Saratchandra Chattopadhyay (1876–1938)

One of the joys of reading is discovering writers who are new to us whose work we quickly discover we enjoy enormously. Although the works of many Bengali authors have especially resonated with me for many years, I had never heard of Sarat Chandra Chatterji. I happened to find a copy of a selection of his works in a used bookstore and was intrigued by the contents: excerpts from his two most famous novels and a selection of short stories. Devdas, probably his best-known work, is a love story about childhood sweethearts. Devdas refuses to marry Parvati when she proposes to him because he is unable to overcome his parents’ objections. They go their separate ways but the self-destructive Devdas spends the rest of his (often dissipated) life, regretting his decision. He develops a relationship with another woman but is unable to forget Parvati and continues making poor choices, eventually returning one last time to see her in as heart-breaking a final scene as I can recall. The story has been the subject of nearly two dozen film versions throughout India (beginning in 1928 as a silent film and continuing up through 2019) and is said to be the most filmed non-epic story in Indian history. Given the uniformly high quality of his writing in the two novels contained here as well as the several stories, I can only wonder how sad it is that his name is so little known in the West.… (more)

I was very young when I read this novel and so am very sure this review will be marred by the obvious romanticizing the past. What I remember of this book would be the ferocious personality of Kamal. I warn you before hand that this book will be all about her. She was unapologetic , clear headed and so so powerful and also a sexual being. I remember I was awed by this lady and her point of view , not being from a very conservative background myself ; I was not shocked at her liaisons but what shocked me was the ease with which she collected her broken heart and moved forward. Being a teen , I was still under the shroud of "true love" and I think this was a bit uncomfortable for me.
Another important and really nice feeling about this book was the representation of the Bengali community.
The only complain I think I had of this book was the physical appearance of the lady. She was extremely attractive and to quote the entry I wrote in my diary about her was , "While reading this novel, I wondered why inorder to show a strong and clear headed woman , the writer chose a beautiful (physically) woman. I really am curious to see the impact would be if instead of her an average or even an ugly woman was chosen." So, I think this esteemed writer (who I don't think I am even capable of criticizing) , as a lot of other , did fail in this aspect .
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There have been at least two film versions of Parineeta; which means espoused, the last one made in 2005 which launched a new edition of the novella. It was published in Bengali in 1914 and has been translated by Malobika Chaudhuri for the latest publication and it reads beautifully. It is a simple story based in Kolkatta (Calcutta) at the turn of the century, but has the power to transport the reader back to that time and place.

Gurucharan and his family of five daughters live next door to the family of Nabin Roy, Gurucharan works as a clerk and is in financial difficulties because of his need to find dowry money to marry off his daughters, the last marriage has left him in debt and he has borrowed heavily from Nabin Roy a successful business man. Lalita who Gurucharan considers as one of his daughters is actually an orphan and from the age of three has been a personal helper to Nabin Roy's son Shekhar. She is now 13 years old and is considered to be ready for marriage. She is obviously not suitable for Shekhar because of the family's lack of money, but another neighbour's uncle Girin comes courting. We are told that Lalita is a beautiful girl but a little dark. Shekhar becomes a little jealous that Lalita is no longer around because of Girin and just before he leaves with his mother for a few months away from the city, he sees Lalita on her terrace next door and impulsively places a garland over her head. Lalita immediately returns the garland over Shekhar's head and considers herself married. Some years pass circumstances change and Gurucharan's family move away, but Lalita's situation is still unresolved as Shekhar hears rumours that she is about to be married to a new suitor.

The reader is plunged into a world of arranged marriages, child brides, dowry's, ancient customs, Hindi religion and intimate family relations but it all makes perfect sense as we see it from a Bengali's point of view. There is no criticism of culture and customs as humanity is shown to shine through arrangements that seem very different to ours in the West. There is a ruthless business man (Nabin Roy), but everybody else acts with kindness and compassion in a world that becomes clear to the reader by the end of this short novel. Bengali family terms are kept throughout the book but once the reader learns that mama= uncle, mami=auntie, baba=father, didi=sister and maa=mother then they add to the reading experience of a different culture.

This is a delightful read, which will take just a short afternoon and I hope like me you will be entranced. A four star read… (more)