Syed Mujtaba Ali’s language learning and his humour

One of the finest novelists, short story writers, translators and humourists in modern Bangla literature is Syed Mujtaba Ali. He was born on 13 September 1904 in Karimganj of Sylhet, then part of Assam in undivided British India. A large part of his education was spent at Santiniketan. There he learnt Sanskrit, English, Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Hindi, Gujarati, French, German, Italian and several other languages. For study, employment and simply out of a passion for travelling, Mujtaba Ali roamed many countries of the world. In humorous writing he was unmatched in Bangla literature. Today, 13 September, is the day of his passing. From the 'Syed Mujtaba Ali Rachanabali" published by Student Wage, five incidents are presented here for readers.

1.
At a gathering, when Syed Mujtaba Ali was once seen drinking alcohol, a journalist asked him, “What will the young generation learn from seeing you drinking?” In reply, Mujtaba Ali sipped his glass and said, “Tell your young generation that before I drank wine, I had mastered 23 languages of the world.”

Such was the erudition and scholarship of Syed Mujtaba Ali. The foundation of his literary life was built at Rabindranath’s Santiniketan. Mujtaba Ali was among the first students of Bishwa-Bharati University there. From 1921 to 1926, he studied at the college level. At 17, he entered that campus at Bolpur in Birbhum, West Bengal. At 22, he completed his studies there.

At his first meeting in Santiniketan, Rabindranath asked Mujtaba what he wanted to study. The young Mujtaba said he did not know exactly, but he wanted to learn something properly. Rabindranath replied, “Why not learn many things?”

Thus at Santiniketan Mujtaba mastered German, French, English, Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Russian and Italian. With Rabindranath he had classes in English and Bangla, where the poet taught Shelley, Keats and Balaka. From Dr Mark Collins he learnt English, French and German, from Professor Tucci Italian, and from Bogdanff Arabic and Persian. Rabindranath himself had gathered these great teachers at Santiniketan. Mujtaba could not afford to miss a single class of theirs.

He secured his place at Santiniketan through merit. He had committed to memory about 35 to 40 per cent of Rabindranath’s poems and 25 to 30 per cent of his essays. Along with Promothonath Bishsi, he became a fine writer under Rabindranath’s guidance. Mujtaba Ali’s experiences of Santiniketan are fully recorded in his book "Gurudev O Santiniketan."

2.
Famed as a humourist in Bangla literature, Syed Mujtaba Ali was a great traveller. He often wandered from country to country. The incident took place in Germany. Mujtaba Ali was travelling by ship. On the same ship was a picnic party from a girls’ school. At that time his head was full of black hair. This caught the eye of a little girl in the group, for most people in their country had either blond or brown hair.

The girl was astonished at Mujtaba Ali’s black hair. To satisfy her curiosity, she asked him, “Do you dye your hair?” Embarrassed, he said, “No, my hair is naturally black.” The girl did not believe him. “Liar! You are hiding it from me.” Mujtaba Ali insisted, “I am telling the truth.” The girl then threatened, “If you don’t tell the truth, I will complain to Miss that you teased me.”

What a predicament! An idea struck Mujtaba Ali. He unbuttoned his shirt and said, “Look, my chest hair is black too. Does anyone dye chest hair?” The girl then believed him. With amazement she exclaimed, “You are very handsome!” and ran off.

3.
When news of the Second World War breaking out came, an old Sikh major asked, “Who is fighting whom?”

“The English and the French against Germany.”

The Sardar sighed, “If the French lose, beauty will vanish from the world; and if Germany loses, bad news, for science and technology will die.” But about the English he was silent.

“And if the English lose?”

Stroking his beard, the Sardar replied, “Then deceit will disappear from the world.”

4.
That eternal question: women of which country are the most beautiful?

It is not irrelevant, so let me recount. I have roamed many lands, and earned a slight bad name as a vagabond. So some ask me which country’s food is best, some ask which university is the most suitable for comparative literature, and most ask which country’s women are the most beautiful.

German girls show much attention and care to foreigners, fall in love even more than French women; but still, to them you will always remain an Ausländer, a foreigner. French women, however, have a different outlook. To them there are only two kinds of people in the world—cultured and uncultured. The distinction between French and foreign never enters their mind.

It cannot be denied that French women are more cultured than women of most countries. They understand music, handle literature, know how to dance, do not get knocked out by wine, avoid unpleasant truths, care little for politics, and are completely free of prejudice about race, colour or nationality. Because of this, one often sees a goddess-like beautiful Frenchwoman proudly and confidently walking about with an ugly African.

Parisian women are indeed beautiful. English women are rather sharp-faced, German women dull, Italian women resemble Indians (so why should they come to Europe?), while the lovers of Balkan women are often quarrelsome (one must save one’s life after all). And there is another reason—the Frenchwoman truly knows how to dress well even with little money. In short, she has taste.

5.
A disciple of a holy man was trying to draw a gentleman into the fold. “Do you know, sir, that by thirty years of meditation Baba has gained the power to walk across a river?” Astonished, the gentleman said, “But one can cross a river by boat for two rupees, why waste thirty years of meditation for that?”

Shahadat Hossain Touhid: Writer and journalist