Ten Days of Strike by Sandipan Chattopadhyay | Translated by Arunava Sinha |

Title: Ten Days of Strike
Author: Sandipan Chattopadhyay
Translator: Arunava Sinha
Publisher: ‎ Harper Perennial India (2024)
Paperback‏: ‎ 344 pages
ISBN‏: ‎ 978-9362138224
Buy: Amazon 

“Vanish? What was that? To make something vanish was to hide it. Like making a corpse vanish. Or stolen goods. What was it that was to be made to vanish here?”

Sandipan Chattopadhyay (1933–2005), was one of the pioneers of modern Bengali literature, and among the foremost fiction writers of his time. He challenged norms and supported creative freedom, addressing class, gender, and the absurdity of life.

In the title story, Ten Days of the Strike, a middle-class family's struggle with a blocked commode serves as a powerful metaphor for social decay, intertwining the narrative with the Naxalite movement. Similarly, With Ruby in Diamond Harbour delves into the complexities of relationships, highlighting the protagonist’s discomfort in navigating love outside of marriage in a conventional society.

"Calcutta hotels ask you to disclose your identity. What is the relationship between you? If I were to say, she feels the pain when I’m hurt—the other day I stubbed my toe on a brick on the road, it wasn’t I but she who exclaimed, ‘Ooh’—so that’s our relationship, that won’t do. But no questions are asked if I were to take my wife, whom I haven’t remembered to kiss in the past four years, anywhere."

The Last Metro portrays a husband who knows about his wife's affair. He anticipates her announcement of a new relationship. His feelings of resignation and dread grow as he imagines receiving a wedding invitation instead of a face-to-face conversation. This story ends with an unsettling atmosphere. ‘It’s never a problem when things are obvious, trouble crops up when they aren’t obvious.’   

In Bijon’s Flesh and Blood, the protagonist’s morning ritual of checking himself in the mirror reveals his serious illness. The author's fresh metaphors, like “awareness enveloped his breast like the dazzling afternoon light following the rain,” enhance the emotional depth.

Chattopadhyay opens some stories with striking lines, such as in The Revolution and Rajmohan, where the protagonist considers suicide but hasn’t found a revolver. This artful initiation draws readers in immediately.

Each story evokes deep emotions, except Banabehari and I and Meerabai. I struggled to connect with these characters. And, the most powerful story, Slave Man, Slave Woman, captures a haunting moment with a woman wrapped in a white shawl. The prose is rich and evocative, exploring profound observations about human connection.

Chattopadhyay’s stories stand out for their originality and diverse narratives. Arunava Sinha’s translation from Bengali deserves praise, for bridging languages and cultures.

An original voice of Indian literature. A worth-read.

 

About the Author:

Sandipan Chattopadhyay was one of the pioneers of the Hungryalist movement. His first collection of short stories, Kritadas Kritadasi (1961), is credited with changing the landscape of Bengali fiction and was immensely influential in other Indian languages as well. He was awarded the 1995 Bankim Puraskar and the 2002 Sahitya Academy Award for his work.

 

About the Translator: 

Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction, non-fiction and poetry from India and Bangladesh into English. More than eighty of his translations have been published so far across various countries, including India, UK, USA and Australia. He teaches translation and creative writing at Ashoka University in India, and is co-director, Ashoka Centre for Translation.

 

 

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Chronicles of The Lost Daughters by Debarati Mukhopadhyay | Book Review

 

Title: Chronicles of The Lost Daughters
Author: Debarati Mukhopadhyay
Translator: Arunava Sinha
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 336
Buy Online: Amazon

 

‘...do you know what it will mean if we don’t get boys for our daughters? Do you realize the kind of trouble there will be if Awpala isn’t married before she’s twelve?’

Debarati Mukhopadhyay’s Chronicles of the Lost Daughters is an enthralling historical fiction, translated by Arunava Sinha, Centered around the state of women of nineteenth-century Bengal. It is originally published in the Bengali, title is ‘Naraach’ that simply means – Weapon.

