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Freelancing-An age-old tradition of Bengali Culture
Presently freelancing is being considered a new professional affiliation. Wired Magazine reports that freelancing combined with telecommuting mode of work is going to be the inevitable evolution of work in future likes those of Medieval Guilds. Scott Adams, in his The Dilbert Principle hints that gifted employees would be harder to find in future. Professionals are moving toward the approach of work module that comes with flexibility of time and space where money is not the be-all and end-all of everything. This is also accelerated by increasing job insecurity, restructuring, economic volatility and most important – better and cheaper communication.
Historically, it will not be untrue if we say that all Bengalis for last two hundred years have some freelancing streaks in them. The definition of freelancing is to be understood in a limited sense, i.e. one who leaves a well-protected, safe and secured environment to do something where risk premium is extremely high. Freelancing supports the offshore working facility in present context with total involvement with the assignment as well with commitment. However, whenever a freelancer selects freelancing as his profession, it is not always for money only, or for mere flexibility but to enjoy some more freedom and maneuverity to a better approach for life in general. Strangely, although world may run after this approach now, but freelancing was the niche area of Bengalees since a long time back.
In crisp, freelancing for the sake of a richer, grander and meaningful life was never a new trend in Bengal and will never be old in Bengal because by and large best of the Bengalees preferred intellectual freedom more than monetary satisfaction ever in past and may hope to continue in future. Of course it was not for the mass, only a few could take the credit of leaving a conventional career to plunge into a new situation where they created their own trend. Raja Ram Mohan Roy left his regular job and started his new business once in fine morning. Who knows if all his friends and relatives anticipated obvious doom for him!!!
Sree Chaityana left his promising career as a leading young Professor of Nabadip School of Logic and Scriptural Studies ( something like Harvard Business School now in prestige in India) to become a freelancer of Bhakti. Had he remained as a professor only, he might have been one of those scholars whose name features in obscure footnotes. But his freelance career earned for him the following: being the first true radical revolutionary of Bengal, reconnecting Bengal to the Greater Indic world and in short, putting Bengal again into the Orbit of Civilization itself.
Things turned different with Netaji. He left the ICS career (at that time considered best job in the globe) and chose the nerve-racking political life and ultimately dedicated whole of his life for the sake of our country. Of course they were no way a freelancer but they took the risk of sacrificing a regular no-risk life and took the courage to select their own battlefield. Had he been an ICS officer, who would have remembered him today? There were many ICSs and now IAS (my friend tells – I Am Sorry officer) in Bengal but no Netaji.
Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, grandfather of the best of Tagores so far, left his regular job as a clerk, started his own business, he was the first Bengalee businessman who took business not only as a profession but as a passion for his own entity to be established. This prodigal but irregular genius did something new, without knowing: first banker in the modern sense, owner of Cargo line ( Curr-Tagore Company) and founder of Multi-National Companies.
There are more examples in our Bengali culture where people wanted to live on his own shape to enjoy the freedom of life and to work as per his own design. Who can imagine the disaster that late Satyajit Roy was working for an ad agency as an ad director and was designing an advertisement under the specification of Hindustan lever; or Ritwik Ghatak used to work for a script writing company producing mega serials year after years!
These famous Bengalees never took their profession only to earn money but to create some thing unique, something immortal which could never be delivered within a stipulated frame under some commercial specification. They were freelancers not in the sense that they worked on their own because they preferred to work on their own style, own plan and enjoyed the entire process of creation.
Nirod C Choudhury who could write English better than an Englishman took his own way and own shape of profession to lead a life of his own. He was having a cushy job as a clerk in Military Accounts Department and left the job without any job related issues. Actually he was promoted few months back he left his job. He narrated this issue – এত ভালো চাকরী ছেড়ে দেওয়া colourfully in his autobiographical writings in English and Bengali. He wrote not for money but for the sake of pleasure in creating something and to share his belief with others that is why reading his writings provide such pure joy and sumptuous taste of rare delicacies.
So when a to be freelancer throws off nine to five sort of jobs, it is not for mere unprofessional creed for a stress-free life, or a romantic dream (although this emotion is no less important ) but for a better professional ethics that is true to professional as well as true passion for his way to lead life in general. Most of them followed the Socratic precept that An unexamined Life is not worth living. When a professional knows and he is confident of his talent then only he dares to expand his search anywhere in earth; he does no more require any bondage or any fixation of regular type of job. Freelancing came out probably from the concept of free living from the burden of workload and from the monotony of conventional life style. We all feel this time and again and very few kindred and rare souls found the anguish to much to bear.
Today’s freelancers are not free birds only, they are flying to reach at the summit of their passion for creation, not for mere passing time, earning money, but for utilization of talent, potential, and passion for success; in language of Tennyson, “to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield” till the end of life.
All successful and meaningful freelancers of all varieties are ethereal minstrels in one way and pilgrims of the freespace. But throughout their flight, they remained true to remain connected with people at large – True to the kindred points of heaven and home.
The piece is very ambitious in its scope and Contributor and Freelancer herself, Swagata Nandy’s work was edited by Pentasect Editorial Team. She can be contacted at swagata.nandy@gmail.com. This is her second piece for Pentasect and the earlier one appeared in Pentasect September issue.