The Hungry Generation (Bengali: ক্ষুধার্ত প্রজন্ম) was a literary movement in the Bengali language started by a group of four writers known today as the Hungryalist quartet. These writers were Shakti Chattopadhyay, Malay Roy Choudhury, Samir Roychoudhury, and Debi Roy (also known as Haradhon Dhara). The movement began in the 1960s in Kolkata, India. Because of their participation in this new and different cultural movement, the leaders were fired from their jobs and arrested by the current government. They questioned traditional ideas about literature and helped shape the language and style used by artists to express emotions in writing and painting.

The Hungryalists aimed to challenge and change readers' expectations based on old colonial ideas. Pradip Choudhuri, a well-known philosopher and poet from this group, said their work was the first example of freedom of expression in writing and art after colonial rule. Other important writers and artists in the movement included Utpal Kumar Basu, Binoy Majumdar, Sandipan Chattopadhyay, Basudeb Dasgupta, Falguni Roy, Subhash Ghosh, Tridib Mitra, Alo Mitra, Ramananda Chattopadhyay, Anil Karanjai, Karunanidhan Mukhopadhyay, Pradip Choudhuri, Subimal Basak, and Subo Acharya.

Origins

The movement began in schools that taught about Chaucer and Spengler to poor students in India. It officially started in November 1961 from the home of Malay Roy Choudhury and his brother Samir Roychoudhury in Patna. The name "Hungry" came from a line by Geoffrey Chaucer: "In Sowre Hungry Tyme." The movement also used ideas from Oswald Spengler about how cultures change and develop. The movement lasted from 1961 to 1965. It is not correct to say the movement was influenced by the Beat Generation, because Ginsberg did not visit Malay until April 1963, when he arrived in Patna. Poets Octavio Paz and Ernesto Cardenal visited Malay later in the 1960s. The hungry generation shared similar ideas with The Papelipolas and the Barranquilla Group from Colombia, as well as the Spanish Generation of 68.

History

This movement is known for its focus on connecting with nature and sometimes includes ideas from Gandhianism and Proudhonism. It began in Patna, Bihar, and was first centered in Kolkata. However, people involved in the movement were found in North Bengal, Tripura, and Benares. According to Dr. Shankar Bhattacharya, a professor at Assam University, and Aryanil Mukherjee, an editor of the Kaurab Literary Periodical, the movement greatly influenced Allen Ginsberg and American poetry through the Beat poets who traveled to Calcutta, Patna, and Benares during the 1960s and 1970s. Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, who is now a professor and editor, was part of the Hungry Generation movement. Shakti Chattopadhyay, Saileswar Ghosh, and Subhas Ghosh left the movement in 1964.

Over 100 manifestos were released between 1961 and 1965. Malay Roy Choudhury’s poems were published by Prof. P. Lal through his Writers Workshop imprint. Howard McCord published Malay’s controversial poem Prachanda Boidyutik Chhutar (Stark Electric Jesus) from Washington State University in 1965. The poem has been translated into many languages, including German by Carl Weissner, Spanish by Margaret Randall, Urdu by Ameeq Hanfee, Assamese by Manik Dass, Gujarati by Nalin Patel, Hindi by Rajkamal Chaudhary, and English by Howard McCord.

Impact

The works of these participants were published in Citylights Journal 1, 2, and 3, which were released between 1964 and 1966. These journals were edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Their writings also appeared in special issues of American magazines, such as Kulchur (edited by Lita Hornick), Klactoveedsedsteen (edited by Carl Weissner), El Corno Emplunado (edited by Margaret Randall), Evergreen Review (edited by Barney Rosset), Salted Feathers (edited by Dick Bakken), Intrepid (edited by Alan De Loach), and San Francisco Earthquake, all during the 1960s. The Hungry Generation, also called Hungryalism, challenged traditional literary styles. Members of this group wrote poetry and prose using new forms and explored different ideas. This movement changed the way literature was created in Bengal. It also influenced writers in Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, and Urdu.

Hungryalists and Krittibas

There is a wrong belief that the Hungryalists and the Krittibas group were the same, and that the Krittibas magazine was connected to the Hungryalist movement. This is not true. The Krittibas group was active in the 1950s, while the Hungryalist movement began in the 1960s. The Krittibas magazine clearly stated in its editorial that it had no connection to the Hungryalist movement and did not support the movement’s ideas.