Runu Samagra by Shyamadas De [Hardcover]

Runu – the name evokes a deep sense of nostalgia for everyone who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s. Ranajit, fondly known as Runu, lives a simple life by the river Madhumati in Bangladesh. As readers, we silently cheer him on as he discovers and preserves the small pleasures of life with wonder and amusement, pleasures that we always take for granted. Through the eyes of the protagonist, Shyamadas De paints a vivid picture of languid rural life – people, language and society and the role of nature in their lives. Creating an ambience that was unique to city dwellers, ‘Runu’ garnered immense popularity for its easy narrative and lucid storytelling that was simultaneously relatable in the emotions and yet, alien in the treatment. Runu Samagra is a compilation of 13 coming-of-age tales of Runu as he navigates family, career, love and life in general- with a glint of optimism and innocence that is rooted in his childhood.