This young protagonists were precocious, they flouted every rule in the calendar, and yet possessed an instinctive and commonsensical understanding of human sympathy and affect."
This book is a collection of twelve widely acclaimed short stories of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, one of the doyens of Bengali literature. The stories bring to life themes covering perceptions of childhood, a refusal to be rule-bound, transition from the innocence of a child's world view into hard reality, and the world as it appears to a child.
Divided into two sections, the first group of stories portray childhood in all its unburdened innocence while the latter section leads on to deeper sensibilities-the everyday experience of casteism, the lived reality of social hierarchy, and the bonds of almost filial affection forged between man and animal that sustain both.
The translations reveal Saratchandra's keen eye as a social commentator, presenting a vivid picture of life in rural Bengal during the early twentieth century. From stories such as 'Laalu' to 'Mohesh' to reminiscences of Saratchandra's own boyhood, Stories from Saratchandra offers a glimpse into the oeuvre of Saratchandra's work.
