In memoriam - Manoj Das

On April 27th, the eminent Odia and English litterateur and former Sri Aurobindo Ashram trustee, Shri Manoj Das, passed away in the Ashram nursing home from terminal cancer and age-related ailments. He was 87. Manoj Das had been the recipient of many literary and philosophical awards, amongst which the highest civilian awards of India, the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was among the many who condoled his death.

Manoj Das was not only well-known for his ‘magical and impactful writings’ in Odia and English but also for being an exponent of Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy. He joined the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1963, teaching English literature and the philosophy of Sri Aurobindo at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. Most of his creative writings in Odia and English – appreciated for their style, coinage of words and choice of subjects – were penned in Puducherry and some of his books were translated into several major languages of India. His writings were mainly about human suffering in the villages of Odisha – of which he himself had had his full share – but he layered them with such fantasy and satire that it left an indelible impression on the minds of readers. As Ashutosh Kumar Thakur wrote, “His short stories, novels, essays and poems presented a perfect combination of social realism and understanding of human psyche. He was the author who never knew that writing was an activity that was special. For him it was as natural as speaking or humming a tune.”

It was as a member of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram that Manoj participated in Auroville’s founding ceremony on February 28th, 1968. It was, he wrote, “The day the heavens kissed our earth.”

“I do not remember when and from whom I heard about the idea of Auroville, but it appeared to me natural, almost inevitable, in the context of The Mother’s Dream of a place where people could lead a life according to the dictates of the highest and also her warning that it had become imperative for men, countries and continents to choose between Truth or the Abyss.” He was charged with arranging for the news coverage of the event. Helped “by a young and energetic government employee, Shri Varadharajan who joined Auroville afterwards”, he met with the editors or the management of all the newspapers, English and Tamil, as well as the All India Radio, in Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. “Some of the journalists felt inspired at the prospect of covering an event that was off the beaten track,” he wrote, “but others were a bit skeptical”. On February 28th, 1968, he received the journalists on site. The foundation ceremony, he wrote, was momentous. “It was as if a chunk of some celestial world had descended on our tired earth and had unexpectedly transformed its mood into that of a grand expectation and assurance. Thousands of people from the nearby areas had collected, apart from hundreds who had arrived from different parts of India and abroad. A pregnant silence prevailed well before The Mother’s voice was to enliven the atmosphere in a live broadcast from her room in the Ashram. Throughout the event not a leaf stirred. Sunil’s serene music and the mantric words uttered by those entrusted with the task by The Mother, enhanced the magic of that hitherto unknown silence – a silence that could cast a spell over multitudes.”

Manoj once wrote an article for Auroville Today about how to introduce Sri Aurobindo to those with no background in Yoga or spirituality. “Alas, billions in the world have no interest in Yoga and spirituality. They are absorbed in seeking happiness in their own ways, probably in the wrong ways for the most part, as we may feel. Yet we may feel that there are many among them who are truly seeking the way – the true way that would make them satisfied in life – the way to truth, if I may so put it, and out of our goodwill for them we may feel the urge to share with them the truth we have been fortunate to find – Sri Aurobindo’s vision of the future of man, his assurance that despite the complex crisis through which humanity is passing today, there is the certainty of a different tomorrow, a transformed humanity in terms of evolution … For me, this alone could be the motivating force behind any urge to introduce Sri Aurobindo to others. … The explorers of the invisible realms of consciousness – we call them the mystics – alone are responsible for the rapid enlightenment of individuals who follow their clue, or the slow growth of the collectivity that has come a long way from the primeval chaos to forming a United Nations or participating in an experiment like Auroville.”

Yet, what he will probably be best remembered for are not his outstanding achievements, or is knowledge of the teachings of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, but for his humility 

and modesty. “I am myself looking for answers to my questions since my childhood. How on earth can I answer your questions?” Das once replied to an enquiring journalist. 

“He had one of those rare combinations of ‘head’ and ‘heart,’ despite all the praise and awards showered on him,” recalls Bindu Mohanty. “His wife used to tease him that the praise feeds his ego, but if it did, it never showed in the kindness and deep respect with which he treated all – big or small, young or old. And thus as a shy teenager, when I met him at my parents’ house, in a quiet moment when the noisy adults had left the room, he turned to me gravely and asked in Odiya “do you write?” I silently offered to him my journal of poetic scribblings, which no one else other than me had ever read. He took it back to his room, and then the next day came up to me and said that he was delighted to have discovered a poet in his visit, and that he was glad that his intuition about me proved to be correct. He selected two poems and later published one in the magazine, Heritage, and sent me my first-ever cheque of Rs. 50! It is so rare when someone is able to fathom your soul’s deepest urge and reflect it back to you. And I am sure he must have played that deep mentoring role for so many other young people that he tutored at Knowledge in the Ashram school. Since that day, as he treated me as an equal, I had a relationship with him and had the occasion to ask him deep philosophical questions.” 

Sanjeev Agarwal too recalled Manoj’s strong influence on his life. “He has helped to shape who I am. I met him during a series of lectures given by him and organised by the Centre of Indian Culture at Bharat Nivas. The theme of the lectures was the role of stories in the culture of India and particularly in the education of the people of India. … The way he told these stories revealed his mastery of the art of storytelling. He had the ability to wrap the attention of his listeners in the story he was telling and carry this attention towards whichever emotion he was trying to evoke through the story-suspense. I can still recall, after twenty or more years, his narration of these stories as if I was hearing them now.” It led Sanjeev to telling stories to the children of Udavi School in the morning assembly – a serialized version of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharat and of various other stories – for about 15 minutes each day, and he also initiated a programme of publishing illustrated stories for children by SAIIER.

“Manoj Das’ passing has not only created a void in the world of literature, but also a void in our world of aspiring yogis,” writes Bindu. “His was a nobility of soul, unsullied by the accolades that were showered upon him.”