Contents
Introduction xiii POETRY
JIBANANANDA DAS (1899-1954) 3 On the Sidewalks The Cat
AMIYA CHAKRAVARTY (19OI-I986) 4 The Traveller Petition to the Boss 1604 University Drive Calcutta
SUDHINDRANATH DATTA (19OI-I960) 7 Antinomies The Vagrant 1945 Cyclone
JASIM UDDTN (1903-I976) 1^ The Chariot of Dhamrai
PREMENDRA MITRA (1904-I988) 16 The Crow Caws The Soul of Birds
ANNADA SANKAR RAY (1904-2OO2) 18 Difference Remembrance
AJIT DATTA (1907-1979) 20 The Relative The Black Mountain
BUDDHADEVA BOSE (1908-I974) 21 To My Unwritten Poems Sonnet of 3 a.m.: 1 Sonnet of 3 a.m.: 2 Sunday Afternoon The Moment of Liberation vi Contents
BISHNU DEY (1909-I982) 25 My Dreams too are Endless The Alien Water My Roots Of Tagorean Beauty
ARUN MITRA (19O9-2OOO) 31 These Few Lines In the Stones of Calcutta The March Wayward On the Breast of Nature
ASHOKBIJOY RAHA (19IO-I990) 34 The Magic Tree
DINESH DAS (1913-1985) 34 The Sickle
SAMAR SEN (1916-I987) 35 The Storm Scorched Earth Self-criticism The Tides
KAMAKSHIPRASAD CHATTOPADHYAY (i917-1976) 39 The Price
SUBHASH MUKHOPADHYAY (1919-2OO3) 40 At Every Step At Day's End Let Me Never See Deeper Still
ARUN KUMAR SARKAR (192I-I980) 44 Endless The Horse
NIRENDRANATH CHAKRABARTI (b. 1924) 45 Taimur Instead You Fear When You Fear It's So at Times All Kinds of Loving ABDUL GHANI HAZARI (1925-1976) The Heart of the Sahib 21st February
SUKANTA BHATTACHARYA (1926-1947) Passport To My Dearest Time to Come Life Supreme
RAJLAKSHMI DEVI (1927-2006) Disaster The House Mountains
LOKENATH BHATTACHARYA (1927-2OO1) Geometry at Twilight False or True The Absent Hero Not Until
LATIFI HILALI (b. 1928) On a Solitary Evening
SHAMSUR RAHMAN (1929-2006) Death Anniversary Pain There was a Door Here
SARAT KUMAR MUKHOPADHYAY (b. 193 i) The Cat under the Stairs Friends Gratitude
SANKHA GHOSH (b. 1932) At the Bend of the Road Storm of Desire The Sleep Companion Fallen On that Endless Midnight Oarbeats in the Ribs (excerpts) viii Contents
ALOKERANJAN DASGUPTA (b. 1933) 71 The Meta-Query Beside the Well
SHAKTI CHATTOPADHYAY (i934-1995) 73 Walks behind, Yet Stays Remote Just Once Try I Can Go, but Why Should I Old Grief and New Grief The Darkness of Many Centuries
BENOY MAJUMDAR (19 34-2006) 76 Unititled Time Wins
SUNIL GANGOPADHYAY (b. 1934) 78 A Case History Inheritance On the Stairs Suddenly for Neera
TARAPADA ROY (19 3 6-2OO7) 82 Head Bent That Green Passport
UTPAL KUMAR BASU (b. 1936) 84 Puri Series—4 Puri Series-8 Untitled
AL MAHMUD (b. I936) 85 In the Dark One Day Poetry Simple Accusation Nature
VIJAYA MUKHOPADHYAY (b. 1937) 88 Ancestor Worship Equation Monday The Ferry Ghat
NABANEETA DEV SEN (b. 193 8) 91 Memories of a Floral Clock Contents ix
Jungle Story Sometimes, Love \ So Many Crazy Blue Hills
KETAKI KUSHARI DYSON (b. I940) 93 Adam's Apple Caravan
