To Combat AI, Bengali Writers Emphasise Authentic Literature

Explore authentic Bengali literature at Abokash Bangla Sahitya O Sanskriti Kendra, fostering creativity and resisting AI influence. Join us in promoting Bengali creativity!

on Dec 21, 2023

To Combat AI, Bengali Writers Emphasise Authentic Literature

At the unveiling of a cultural hub in a West Bengal town, the importance of fostering authentic literature and art to fight the onslaught of Artificial Intelligence (AI) was emphasised.

"While humans struggle to find the right word to describe a situation," says Madhumita Acharya, a professor at St Xavier's College, Autonomous Raghabpur Campus. Acharya voiced concern that artificial intelligence (AI) might soon infiltrate the literary world.

She was addressing during the launch of Abokash (leisure) Bangla Sahitya O Sanskriti Kendra and its Bengali journal "Anuprash" (alliteration).

The programme on December 17 was held at the home of the headmistress of St Paul's Higher Secondary School in Raghabur, about 25 kilometres south of Kolkata, the state capital.

To tackle the AI issue, Acharya emphasised the importance of cultivating a culture of literature and arts, as well as nurturing original and innovative thinkers who reject the copy-paste culture.

The principal guest, Father Francis Sunil Rosario, commended Sadhana Karali, the school headmistress and the driving force behind the programme, for her pioneering efforts to promote and foster literary talents in and around Raghabpur. The secretary of the Commission for Dialogue and Ecumenism and Migrants under the eastern region of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, the Archdiocese of Calcutta's priest, noted that promoting authentic Bengali literature was "quite an arduous task," especially given Bengalis' desire for English-medium education.

He advised Karali not to be discouraged by such challenges and pledged his support for her mission.

Suranjan Midday of Rabindra Bharati University, well-known writer Swapan Mukhopadhyay, Isidore Gomes, a microbiologist from Bangladesh, and Father Kanauj Roy, vicar general of Baruipur, were also there.

Karali gave her apartment to aspiring literary geniuses in order to help them discover their latent creative abilities. She suggested they may use her reference collection, which includes works by Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Swami Vivekenanda.

She asked the crowd to donate good books for her library, which would assist Bengali literature fans. She emphasised that Bengalis must first master their home tongue before learning other languages.

Karali and her team would partner with the Jesuits of St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, and its Raghabpur Campus, which opened in 2014 and uses Bengali as the medium of instruction.

Gomes from Bangladesh acknowledged his delight at being in the company of so many Bengali literature enthusiasts.