Porattam - Softcover

Gangopadhyay, Sunil

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1484897420 ISBN 13: 9781484897423

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

Synopsis

Porattam is the story of a young man in Calcutta whose father dies suddenly and as the oldest son, he suddenly finds himself burdened with the responsibility of not only helping his family cope emotionally with the loss but more importantly of the responsibility of providing for his family economically. Set during the period of the naxalite movement in Bengal, the story documents the struggles of an educated middle-class man caught within the turmoils of social unrest. Corruption and unemployment is rampant, and he cannot align himself with either his revolutionary activist brother, or career-oriented sister. This was a decade of a wide range of political turmoil in India. The huge influx of refugees during the partition of India and loss of economic activity in the hinterland of Calcutta resulted in the stagnation of the economy. The Naxalbari movement under Charu Majumdar saw the split in the Communist party and an uprising of the Naxalite movement inspired by the Maoist doctrine. The nepotism, corruption and dishonesty at all levels of the system is extremely frustrating to him. He is unable to marry the girl he loves, as her family is not willing to have her marry someone who does not have a job. This is an extremely touching tale of human resolve, grit and finding hope in the midst of an intense struggle for survival when all appears hopeless. This book was later made into a highly acclaimed Bengali movie called Pratidwandi by Satyajit Ray which won several national awards.

About this title

About the Author:

The translator, Bhuvana Natarajan, is an Indian translator and short story writer. She has published over 20 books and in 2009 was awarded the Sahitya Academy Award for translation from Bengali to Tamil. Many of her short stories have appeared in Kalki, Mangaiyar Malar, Saavi, Sumangali, Jnana Bhoomi, Idhayam Pesugiraday and Gokulam. She lived in Calcutta for over 43 years and currently lives in Chennai. The original author is Sunil Gangopadhyay. Sunil Gangopadhyay or Sunil Ganguly (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was a highly acclaimed Indian poet and novelist. He is the author of over 200 books and he received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1985 for his novel Those Days (Shei Shamay).

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1484897420
• ISBN 13: 9781484897423
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220