Samaresh Basu Rachanabali 12 [Hardcover]

Someone once said that Samresh Basu was the "Prince of Bengali literature." Critics might dismiss this statement as an exaggeration. But can we deny that, in literature, he was a vast talent, like a towering tree? With a spirit of struggle to turn adversity into advantage, he rose from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of fame and recognition. Just as his literature shifted in themes and directions over time, like a flowing river, his life also moved forward in equally diverse ways, spreading the colors of life.

He had no intense moral or idealistic pretensions about life. In his way of living, in his approach to survival, he was completely unique. Life and literature had become one for him, and that is why there was no deception in his creations. He himself wrote: "Whatever responsibility literature has, it lies with life. Life is greater than literature; a writer doesn’t need to engage in deep practice to realize this truth, for it is always vividly alive." Flesh-and-blood men and women, firmly grounded in the earth in every sense, were the subjects of his literary struggles. He never excluded anyone, never turned anyone away. He believed in exploring the depths of human nature through physical relationships, which often led to him being misunderstood.

Samresh believed that to truly capture life, one couldn’t just be an artist of life; one had to be a hunter of life as well. This is exactly what he seemed to be. A life artist and a life hunter. Samresh’s literary journey began with "Noyonpurer Mati" (The Soil of Noyonpur), though his first published novel was "Uttorang".

This twelfth volume contains ten of his novels: Atmaj, Agnibindu, Rupokotha, Banda, Mishimishi, Mukhomukhi Ghor, Bandho Dwar, Rupayan, Param Ratan, and Andhokar Gobhir Gobhritor. It also includes stories from the collections Trishna, Ujan, Rojokini Prem, Kirtinashini, Masher Prothom Robibar, and the Behula story from Lagnapoti, along with the Nachghar story from the collection Nachghar.

Through these significant works, the author’s diverse and profound experiences related to middle-class life are vividly reflected. In the preface to this volume, Professor Saroj Bandopadhyay has provided an exceptional analysis of Samresh’s identity.