Tales from Bengal by Sourish Roy

The few of stories which really touched my heart is, “Absolution”, where the suffering of Sujan and Mohan & his wife who is called as “Bouma” is described is heart-wrenching.

This short story collection is a beautiful piece of writing. It reminded me of the days when I used to read Vankim Chandra’s and Sharat Chandra’s short story collection. I don’t know whether this collection’s tone is similar due to Bengali background or anything elseBut it’s really amazing to read. Along with its resemblance to their writing, this story collection reminds of rural India and their lives.

This collection is compilation of nine short stories, all set in Bengal, looks to appeal to the magnanimous aspects of modern minds engrossed in the tussle for a living. The collection is meant to make readers think at least for once about those villagers who still have to wait for an elevation in their wretched living. In addition, set in the backdrop of India still unaware of urbanism and innocent of technological advancement, the stories are sure to reconjure the ideals prevalent in the rural society in the last few decades of the twentieth century.

The nameless, faceless woman who waited in vain for his husband’s return showed her strength of character by refusing to go back to her maiden home when offered by Sujan. In ” Ratan’s Maa ” again we see the strong character of a woman who is just a house help but becomes the center of the house and everyone depends on her whether for emotional support or physical work. Even the protagonist although angry with her for a few years, due to his childish misunderstanding felt at ease only after meeting and helping her.

he story which affected me most is ” The Handyman”, the suffering of Sardar and at the end, his plight left me feeling sorry for him. For the rest of stories and finding your favorite stories from this collection just grab your copies and share with me which story you liked most !!
The cover reminds of the old days of Bengal and the title is very apt. Language appears a bit tough for normal readers with average vocabulary. The language as I said earlier is superb and mature. There’s a lot of uncommon words used in regular interval. The theme of the book is very innovative playing a very vital role in the book.
The narration is quite impressive. The beauty of this collection is you can read it at your own convenience one story at a time or at one go as you wish. You don’t have to sit and finish in one go. I really loved strong women characters portrayed in stories. An amazing read !!