| The target reader, according to the Preface, is mainly the Indian one not having access to Bangla, with the possibility of some non-Indian readers as well. |
| With these considerations in mind, the editors maintain in the Preface that their purpose is to present texts that are 'reader friendly', not laying too much stress on fidelity. |
| To quote from the Preface,the collection presents "a collection of Bangla texts and not really translations that aspire to be read like original stories in English." |
| This reviewer has read many of these stories in the original and quite enjoyed the English versions as well. 'The Meadows of Bhushandi', the first story is one of Parashuram's best and is equally delightful in its English avatar. |
| One small suggestion to the translator "" the word brahmadaitya could have been retained as many others have been, instead of being translated as Brahmin giant. One feels the same way about kariya piret wa translated as Sooty Spirit though this is not as awkward as Brahmin giant. |
| Shibram Chakraborty is the master of humour and irony. And 'Birth of God' is a delightful example of his craft.A good short story is characterised by an unpredictable or anti-climatic end and this is no exception. |
| Many stories in this collection have this sort of an end, some quite frightening like 'Day's End' by Jagadish Gupta. |
| This reviewer has read humorous pieces by Syed Mujtaba Ali and is touched by the futility of life and human effort that is conveyed in 'Brine'. |
| Mothers of dacoits can be very human, very loving towards their delinquent children. A petty theft committed to get a rupee to feed one's son is not a major crime but in a feudal set-up, to be poor is a crime by itself. |
| So the dacoit Saukhi takes his mother's theft on his shoulders and is arrested shortly after he had been released from prison. |
| In such a set up any kind of creativity that a poor weaver shows is suppressed and thus survival depends on the compromises one makes. |
| Manik Bandopadhyay has always taken up cudgels for the poor and his story 'The Artiste' is one more instance of his commitment. |
| The collection includes only one story by a woman writer "" Ashapurna Devi who has been a feminist writer much before it became trendy. |
| 'Sacrilege' is a powerful story about a woman who dares, in a totally patriarchal set up. One wonders why the editors did not include at least one more story by a woman writer, there have been quite a few in Bengal. |
| Is it possible to give up one's assets in a big city and go back to the countryside to live a clean, wholesome life, close to nature? |
| For most of us it remains a distant dream but the protagonist of Jyotirindra Nandi's 'Lord of the Forest' dares to live such a life and transmits a desire for the same to his grandson who visits him during his vacation. |
| Ramapada Chaudhuri is a writer with a penchant for rural settings and themes. 'Bharatvarsha', his contribution to this collection, is a critical comment on the negative side of urbanisation and urban values which warps the moral values of tribals and destroys their integrity. |
| The stories are followed by a short write up on each writer which would be useful for a reader not familiar with the literary scene in Bengal. |
| The quality of translation is uniform throughout. The selection of stories is broad-based and gives the reader an idea of the kind of short stories that have been written in Bengal in the last century. |
| Short stories are generally more issue based than novels and care has to be taken to select stories with an implicit message like corruption, identity crisis, feudal decadence etc. |
| Certain Bangla words which are difficult to translate have been explained in the glossary at the end. This is better than an awkward translation that obstructs the spontaneity of the narrative. |
| So far one has been somewhat wary of translation taken up as an academic pursuit as academics tend to go by suggestions offered by translation theories which affect the readability of a text. |
| It is heartening to see a university known for the quality of the course in Comparative Literature offered by it, come out of the theoretical confines. One hopes to see more translated texts by the teachers/students of this university. |
| DAY'S END AND OTHER BANGLA STORIES |
| Edited by Amiya Dev and Subha Chakraborty Dasgupta Srishti Pages: xii+266 Price: Rs 250 |
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