Author: Satyajit Ray
Translator(s)/ Editors(s): Gopa Majumdar
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2001
Language: English
Pages: 301
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9780143028055
Description
Twenty-one extraordinary stories from a master storyteller.
For several decades now, Satyajit Ray’s tales about unusual happenings and bizarre characters rooted in familiar surroundings have both regaled and terrified his readers, young and old alike. Here finally are the very best short stories, available together for the first time between two covers.
In these pages, you will encounter –
THE HUNGRY SEPTOPUS, a carnivorous plant with a monstrous appetite
BARIN BHOWMICK, a kleptomaniac who is taken back several years by a chance encounter on a train.
PATOL BABU, an amateur actor for whom a walk-on part in a movie turns into the ultimate challenge.
BIPIN CHOWDHURY, who seems to be suffering from a most disagreeable bout of amnesia.
BONKU BABU, a mofussil schoolteacher who is visited one night by a friendl and somewhat awkward alien.
ASHAMANJA BABU’S DOG, who bursts out laughing one morning
ANATH BABU, a ghost hunter who finds himself being stalked by his terrifying quarry and many, many more unforgettable characters.
This collection features four new stories, translated specially for this volume, including ‘Pikoo’s Diarry’, Ray’s masterpiece about a small boy’s perception of his mother’s adulterous affair, written as a child’s diary. It also contains all eight short stories that Satyajit Ray translated himself into English.
Hilarious and sinister by turns, this is perfect bedtime reading for those who like their terror seasoned with a pinch of humour, and a collector’s item for all Ray aficionados.
Contents
Introduction
THE HUNGRY SEPTOPUS
RATAN BABU AND THAT MAN
BONKU BABU’S FRIEND
THE TWO MAGICIANS
ASHAMANJA BABU’S DOG
PATOL BABU, FILM STAR
INDIGO
BIPIN CHOWDHURY”S LAPSE OF MEMORY
FRITZ
BARIN BHOWMICK’S AILMENT
THE MATHS TEACHER, MR PINK AND TIPU
BIG BILL
KHAGAM
ANATH BABU’S TERROR
THE SMALL WORLD OF SADANANDA
THE PTERODACTYL’S EGG
SHIBU AND THE MONSTER
MR ECCENTRIC
A STRANGE NIGHT FOR MR SHASMAL
BHUTO
PIKOO’S DIARY