An Oriya by birth, an English poet by divine dispensation, in the town of Cuttack, Odisha, lived a man extraordinaire whose heart perpetually went out especially to the man and woman on the street held ransom by a world growing more corrupt and hostile day by day. On a certain January afternoon years ago decreed …
The upturned boat lay beached on the deserted shore, save for an emaciated woman sitting stock-still beside it… At daybreak, a gale broke upon the scene. It viciously unmoored the boat, flinging it into a seething vortex of water, where it thrashed briefly before listing to one side and lurching away beyond sight. The storm …
Many writers fall into the trap of self-importance and exhibitionism. You are an exception … It’s a condition that happens to creative people at large. It’s part of having a strong ego. It just does not happen to authors alone. It affects actors, artistes and musicians. They can be catty! I don’t think I’m completely …
Once, at a Sahitya Akademi Auditorium in Kolkata the renowned professor, poet, translator and publisher P Lal (1929-2010) was being felicitated, where I was present. Delivering his address on the occasion, Prof. Lal spoke candidly, among other things, about his feelings when he received a letter from Nobel Laureate T S Eliot, poet, dramatist and …
Your favourite writers … Countless. But my most favourite writer is the Brazilian writer Jorge Amado … In fact, I like him better than I do Marquez. He’s not confined to any boundary or magic realism or whatever. For some strange reason, you usually don’t get his books in India. Some of his books have …
How did you remember the day-to-day conversations you had with people so many years ago with such enviable accuracy? My family often tells me that, you know. I can’t say I remember everything, but most of it, yes. I usually remember all the details. How can you forget? I even remember my childhood conversations. Like …
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 …
It was at the back of a run-down palace beside a pond. He was sitting on a bench placed among plants of varied hues, a branch above his head hung with golden yellow guavas. The air was thick with a divine smell—a pregnant hush. Unnoticed by anyone of his clan, and partly hidden among the …
It often strikes me how a certain strand of memory is triggered by a particular sight or scene or scent or sound. Recently, while running an errand to purchase a tuft of Chandra Mallika flowers (Chrysanthemum), I ran into a gentleman sitting on an elevated spot by the side of a public pool, feeding a …
A year or so ago, we were invited to a marriage ceremony at Brahmapur in South Kolkata. Due to a lack of space at the relative’s house, I was placed in a rented one-room flat at an apartment located fifteen-twenty minutes away by auto. Usually I stick out like a sore thumb in a crowded …
