1

The Bengali novelist Tarashankar Bandopadhyay’s Hansuli Banker

Upokatha : ‘The Tale of Hansuli Turn’; 1946–51) confronts the reader with a
language staged as if divided against itself, a language negotiating with its
own shadow on either side of a class and caste partition in modern India.
Hansuli Banker maps representations of social differences in class and caste
onto language differences between “standard” and creolized Bengali. It
dramatizes a problem of literary representation—how to tell the tale of a
subaltern group—as a reflection on the transformation of tale into written
novel across an abyssal social divide. The mechanisms of this dramatization
involve mutations of syntax, semantics, and rhetoric that make Hansuli
Banker Upokatha an unusual example for postcolonial political
interpretations. It depicts the predicament of India’s “tribal” (aboriginal)
peoples when colony becomes independent nation-state, and the alternative
postcoloniality suggested by the novel lies in its rhetorical staging of a call
and response, a shuttling transaction across jagged partition lines that are
not defined by the boundaries between nation-states.

The initial appearance and final shape of Hansuli Banker Upokatha

were both scarred by the ferocious violence surrounding the partition of the
colony into the nation-states of Pakistan and India during the final months
of British rule and marked by the enormous optimism of a newly
independent India. Yet the novel depicts partition in the new-old polity from
an angle different from the now familiar focus on the ruptures between India
and Pakistan, and Hindu and Muslim, taking as its object the place of the
Indian tribal (the aboriginal or the “Criminal Tribe”) in the colonial-to-
postcolonial social formation.

Hansuli Banker Upokatha emerged across the tumultuous cusp of the

colonial and the postcolonial in an empirical, historical sense. The moment
of independence and partition was a period of unprecedentedly violent
dispute about who the felicitous inhabitants of India were. Alongside the
better-known discussions about India’s Hindus and Muslims, fierce debates
over the situation of tribals and untouchables in the emergent nation arose
during the 1930s and 1940s. At issue was the question of what the proper
 2

indigenous population of India was, who should represent that population,

and how.

The plot of Hansuli Banker Upokatha tells the story of one Criminal
Tribe. The police periodically check up on these dagi (i.e. ‘marked persons’),
though the Kahars are now sharecroppers and palanquin carriers (188–90).
The novel’s setting is a provincial hamlet on the bend of a river in 1941–47,
a period of war and anticolonial independence struggle in eastern India.
These two processes provide a broad dramatic backdrop for the novel’s
tracking of the disintegration and displacement of the Kahar community.

Hansuli Banker Upokatha headed the list of Tarasankar's novels for its
artistic beauty and long-standing effect on the Bengali literature. In a true
sense it possesses a closer relation with the legends and folk-lores of the
country than the traditional novels of our literature. Dr. Srikumar Banerjee
rightly thinks that—the total inner spirit of a whole community has been
rightly concentrated within the leaves of this book. A supernatural touch at
every events cost a shadow of mystery over the whole fictitious atmosphere.
Here the author did not characterise the personalities of any person but
revealed the life-spirit of a whole community at every individual behaviour
and movements. Hence the actual hero of the book is a race where the
individuals are only but the marks of its specitity. In this aboriginal
community the men and women enjoy equal rights and the women too took
part not only in earnings of livelihood but also in village-councils, quarrels,
and other social sphere. So, the females of this society are inevitable to have
the total picture of this aboriginal race. Moreover, in this primitive society all
the individual entertainments moved round their amorous sports when
women played the vital parts. They had the mysteries of many life and
death, histories of many amorous games, with them and thus maintained a
flow of romantic spirit over the past and present of this race and finally put
forward the persons with their terrible fates. Hence, the women characters
of the book are most objective and significant in the tale of the book.
 3

SUNCHAD:-

Sunchad, the octogenarian woman was as if the living representation of

Kahar's tradition and always maintained a link between the past and
present of this race. Like the priest of the society she had always a careful
look on every happenings of the present and explained whether the current
occurances were accorded with their traditional as well as with the wishes of
Kartababa and pointed out redresses where necessary. In her long-
experienced keen intuition the secret wishes of almighty "Kartababa" and
Kalorudra as well as the sequences of every present event would clearly
reflected and hence she restlessly moved throughout the whole "Hansuli
Bank" as if to sweep all the evil-doers of the race.

