Freedom, Voice of Youth, 5 Bengali Books & 6 Songs

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I can't be serious for long, so when we think about Freedom,  I am not going to lecture on what we have yet to achieve, what can be improved, and what we can do to improve the state of our nation. I am not in any position to share my opinion, but as a common citizen of a democracy, I can highlight how a nation's entire system gets questioned when one of the strongest forces, the future of our tomorrow, the youth, stands united. We saw that recently and now and again. Every revolution starts with the youth. This 79th Independence Day, this is my humble tribute to the power of youth and their voice. 

The first event that comes to our mind when we think about Freedom is our Freedom Movement, that of independence, which we enjoy today, after years spent under foreign rule. A major chunk of the freedom movement was made up of the youth of those times. Students, common citizens, even farmers- all constituted a majority of young fighters. They were bold, courageous, and passionate, with only one motto: a free nation where every citizen could live free. They were desperate. purpose-oriented and ready to go to any heights to earn Freedom. 

As I already said, this is not going to be a lecture schedule; I will write about a few books and songs from Bengal that have shed light on the power of youth and their voices.

List of Books: 

1. Ananda Math by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay: This was the first book that I had read, based on the Freedom Movement. The language was not easy for me at that time. But still, with the aid of Chalantika (a Bengali-to-Bengali dictionary), I read most of Bankim Chandra's novels. This book mentions students and young people involved in the freedom movement. A novel that gave us Vande Mataram- need I say more?


2. Gora by Rabindranath Tagore: I have not read this masterpiece, but I am aware of the story. My target is to read this book soon. Gora, a staunch Hindu with differences of views and opinion with his liberal friend, is a young man who is weighed down by his own prejudices. A huge revelation changes his entire view, and finally, he accepts that society cannot function with a primitive mindset.

3. Pather Dabi by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay: A very interesting portion of this book was included in our Bengali Text Book. I read the novel after that. Pather Dabi is a group of revolutionaries, headed by Sabyasachi, whose main motto was to free the nation and its people.

4. Sei Somoi by Sunil Gangopadhyay: Sei Somoi is a historical novel with reference to many real personalities, including the youth of that time, with revolutionary ideologies and expressions. The two-part book continues to be a bestseller, still today.

5. Krishnasindhuki by Debarati Mukhopadhyay: One of the most engaging reads I have read in the last couple of years, this book is about young freedom fighters deported to the Cellular Jail. I have reviewed the book in detail here.

With youth and Freedom, a few Bengali songs come to mind, such as Tagore's "Badh Bhenge Dao" 

 

 and Nazrul Islam's "Karar ei Louho Kopat."

 

"Muktiro eMondiro Sopnao Tole" by Mohini Choudhury



"Bolo Bolo Bolo Sobe" by Atul Prasad Sen

 

"Dhana Dhanya Pushpe Bhora" by D. L. Roy

 

" O Amar Deser Mati" by Tagore again

 

 This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop

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