Dui Dashaker Desh Galpa Sangkalan by Desh Sangkalan [Hardcover]

The patronage and role of Desh magazine in the publication of short stories is almost legendary. All the notable, renowned, emerging, and even lesser-known or unknown Bengali short story writers have contributed their best works to this magazine. It is difficult to reach a definitive conclusion about the kinds of stories—whether in terms of subject, style, or form—that have been published in Desh, given the variety and experimentation across genres. The diversity of stories published here is so vast that one may feel lost when standing before the sheer volume of them. This immense richness is a matter of pride for Desh magazine. A significant portion of unforgettable and remarkable short stories has been published in this magazine.

One of the major reasons for this is that Desh has quietly performed its duty of publishing the best work from all writers, regardless of their affiliations or groupings. The magazine has never shown bias towards any particular writer. Whether invited or unsolicited, Desh has always upheld its impartiality to the highest degree in publishing each story. The magazine has never hesitated to welcome new, unknown, yet deserving writers with open arms.

It is because of this impartiality that Desh has transcended the boundaries of a mere periodical and emerged as the foremost voice of Bengali cultural life. This magazine has never confined itself to the limitations of short stories. It has embraced the evolution of the short story genre, the changing styles, and the expansion in thematic variety over the decades. This ongoing dynamism has made Desh the most reliable platform for Bengali short stories.

From the last two decades of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century (1983-2003), this collection has been created by selecting 100 stories from the thousands of different kinds of stories published in Desh. This task is not an easy one, but we have made an effort. In the span of twenty years, innumerable good stories have been read by readers. The main aim of this collection is to present some of those well-loved, good stories, along with a few significant ones, to the readers as a humble endeavor.