Description
A French woman’s lifelong love story begins in Majuli on the Brahmaputra. Another woman’s love story ends with the death of her beloved husband; now she plots to take revenge on the guilty. A trafficked woman from Bangladesh morphs into a green activist in India. Two neighbourhood women from completely different backgrounds become friends though they never meet face to face. A woman discovers her inner sexuality only late in life. A happy homemaker settled abroad nurtures a secret even her best friend doesn’t have an inkling of. These are stories of women in their many dimensions. A patriarchal society seldom recognises her individuality — true across all spectrums in the social hierarchy. But not all stories are of women as victims. Many dare to etch their own paths, with resilience and hope. And love. Spread across divergent landscapes of Assam, Kolkata, and beyond the seas, these are stories of women who bring to the fore their extraordinary inner strength and spirit.
In an era where time is a rare luxury, short stories serve as the literary equivalent of an espresso shot — quick, invigorating and capable of lightening even the most sombre mood. The stories of this collection allow us an immersive exploration of the human psyche and offers a visceral look into both the joy and the trauma faced by the characters. Ranjita Biswas’s evocative story-telling allows us to connect with characters from diverse walks of life, providing a fresh perspective on the challenges of adaptation and the universal quest for connection. The stories with “l” character are presumably semi-autobiographical, but as a reader one fails to distinguish where and when the line between the fact and fiction is crossed by the author. Ranjita has covered a lot of emotions ranging from love, romance, fear, insecurity, longing, confusion and so on. And the best part is, even with minimal words she is able to bring about the desired emotion very beautifully on the pages of the book. The characters of Aurelie, Fatima, Uma et al will stay in your mind for a long time to come. — Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee, author, translator, critic and cultural administrator
Ranjita Biswas is an independent journalist, author and translator of fiction from Assamese. She contributes to national and international publications on gender issues, development, travel, and art and culture. An award-winning translator, Biswas has ten published works to her credit in this genre. Among them, Written in Tears won the Best Translation Prize in English from Sahitya Akademi (2017). The Loneliness of Hira Barua won the PFC-Valley of Words Award (2021). Under the Simolu Tree was longlisted for the Crossword Translation Award (2024). Dawn (2004: Kali for Women/Zubaan), was translated into Hindi as well. She won the KATHA Translation awards thrice. Biswas’s short stories have featured in different publications in the past. This is her first collection. A prize-winning children’s fiction writer, she has published widely with particular focus on the North East. Some of these have been translated into other languages. Travelogues Brahmaputra and the Assam Valley and Notes from a Spanish Diary are her non-fiction works.
