Signs (Chinha), written in 1946, was Manik Bandyopadhyay's fifteenth novel, and is something of a hidden gem of Bengali literature.The novel is set in the mass uprisings that Calcutta witnessed in protest against the trial and sentencing of Captain Rashid Ali of the Indian National Army. These outbursts of popular anger were initiated by students, and involved large sections of the working people.The author weaves together a number of episodes, meetings and partings happening simultaneously at different locations through a kind of narrative 'montage'. The narration represents this revolutionary moment witnessed through the eyes of myriads of people who make it, whether by participating in it or by being caught up in it, by remaining on the margin or by trying to use it to their own purpose, or even by resisting it. It is a rare attempt to catch the internal dynamics of the action by focussing on the fast-changing relationships among its speaking, thinking, acting human agents, when the singular motive force of the objective situation is manifested in the multiplicity of responses.Signs was such a departure from the writing of the time that the author noted, 'It is written in a new technique. I do not know whether it should be called a novel.' Manik Bandyopadhyay failed to interest his publisher into issuing a second print during his lifetime. It was published again after his death.This is the first English translation of this modernist masterpiece, introduced and annotated by scholar and activist Malini Bhattacharya.

Presents the Indian literatures, not in isolation in one another, but as related components in a larger complex, conspicuous by the existence of age-old multilingualism and a variety of literary traditions. --

"A powerful portrait of the oppressed and the forms of oppression that occur in India."—Theodore Riccardi, Jr., Columbia University

A Major Activity Of The Sahitya Akademi Is The Preparation Of An Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature. The Venture, Covering Twenty-Two Languages Of India, Is The First Of Its Kind. Written In English, The Encyclopaedia Gives A Comprehensive Idea Of The Growth And Development Of Indian Literature. The Entries On Authors, Books And General Topics Have Been Tabulated By The Concerned Advisory Boards And Finalised By A Steering Committee. Hundreds Of Writers All Over The Country Contributed Articles On Various Topics. The Encyclopaedia, Planned As A Six-Volume Project, Has Been Brought Out. The Sahitya Akademi Embarked Upon This Project In Right Earnest In 1984. The Efforts Of The Highly Skilled And Professional Editorial Staff Started Showing Results And The First Volume Was Brought Out In 1987. The Second Volume Was Brought Out In 1988, The Third In 1989, The Fourth In 1991, The Fifth In 1992, And The Sixth Volume In 1994. All The Six Volumes Together Include Approximately 7500 Entries On Various Topics, Literary Trends And Movements, Eminent Authors And Significant Works. The First Three Volume Were Edited By Prof. Amaresh Datta, Fourth And Fifth Volume By Mohan Lal And Sixth Volume By Shri K.C.Dutt.