Chatim by Smaranjit Chakrabarty [Hardcover]

In post-independence Kolkata during the 1940s, amidst the struggles of a small lower-middle-class life, Kusumdi is the only light in Satu’s world. Whatever Kusumdi tells him, Satu tries his best to follow. Through these actions, he gradually begins to discover another hidden side of Kusumdi's life. Against the backdrop of the anti-British movement, Satu gets increasingly entangled with Kusumdi through various events, all unfolding in the light and shadows of Kolkata. Along the way, the neighborhood’s first Durga Puja draws closer. Alongside this, we also see a story set nearly seventy years later, still in Satu’s neighborhood, where ninety-year-old Satu lives. In this part of the story, we meet Hattim, a former football player, and his former lover, Ijona. We also see Rakho, Pintuda, Maduli, Mudra, Patada, and many others. In a strange situation, organizing the neighborhood’s Durga Puja becomes everyone's goal, but financial obstacles arise. Will the Puja happen this time? "Chatim" tells the parallel stories of two different times, revealing the pure life stories of love and friendship.