![]() ![]() The family fortune of the Chattopadhyays came from their printing business, which was launched by the publication of this manuscript. ![]() Rudras greatgrandfather, Neelkantha, had been an ascetic of renown in East Bengal, and was the famed compiler of the Chandimangal kavya in his own words. Ashutosh, the patriarch of the family has chosen Uma as the suitable girl and Uma leaves Delhi and dreams of a career or academics to be the lady of the north Calcutta manor. The story begins with Uma having an arranged marriage with the aptly named Rudra of Kailash, the family home of the aristocratic, cultured and genteel Chattopadhyays of Calcutta. Saswati Sengupta is a professor of English at Miranda House College in Delhi University, presumably a probasi Bengali like Uma,the protagonist, who is an English graduate from DU. The SongSeekers by Saswati Sengupta,published by Zuban Books, is a find. ![]() Our friendly neighbourhood literary club had recently covered Mangalkavya,so when I chanced upon Songseekers while browsing the pavements for second hand books ,and the backjacket advertised it as based on the Chandimangal, I picked it up to whet the curiosity on this fascinating genre that the erudite discussion had awakened. ![]()
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