Lately I discovered one of my most distinguished ancestors, Dean Mahomed, the First Indian Author in English..
I was impressed by his book of 'letters'......

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My memory looked back into 1971 -- I could barely write English words, and sentences; vocabulary must have been 500 words! I could only recite English, with my 'own' accent, from memorized poems in English. Conversation in English was unheard of in my school!

My memory searched into 1980! I remembered how I entered the den of the Delhi-based Indian bureaucrats, the IIT-IISc, that required nobler upbringing, richer parentage, and better English. By 1980, I could converse, albeit not on all issues, in English. Vocabulary was primarily restricted to technical English (Science and Engineering). I could write only as a high school boy could. Though I had finished some poems in English -- my musings that would compare with another teen-aged girl soon!

My memory betrayed me in 1985. I was not sure if I could have printed my book of ten lectures on Genetics, written in English, and meant for advanced high school students (Cambridge A-level).

My memory betrayed me again in 1987. I was not sure if I could have written a flyer on mathematical models in biology, or a pamphlet on economic aspects of biotechnology, or a novel -- in English language.

My memory is fresh since 1988. I could articulate well, argue, and converse reasonably well --- despite some differences in grammar (primarily appropriate preposition, and tense), the so-called Indish vocabulary, and of course my unique accent! My adaptive ability rationalized these difficiencies as the peculiarities of English usage of  a 'multi-lingual muti-cultural person' ---- in any case average Americans were not far better, except having their own accents.

My memory traced back into 1995 --- I wanted to start a 'multi-" Center -- in religion, language, culture and race. After I studied American literature and films, my writing ability and vocabulary had become what appeared on record, even till date. I could write, speak and argue in English, often extempore.Without a dictionary handy (though I need the voluminous complete sets of the Oxford English dictionary, and its Bengali counterpart, in addition to the standard sized dictionaries in sevral other languages), at times I mispell, and other times I maintian doubts on the finer shade of meanings and usages. My 'progressive mouth' rationalized such deficiencies as the outcome of a person of my breed and accomplishment!

Since 1995 I claimed to author real books in English, of extremely technical and difficult content. In 1980 I could have claimed authorship of Bengali pamphlets on serious academic nature.

How difficult was it to write a book in English, to overcome the linguistic and compositional difficulties, and the cultural inhibition, and then to become successful to earn a living. As it appeared in my case, despite my supirior and lengthy education, being a financially successful author was out of question! Authors still would require regular employers and patrons, and could not depend only on proceeds from sale and royalty.

As my body wreathed in pain, and the heart ached, and the breath sighed, without the sight of a bleeding heart patron of  Hindu or Indian origin who could have possibly lifted my burden of  my back, I looked up the sky  and asked the stars about my predecessors. Who were the first Indian authors in English? How could they pay for their sins? How could they make in roads into a language that came with the rulers with the apparent goals of starving the people popularising  vernacular culture and language?  How could they remain hungry, and had the gut to silently tolerate the churning of the empty gut, and still write something tangible, serious and worthy of fame, and not just the slogans and the agenda of the 'have nots'? Who were my distinguished ancestors, who might not find me insolent, and might even absolve me of charges of taking unnecessary misconstrue d self-serving initiative in   the most inappropriate manner, at the time when I could even pay for food, let alone rent for a room in Chicago? Were my ancestors anti-British or pro-British? Were I anti-British un-American?
 

My memory searched for the role models before me -- the popular ones we know from everyday living. The commonest English books that reached students in my profession during their college years were Saha's books on thermodynamics, Chatterjee's book on human physiology, Dutta's books on botany, and the other Duttas books on chemistry. To the Bengali students, MN Saha remained, for over fifty years, as indispensable as Feynmann's book on physics; The PK Dutta's  chemistry book remained as immortal as Samuel Glasstone's physical chemistry. The other Dutta, AC Dutta, became very famous with work on  his botany, used both as a text and  reference, containing innumerable drawings and other graphic illustrations.

