Krishnagopal Mallick is a literary rarity:ย sub-editing for an English daily, giving itย up to print and publish Bengali littleย magazines at a press set up at his ownย home, and then producing essays, short stories, travelogues, memoirs, and novelsย marked by a dazzling candour and aย beguiling lucidity. His words transport usย to a North Kolkata of trams, lanes andย by-lanes. His unselfconscious prose pullsย us into a life lived with honesty and joy.
Rarely has Bengali literature witnessedย such clear-eyed narratives of public andย private violence, sexuality, andย humour. These translations introduce toย the readers a craftsman of deadpan story-telling who infuses North Kolkataย with a queer radiance unmatched inย Indian writing. Once one enters the mazeย of Krishnagopal Mallick, one cannotย emerge unmoved, unchanged, unaffected.
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