Being keenly interested with the good of the community she would
now and then violently protest at the personal conducts where it seemed to
her to be detrimental to their tradition. In order to create a sense of faith in
the youths, she narrated the glorious fables of Kartababa and Kalorudra.
The art of her speech was too convincing to be appeared that Kartababa
himself came to disclose the mystery of his games. In Tarasankar we often
find such inclination of describing various legends, heresays, etc. In his
boyhood he himself listened to such stories from the skillful tellers. Here in
Sunchad, he found such an opportunity to give vent to such tandencies. The
young Kahars were undoubtedly charmed by the fables and they believed
what Sunchad said. Even the leader Banawari could not but believe at her
fables and d always obey with her rulings. But in such capacity, if in any
case, she failed to convince the youthful men and women, she would come
forward with course appearance and with whipping sharp tongue. She had
her speciality of her own in the quarrelling also which we think she
borrowed from the practical experiences of the author. A quarrelsome
woman of his village of whom the author mentioned in his autobiography
influenced in this respect.

We know the women in Tarasankar are generally conservatives,

prejudiced and devoted to various vows and worships. Sunchad also
 4

inherited all these qualities. Over and above being a Kahar woman she
worked hard in the field and even at the age of eighty consumed jars of wine
in village-ceremonies and put the audience in humour, when she would run
with her sharp tongue for a tinny interest, nobody could doubt that she was
the representative of the typical Kahar women. Thus she occupied a vital
position on the story as well as in the society and her foot-steps could be
heard from the every corner of the Hansuli Bank.

PAKHI:-

Pakhi, the most living woman of Kahar society fluttered freely like a bird
throughout the whole of Hansuli Bank on the wings of her youth and
aboriginally. She enjoyed more freedom than Basan of Kabi, as Kahars were
completely isolated from modern civilization and darkened with primitive
ideas and thoughts. Here the author pointed how the fatalism and
sensuality of aboriginal society mixed together in their women and created a
dense mystery in them. The only parallel of such living girl in Hansuli Bank
was the wild river Kopai which now and then puffed-up with the waves of
youthfulness and elbowed its way through all the obstructions with a roar of
rage.

The instincts of a man, we know, in the gentle folk are most often
controlled by the rulings of reason and rulings of society, but Pakhi suffered
no such hindrance as the amorous sports were admitted in their race.
Moreover, she could pick up the best young of her society as her love-mate.
The manliness of Karali as well as heroic activities charmed her so much
that she found nothing faulty in his behaviour and even when Sunchad
along with Banawari accused Karali, and raised a cry for killing the Snake,
said to be the sacred mount of Kartababa, Pakhi burst into anger and
stopped Sunchad with coarse rebuking – “you see, the old woman, I say,
stop your such inauspicious cry”.

Though in this primitive society men and women took part in the play
of love as a normal course of their livelihood, yet in the case of others slight
secrecy was maintained, whereas, Pakhi full to the brim of youth did care
 5

nothing like the overflowing wild Kopai of Hansuli Bank. But a tragedy of
her life is laid under the swelling of her such behaviour. She was married in
a leader family of this village. But, ill luck would have it her husband was
attacked with asthmatic disease in the early age and lost all vitality. So, she
did not waste her youth, particularly where the Kahar women were very
sensitive to their sensuality and never wasted their youth for the sake of
morality. On one occasion she made her clear reply that she would go to him
whom she loved best. Now we think, this attraction of Pakhi and Karali is
not an infatuation born of their sensuality. In the story, Pakhi accompanied
Karali at every sphere like a shadow. When all were afraid of the
supernatural events at "Barbadi”, Pakhi was found running after Karali
even in the dangerous forest and cried her best to search where he was.
Mere sensuality could never madden a woman in such a way to follow the
mate. In fact, like the dearest and precious pearl of her heart, she kept
Karali always under the close observations least any harm happened to this
in different obstinate man. And for the same reason, when Banawari found
fault with him, it concerned Pakhi all the more and she protested violently
that, Karali did no harm to Kahars and to Banawari.

