Cygni

by Susmita Bhattacharya

Cygni is the story of flights across the nations for the spirit of liberation. The identical twins, Anastasia and Tatiana seek the much-cherished freedom from the bondage of duties and mundane chores induced by necessity to reach academic and creative fruition. So do many of the other characters. In their inclination to find their purpose in life, each realizes that they have to succumb to untold depths of ignominy, deceit, and subterfuge. In the process, some give in; others accept and resign to fate. Anastasia finds that she has to stoop below her dignity and forego all that she had held in high esteem to reach her end. It is a tryst with the truth which she never thought she would give in to. She faces an identity crisis, disillusionment, and despair.

Their journey had started together, but does the path have to end in estrangement? Set in the backdrop of the chaotic situations in Russia and Ukraine in the 1990’s, the story of the two sisters to conquer the hostilities in their path is an enduring saga of self discovery.

About the Susmita Bhattacharya is an academician, a teacher, and a painter who has encapsulated her years of experience into creative pursuits. She yields both the pen and the brush to express her thoughts about the past, the present, and the future and the struggle that ensues between one's deepest desires and the final denouement. Cygni is her debut novel in which she explores the theme of the struggle between longing and renouncement. It is an extension of her vision exuded in her first book on short stories The Mirror Within. She is also credited with writing a series of books on English grammar titled Learning Grammar which is an invaluable book for the teaching and learning of grammar for the students of the language. The author can be reached at susmitabhattacharyaauthor.com And susmitabhattacharya.author@gmail.com.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2023

About the author

Susmita was born in Mumbai, India. Her debut novel, The Normal State of Mind was published by Parthian in March 2015.

Susmita's short stories have been published in anthologies and journals in the U.K. and internationally.She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and got a commendable short story prize in the Frome Festival Short Story Contest. Her story has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

She has an MA in Creative Writing and runs writing workshops in her community.

She’s travelled on oil tanker ships with her husband for three years and will write about her sea adventures one day.