MOHAMMAD RAFIQ (b. 1943) 95 Kirtinasha
ASAD CHOWDHURY (b. 1943) 99 Lamentation
JOY GOSWAMi (b. 1954) 99 In the Evening Sadness Comes ... An Evening of Rain Things Recalled at Night Ballad of Last Rites
MANDAKRANTA SEN (b. 1972) 103 Bengal in Seventeenth Century: A Piece of Family History You The Believer
SHORT FICTION
PARASHURAM (RAJSHEKHAR BOSE) (1880-I960) 107 An Immortal
BANAPHUL (BALAICHAND MUKHOPADHYAY) (1899-I979) 114 In the Same Boat
PREMENDRA MITRA (1904-I988) 117 Juthika
PRABODH KUMAR SANYAL (1905-I983) 125 Deep
SATINATH BHADURI (1906-I965) 132 Patralekha's Father
MANIK BANDYOPADHYAY (1908-1956) 141 Haran's Grandson-in-law x Contents
ASHAPURNA DEVI (1909-1994) Izzat
SUBODH GHOSE (1909-1980) Fossil
JYOTIRINDRA NANDI (1912-I982) Game
ADVAITA MALLABARMAN (1914-I951) The Boat
KAMAL KUMAR MAJUMDAR (191 5-I979) Extinct Rituals
NARENDRANATH MITRA (i916-1975) Truth and Untruth
SATYAJIT RAY (192I-I992) Load Shedding
SYED WALIULLAH (1922-1971) Tale of a Tulsi Plant
SAMARESH BASU (1924-1988) Adaab
MAHASWETA DEVI (b. 1926) The Divorce
SYED MUSTAFA SIRAJ (b. I930) Horse of Death
SARAT KUMAR MUKHOPADHYAY (b. 193 i) Quick Run
HASAN HAFIZUR REHMAN (1932-I983) Two More Deaths
SHIRSHENDU MUKHOPADHYAY (b. I93 5) Look at Me
SYED SHAMSUL HAQ (b. 193 5) Secret Life, Public Death
HASAN AZIZUL HUQ (b. 1938) Homecoming Contents xi
DIBYENDU PALIT (b. 1939) 267 The National Flag
BANI BASU (b. 1939) 278 She
AKHTARUZZAMAN ILIAS (l943~I997) 289 In the Rooftop Room
SELINA HOSSAIN (b. 1947) 295 Izzat
NABARUN BHATTACHARYA (b. 1948) 301 The Blind Cat
ABUL BASHAR (b. 19 $ I) 307 Rebirth
NASREEN JAHAN (b. 1964) 312 Stranger
NON-FICTION
KAZI ABDUL WADUD (1894-I970) 325 Modern Bengali Literature (excerpts) Mussalmans of Bengal
SATYENDRANATH BOSE (1894-I974) 332 The Scientist's Plea
DHURJATIPRASAD MUKERJI (1894-1961) 337 Words and Melody
NIRMAL KUMAR BOSE (19OI-I972) 341 The Structure of Hindu Society (excerpts)
SUDHINDRANATH DATTA (19OI-I960) 353 Utterance and Realization: The Tradition of Writing in Bengal
SYED MUZTABA ALI (1904-I974) 361 Chacha's Story
ABU SAYEED AYYUB (1906-I982) 369 Ethics and Aesthetics in Literature
BUDDHADEVA BOSE (i 908-1974) 378 The Last Journey xii Contents
SAMAR SEN (1916-I987) A Babu's Tale (excerpts)
SIBNARAYAN RAY (192I-2O08) Bengalee Identity: Problem, Inner Conflict, and Tragedy
ASHOK MITRA (b. I928) Flavours of Freedom
ASHOK RUDRA (193I-I992) Friendship in Rabindranath's Love Songs
SANKHA GHOSH (b. 1932) The Poet's Intention: The Writer, the Writing, the Reader (excerpts)
PARTHA CHATTERJEE (b. 1947) Our Modernity
GAUTAM BHADRA (b. 1948) Bengal's Dervishes in History's Trap
NRISINHAPRASAD BHADURI (b. I950) The Island-born Vyasa
MANORANJAN BYAPARI (b. EARLY I95OS?) Dalit Literature in Bangla
TASLIMA NASRIN (b. 1962) Selected Columns
Copyright Statement Portraits of Authors