The Durga Puja is a remarkable event in the Bengali literary calendar. It marks the publication of special editions of various commercial and little magazines, popularly known as puja sankhya or puja numbers. Usually, their publication started from the Mahalaya . This date started being advanced over the last 10 years. Surprisingly, this year’s puja number of Anandamela (a popular children’s fortnightly) is actually on the stands two months ahead of the festival. In the coming days, every other publisher will try to match this speed. The bookworms are dwindling, and dwindling fast.
Puja Sankhya also holds a special place for the smaller publication houses of Bengali literary sphere. The “little-magazines” or “little magz”, as they are popularly called, are the smallest capillaries of the heart of Bengali literature. They are a large passionate workforce that keeps contributing their splendid works in a hush-hush manner throughout the year.
Last year, on
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In 1965, Gangopadhyay’s first novel,
For more than four decades, Bengali literature lovers grew up with his novels and stories. Last year, Dr. Sudarshan Sen, editor of Karukatha Ei Samay , a leading magazine, interviewed Sunil Gangopadhyay for the puja number. I was lucky to accompany him with the camera. It was an awesome experience to watch a legend unfolding the layers of his life over cups of tea and cigarettes. He shared stories of his college days — first crush, first poetry, his initial struggle for money, the birth of Krittibas , his poetry magazine. He narrated how he gathered raw material for his first novel Atmaprakash , from the experiences of a refugee colony where he was forced to live with his mother after the early demise of his father, and many more.
This year’s puja special of
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