The Discovery Of Telenapota by Premendra Mitra-by a long distance, my favourite Bengali writer-is possibly the most magical short story IвЂ™ve ever read. This story of the relationship between a destitute Muslim farmer (his religion is crucial to the story) and his bull Mahesh (the bullвЂ™s name is crucial too ShivaвЂ™s vahana-mount-was a bull, and Mahesh is one of ShivaвЂ™s many names) should be included in every high-school textbook in every Indian language, especially in these fractious times and adults of every ideological hue must find time and a way to read it (and be mature enough not to politicize it).

Sarat Chandra ChattopadhyayвЂ™s Mahesh is an all-time classic, a heart-rending tale that can bring a tear to the eye of even the most hardened cynic. One can then sit back and enjoy-sometimes marvel at, or even immerse oneself in-what is on offer. So, obviously, the only fair way to approach this book is by respecting the selection criteria that Sinha is absolutely open about. He makes it clear that the book is not meant to be either a representative cross-section of the Bengali short story, or вЂњa potted history' of the form: вЂњThese are, simply, stories I have loved and that have made a deep impression on me.' Readers who arenвЂ™t aware of these trams-as most non-Calcuttans wouldnвЂ™t be-may not comprehend the story, since nowhere does Gangopadhyay mention either вЂњladiesвЂ™ special' or tram (at the time of the storyвЂ™s publication, everyone knew what the writer was talking about, because the event was still fresh in Bengali memory).Д«ut when you read SinhaвЂ™s introduction to the anthology, you realize that such questions or arguments are not relevant. We will take the order for the books and deliver them to the place the purchaser wants to,' she said.Why have Manik and Sharadindu, who, along with Bibhutibhushan and Tarashankar, form the quartet of great Bandyopadhyays of Bengali literature, been excluded? And why include BibhutibhushanвЂ™s Einstein And Indubala, which is a simplistic moral fable? As for Post-mortem, Sunil Gangopadhyay based it on a real-life incident-an elderly gentleman boarded a вЂњladiesвЂ™ special' tram by mistake, and when the women passengers laughed at him and mocked him, he jumped off the running tram, flustered, and was killed. 'These coupons worth upto Rs 10,000 can be used to gift books to the children in the slum areas. The publisher's website would also provide the option to purchase books using gift coupons. Initially, this would be done on voluntary basis but there are plans to approach the state government education department so as to reach the masses in the rural areas, she said. It also has plans to go to different schools in the districts as well as to the remotest rural areas with the audio-books and provide students there the opportunity to listen to them so that the classic Bengali literary works reach them, she said. We are planning to have Bengali classics in that script to help people who are blind or have low vision,' Roy elaborated. 'There are not many classics in braille script. The publishing house is also planning to bring out the rich treasure trove of Bengali classics in braille.

As for the audio-books, the publisher's website would have five stories mainly to woo children and school students, Roy said. The e-books will be made in such a manner that they can be downloaded from the website. In a collaboration SNLTR and Mitra & Ghosh will make use of technology provided by IIT Kharagpur Computer Science department to digitise some classics of Bengali literature, she said. 'Soon, these literary gems will be available in the form of e-books, Braille books and audio books,' Roy said, adding that these would be ready by September-October.

Classic bengali books