, my feet used to get cold from that soil. Even today, when I go to shoot barefoot in the winter, I remember the days, I still feel that cold.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 11 June 2018
Just surviving physically is worthless
I think Just Remaining Alive is not a life. If You’re Not Being Culturally Alive. If You’re Not Being Creatively Alive. If You’re Not Being Critically Alive. Then you are not alive. To me that is not life. Then you are just physically alive. Which is priceless to me.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 8 January 2018
There was an inferiority complex in appearance
There was an inferiority complex inside me. And that was about my appearance. You might laugh when you hear this on the face of an established actor. But there was a reason. I had typhoid at a young age. I was very sick. The people of the house used to say that the boy was black, his nose, eyes and face were not so good. I would have shrunk on hearing this. I used to play sports a lot, I didn’t feel like becoming a champion. However, many people said it was good to see the performance. You can hide yourself by acting. That’s why I came to act.
Source: Bhorer Kagoj, 6 September 2015
The misery of the co-actor
I know of a co-star with whom I was shooting a photo, in a house near the house of my late friend Shakti Chatterjee. On that occasion I went to meet the poet’s wife Meenakshi. When I returned, my actor colleague asked me, ‘Where did you go, everyone was looking?’ I said, ‘I went to Shakti Chatterjee’s house.’ He asked, ‘See you?’ I said once more, ‘I went to the house of the poet Shakti Chatterjee.’ He then said, ‘Were you at home? See you? ‘ I was compelled to say, ‘I have to go far now to meet him. If there is no call, how can I go there? ‘
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 18 January 2019
The fight against cancer
Being diagnosed with cancer is a terrible shock. My friends were shocked and said, what are you talking about Ray Pulu! My grandfather became very upset. I was even more nervous to see their panicked attitude. I know death will have to go one day. But cancer means death with great pain. I thought to myself, will I submit to it? Shall I cure this disease? If you do, it is done. I don’t see him fighting more than that. I can only be my refuge in these places. I decided, whatever is in my fortune, I will fight.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 8 January 2018
Let Rabindranath live
It was for strength that my first book of poetry, ‘Standing by the Waterfall,’ was published. He had been saying for a long time, ‘Pulubabu, take out a book of poetry.’ But I thought the time had not come yet. In doing so, at the age of 40, his strength began to rise. A publisher came to him and said that he would publish my poems in book form. Shakti said to me, ‘Look Pulu, the publisher has come himself. We didn’t try our best to get the book out this time. ‘ Shakti would occasionally read my poems and say, “This poem has become a bit like Rabindranath”. Hearing that, I would have canceled the poem. In fact, Jibanananda Das and Subhash Mukherjee are influencing us then. We did not want Rabindranath to have influence in writing. Let it be in life.
Source: Anandabazar Patrika, 19 May 2014
