The rich but forgotten history of Bangla primer to press
Letterpress is gone. Yet through endeavours such as this exhibition, artistes construct a bridge to the past, ensuring that the legacy of letterpress and its role in shaping our collective understanding endure for generations to come
The first thing you notice upon entering the gallery of Alliance Française de Dhaka - where an exhibition 'Primer to Press' by acclaimed artiste and researcher Sabyasachi Hazra is going on - is a big, black letterpress machine.
At its helm is a man in his early fifties. He mostly sits idle on a stool, but sometimes goes to print either the cover or an inner page of a primer—a small book designed to teach children to read—to the amazement of everyone present.
Initially, he engraves letters on a metal plate and pours ink onto its surface. Then, he feeds sheets of paper into the press one at a time. As the paper takes position, the plate makes contact with it, and the ink is transferred onto the paper through the application of pressure. After that, he sets aside the printed sheets to dry, before handing it over to one of the enthusiastic audiences.
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Needless to say, none of the attendees has ever witnessed anything like this before. Both the days of using letterpress printing machines and the tradition of reading traditional primers are long past their prime.
This man at the centre of everyone's attention is Halim Hossain, recognised as the last remaining bearer of the letterpress printing legacy in Dhaka.
Originally born and brought up in Manikganj, he came to the capital in 1989 when he was around 17. Wandering around the alleys of Old Dhaka, he came across thousands of letterpresses and became very intrigued. He started his journey as a "machine man" working in Tomuddin LetterPress in Lalbagh.
He would dedicate 10-12 hours a day to his work, printing not only books but also polythene, cigarette labels and more. His salary at the time amounted to around Tk800, significantly less than the owner's monthly revenue of approximately Tk30,000.
In 1996, he founded his own press named Ekota LetterPress, buying a letterpress machine made in the USA for Tk70,000 to kickstart his venture. Initially set up in Lalbagh, the press later shifted to Hatirpool, before eventually finding its current home in Nilkhet seven years ago.
There are no other employees in his press besides himself. Currently, he works approximately five to six hours a day in his press, which is no wider than a mere five feet. His primary clients are banks, who approach him to print security code numbers on cheque books "because of the font aesthetics."
The usage of letterpresses in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country began dwindling from the early 2000s. And now there is no other active letterpress in the capital to his - or Sabyasachi's - knowledge.
"But my passion for letterpress was so strong that I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye to it," said Halim. The letterpress machine he currently employs was imported from China.
In addition to the letterpress printing machine, the exhibition which will run till 18 May also features wooden blocks of letters, lithographs, and metal blocks.
The intention behind displaying these items is to "ignite curiosity among the audience, particularly the younger generation, about the evolution of press," according to Sabyasachi, who graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka.
Through his research, Sabyasachi also wanted to demonstrate how primers were initially printed using wooden blocks and evolved over time to incorporate letterpress printing techniques.
Framed colourful cover pages, illustrations, and posters of early Bangla primers from 1849 to 1948 adorn the walls of the gallery. These include works such as 'Shishu Shiksha' by Madanmohan Tarkalankar, 'Barnaparichay' by Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, 'Barnaparichay' by Ram Sundar Basak, 'Adarsha Lipi' by Sitanath Basak, 'Hashi Khushi' by Jogindranath Sarkar, 'Chitrakshar' by Abanindranath Tagore, 'Sahaj Path' by Rabindranath Tagore, and 'Hate Khori' by Bimal Chandra Ghosh.
These eight primers, each showcasing diverse artistic styles utilised by different creators, have also been featured in his book "Bornomala: Bangla Alphabet Book Collection," also launched at the exhibition.
In doing so, Hazra has successfully constructed a bridge between early printing machines and primers, effectively illustrating the hundred-year journey of Bangla primers from 1849 to 1948.
"The Bangali masses learnt the alphabet, language, and more through reading these books. I've also endeavoured to showcase the techniques, artistic efforts, and hard work required to print these primers," expressed Hazra.
He revealed that while he had always been personally very curious about alphabets and had aspired to compile a collection of early primers as part of his projects related to alphabets, his interest in undertaking this project grew even stronger when he came across the West Bengal Bangla Academy publication 'Bangla Primer Songroho (1816-1855),' edited by Ashish Khastagir.
As stated in Khastagir's book, the journey of Bangla primers began in 1816 with the publication of the first twelve-page Bengali alphabet education book, 'Lipidhara,' by the Srirampur Missionaries. Following this, Bangla's first alphabet learning book, 'Shobdodhara,' authored by Ishwar Chandra Bosu, was written in 1835. Subsequently, 'Shishu Sebdhi' was printed in three volumes in 1840, aiming to facilitate alphabet education progression, step by step.
Initially, primers were formulated as textbooks tailored for specific school curricula. A revolutionary change occurred during this phase with Madanamohan Tarkalanka's 'Shishu Shiksha' series, which was written during the establishment of the Calcutta Female School.
Notably, Madan Mohan was among the first 16 Bangalis to send their daughters to school. Simultaneously, he served as an unpaid teacher and took the initiative to write textbooks for female students.
'Shishu Shiksha' gained immense popularity, with the poem 'Pakhi sab kare rob…' remaining widely loved even today. Then, a new era of Bangla primer emerged with Ishwarchantra Bidyasagar's 'Barnaparichay' in 1855, which was written in prose style.
While 'Shishu Shiksha' is a primer based on poetic writing style, 'Barnaparichay' is a primer of prose. The success of these two primers shaped the trajectory of Bangla primers for the next one and a half centuries, and these two books remain relevant even today.
Dhaka also boasts a rich history with primers and printing machines, dating back to June 1877, when Ramsundar Basak's 'Balyashiksha' was first published in the city. After 1893, the printing of 'Shishu Shiksha' also commenced in Dhaka. Various printing presses such as East Bengal Press, Raghunath Press, Narayan Press, and Gopinath Press all took turns in printing 'Shishu Shiksha'.
Sitanath Basak's 'Adarsha Lipi' too was initially published in East Bengal, and owing to its immense popularity, it gained widespread recognition in West Bengal and other regions as well.
But of course, these are just some forgotten chapters of history now. Only the research efforts of someone like Sabyasachi Hazra, coupled with the dedication of the likes of Halim Hossain, can preserve the rich history of primer to press for future generations.
