Satyajit Ray was not only a film director but also a fantastic author. The fact that he created dynamic characters like Feluda, Professor Shanku, Tarinikhuro among many others, reflect his sheer literary talent.
He wrote many short stories, among which “Bonkubabur Bondhu” claims special attention. The story deals with a simple docile old man Bonku Babu's sudden encounter with an alien. Professionally a teacher at Kankurgachi primary school, Bonku Babu possesses an extremely meek character which lets others rag him on a regular basis. Sripati Majumdar is a lawyer who hosts evening gatherings in his house, and is surrounded by flatterers like Ramkanai, Bhairav Chakraborty, Nidhu Mokhtar and Chandi Babu. Ang, the alien, came to earth by accident that stemmed from problems in his spaceship.
The title of the story "Bonku Babur Bondhu" clearly refers to Banku Babu's friend, but in reality, Banku Babu had no friends. He was simply an object of ridicule for most people around him. Everyone used to exploit his simplicity. The story begins with description of how students torture him in various ways. He never punishes anyone for this behaviour. No one in Banku babu's village has ever seen him angry, no one even knows what he looks like when he gets angry. But what used to bother him more than the behaviour of the students, was the treatment he received at Sripati’s place. Sometimes he did feel angry with them. When they used to hide his umbrella and shoes, he felt actually very disturbed but never managed to gather the courage to protest. One day in the gathering, everyone was talking about rockets, satellites and aliens. People were saying if aliens came to earth, they would only come to western countries. They would never come to this village. Bonku Babu opposed such baseless notions, saying that aliens can land on any part of the world. For this he was once again targeted very harshly by the flatterers of Sripati. When he was returning to home that day, he met Ang-- an encounter which was going to change his life completely. Ang made him realise that softness in one’s character is appreciable but one should not let others take that as a license to insult one. If someone bothers one too much, one should stand up against that. Ang was not a human! But his compassionate behaviour and wise advices truly made him a ‘friend’ of Banku Babu. Through this portrayal of the non-human, Ray shows that it is not necessary that only a human would have to be a friend of a fellow human. Anyone, even an animal or an alien can be a good friend of a human.
Here the story ends with a sudden change in Bonku Babu’s character under the influence of Ang.
The story is an excellent example of how friendship and empathy can spur between a human and a non-human.
- Subhajit Parbat
Kolkata, India
