Ideas, Thoughts & Memories 

(Bengali Literary Essays) 

A Selection in Translation

Edited by KALPANA BARDHAN 

Foreword ASHIS NANDY 

A collection of personal narratives: nationalist feelings in early 20th century Bengal; the making of Pather Panchali and Aparajito; Maghotsab at the Jorasanko house; the thirties' leftist poets' attitudes. Art review: the secular Sanskrit drama Mrichchhakatika; the heart of Jamini Roy's art. Allegory: the Bhagirathi's source; the mind's activity in solitude. Philosophy: the mystery of poetic inspiration; the elusive nature of “Truth”; the anguish of personal development beyond materialism. Sociology: the question of semifeudalism in India; identity of Bengal's dervishes; caste-hierarchy and caste-politics; characters of Greek and Sanskrit epics in conversation; self-reliance towards true swarajRabindranath's village outreach to Anna Hazare's irrigation and water conservation projects; an atheisthumanist's appraisal of Gandhiji's Ishwar; history of Calcutta's river; the Derozian ‘Young Bengal; future of the Bengali middle class; RamMohan on role of religion for progress in society; nationalist modelling versus voicing the marginalized and uprooted; issues of tackling corruption and of acquiring land for towns and industries