Prabasi Pakhi by Sunil Gangopadhyay [Hardcover]

After a long time, returning to Kolkata from abroad on a summer night, Devkanta was struck by the sudden appearance of Jhilli, the daughter of his friend Satyaban. Though not the most beautiful woman, there was something in her eyes—something like the destructive flame that has led many sailors astray in the middle of an unfathomable sea. Orphaned Jhilli harbors deep sorrow within her heart. Her father, the storyteller Satyaban, has remarried, but Jhilli does not call the new woman "mother." Jhilli's own marriage has ended, and she does not love any man of her age. She desires the physical intimacy of the much older, foreign bachelor Devkanta. Yet, Devkanta, who has faced the ultimate test of self-restraint from Jhilli, refrains from indulging. Why? Was it his values that held him back? Jhilli's eyes seemed to beckon towards ruin. Even though he was tempted, Devkanta hesitated, fearing a terrible consequence. What is this consequence? Sunil Gangopadhyay's riveting novel explores this very question.