Environmental awareness in Aranyak

‘Aranyak’ by  Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay is a keystone in Bangla literature, as well as a pioneering effort in environmental awareness.
Unconditional love and profound affinity for nature of Satyacharan, the novel’s protagonist, makes Aranyak, which means ‘of the forest’, an important work on ecology, demonstrating people’s harsh and senseless treatment of nature.
A semi-biographical novel, it begins with Satyacharan getting a job with the help of a friend and his decision to go to Purnia district in Bihar to distribute 30,000 bighas of forest land as an estate manager.
Satyacharan’s attraction to nature is mixed with his resolute eco-consciousness. Very notably, like modern eco-writers, Bibhutibhushan could understand the importance of nature preservation, and his sensitive mind was against lofty practices back in the 1930s that began to encroach on pristine nature. Like Henry Thoreau’s ‘Walden’, the Bengali writer shows penchant towards an eco-social life-style, too.
Satyacharan’s criticism of urbanites is vindicated when a picnic party comes to the forest. The narrator indicates the myopic view of the urban denizens, who feel out of sorts in the wilderness. He knows well that they don’t have the vision to see the beauty of nature. They also show their total indifference towards the environment, as Satya realises that their sole enjoyment will be to kill some wild rabbits, birds or deer.
Not his assigned duty of clearing the forest to allocate land, but rather, his love for the forest, where he found motherly affection, is central to the novel. So we find that instead of the act of deforestation, Satyacharan shows deep interest in environmental conservation. Along with Jugalprasad, who is an ardent lover of nature, Satyacharan finds it more rewarding to rejuvenate the forest by planting many rare species of herbs and saplings there.
Both Satya and Jugalprasad search for new plants in the Fulkia-Baihar Mountains. They are not just beholders, they are devotees who believe it is their holy duty to save ‘Mother Forest’.
Satyacharan understands that there is something enchanting in the jungle that forces him to stop the act of destruction. The narrator comments: “While coming to destroy this wasteland, I have fallen in love with this impeccable wild heroine.”
To be eco-conscious, we must feel some love for nature as a reservoir of feral grandeur. That happens to Satyacharan_the forest is important to him as it protects the unchanged features of wild civilization. In Aranyak, other characters also think in an eco-sensitive way. Like Manchi, who, while talking to Satya, shows her interest in trees. She tells Satya she has heard that there is no tree left in Kolkata city. And that is true today for many a South Asian city!
Like Tagore’s Bolai, Satya loves the herbs of the forest, too: “If I give thousand bighas of land, most parts of the jungle will be wasted _ how nice is the grove, how many sprouts would cruelly be cut!”
Apart from his love for green land, Satya shows his disdain for killing birds. As the forest is full of birds, he could easily devour them with relish, but on the contrary, he remains a vegetarian. Bibhutibhushan expressed his concern for endangered birds some hundred years back, though it is a fairly new enterprise to save birds. Satyacharan, who is the voice of the author, notably shows this early concern, like modern environmentalists: “Though there was no lack of silli and peacock, but my mind does not allow killing birds, so in spite of having an air gun I was used to vegetables.”
Meanwhile, during Satya’s tenure, many parts of Lobtulia were given to settlers; the new settlers began to clear the forest by cutting and burning many precious trees and levelling high lands. The burning of the beautiful woods for cultivation causes Satya deep anguish. Satyacharan rues the indiscriminate action by people to do such meaningless damage to life-saving nature: “I hear from afar, the guttering sound of the forest burning _ so many beautiful trees and twigs are destroyed. Immensely valuable wealth of the country, which could bring everlasting peace and diversion to the people are gone _ only for a handful of grain, we had to sacrifice it.”
Satyacharan holds himself responsible for the destruction of pristine wilderness, because it happened under his governance. Even his deep love for Bhanumati could not stop him from leaving Baihar, which mesmerized him with its profound majesty. Satyacharan could not anymore stand the ruination of the forest and decides to leave Fulkia-Baihar. His concluding thoughts are clearly ecological: “There will be a time when people won’t find any wilderness – only
cultivable land, jute mills, chimneys of factories would come to view. Then people would come to this calm wilderness, as people come to a shrine. Hope this forest remains intact for those future days.”
As the forest of Lobtulia was disappearing fast, the charm for Satyacharan began to wane. The writer makes a final decision to leave Baihar. He begins his tale of nature seeking forgiveness, and due to the intolerable pangs of his mind, ends it beseeching forgiveness from the devastated Goddess, i.e. Fulkia-Baihar: “You the primordial deity of wilderness, forgive me! Adieu!”

