Bani Basu is
one of the most versatile contemporary writers in Bengali. An eminent
academician, poet, novelist, essayist, critic and translator, Basu writes on
diverse topics ranging from history and mythology to society, psychology and
gender. She received her formal education from Lady Brabourne College, Scottish
Church College and University of Calcutta, where she earned a masters degree in
English. She served as a lecturer and later, as the Head of the Department of
English at Bijoy Krishna Girls College, Howrah. Her translations of Shri
Aurobindo’s poems and two volumes of Somerset Maugham’s stories and one volume
of D.H Lawrence’s stories won a wide readership. She started her career as an
original author with the publication of the novel, Janmabhumui-Matribhumi in
1980. Her well-known novels include Antarghat (The
Enemy Within), Maitreya Jatak (The Birth of Maitreya), Kharap Chhele (Dark
Afternoons), Swet Patharer Thala and Pancham Purush. Bani Basu has won a number of
awards including Tara Shankar Award (1991), Shiromani Purashkar (1997), Ananda
Purashkar (1998), Katha Award (2003) and Sahitya Akademi Award (2010). A number
of her stories have benn adapted into films and TV serials.