Sahela Re by Mrinal Pande

Author:Mrinal Pande
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: null
Publisher: Harper Perennial India
Published: 2023-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Kolkata

Dear Vidya,

When you asked me to write whatever I could about my childhood memories related to music and musicians, I did not realize, as I agreed, how hard writing, especially about one’s own experiences, can be. Where do you draw the line?

It is often said that one should always write the honest truth. But can one withstand facing the bitter truth about one’s own life first? Ever since I was a child, I have known that people appreciate honest writing only up to the point it reveals dark truths about those they dislike. The moment the light falls on their own lives, even if they have been flaunting their relationship with the writer in the outside world, they are quick to point out that the writer is dead wrong. They say the writer has taken liberties and created some imaginary characters very different from the actual members of the family.

Anyway! I am sure, being a writer, you must have already been through all this. Despite that you’ve chosen to keep writing, and I must congratulate you for your bravery. I don’t need to tell you what I now realize: there is no judge more unforgiving and stern than the truth emanating out of a writer’s pen.

Sukumar Chacha is known to keep his word, and as per his promise, he will get all the stuff sent to you soon enough. How can my humble piece compare to his rare treasures? But I feel strangely relieved after having written it all down. Of course, I jostled with many old memories to write honestly about what I recollect of my big family and the stories about its real but often complicated relationships with the world of music.

But then I thought I owe it to the world. These simple tales of human love and hate, passion and malice, might add a few unknown intimate details to the work of great scholars.

Compared to you, I am a bit of a coward. So if possible, please use these stories cautiously, and it might be a good idea also to keep my name out of the introduction and acknowledgements.

Many apologies for my terrible handwriting. I still prefer to write letters in long hand. I have not been able to familiarize myself with the blasted computer despite it sitting in the house for so many years. Whenever Radha Dada comes visiting, he brings along several expensive apps and tries to convince me to use the internet by showing me how it can be used in many different languages. But when I actually sat down to write, I could only do it with my husband’s favourite pen. I could gather the courage to put down those hidden histories only after picking up this familiar pen.

I am neither an academic with a scientific mind like my husband’s, nor a creative writer like you. I was good at studies, but like many women my age, my life after marriage revolved around familial responsibilities with my husband at the centre of it all.

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