LIFTOFF!
A BENGALI WRITER DISCOVERS CANADIAN BOOKS
Subrata Kumar Das, holding his recent Bengali book on Canadian literature published in Kolkata, India. Image credit: NILIMA DATTA.
By SUBRATA KUMAR DAS
When I landed in Toronto as a new immigrant in 2013, I didn’t have any idea about Canadian literature. Neither, I have to confess, did I have any interest in the literature of my new country.
Like some other Bangladeshis, I did not come to Canada with the intention to be wealthy. Instead, it was a result of my minority insecurities. Earning a living in the new country was a great challenge. But as I was a man of literature, and I had twenty five books to my credit by then, my love for literature began to emerge after about a year, when I had somewhat settled myself and my family.
We, the literature lovers of Bangladesh, were familiar with a good amount of British literature. The literatures of Russia, France, Germany, Italy and America were somewhat known to us. But Canadian literature was mostly unfamiliar. Even though a huge amount of the literature of Canada is written in English, a second language in Bangladesh, when we arrived in Canada, I knew only a few names like Margaret Atwood, Yann Martel, Rohinton Mistry, etc.
After settling in Toronto, I familiarized myself with the Toronto Public Library system. I visit my home branch at Dawes Road often, but Bengali-language books weren’t readily available and I couldn’t drum up the enthusiasm to explore Canadian literature. I could not find any utility in reading those. Whenever I tried to browse Canadian books, I could not muster the courage to dive in. I would borrow popular titles from the library but in the end I would get frustrated. However, one day, a miracle happened.
My wife returned from her work early that day and requested me to accompany her to the nearby Value Village. She wished to pick up some household items at cheaper prices. As she knew I had very little interest in spending time in family activities, she sweetened the offer by saying that I could buy books.
We reached Value Village on Eglinton and headed in separate directions. She took a cart and started collecting family essentials. I stood before the book shelves with my own cart. After about an hour, when we came out, I had about twenty five books in my hands, all written by Canadian writers. I chose those seeing the seals of the winner or finalist of the Giller Prize, Governor General Literary Award, etc. Afterwards, we took a bus home and I began browsing the books. Instantly, I realized that I was entering a new world.
Reaching home, I placed the books leaning against the walls around our living room. It was like a little kid learning the alphabet. After about four years, my collection of Canadian books crossed three hundred. During 2018, I started writing Bengali pieces on CanLit which took a book form in February 2019 at the book fair in Dhaka.
Five more years have gone by. My Candian collection has now crossed thirteen hundred. I have now become able to make my book on Canadian literature more inclusive and worthy. It has recently been published by Virasat Art Publications, a prestigious publishing house in Kolkata. I am happy to learn that a good number of readers and writers of West Bengal literati have collected the book.
I am now getting ready to submit my manuscript, Canadian Literature: In the Eyes of an Immigrant Writer, to an Ontario publisher.
• Subrata Kumar Das is a Bengali writer based in Toronto. His recent initiative is Canada Journal (c-j.ca).