Environmental awareness in Aranyak

Aranyak by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay is a keystone in Bangla literature, as well as a pioneering effort in environmental awareness. Unconditional love and profound affinity for nature of Satyacharan, the novels protagonist, makes Aranyak, which means of the forest, an important work on ecology, demonstrating peoples harsh and senseless treatment of nature. A semi-biographical novel, it begins with Satyacharan getting a job with the help of a friend and his decision to go to Purnia district in Bihar to distribute 30,000 bighas of forest land as an estate manager. Satyacharans attraction to nature is mixed with his resolute eco-consciousness. Very notably, like modern eco-writers, Bibhutibhushan could understand the importance of nature preservation, and his sensitive mind was against lofty practices back in the 1930s that began to encroach on pristine nature. Like Henry Thoreaus Walden, the Bengali writer shows penchant towards an eco-social life-style, too. Satyacharans criticism of urbanites is vindicated when a picnic party comes to the forest. The narrator indicates the myopic view of the urban denizens, who feel out of sorts in the wilderness. He knows well that they dont have the vision to see the beauty of nature. They also show their total indifference towards the environment, as Satya realises that their sole enjoyment will be to kill some wild rabbits, birds or deer. Not his assigned duty of clearing the forest to allocate land, but rather, his love for the forest, where he found motherly affection, is central to the novel. So we find that instead of the act of deforestation, Satyacharan shows deep interest in environmental conservation. Along with Jugalprasad, who is an ardent lover of nature, Satyacharan finds it more rewarding to rejuvenate the forest by planting many rare species of herbs and saplings there. Both Satya and Jugalprasad search for new plants in the Fulkia-Baihar Mountains. They are not just beholders, they are devotees who believe it is their holy duty to save Mother Forest. Satyacharan understands that there is something enchanting in the jungle that forces him to stop the act of destruction. The narrator comments: While coming to destroy this wasteland, I have fallen in love with this impeccable wild heroine. To be eco-conscious, we must feel some love for nature as a reservoir of feral grandeur. That happens to Satyacharan_the forest is important to him as it protects the unchanged features of wild civilization. In Aranyak, other characters also think in an eco-sensitive way. Like Manchi, who, while talking to Satya, shows her interest in trees. She tells Satya she has heard that there is no tree left in Kolkata city. And that is true today for many a South Asian city! Like Tagores Bolai, Satya loves the herbs of the forest, too: If I give thousand bighas of land, most parts of the jungle will be wasted _ how nice is the grove, how many sprouts would cruelly be cut! Apart from his love for green land, Satya shows his disdain for killing birds. As the forest is full of birds, he could easily devour them with relish, but on the contrary, he remains a vegetarian. Bibhutibhushan expressed his concern for endangered birds some hundred years back, though it is a fairly new enterprise to save birds. Satyacharan, who is the voice of the author, notably shows this early concern, like modern environmentalists: Though there was no lack of silli and peacock, but my mind does not allow killing birds, so in spite of having an air gun I was used to vegetables. Meanwhile, during Satyas tenure, many parts of Lobtulia were given to settlers; the new settlers began to clear the forest by cutting and burning many precious trees and levelling high lands. The burning of the beautiful woods for cultivation causes Satya deep anguish. Satyacharan rues the indiscriminate action by people to do such meaningless damage to life-saving nature: I hear from afar, the guttering sound of the forest burning _ so many beautiful trees and twigs are destroyed. Immensely valuable wealth of the country, which could bring everlasting peace and diversion to the people are gone _ only for a handful of grain, we had to sacrifice it. Satyacharan holds himself responsible for the destruction of pristine wilderness, because it happened under his governance. Even his deep love for Bhanumati could not stop him from leaving Baihar, which mesmerized him with its profound majesty. Satyacharan could not anymore stand the ruination of the forest and decides to leave Fulkia-Baihar. His concluding thoughts are clearly ecological: There will be a time when people wont find any wilderness only cultivable land, jute mills, chimneys of factories would come to view. Then people would come to this calm wilderness, as people come to a shrine. Hope this forest remains intact for those future days. As the forest of Lobtulia was disappearing fast, the charm for Satyacharan began to wane. The writer makes a final decision to leave Baihar. He begins his tale of nature seeking forgiveness, and due to the intolerable pangs of his mind, ends it beseeching forgiveness from the devastated Goddess, i.e. Fulkia-Baihar: You the primordial deity of wilderness, forgive me! Adieu!