9.10. Summary of the Ranjan (1927)

The Ranjan is a poetical composition of Chandradhar Barua (1874-1961), an eminent litterateur of Assam. He is not only a well-known poet but also a dramatist and a lyricist of Assam. Barua was selected as the second president of Asom Sāhitya Sabhā held in 1918 at Goalpara district. The name of Chandradhar Barua is also notable in the history of Assamese satirical literature. In reality, the poetical composition Ranjan established Barua as a satirist.

The work is a collection of thirty three poems. Some poems of the Ranjan were published in the magazines like Jonāki (1889-1901), Bāhī (1909-33) and Ālocanī (1910-17). In the work, the poet exposes the hypocrisy of the people, false vanity, hypocrisy of the religious person, inferiority complex of the people for own mother tongue, the fool people who pose to be a scholar and also exposes a section of so called educated people of contemporary society who imitated Western Culture. In the work, Barua bitterly criticizes the frailties of the contemporary society with the help of satire.

In the poem Dhirenpanthī Dhiren satire is directed against Dhiren who supports the British rule and gives advices to them going against the Swadeshi movement.

The poems like Mai Śikṣit Dekā, Jarur Sāhāb Hom etc. satirizes adoption of Western Culture by a section of Assamese people and their disrespect for existing values.

In the poem Hathāt Patriot, the poet satirizes the egoistic power crazy man, who beliefs that they are knower of everything and their words are sacred.

In the poem Dāṅgar Howāto Bhul, the poet depicts the character of Padum who completes graduation and thinks himself to be a scholar. The poet satirizes Padum who out of vanity and pride never works and lives on the income of others. The remark of Padum that the whole society is fool and therefore it is a great mistake to be a great man in such a society makes him object of satire.^[1]

In the poem Asamīyā Saṃkīrṇa Manar, the poet satirizes a section of people for whom Assam is a narrow place in every respect. There are also some other poems where religious orthodoxy is ridiculed by the poet.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

padume sehat khātāng bujile
samāj khanei fool /
ene samājat jarur jarur
dāṅgar howāto bhul// Barua, Chandadhar, Ranjan, p.8