Chayataru

📌 Book Details:

• Author: Samaresh Majumdar
• Genre: Novel (Upanyas)
• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 9789350408551
• Pages: 160
• Weight: 275 grams

📚 About the Book:

Set in the newly independent India, Chayataru transports readers to a remote tea plantation in North Bengal, where young doctor Shubha arrives to serve. While her father supports her decision, others in her family disapprove of her choice to work in such an isolated place.

At the plantation, she meets Macpherson, the British manager, recognizable by his felt hat, khaki half-sleeve shirt, and signature white mustache. Soon, Shubha realizes the tea estate is an unfamiliar world, vastly different from Kolkata. The impoverished laborers are deeply bound by age-old superstitions, especially the women, while the country is undergoing rapid changes post-independence.

As the ownership of tea estates transitions from British to Indian hands, tensions rise, and labor supervisors who were once close to British owners find themselves under attack. One day, a mysterious illness spreads, affecting several men and women, leaving Shubha with an urgent medical crisis. Meanwhile, Macpherson contemplates leaving the country for good.

📖 Chayataru paints a vivid picture of post-independence India, capturing the social and economic changes that shaped the lives of many.

📚 About the Author:

🔹 Samaresh Majumdar was born on March 10, 1944.
🔹 Spent his childhood in the tea gardens of Dooars and studied at Jalpaiguri District School.
🔹 Moved to Kolkata in 1960 and pursued a degree in Bengali Literature from Scottish Church College before completing his M.A. from the University of Calcutta.
🔹 Initially involved in group theater, which later led him to writing.
🔹 His first short story was published in ‘Desh’ magazine in 1967, followed by his first novel, ‘Dour’ (1975).
🔹 Notable works:

• Dour
• Ei Ami Renu
• Uttaradhikar
• Boro Paap Hey
• Ujan Ganga
• Basbhumi
• Lokkhi'r Panchali
• Kalbela (which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1984)
• Kalpurush

🔹 Awards & Recognitions:

• Ananda Puraskar (1982)
• BFJA, Dishari, and Chalachitra Prasar Samiti Awards for ‘Dour’ (film adaptation)
• Sahitya Akademi Award (1984) for ‘Kalbela’

📖 Samaresh Majumdar’s works are known for their deep insights into human relationships, societal struggles, and the intricacies of life.