Story /poem / interview of the week
Tarapith Now, Tinpahar Next
By Swapan K Banerjee
It’s our maiden trip to Tarapith Temple Town in the first week of this New
Year for a night’s stay. Tickets for the return journey were on the waiting
list when we arrived there by Kavi Guru Express late afternoon, and we
forgot all about it till the last moment.
The next morning, while it was still dark, we rolled out of bed and
managed to line up at the Maa Tara Temple before the clock struck six.
Even at that cold early hour there were a few hundred people ahead of
us. The line we stood in cost us Rs. 300 per head. There’s another line
costing Rs. 500 per person which ran from a different direction, and then
there’s a general line for free whose end could not be seen. All three
queues met up at the steps leading to the sanctorum from where
devotees were released in batches with those forking out Rs. 500 getting
the first preference.
About Swapan K Banerjee
Swapan K Banerjee is a freelance writer specialising in literary features. Banerjee realised his calling as a writer when the author Ruskin Bond sent his articles and poems to Boston University’s Special Collection Library. His literary write-ups have been featured in several anthologies. Swapan K Banerjee is known for his books Rusty & I: Up-close with Ruskin Bond (RUPA) & People Who Meet People: Interviews with the Stars (Tranquebar).
You got us to open doors which we thought had been rusted shut many years ago.
Hugh Gantzer
Relationships matter for me more than poetry that brought you over to Cuttack. Am grateful for your inherent goodness. That is perhaps why you see the 'good' in others.
Jayanta Mahapatra
I've seen a copy of your interview, which I think is excellent.
David Davidar
Thank you for your kind email and the lovely poem (published in Poetry Society of India). Always follow your dreams and fight for them with faith.
Paulo Coelho
Your articles as always make for interesting reading. Wish you continued success with your lively interviews. You have the knack of elicitating the deeper layer of a writer’s urges. You remain a fond memory to us all.
Bill Aitken from Mussoorie
Thank you for your nice words!
Acclaim from Nobel Laureate Mme Wislawa Szymborska (1996)
Swapan K Banerjee is a Boswell of sorts - a Boswell not just to one writer, such as a Dr. Johnson, but to many men of letters, musicians and others.
Ruskin Bond
You have a keen eye and a voyager's heart. I like your work. You are so attentive. All power to your pen.
I Allan Sealy