As I struggled hard to teach myself manners and sobriety, I discovered that understanding English textbooks were no easier job than writing my 'musings in English' during the late childhood years. Up until 1975, I could rarely find the English books easy to understand (I tried Saha's book, a junior edition, on thermodynamics; and Joules Verne's novels in English). Only during my advanced high school years that my reading speed and comprehension of science textbooksin English became as good as the books written in my mother-tongue. How hard was it then to become as illustrious a book writer as MN Saha?  

Such questions might not appear easy to ask, as they called for broader knowledge,  personal experience and soul searching; but the answers are even more difficult to come by. Leaving aside the authors we read in high school and college years, my attention lately came to the Indian authors who came to be known as established writers in English otherwise -- for example Raja Rammohan Roy, Swami Vivekananda, MK Gandhi, JL Nehru, and the poets and novelists of the like of RK Narayan and AK Ramachandran.

It was at the end of this tunnel of enquiry, that I discovered Dean Mahomed (alternate spelling Mahomet) as one of the most distinguised ancestor of mine, the first Indian who authored and published in English. Professor Michael H. Fisher took the credit of writing on Dean Mohamed and his work ---- entitled "The Travels of Dean Mahomet" ---- and republished this valuable piece on Indian history as part of his book, the first repring of Mahomed since its original edition in 1794.  I was impressed by Prof. Fisher, whose scholarly enquiry into the colonial past of India satiated my desire and curiosity; dispelled my arrogance; and filled in the gaps in my knowledge.  

The "Travels of Dean Mahomed" described the varied life and travel experiences of the author Dean Mohamed (1759-1851) who worked in the Bengal Army. Dean was born in 1759 in Patna (Bihar) in a family with connections with the Mughal bureaucracy and claiming tradition of service to the Mughal empire. Dean Mahomed joined the East India company's Bengal army in 1769, immigrated in 1784 to the colonial Ireland, married Jane Daly in 1786, further immigrated to London around 1807, and raised the family in  Britain. The long life finally ended in 1851.  Dean was as multi-cultural as I intended to be --- born a Muslim, knowing the Hindus, befriending the protestant and marrying a Catholic. Perhaps only Raja Ram Mohan Roy could match such a unique feat as regards dealing with so many religions. Moreover his business entrepreneurship, first with Hindustanee Coffe House and later with therapeutic bath houses, brought him fame in English coastal town of Brighton. The primary work of such an interesting and enterprising individual could not but be as impressive as we observed now. His book, "The Travels.." was written in the form of 38 letters, depicting the history, culture and geography of his time, as they unfolded into his life, in a contemporaneous manner. 

 

As my social and public memory stretched back to 1794, Dean Mahomed came to my knowledge as an ordinary individual with extra-ordinary permanence. My lineage and breeds  were no where close to the Bhatnagar awardees, nor to Prof. YJ Rao of VTU,  neither to Prof. P Sengupta of the Congress Party! And I was so impressed with my most distinguished public ancestor; I might die so happily. I must be IRISH.

Bangalore,
Jan. 8, 2006.

 

 

 

 

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References:

1."The First Indian Author in English. Dean Mahomed (1759-1851) in India, Ireland and England", by Michael H. Fisher (1996) Oxford University Press (paperbacks). Rs. 195.

The book is on the life and work of Dean Mohamed, with a complete reproduction of the first English book, in the form of 38 letters, written by him.The 368-page book is complete with glossary, index, bibliography and 16 illustrations. The author of this scholarly book was a professor of history at a college  in the USA. The book is available through the British Library networks.

2."Indian Literature in English", by William Walsh (1990)Longman. London.

A thorough and scholarly work, meant for professionals and researchers, with discussion and comparative study of the English writers, of Indian origin, spanning over two hundred years. William Walsh was a Professor at the Univ. of Leeds.
 

3. "An Illustrated History of Indian Literature in English " edited by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra (2003). Pemnanent Black. Rs. 1495.

This 406-page book covering a history of writers sppanning over two hundred years is complete with index, bibliography, and large number of photographs. The essays are written by specialist contributors. Though the price is much higher than other books, the chapters are easy to read, and are well-researched. The book is good for private libraries as desk reference.

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