This book presents unabridged translation of five of the many captivating novels of the legendary writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee of India, who wrote in Bengali language in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Devdas: The young boy Devdas has an ardent follower, a little girl Parvati, who is his neighbor's daughter. They grow up together in a class conscious, tradition bound, rural community. Their friendship turns into love as they mature. Will they be able to have their wish fulfilled and unite with each other for the rest of their lives? Which way their fate will take them? Good Riddance (Niskriti): Girish is a successful man and both he and his wife are magnanimous. They allow Girish's incompetent and poor cousin and his family to live with them as a joint family. An atmosphere of great love and understanding prevails over the joint family. But, what happens when Girish's younger brother Harish, who is also a successful man and has a wife with western education, joins the family? What events take place and what are the roles played by different family members? Pundit (Pundit-moshai): Brindabon was married at a young age, but was soon made by his father to desert his child bride, because of a rumor of scandal about her mother. He grows up to become a self educated and benevolent well to do man, and she grows up to be a beautiful and educated woman in a poor family. After his second wife dies leaving behind a young son, he offers to take her back. But, how she responds? Brindabon gives free education to children of the poor in the village, by teaching them himself, and is called by them as Pundit. But, does that earn him respect from the diehard snobs in the village or their compassion in his moment of crisis? Chandranath: A rich man marries a poor young woman, not knowing that her mother had a scandal of living together with a man after she became a widow. The girl, because of her humble background and the scandalous secret about her mother, considers herself much inferior to her husband and treats him with servility. How are the husband's feelings towards her? How the marriage blossoms? A kindly old man comes in their life, and what role he plays? Debt and Payment (Dena-Paona): Jibananda, a corrupt scion of a landlord family, marries the child daughter of a widow for dowry money and then disappears. He later inherits a large estate when his uncle dies and becomes an oppressive feudal landlord. The girl by turn of events becomes the custodian of a temple in a village, where the landlord owns some property. She is upright, educated, and a leader of the downtrodden. The landlord visits the village, but does not recognize her. The virtuous woman and the depraved man cross their path, and what does it bring to them?

In this novel, Sharat Chandra has portrayed the external beauty as well as the internal beauty and mental feelings of the Indian woman with amazing dexterity. He has done so in such a perfect manner that no other novelist of Indian languages has been able to reach his level. lolita of 'Parineeta', like every female characters of other novels penned by Sharat Chandra, depicts live images of the problems related to the life of women, the internal clashes among them and their innate feelings Among many novels of Sharat Chandra, 'Parineeta' is a superior novel. Many successful movies have been made by taking this novel as a script base.

"The heroine, Kamal, is exceptional for her time. She lives and travels by herself, has relationships with various men, looks poverty and suffering in the face, and asserts the autonomy of the individual being. In the process, she tears apart the frame of the expatriate Bengali society of Agra, where she lives. Through Kamal, Saratchandra questions Indian tradition and the norms of nationhood and womanhood."--Back cover.

'He touched the core of the Bengalis' pain with his words' - Rabindranath Tagore. Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian novelists of the twentieth century. His novels, serialized in periodicals and later published in book form, established him as Bengal's master storyteller. Even today, seven decades after his death, Saratchandra remains one of the most popular novelists in Bengal, and is widely read in translation across India as well. This collector's edition of Saratchandra's works in English translation brings together the writer's most renowned and best-loved novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features five novels: Srikanta, Devdas, Parineeta, Palli Samaj and Nishkriti. Srikanta is the story of a wanderer who observes the people around him; through them - especially the women he loves and respects, from the sacrificing Annada Didi and the rebellious Abhaya to the housewife Rajlakshmi and the courtesan Pyari Bai - he tries to arrive at an understanding of life. Devdas is the tragic tale of a man who drives himself to drink and debilitation when he is unable to marry his childhood sweetheart Paro. guardian Shekhar, but circumstances conspire to drive the two apart. Palli Samaj (The Village Life) has Ramesh, an engineer, returning to the village of his birth to try and rid it of the backwardness that plagues it, even as he tries to revive his childhood ties with Rama, now a widow. In Nishkriti (Deliverance), the strong-willed Shailaja, the youngest daughter-in-law in a joint family, is made an outcast as a result of a misunderstanding; much later, her elders realize their mistake, just in time to save the family from disintegration. Each of the novels showcases the qualities Saratchandra is famous or: everyday stories told in a simple yet gripping style, strong characters, meticulous plotting, true-to-life dialogue, and unforgettable depictions of life in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Translated especially for Penguin, these classic novels will delight those new to Saratchandra's works as well as those who want to return to them again.

This book presents unabridged translation of five of the many captivating novels of the legendary writer Sarat Chandra Chatterjee of India, who wrote in Bengali language in the first quarter of the twentieth century. Devdas: The young boy Devdas has an ardent follower, a little girl Parvati, who is his neighbors daughter. They grow up together in a class conscious, tradition bound, rural community. Their friendship turns into love as they mature. Will they be able to have their wish fulfilled and unite with each other for the rest of their lives? Which way their fate will take them? Good Riddance (Niskriti): Girish is a successful man and both he and his wife are magnanimous. They allow Girishs incompetent and poor cousin and his family to live with them as a joint family. An atmosphere of great love and understanding prevails over the joint family. But, what happens when Girishs younger brother Harish, who is also a successful man and has a wife with western education, joins the family? What events take place and what are the roles played by different family members? Pundit (Pundit-moshai): Brindabon was married at a young age, but was soon made by his father to desert his child bride, because of a rumor of scandal about her mother. He grows up to become a self educated and benevolent well to do man, and she grows up to be a beautiful and educated woman in a poor family. After his second wife dies leaving behind a young son, he offers to take her back. But, how she responds? Brindabon gives free education to children of the poor in the village, by teaching them himself, and is called by them as Pundit. But, does that earn him respect from the diehard snobs in the village or their compassion in his moment of crisis? Chandranath: A rich man marries a poor young woman, not knowing that her mother had a scandal of living together with a man after she became a widow. The girl, because of her humble background and the scandalous secret about her mother, considers herself much inferior to her husband and treats him with servility. How are the husbands feelings towards her? How the marriage blossoms? A kindly old man comes in their life, and what role he plays? Debt and Payment (Dena-Paona): Jibananda, a corrupt scion of a landlord family, marries the child daughter of a widow for dowry money and then disappears. He later inherits a large estate when his uncle dies and becomes an oppressive feudal landlord. The girl by turn of events becomes the custodian of a temple in a village, where the landlord owns some property. She is upright, educated, and a leader of the downtrodden. The landlord visits the village, but does not recognize her. The virtuous woman and the depraved man cross their path, and what does it bring to them?

'Some time ago, a sudden rumour spread across our region that unless three children were sacrificed, the railway bridge over Roopnarayan just could not be constructed. Two small boys had already been buried alive under one of the pillions, and only one more needed to be caught...' This book is a collection of twelve widely acclaimed short stories of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, one of the doyens of Bengali literature. Divided into two sections, the first bunch of stories portray childhood in all its unburdened innocence while the latter section leads on to deeper sensibilities-the everyday experience of casteism, the lived reality of social hierarchy, and the bonds of almost filial affection forged between man and animal that sustain both. Stories from Saratchandra shows Saratchandra's keen eye as a social commentator, presenting a vivid picture of life in rural Bengal during the early twentieth century.