B.T. Road / The Hollow
Two Novellas Translated By: Saugata Ghosh
Samresh Basu
- B.T.
- Road
- (B.T.
- Roader
- Dharey,
- 1953)
- emerged
- out
- of
- Samaresh
- Basu's
- own
- experiences
- of
- urban
- slum
- life
- concentrated
- around
- the
- jute
- mills
- of
- Bengal
- and
- the
- trade
- union
- movement
- that
- grew
- around
- them.
- The
- residents
- of
- a
- nameless
- slum
- next
- to
- the
- Barrackpore
- Trunk
- Road
- are
- brought
- to
- life
- with
- his
- sensitive
- pen,
- not
- from
- the
- perspective
- of
- an
- outsider
- viewing
- the
- grim
- squalor
- of
- the
- place
- but
- from
- a
- deep
- enquiry
- into
- their
- inner
- lives.With
- The
- Hollow
- (Bibar,
- 1965),
- a
- chilling,
- often
- grotesque,
- portrayal
- of
- society
- and
- its
- mores,
- Basu
- turned
- towards
- a
- frank
- dissection
- of
- the
- middle
- class
- and
- its
- unashamed
- pursuit
- of
- self-interest.
- With
- characteristic
- incisiveness,
- he
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- the
- dissolute
- Biresh
- and
- his
- struggle
- to
- free
- himself
- from
- the
- confines
- of
- love,
- family,
- profession
- and
- politics.
- Charged
- with
- obscenity
- at
- the
- time
- of
- its
- publication,
- it
- remains
- 'a
- unique
- ethical
- novel
- in
- Bengali'.Translated
- by
- Saugata
- Ghosh,
- with
- a
- rare
- feel
- for
- the
- nuances
- of
- the
- original,
- this
- volume
- presents
- one
- of
- the
- stalwarts
- of
- Bengali
- literature
- to
- a
- new readership.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
