Review of Sankar’s Dear Reader — A Writer’s Memoir: In memory of memory
The HinduThe intrepid Bengali novelist, Sankar, with a literary career spanning seven decades, calls Dear Reader a whimsical collection of a writer’s life and work. He wrote his second book, Chowringhee in 1962, which continues to sell 60-odd years on, and a host of other popular novels like Jana Aranya and Seemabadha, both part of Satyajit Ray’s Calcutta films. In Dear Reader, he reflects on his early years and the people who influenced him, particularly his mother and grandmother, his teachers, and the writers he adored, from Bibhutibhusan Bandopadhyay, also from Bongram like Sankar, to other Bengali stalwarts like Shibram Chakraborty and Sunil Gangopadhyay. Calcutta will make no progress till Calcuttans realise their own condition.” For those who have read Sankar, it’s wonderful to find references of his work in the memoir; for a new generation of readers, it’s a wonderful way to discover a writer who always has his ear to the ground.
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