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প্রসন্ন পাষাণ

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The second novel of Rashid Karim, Prasanno Pashan received similar appraisal from the readers of Bangladesh. The story of this novel is also set in the city of Kolkata. The protagonist of this novel is Tishna who is the narrator of the novel herself. The whole novel is related in the first person narrative as her personal accounts. Like his first novel, this second one of Rashid Karim lacks the perfection to be a true picture of the then society. A very thin thread of the Kolkata's Muslim society may be observed in the novel. Rather the incidents of Tishna’s early life are the main focus of the novel. The novelist has tried to portray the like-sketch of Tishna and the influence of the episode of her Chhotofufu (younger aunt) and Chotochacha (younger uncle) on her life. The other characters like Alim and Karim also play importance roles in the plot of the novel. On the eve of her youth Tishna not only sympathised Kamil, rather she loved him: the proof of it is present in the end of the novel. We now understand that Tishna loved Kamil but the social prejudices prevented her to reach her love. Though Tishna is presented as the main character, her exposition comes through narration, rather than action – she rarely participates in them; rather she only watches. As a result she fails to create any permanent impression on the reader’s mind. On the other hand Chhotofufu, Tishna’s distant aunt Mayna, spans less in the novel but touches more deeply. The character of Kamil is also no better creation.

150 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

16 people want to read

About the author

Rashid Karim

18 books17 followers
Rashid Karim was born in Kolkata, West Bengal in 1925. He did his BA from the Calcutta Islamia College (now Maulana Azad College), an affiliated college of the University of Calcutta. After the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, his family moved to Dhaka.

He began writing during the British period, continued during the Pakistan period but wrote his major novels during the Bangladesh period. It was in independent Bangladesh that his career as a writer reached its zenith. Rashid Karim penned his first story at the age of fourteen. So he began quite early. But his first story was published in 1942 in Mohammed Nasiruddin's Saogat. After that he did not write till 1961, when began the second phase of his writing career. His first novel Uttam Purush was published that year. It made him widely known and brought him the prestigious Adamjee Award. Two years later Prashanna Pashan instantly turned him into a major novelist of the Bengali language. Again he went into hibernation, this time for a decade. After the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, he published his epic novel, Amar Jato Glani, in 1973. This novel helped his fame reach its peak. Till this period he was known as a gifted writer who wrote less but wrote very well. But from then on he wrote and published regularly. Prem Ekti Lal Golap was published in 1978.

Rashid Karim had battled paralysis for nineteen years before his death. He could not write a single word during that long period and died at Ibrahim Cardiac Centre in Dhaka on 26 November 2011.

Novelist Abu Rushd was his elder brother.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Harun Ahmed.
1,679 reviews448 followers
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October 30, 2025
"প্রসন্ন পাষাণ" আমার পড়া রশীদ করীমের চতুর্থ উপন্যাস। ভারত ও পাকিস্তানের স্বাধীনতা লাভের অব্যবহিত পূর্বে,কলকাতা শহরের এক বনেদী মুসলিম পরিবার এবং এদের হৃদয়ঘটিত ব্যাপার স্যাপার নিয়ে মূল আখ্যানভাগ রচিত। চরিত্রগুলো বেশ জীবন্ত। বর্তমানে দাঁড়িয়ে তাদের অনেক আচরণকে "সেকেলে" বলে নাক সিঁটকানোই যায়। কিন্তু প্রেক্ষিত ও সময় বিবেচনায় তারা যথেষ্ট প্রগতিশীল। তাদের মনস্তত্ত্ব, সামাজিক অবস্থান আর শ্রেণিদ্বন্দ্ব কাজ করেছে অনুঘটকের।যথেষ্ট উদারমনা হলেও যে মানুষ শ্রেণিবিভাজন ভুলতে পারে না এবং যথাসময়ে বহিঃপ্রকাশ ঘটে তার কৌতূহলোদ্দীপক বর্ণনা আছে  বইতে। এই প্রথম দেখলাম লেখক তালগোল না পাকিয়ে পরিচ্ছন্ন ইতি টানলেন গল্পের।
Profile Image for Manzila.
167 reviews161 followers
February 5, 2023
৩.৫/৫
Excuse my choice of words when I say, there are those rare authors যারা এক খামচি গোবরের বর্ণনা লিখলেও আমি খুউব আগ্রহ নিয়ে পড়ব, তাদের গদ্যশৈলী এতোটাই সুন্দর।

To me, Rashid Karim belongs to that exquisite group for sure.
Profile Image for Gain Manik.
377 reviews4 followers
November 13, 2025
গ্যাপ দিয়ে দিয়ে পড়েছি তাই হয়তো এসেন্স ধরতে পারিনি। আমার কাছে রশীদ করীমের ম্যাগনাম ওপাস ওই উত্তম পুরুষ‌-ই। যাইহোক লেখক পুরুষ হয়েও এরকম নারীরূপে আত্মকাহিনী লেখা একটু কঠিনই। লেখককে কুর্নিশ
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews

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