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Saratchandra Omnibus
Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian novelists of the twentieth century. His novels, serialized in periodicals and subsequently published in book form, earned Saratchandra immense fame in the early decades of the century, and established him as Bengal’s master storyteller. Even today, seven decades after his death, Saratchandra remains one of the most popular novelists in Bengal, and is widely read in translation across India as well.
This collector’s edition of Saratchandra’s works in English translation brings together the writer’s most renowned and best-loved novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features five novels: Srikanta, Devdas, Parineeta, Palli Samaj and Nishkriti. Srikanta is the story of a wanderer who observes the people around him; through them—especially the women he loves and respects, from the sacrificing Annada Didi and the rebellious Abhaya to the housewife Rajlakshmi and the courtesan Pyari Bai—he tries to arrive at an understanding of life. Devdas, on the other hand, is the tragic tale of a man who drives himself to drink and debilitation when he is unable to marry his childhood sweetheart Paro. In Parineeta (Espoused), the orphaned Lalita is secretly in love with her guardian Shekhar, but circumstances conspire to drive the two apart. Palli Samaj (The Village Life) has Ramesh, an engineer, returning to the village of his birth to try and rid it of the backwardness that plagues it, even as he tries to revive his childhood ties with Rama, now a widow. In Nishkriti (Deliverance), the strong-willed Shailaja, the youngest daughter-in-law in a joint family, is made an outcast as a result of a misunderstanding; much later, her elders realize their mistake, just in time to save the family from disintegration.
Each of the novels showcases the qualities Saratchandra is famous for: everyday stories told in a simple yet gripping style, strong characters, meticulous plotting, true-to-life dialogue, and unforgettable depictions of life in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Translated especially for Penguin, these classic novels will delight those new to Saratchandra’s works as well as those who want to return to them again.
This collector’s edition of Saratchandra’s works in English translation brings together the writer’s most renowned and best-loved novels in two omnibus volumes. The first volume features five novels: Srikanta, Devdas, Parineeta, Palli Samaj and Nishkriti. Srikanta is the story of a wanderer who observes the people around him; through them—especially the women he loves and respects, from the sacrificing Annada Didi and the rebellious Abhaya to the housewife Rajlakshmi and the courtesan Pyari Bai—he tries to arrive at an understanding of life. Devdas, on the other hand, is the tragic tale of a man who drives himself to drink and debilitation when he is unable to marry his childhood sweetheart Paro. In Parineeta (Espoused), the orphaned Lalita is secretly in love with her guardian Shekhar, but circumstances conspire to drive the two apart. Palli Samaj (The Village Life) has Ramesh, an engineer, returning to the village of his birth to try and rid it of the backwardness that plagues it, even as he tries to revive his childhood ties with Rama, now a widow. In Nishkriti (Deliverance), the strong-willed Shailaja, the youngest daughter-in-law in a joint family, is made an outcast as a result of a misunderstanding; much later, her elders realize their mistake, just in time to save the family from disintegration.
Each of the novels showcases the qualities Saratchandra is famous for: everyday stories told in a simple yet gripping style, strong characters, meticulous plotting, true-to-life dialogue, and unforgettable depictions of life in turn-of-the-century Bengal. Translated especially for Penguin, these classic novels will delight those new to Saratchandra’s works as well as those who want to return to them again.
752 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay
259 books957 followersComplete works of Sarat Chandra (শরৎ রচনাবলী) is now available in this third party website:
http://sarat-rachanabali.becs.ac.in/i...
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (also spelt Saratchandra) (Bengali: শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়) was a legendary Bengali novelist from India. He was one of the most popular Bengali novelists of the early 20th century.
His childhood and youth were spent in dire poverty as his father, Motilal Chattopadhyay, was an idler and dreamer and gave little security to his five children. Saratchandra received very little formal education but inherited something valuable from his father—his imagination and love of literature.
He started writing in his early teens and two stories written then have survived—‘Korel’ and ‘Kashinath’. Saratchandra came to maturity at a time when the national movement was gaining momentum together with an awakening of social consciousness.
Much of his writing bears the mark of the resultant turbulence of society. A prolific writer, he found the novel an apt medium for depicting this and, in his hands, it became a powerful weapon of social and political reform.
Sensitive and daring, his novels captivated the hearts and minds of thousands of readers not only in Bengal but all over India.
Some of his best known novels are Palli Samaj (1916), Charitraheen (1917), Devdas (1917), Nishkriti (1917), Srikanta in four parts (1917, 1918, 1927 and 1933), Griha Daha (1920), Sesh Prasna (1929) and Sesher Parichay published posthumously (1939).
"My literary debt is not limited to my predecessors only. I'm forever indebted to the deprived, ordinary people who give this world everything they have and yet receive nothing in return, to the weak and oppressed people whose tears nobody bothers to notice and to the endlessly hassled, distressed (weighed down by life) and helpless people who don't even have a moment to think that: despite having everything, they have right to nothing. They made me start to speak. They inspired me to take up their case and plead for them. I have witnessed endless injustice to these people, unfair intolerable indiscriminate justice. It's true that springs do come to this world for some - full of beauty and wealth - with its sweet smelling breeze perfumed with newly bloomed flowers and spiced with cuckoo's song, but such good things remained well outside the sphere where my sight remained imprisoned. This poverty abounds in my writings."
http://sarat-rachanabali.becs.ac.in/i...
