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Category Archives: Books
Day Three after my father’s passing
“নৈনং ছিন্দন্তি শস্ত্রাণি নৈনং দহতি পাবকঃ ন চৈনং ক্লেদয়ন্ত্যাপো ন শোষয়তি মারুতঃ” ~ গীতা The soul is – That which cannot be severed by sword nor burned by fire That which cannot be dampened by water nor dried by wind. … Continue reading
Posted in A Good Thing, Books, Gita, Mythology, Our history
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Aranyak: Jugal Prasad, the plantsman
I came across an unusual person one afternoon by the banks of the lake known as Saraswati Kundi. I was riding slowly past its edge on my way back from the survey camp one day when I saw a man … Continue reading
Reading Aranyak to my mother
I have been reading Aranyak for my mother while my father dozes intermittently beside her. He does not hear me at all so there is little risk of him waking up. She does not read at night, her cataracts are … Continue reading
Posted in A Good Thing, Bengal, Books, Translated Fiction
Tagged Aranyak, Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyay, Gangotiya, Kunta, Lobtuliya
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বরং/ Borong/ The Alternative: Premendra Mitra
বরং প্রেমেন্দ্র মিত্র কোথায় যাব ভেবেছিলাম হয়নি যাওয়া। বন্ধ ঘরের সার্সি কাঁপায় দমকা হাওয়া। কাঁপাক, তবু ঘরেই আছি। ভাবনাগুলোর পোকা বাছি, জ্বালায় যখন, তাড়াই মাছি, ঠিক জেনেছি, চক্ষু দুটি ঢাকলে পরেই ফুরোয় চাওয়া। শিখেছি তো যেদিকে রোদ সেদিক ঘেঁষেই বাড়তে, … Continue reading
Posted in Bengal, Books, Modern Bengali Poetry, Poetry, Translated Poetry
Tagged বরং, Borong, Premendra Mitra, The alternative
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Rajkahini, Abanindranath Tagore’s tales of the Rajputs
‘When Maldev brought Hambeer to the court where his father and his father’s father had ruled their kingdom from, one cannot begin to describe what was going through Hambeer’s mind. He felt as though all the brave men of the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Bengal, Books, Folk tales, History, Mythology, Our history, Photographs, Tagore, Translated Fiction
Tagged Abanindranath Tagore, Chittore, Hambeer, Rajkahini, rajputs
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Swarnakumari Debi
In the year 1876 the December chill in Calcutta was suddenly stirred by the appearance of an anonymous novel. Its title was ‘Deep Nirbaan’ or the Extinguishing of the Lamp. Its readers were amazed by the maturity of the unknown … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Feminism, Novels, Poetry, Women of substance
Tagged Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Bengali novels, Deep Nirban, Swarnakumari Debi, Tagores
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Robinson gets shipwrecked!
It was on this day in 1659 that Robinson Kreutznaer found himself shipwrecked on an island in the Orinoco delta, thanks to Daniel Defoe’s flair for writing. Defoe drew on several sources such as Alexander Selkirk’s story of being marooned … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Daniel Defoe, Geography, Novels
Tagged Daniel Defoe, Moll Flanders, Robinson Crusoe
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আনন্দমঠ: বঙ্কিমচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায় Anand Math: Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
আনন্দমঠ প্রথম খণ্ড প্রথম পরিচ্ছেদ “১১৭৬ সালে গ্রীষ্মকালে এক দিন পদচিহ্ন গ্রামে রৌদ্রের উত্তাপ বড় প্রবল। গ্রামখানি গৃহময়, কিন্তু লোক দেখি না। বাজারে সারি সারি দোকান, হাটে সারি সারি চালা, পল্লীতে পল্লীতে শত শত মৃন্ময় গৃহ, মধ্যে মধ্যে উচ্চ নীচ … Continue reading
Raikishori, a novel by Suchitra Bhattacharya (January 10, 1950 – May 12, 2015)
“I am Raikishori Mitra. Mitra….or should that be Chaudhury? No, none of the above I am Rai, just Rai…..Raikishori. Don’t let my name fool you into thinking I am some sort of paragon of beauty like Krishna’s lover in Vrindavan. … Continue reading
Before Maya Angelou and the world of Facebook quotes there was Phillis Wheatley (First African-American female writer to be published)
Like many other hopeful female writers, I am convinced that I would have produced more than one masterpiece by now, if only; if only I had an undisturbed four hours a day to put my words down on paper or … Continue reading
Ruma Chakravarti 