The story begins with a journey. Goopy and his uncle Panchu Mama are on their way to visit his Didima. But during the journey Panchu Mama decides to regale Goopy with a rather fantastic tale about a lost Burmese box – full of treasure. “Emeralds the size of a rooster's egg, rubies as big as pigeon's eggs, pearls the size of a duck's egg! There are fistfuls of diamonds in that box, heaps of gold sovereigns…” With such a vivid description of the contents of the Burmese box it is no wonder that other passengers are also interested in the story.
Panchu mama's account of the events that led up to the great loss are dramatic and sometimes scary. With bandits and blackmail and other dark doings. Goopy is rather interested in the whole story and when he arrives at Didima's house he finds that the house lends itself to more mystery. The joys and travails of an Indian joint family adds spice to an already spicy tale with twists and turns that make you wonder.
The Burmese Box by Lila Majumdar is translated from Bengali into English so that children everywhere could read and relish these stories. This book contains two novellas the first being The Burmese Box and the second is Goopy's Secret Diary. The style is simple and racy and you cannot but want to turn the pages to find out what Goopy does next.
Goopy's Secret Diary is as exciting. Goopy wakes up one night to find Thandidi wrapped up in a large brown shawl with a mysterious bundle under her arm. But that's not all. He soon finds his uncle Shyamadas-kaka and neighbour Birinchi-da waiting. And before he knows it he is dragged into a great big adventure. There is a case of the missing diamond necklace, a car chase, strange people living in the middle of a forest in a dilapidated house, police and of course, Goopy – the ever hungry boy!
Lila Majumdar's grand daughter Srilata Banerjee has done the translation, though she prefers to call it a ‘transcription'. The flavour of the original is retained and is apparent as you read through the stories.
THE BURMESE BOX, Two Novellas by Lila Majumdar, Puffin, Rs.199 An excerpt: From the novella The Burmese box
An excerpt:
Like all old houses, my mother's ancestral house has enormous rooms with high ceilings, broad staircases and verandas so long that is someone called from one end, it was inaudible at the other. And in the afternoon, it became as silent as a graveyard.
I hadn't seen hair or hide of Panchu Mama since early morning. If we hadn't travelled down in the same train., I wouldn't have known he even existed. There wasn't any proof that he had been born on this planet! Nobody in the house so much as breathed his name. Amazing!
After lunch, I was rooting about the house, looking for the infamous Burmese box, when I heard the sounds of great merry-making coming from the direction of the kitchen, as though some festivity was going on there.
What was afoot?