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay (also spelt Saratchandra) (Bengali: শরৎচন্দ্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়) was a legendary Bengali novelist from India. He was one of the most popular Bengali novelists of the early 20th century.
His childhood and youth were spent in dire poverty as his father, Motilal Chattopadhyay, was an idler and dreamer and gave little security to his five children. Saratchandra received very little formal education but inherited something valuable from his father—his imagination and love of literature.
He started writing in his early teens and two stories written then have survived—‘Korel’ and ‘Kashinath’. Saratchandra came to maturity at a time when the national movement was gaining momentum together with an awakening of social consciousness.
Much of his writing bears the mark of the resultant turbulence of society. A prolific writer, he found the novel an apt medium for depicting this and, in his hands, it became a powerful weapon of social and political reform.
Sensitive and daring, his novels captivated the hearts and minds of thousands of readers not only in Bengal but all over India.
Some of his best known novels are Palli Samaj (1916), Charitraheen (1917), Devdas (1917), Nishkriti (1917), Srikanta in four parts (1917, 1918, 1927 and 1933), Griha Daha (1920), Sesh Prasna (1929) and Sesher Parichay published posthumously (1939).
"My literary debt is not limited to my predecessors only. I'm forever indebted to the deprived, ordinary people who give this world everything they have and yet receive nothing in return, to the weak and oppressed people whose tears nobody bothers to notice and to the endlessly hassled, distressed (weighed down by life) and helpless people who don't even have a moment to think that: despite having everything, they have right to nothing. They made me start to speak. They inspired me to take up their case and plead for them. I have witnessed endless injustice to these people, unfair intolerable indiscriminate justice. It's true that springs do come to this world for some - full of beauty and wealth - with its sweet smelling breeze perfumed with newly bloomed flowers and spiced with cuckoo's song, but such good things remained well outside the sphere where my sight remained imprisoned. This poverty abounds in my writings."
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 23, 2025
When people think of Indian authors, they think of Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel prize winner. Yet for me, if any Indian author has ever captured the true Indian life, it's Saratchandra, who wrote most of his works from exile during the British Raj epoch. This author is, beyond all doubts, India's Zola.
The best in this collection is the shortest story, The Deliverance, for its power of self-less sacrifice and pardon, an act that kept me crying and laughing, as I did for the Bishop's act in Les Miserables.
The best in this collection is the shortest story, The Deliverance, for its power of self-less sacrifice and pardon, an act that kept me crying and laughing, as I did for the Bishop's act in Les Miserables.
October 9, 2014
Nishikriti - its a story of the politics inside the house.. particular to the joint family system in the house, the unbalanced relationships like cousions loved from more than real brothers, or wives being more worthy than husbands.... how the most quiet and unaware are the most knowing..
If you have ever lived in a joint family system like me then you would identify a lot with such characters, the bonding of cousions, the worrying & schemeing women of the house, the unaware & manipulated men of the house..it shows how money drives all relationships.. how women can make or break the house... how small issues can be blowen out of proportions and break the home.. but overall a good read! Enjoy..
If you have ever lived in a joint family system like me then you would identify a lot with such characters, the bonding of cousions, the worrying & schemeing women of the house, the unaware & manipulated men of the house..it shows how money drives all relationships.. how women can make or break the house... how small issues can be blowen out of proportions and break the home.. but overall a good read! Enjoy..
September 7, 2015
My review for the story : Deliverance (Nishkriti)
I came to know about this author from India through a work of Rabindranath Tagore. Saratchandra is best known for his work 'Devdas', but, personally I found 'Niskriti' a lot more realistic, and appealing because of the personal sacrifice involved.
At the beginning, it's a typical family feud, between the wives of two brothers, one rich and one poor, living under the same roof. The rich elder brother is comically out of touch with reality, and the younger brother is a wandering philosopher. The wife of the young had been brought up tenderly by the wife of the elder, so there is a tender mother-daughter relation of trust between the two.
Then come the third brother, a business shark, and his vulture wife… I am not going to spoil your read, but it's a poignant family drama that splits the household, and sends your head reeling.
The end is expansive, heart-lifting, and inspirational, because of a sacrifice the elder brother makes. A true Indian excellence.
What's amazing is: how this author enacted such a powerful story in so few pages! You really come out feeling like you have read a saga.
I came to know about this author from India through a work of Rabindranath Tagore. Saratchandra is best known for his work 'Devdas', but, personally I found 'Niskriti' a lot more realistic, and appealing because of the personal sacrifice involved.
At the beginning, it's a typical family feud, between the wives of two brothers, one rich and one poor, living under the same roof. The rich elder brother is comically out of touch with reality, and the younger brother is a wandering philosopher. The wife of the young had been brought up tenderly by the wife of the elder, so there is a tender mother-daughter relation of trust between the two.
Then come the third brother, a business shark, and his vulture wife… I am not going to spoil your read, but it's a poignant family drama that splits the household, and sends your head reeling.
The end is expansive, heart-lifting, and inspirational, because of a sacrifice the elder brother makes. A true Indian excellence.
What's amazing is: how this author enacted such a powerful story in so few pages! You really come out feeling like you have read a saga.
March 15, 2021
Saratchandra Chattopadhyay is one of the best Bengali writers who bundled novels/stories in this collection. The characters, events and rationality behind is so real that it surpasses the world of fiction. Most amazing is that the translation work is very accurate and fluent with right meaning. You need to practice patience to complete this book even though stories are very nice. The full cover of the book may be something needs to be polished more to reflect it’s real meaning.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews