Samaresh Basu

Samaresh Basu
Born	(1924-12-11)11 December 1924
Died
Pen name	Kalkut
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Indian
Ethnicity	Bengali Hindu
Notable awards	Sahitya Akademi Award 1980

Samaresh Basu (11 December 1924 – 12 March 1988) was a Bengali writer born on 11 December 1924 (1331 in the Bengali calendar) and spent his early childhood in Bikrampur, Dhaka in present-day Bangladesh. He died on 12 March 1988.

He was awarded the 1980 Sahitya Akademi Award in Bengali, by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, for his novel, Shamba. He won the 1983 Filmfare Awards for Best Story for Namkeen.

Life and career

He would in later days recall the deep impressions that the Brata-kathas (fantastic folk-tales recited by women while performing certain religious rites) narrated by his mother left on him as a child. His adolescent years were spent in Naihati, a suburb of Kolkata, in West Bengal. His life was rich with varied experiences. At one point, he used to hawk eggs from a basket carried on his head; later, he worked for meager daily wages. From 1943 through 1949 he worked in an ordnance factory in Ichhapore. He was an active member of the trade union and the Communist party for a period, and was jailed for during 1949–50 when the party was declared illegal. While in jail, he wrote his first novel, Uttaranga, that was published in book form. Soon after his release from the jail, he began to write professionally, refusing to join the factory even when offered his old job.

When he was only 21, he wrote his first novel, Nayanpurer Mati. While it was later serialized in Parichay, it was never published as a book. Adaab was his first short story published in Parichay in 1946.

A prolific writer with more than 200 short stories and 100 novels, including those written under the aliases "Kalkut" and "Bhramar", Samaresh Basu is a major figure in Bengali fiction. His life experiences populated his writings with themes ranging from political activism to, working class life to, sexuality. Two of his novels had been briefly banned on charges of obscenity. The case against one of these, Prajapati, was settled in the Supreme Court of India which overturned, in 1985, the rulings of the two lower courts.

Among other intellectuals, Buddhadeb Bose, himself once accused of similar charges for his Rat Bhor-e Brishti, came out strongly in support of Samaresh. To quote from Sumanta Banerjee's recent translation Selected Stories (Vol.1), Samaresh Basu "remains the most representative storyteller of Bengal's suburban life, as distinct from other well-known Bengali authors who had faithfully painted the life and problems of either Bengal's rural society or the urban middle class. Basu draws on his lived experience of Calcutta's 'half-rural, half-urban,' industrial suburbs."

While the nom-de-plume "Kalkut" was adopted in 1952 for the immediate need to publish an overtly political piece, the real "Kalkut" can be said to have been born with the publication of Amritakumbher Sandhane, a hugely popular, semi-autobiographical narrative centered around the Kumbha-mela. The many subsequent books by Kalkut had depicted the lives of the common people from all over India and all walks of life (including those who live on the periphery of the "mainstream") with their varied cultures and religious practices in a unique style that was Kalkut's own. He also drew upon the recollections of the Puranas and Itihas; Shamba, an interesting modern interpretation of the Puranic tales, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980.

Samaresh Basu died on 12 March 1988.

Bibliography

• Aam Mahato
• Aboseshe
• Achinpurer Kathokata
• Apadartho (Ananda Pub.)
• Aparichito (Sahityam,1985)
• Baghini
• Bibar (Ananda Pub.), made as a film in 2006, it is also mentioned in Mrinal Sen's 1971 film Interview.
• Bibekban/Bhiru
• Bijon Bibhui (Ananda Pub.)
• Bijorito (Anjali Prakashoni)
• B.T.Roader Dhare
• Chaya Dhaka Mon
• Daho
• Dekhi Nai Phire (Ananda Pub.)
• Dosh Deen Pore (Ananda Pub.,1986)
• Dui Aronyo (Anjali Prakashoni)
• Ganga (Maushumi Prakasani,1974)
• Goenda Ashok Thakur Samogro [1] (Anjali Prakashoni)
• Hariey Pawa (Nath Publishing)
• Hridayer Mukh
• Jabab (Deys Publishing,1986)
• Jhile Nagar (Karuna Prakashoni)
• Jug Jug Jiye (Ananda Pub. & Lokbharati,1990)
• Kamona Basona
• Ke Nebe More
• Khondita (Ananda Pub.)
• Mahakaler Rother Ghora (Ananda Pub.)
• Marsumer ek din (Annyadhara, 1979)
• Mohamaya (Modern Publishers,1988)
• Nithur Dorodee
• Noyonpurer Mati (Nath Publishing)
• Padokkhep
• Pancho Bonhi (Sahityam)
• Pathik
• Patok (Anjali Prakashoni)
• Prajapoti (Ananda Pub.,1985)
• Prakriti
• Pran Protima
• Punaryatra (Ananda Pub.)
• Raktim Basonto
• Ranir Bazar (Nath Publishing)
• Samaresh Basu Rochonaboli [1–13] (Ananda Pub.)
• Shalgherir Simanay
• Sekol Chera Haater Khoje (Ananda Pub.,1984)
• Swarnochanchu
• Tanaporen (Anjali Prakashoni)
• Teen Purush (Ananda Pub.)
• Tin Bhubaner Pare (Maushumi Prakasani,1982)
• Uddhar (Mandal, 1986)

Work as Kalkut

• Amrita Bisher Patre (Ananda Pub.)
• Amrita kumbher Sandhaney
• Arab Sagorer Jol Lona
• Dhyan Jnan Prem (Ananda Pub.)
• Ek Je Chhilen Raja (Ananda Pub.)
• Juddher Shesh Senapoti (M.C.Sarkar & Sons)
• Kalkut Rachona Samagro [1–8] (Maushumi Prakasani)
• Kothaay Pabo Tarey (Ananda Pub.)
• Ponnyo Bhume Punya Snan (Ananda Pub.)
• Purno Kumbho Punascho (Ananda Pub.)
• Shambo (Ananda Pub.)

Works For Children Audiences

• Adrisya Manusher Haatchani (Sarodiya Suktara,1986)
• Bandha Ghore'r Awaz (Ananda Pub.,Nov 1979)
• Bhul Barite Dhuke (Ananda Pub.,1986,Sarodiya Anondomela,1985)
• Bideshi Garite Bipod (Ananda Pub.,Apr 1988,Sarodiya Anondomela,1987)
• Buno Hati'r Bandhuttwo (Pujabarshiki Anondomela Sankalan, Sarodiya Anondomela,1977,illustration – Sudhir Maitro)
• Goa i Gogoler Prothom Kirti (Pujabarshiki Anondomela Sankalan, Sarodiya Anondomela,1978)
• Gogol Amonibas (Nath Publishing)
• Gogol Chikkus Nagalande (Ananda Pub.)
• Gorokhkhonathbabur Notebook (Pakhik Anondomela Sera Sankalan,25 June 1986,illustration – Debashish Deb)
• Jangal Mohol E Gogol (Ananda Pub.,1987,Sarodiya Anondomela,1986)
• Jonaki Bhuter Bari (Pujabarshiki Anondomela Sankalan, Sarodiya Anondomela,1980, illustration – Sunil Shil)
• Jwor'er Ghore Shona (Pakhik Anondomela Sera Sankalan,23 December 1987,illustration – Anup Roy)
• Sei Gari'r Khoje (Ananda Pub.,Aug 1984, Sarodiya Anondomela,1983)
• Simul Gore'r Khune Bhut (Ananda Pub.)

Gogol Omnibus

• Aayna Niye Khelte Khelte
• Adrishya Manusher Haatchani Sarodiya Suktara,1986)
• Buno Hati'r Bandhuttwo (Sarodiya Anondomela,1977)
• Chora Hati Shikari
• Durger Garhkhai Er Durghatono
• Garadheen Jaanalay Rakkhos
• Gogol Kothay? (Sarodiya Anondomela,1981)
• Gogoler Keramati
• Gogoler Royraja Uddhar
• Harano Buddhagupti
• Indurer Khut khut
• Jonaki Bhuter Bari (Sarodiya Anondomela,1980)
• Kairong Moth Er Gogoler Kando
• Mahishmardini Uddhar
• Pashchimer Balcony Theke
• Rajdhani Expresser Hatya Rahasya
• Ratna Rahasya O Gogol
• Sonali Parer Rahashya
• Telephone Aaripatar Bipad (Sarodiya Suktara)

Film adaptation

A number of films are based on his works including-

• Nirjan Saikate (1963) by Tapan Sinha
• Calcutta 71 (1972) by Mrinal Sen
• Kitaab (1977) and Namkeen (1982) by Gulzar
• Shaukeen (1982) directed by Basu Chatterjee
• Amrita Kumbher Sandhane (1982) by Dilip Roy
• Paar (1984) by Goutam Ghose
• Genesis (1986) by Mrinal Sen
• Uttara (2000) by Buddhadeb Dasgupta
• Nater Guru (2003) by Haranath Chakraborty
• Bibar (2006) by Subrata Sen.
• In 2013, a film adaptation of Basu's story, Sonali Parer Rahashya of Gogol Omnibus, was released with the title Goyenda Gogol. Directed by Arindam Dey, the film featured child actor Ahijit Ghosh as Gogol, along with veteran actors like Indraneil Sengupta, Saheb Chatterjee and Rachana Banerjee.
• A sequel of Goyenda Gogol, named Gogoler Kirti was released in 2014. Directed by Pompy Ghosh Mukherjee, the film is based on two stories by Samaresh Basu- Royraja Uddhar and Mahishmardini Uddhar. Actor Ahijit Ghosh reprising his role as Gogol from the previous film.