Author interview: Tapan Das on his debut Bengali novel
Tapan Das says he wants to point to the futility of community violence through his novel 'Amar ma ke kandte dao'.
Congratulations on the release of 'Amar ma ke kandte dao'. Is this debut work as a writer?
Yes.
The novel is in Bengali. Which Bengali authors have been your inspiration over the years?
Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay.
Can you share with us something about the genesis of the book?
The novel is written in the backdrop of this novel is Assam in 1979 during the language riot. How a riot can kill thousands of Bengalis brutally; can set fire to homes; can burn people alive; forces people to leave the village. The novel describes them all. The "Shahi" family is destroyed. How a girl survives; how does she grow up, how is she married -- this novel contains a detailed description of the physical and mental sufferings after marriage. After the marriage, the story of the tragic consequences of the life of her husband is known through this novel.
Another major feature of the novel is the women's helpless situation, the exploitation of women by men, the misery of women, and the place of women in society. I believe that the characters in the novel will compel many to find themselves in these characters. The novel is combination of reality and imagination.
This novel shows the determination of a woman to fight against fate. Therefore, leaving the path of any unfortunate suicide, inspiration to fight fate will be found in this book, it can be said.
While the novel began with the language riot, the main aim of the novel was to present the harsh and real story of a woman's life in front of the Bengali readers.
The purpose of this novel was not to show the murder by a particular community. But how with one community attacking another, so many things are destroyed -- families perish, villages are destroyed, and lives of many take a sad turn.
What does the crying woman in the book cover depict?
Although a woman was born in a royal family, her family was burned only for the sake of inhuman interest. The woman has been crying since then.
What kind of reader base is your target audience?
Readers who are in suffering or who have been dealt a cruel card by fate yet are keen to conquer the problems in life.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
Support objective journalism for a small contribution.