Though Pakhi was deprived of conjugal happiness, yet the author

read-out the true nature of love from her end. He curiously found that real
love if once develops in a woman leaves an informidable marks on them and
mixes closely with their womanly-self. Such was the condition of Pakhi.
Though Karali neglected her, yet the loving effect remained so deeply in her
that she could not choose any other way but the death. Bankimchandra also
showed such comprehensive picture of love in his litarature. The similarity
between Bankimchandra and Tarashankar in this respect is to be noticed
here.

It is notable that the literary intuition of Tarasankar nicely picks up

the common qualities of women from their daily activities. In Pakhi he also
found her womanly qualities which were harmonised with her wild, forceful
nature. The innate hankering of women for a peaceful dwelling led to her to
run with Karali from village to station. In Chandanpur she artistically
 6

decorated her temporary dwelling as most of the women of our country do.
We know, Tarashankar is very much fond of finding such virtues in women.
And Pakhi possessing all these qualities became at the end Tarashankar-
rian woman though brought up in primitive society.

SUBASHI:-

Tarasankar very carefully marked the every hook and corner of the
movements of men and thereof made a full picture of his character. Because
he believed that, a man is best known by the conducts he beheaves. Similiar
analysis he made in the case of Subashi. She appeared at the end of
Banawari as well as the book. Gopalibala, the immaculate wife could protect
Banawari from all unhealthy events for the long time, but the evil touch of
Subashi very rapidly dragged him to the terrible fate. In fact, Banawari
needed such an evil touch for the payment of his evil deed, because the God
himself can snatch a man from an immaculate wife like Gopalibala. Subashi
possessed only the sensuality of Kahars and nothing of their religious and
social tradition. Such an evil-door could only bring the destruction of family.
Banawari also could realise the matter at the even of his destruction but he
had then nothing to do only but to march on the high road to needham. At
first Banawari lost Gopalibala, the fortune of his family and throwing him in
the sure cave of death Subashi went away.

Tarasankar had the deepest look on the various men and women of
society and through Subashi he presented the most evil type of woman, who
attracts a person under their illusion and ultimately kick them out to Hell.
On the other hand, Gopalibala the motherly and sisterly woman know
nothing but dedaction and protected the husband and others from all
calamities. Banawarl fortunalely came in contact with these two types of
women and enjoyed the merits and demerits of them.

MOTHER OF NAYAN:-

She was a common lady of Kahar society. She possessed all the
characteristics of the Kahar women with all her womanly jealousy,
 7

superstitions etc. and happened to become very living in the book. In her
quarreling the author very nicely adopted the pause and posture of
quarreling of a woman of his village. Thus the mother of Nayan uphold the
practical experiences of the author and maintained a relation between the
hard reality and story of the book.

Hansuli Banker Upokatha does not moralize, and nor does it stage the
comparative openness of Kahar sexuality as simply a site for the exploitation
of women. But it does set the reader the task of thinking through
postcolonial India’s other internal partitions, especially as the lines of those
partitions engender ever more creolity and ever more rigid and violent
attempts to suppress it. For Tarashankar, sexuality is a major zone of
difference, and the subject runs through all his ruralist novels of the 1940s.
Kahar women are depicted as having a tumultuous and passionate
determination of their sexual activities, in a community where sexual norms
are less rigid than those of caste Hindu society. The women’s open or liberal
sexuality—which both signifies the caste fatalism of the lowest and recodes
the bad side of caste segregation as a good—is susceptible to relations with
outsiders but also to appropriations and exploitation.
 8

Work Cites

 file:///E:/Creole_Glossary_Tarashankar_Bandopadhyay.pdf
 file:///E:/DEEP/Documents/3rd%20Sem/Women%20of%20Hansuli
%20Bnaker%20Upokatha.pdf