Haran, His Granddaughter and Her Husband

At midnight the police raided the village. With them were Chandi Ghosh, the landlord’s men Kanai and Sripati, and several others wielding sticks. A freezing winter night. Having forsaken all rest and breaks to harvest the paddy for three nights in a row, the exhausted men of the village were all asleep. The women took turns to stay awake and guard the houses. The sound of conch shells and ululation had revealed the sudden appearance of the police to everyone. Had the police had arranged to surround the entire village almost instantaneously, Bhuban Mandal could have escaped from Haran’s house and vanished. When everyone in the village wanted to keep someone hidden, not even unannounced police raids could catch them. The police had not succeeded in a month and a half, and Bhuban travelled between different villages with impunity.

Manik Bandopadhyay was an Indian writer and novelist, regarded as one of the major figures of 20th century Bengali literature. During a lifespan of 48 years, he produced 36 novels and nearly 250 short stories. His notable works include "Padma Nadir Majhi" which was later made into a film by Gautam Ghosh.

Vertaling: Arunava Sinha

Publicatiedatum

Luisterboek: 23 september 2020