James Ramlall, also known as Bhai (26 January 1935 – 19 December 2018), was a
Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
se
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
.
Biography
Bhai was born in the former
district Suriname. After getting his teaching degree, he became a teacher at an
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
in
Harmelen
Harmelen is a town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Woerden, and lies about 6 km east of Woerden.
In 2001, the town of Harmelen had 6557 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 1.11 km², and c ...
,
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. After three years of teaching, he decided to become a student.
First he studied Dutch language and literature, and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
. Later he went on to study Indian philosophy and religion, and wrote his doctoral thesis on "The Problem of Being in Heidegger and Sankara".
When Bhai returned to his native Suriname,
he became Assistant Director of Culture and later Director of Culture of the Surinamese Ministry of Education and Culture, and showed himself very active in the cultural world. He founded the conference center "Caribbean Centre" in
Lelydorp
Lelydorp is the capital city of Wanica District, located in Suriname. With a population of 18,663 (2012), it is the second largest city in Suriname, after Paramaribo.
History
Pad van Wanica
For centuries the Pad van Wanica (path of Wanica) has ...
.
Bhai wrote poetry mainly in
Dutch, but some was in
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, which was published in the magazine ''Soela''. The poetry can be described as philosophical and meditative.
The
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
which used was 'Bhai' meaning brother, and brotherhood is a theme found throughout his poetry.
The Dutch work was bundled into ''Vindu'' (Hindi for: Secret, 1982) from which the concrete-imaging of his earlier poetry completely disappeared. For this bundle, Bhai received the Literature Prize of Suriname 1980-1982.
Since then he turned to poetry, although he sporadically wrote for ''De Ware Tijd Literair''.
In 2003, Bhai received the Gaanman Gazon Matodja Award.
He died on 19 December 2018 at the age of 83.
James Ramlall naar laatste rustplaats
See also
* Surinamese literature Surinamese literature refers to the literature which is considered to belong to both the oral traditions as well as Surinamese written literature. The oral literature is still a vital and authentic expression in Surinamese culture. In turn, the inf ...
References
Sources
* Michiel van Kempen, ''Een geschiedenis van de Surinaamse literatuur''. Breda: De Geus, 2003, deel II, pp. 814–816.
* Michiel van Kempen, ''Surinaamse schrijvers en dichters'' (Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers, 1989).
External links
Bhai at Digital Library for Dutch Literature
(in Dutch)
{{authority control
1935 births
2018 deaths
Hindi-language poets
Surinamese poets
Surinamese Hindus
Surinamese people of Indian descent