The story begins with Krishnoshundor Chattopadhyay, a penniless brahmin, is trapped into an offer of decent job. He grabs this as an only escape for his sister, Bhubonmani – who has been faced a hellish journey. She endured a child marriage, widowhood and sexual assault – that too, at the age of sixteen. The so-called learned man of society grabbed this opportunity to fulfil their malicious desires, and they declared shamelessly ‘A raped woman must of course perform strict penance. In this case the rapists are from another religion, which means that even if she herself is a brahmoni, the act has made a mleccha out of her. She will be restored to her own people if a high-born brahmon is willing to accept her services for two fortnights.’

Her brother, Krishnoshundor was too innocent to decipher these words at first, and when things got cleared to him, he put questions at the religious texts, ‘How very unfair! So Bhubonmoni would have to be raped for a month because some criminals had raped her once? This was utterly unjust, which shastras asked for this? Krishnoshundor could sign an oath it was impossible for such a thing to be written in any of the shastras. It was impossible.’

Besides the deep level of research, Debarati Mukhopadhyay took a creative freedom and presented many historical figures, Dr. Kamdambini Ganguly, Tagore and Nawab of Oudh – Wajid Ali Shah to us. Apart from this, there are many subplots running around the core theme, such as women education, widow remarriage, caste-disabled society, child marriage is one of them, basically that was times of Bengal renaissance.

‘That was the age of shruti. Women enjoyed high social standing, they used to study the Vedas, they used to teach. They were not yet considered anyone’s property. A wife was her husband’s partner in every sense, not just his companion in bed as she is now. But those days are gone. The diagnoses of the learned men, Muslim rule and patriarchy in society have gradually pushed women back into their homes and turned them into puppets. It is the age of the Manusamhita. The woman will be subservient to her father in childhood, to her husband after marriage, and to her son when she is a widow. She will never have an independent life. How can you speak of your own daughters remaining unmarried in such circumstances?’

What is the role of Brahma Samaaj movement? How did Bhubonmoni’s life turn out, once she joins the movement?
Why did Wajid Ali Shah created a mini-Lucknow in Calcutta?

The life story of Kadombini is so inspiring that adds the value to the story. I quite liked the determinate character of Bhubonmoni’s sister-in-law, who she seeks her as a mother. 

With crisp, and clear writing, this book feels like an exhilarating journey. And the translation of Arunava Sinha uplifts the reading experience. Chronicals of the Lost Daughters is a heart-wrenching historical saga. Regardless, interlinked stories, interlaced characters, this book is such a page-turner. Recommended!

 

Synopsis:

When unspeakable tragedy befalls Bhubonmoni, a young widow, she must leave her village along with her brother, Krishnoshundor, and his family. Ensnared by the wily entrepreneur Nobokishore Dutta, they end up in an overcrowded depot near a port, soon to be packed into a ship sailing to Surinam, where they will be sold as sugarcane plantation slaves. But Fate has other plans. Bhubonmoni finds herself being led away from the port and her family to be stowed away in a secret location in Calcutta. Not too far away, a young rebel Shourendro is swept up by the ideas of the Brahmo Samaj. Meanwhile in Metiabruz, a shy musician Chondronath impresses the exiled Nawab of Lucknow with his art. None of them know it yet, but the stars are aligning despite overwhelming odds for them to meet under curious circumstances…Set against the vibrant background of late nineteenth-century Bengal, Debarati Mukhopadhyay’s beautifully woven novel brings together the glory and the decadence of colonial times. Fast-paced and thrilling, with a lively cast of characters including historical figures such as Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Rabindranath Tagore, and Dr Kadambini Ganguly, Chronicles of the Lost Daughters is an unforgettable saga

 

About The Author

Debarati Mukhopadhyay is one of the most popular authors of contemporary Bengali literature. A young Government officer by profession, she has written more than 20 bestselling novels including Narach, Dakat Raja, Glanirbhabati Bharat, Shikhandi, Ishwar Jakhan Bandi and Aghore Ghimiye Shiva. Her corporate world novel Dasgupta Travels was shortlisted for the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2021. Many of her novels, such as Narak Sanket, Ranrkahini, and Shikhandi have been adapted for the silver screen. Debarati is a prolific writer and contributes regularly to Bengal’s prominent literary magazines and journals. As an officer, bestselling author, travel-enthusiast, an amateur violinist and mother to an infant, Debarati is considered a youth icon in Bengal who volunteers her time to guide government-job aspirants. A widely recognized public speaker, Debarati can be often found delivering motivational talks at educational seminars, conferences, and at the halls of Ramakrishna Mission.  

 

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