Manik Bandopadhyay (1908-1956) This short story by Manik Bandyopadhyay is set during the time of the 1943 famine in Bengal. It was a time of abject poverty, destitution, and breakdown of the moral economy of the society. The lack of rice and other staples compelled a father to sell off his daughter to an unknown … Continue reading MANIK BANDYOPADHYAY’S ‘A SPECIMEN’—TRANSLATED BY PRITHA BANERJEE
Category: Literature
Syed Mustafa Siraj’s ‘Bharat Varsha’—Translated by Saukarya Samad
Syed Mustafa Siraj (1930-2012) One of the last sentinels from the golden era of Bengali literature, Syed Mustafa Siraj wrote effortlessly for both children and adults. His sheer versatility enabled him to craft riveting novels like ‘Neel Ghorer Nati’ and conjure the evergreen ornithologist-cum-investigator Colonel Niladri Sarkar. Renowned for his nuanced social commentary and vivid … Continue reading Syed Mustafa Siraj’s ‘Bharat Varsha’—Translated by Saukarya Samad
Yashpal’s ‘The Right to Grief’—Translated by Riya Lohia
Yashpal (1903-1976) was a prolific Hindi writer, who had written short stories, novels, essays, and a play. An active participant of the Indian freedom struggle, he had been jailed by the colonial government for his revolutionary activities. He was a socialist and saw his writing as a means of intervening in a range of social … Continue reading Yashpal’s ‘The Right to Grief’—Translated by Riya Lohia
Agyeya’s ‘The Writer And His Society’—Transcreated by Tushar Srivastava
Sachchidanand Hiranand Vatsyayan, ‘Agyeya’, at his home in Delhi [Image Courtesy: Vatsal Nidhi] Following is an attempt to ‘transcreate’[1] Agyeya’s essay titled ‘Lekhak Aur Uska Samaj’ which is excellently archived in the collections of ‘Vatsal Nidhi Prakashan Mala: Samvitti’ published by ‘Sasta Sahitya Mandal’ — to which I remain very thankful. All meanings of thought, conveyed … Continue reading Agyeya’s ‘The Writer And His Society’—Transcreated by Tushar Srivastava
Strange Bedfellows: Battala Print and the Bengal Renaissance—Suchintan Das
James Baillie Fraser's 'Views of Calcutta and its Environs', Plate 24, Aquatint; 1826 The word ‘Battala’ evokes a range of meanings. Literally, it means ‘under the banyan tree’. Historically, it has been both a metonym of commercial print culture as well as a misnomer for obscene and vulgar vernacular literature in nineteenth century Calcutta. It … Continue reading Strange Bedfellows: Battala Print and the Bengal Renaissance—Suchintan Das
Covid-19: The Next-Door Dystopia—Sujato Datta
Image Courtesy: PTI What should we do when dystopia is here? I pick up the copies of We, Brave New World, and 1984, which just appear to be simplified versions of the reality we live in. Since they are premised on ‘conditions of possibility’,dystopias as a literary category and their construction within a discourse have … Continue reading Covid-19: The Next-Door Dystopia—Sujato Datta
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