Farmer with a crop of books

He doesn’t know how to write, only knows how to read. He just gets lost in books of literature, philosophy, history, science and anthropology. He’s a singer and an artist too. He can also compose songs but has no way of preserving these in writing.

Apart from his habit of reading and singing, he is a farmer by profession. His name is Satyendranath Pramanik, 57. He lives in Mariya village in Tanore upazila of Rajshahi.  

Satyendranath’s father’s name was Upendranath Pramanik, who at one point had moved out of his extended family. Forced by financial crisis, he employed his elder son Satyendranath in agriculture. He didn’t have the chance to receive formal education in school. However, his mother Gita Rani had studied up to class five and taught him to the letters in the alphabet.

Satyendranath still remembers that when he was a child one of his neighbours named Erfan who was a teacher had taken him to school one day. He had asked Satyendranath to read out the vowels and the consonants. He had read the letters his mother had already taught him in a breath that day.

The teacher was very pleased to see him read like that but that was the end of it. He never had the chance to go to school ever again. Though he didn’t go to school again, Satyendranath didn’t stop reading.

Satyendranath was located in the Nabanno Utsab (festival of harvest) at Madarpur Bazar in Tanore upazila on the evening of 20 December. He lives in Mariya village in the neighbourhood. When this correspondent requested wanted to visit his home, he took him to his brother’s house. When the correspondent insisted on going to Satyendranath’s own house he politely said, “I don’t have a place to seat you at my home.”  

This correspondent at that time was accompanied by three other distinguished people. When he actually reached Satyendranath’s home he saw that the man wasn’t lying. The house he lived in was in dilapidated state. It was a tiny shed with mud walls, chunks of mud missing here and there.

We had to crouch to enter his reading room. He just finished reading ‘Bangalir Darshan: Prachinkal Theke Shomokal’ by Dr Aminul Islam. Before that he read ‘Koto Nodi Shorobor’ and ‘Bangla Bhashar Jiboni’ by Humayun Azad, ‘Manusher Thikana’ by Amal Das Gupta, ‘Parossho Protibha’ by Mohammad Barkatullah among others.

Though he doesn’t have a proper bed to sleep in, he has a shelf to keep his books. His shelf had books like ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens, ‘Boidik Shankalan’ by Dherendronath Tarafdar, ‘Mohabishow’ by Humayun Azad and ‘Shesher Kobita’ by Rabindranath Tagore.

When asked how he formed this habit of reading, Satyendranath said, “I had a knack for reading since childhood. At the age of 15 or 16 I started reading novels of Falguni Mukhopadhyay, Nihar Ranjan, Bankim and Sarat Chandra. I didn’t have any money at that time. A man named Sohrab Ali from neighbouring Jamshedpur village used to supply me with books.”

“Most of the books I read were actually borrowed from others. To earn a livelihood I performed Kirtan (religious songs) roaming all over the country. Every time I found a library at the railway station on my way back, I used to buy a book. Even now, whenever I find a book that interests me I’ll buy that book anyhow,” he continued.

Satyendranath evidently has an exceptional interest towards books. That’s exactly why he was also featured in an article on reading books titled ‘Shadharoner Oshadharon Pora’ in the January 2024 issue of Kolkata-based periodical, ‘Bangalir Boi Pora’.

While visiting Satyendranath’s home that day, this correspondent was accompanied by poet Moin Sheikh, professor at the folklore department of Rajshahi University Uday Shankar Biswas and deputy director of Rajshahi Higher Secondary Teachers Training Institute professor Abdus Sabur. And it turned into a lively conversation.

Satyendranath was saying, “Novels don’t interest me that much any longer. My mind is drawn more towards books of anthropology, science, philosophy, history and research now. I liked the books of Amal Dasgupta a lot.” We listened to him while glancing at him, his home and his books in amazement. Meanwhile, his wife Rina Pramanik was observing us with a smile on her face.

There wasn’t much space inside the room still he managed to carefully squeeze in his harmonium there. He sang Rabindra Sangeet (Tagore songs), Nazrul Geeti and Kirtan for us. He doesn’t have paints and brushes, but sketches with a pencil. He has excellent strokes.

We were even more amazed to listen to his wife Rina Pramanik. She has no complaint against her ‘bohemian’ husband. They don’t own any land except for their homestead. Her husband cultivates other people’s land as a tenant farmer. They somehow manage their household with that earning. But, at the end of the day they live as a happy couple.

Their son Sanjay Kumar Pramanik recently joined Dhaka Power Distribution Company after graduating from BUET while their daughter Nipa Pramanik just graduated from the English Department of Rajshahi University.

None of their two children were at home that day. While speaking over the phone Sanjay Pramanik said, “Since childhood, we grew up seeing our father nurturing this habit of reading. My father is a solitary man and has chosen books as his companion. I didn’t realise it back then but now I see that my father’s habit of reading has silently crept up in me as well.”   

Satyendranath commented, “My children understood me and that’s why I was able to help them reach this far.”  

The man has no complaints in his life. As he made a sacrifice in his childhood, both of his brothers have become teachers now. They have built a stable life for them and Satyendranath is really happy for them.

He has just one regret. When he stumbles upon the idea of a song in his mind, he can sing it but cannot write it down. The only thing missing from his life is the ability to write. He finds it difficult to learn the skill at his stage of his life.

* The report, originally published in the print edition of Prothom Alo, has been rewritten in English by Nourin Ahmed Monisha