Sei Samay 1, 2

• Author: সুনীল গঙ্গোপাধ্যায় (Sunil Gangopadhyay)
• Genre: Upanyas (Novel)
• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 9788170669708
• Pages: 710
• Weight: 968 grams
• Publisher: Ananda Publishers

Synopsis:
This novel is set in Bengal between 1840 and 1870, a time when Calcutta’s elite indulged in luxury, while young intellectuals enthusiastically imitated the British, and landlords funded cultural pursuits through peasant exploitation. Against this backdrop, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar tirelessly worked under the dim glow of an oil lamp to reform Bengali prose and society, and the Bengali middle class was beginning to emerge.

Time itself is the novel’s central character, as Sunil Gangopadhyay has stated:

"The main protagonist of my story is Time itself. To bring Time to life, I needed a symbolic character—Nabinkumar. His journey, conflicts, experiences, and untimely death embody the spirit of this transformative period."

The novel features real historical figures such as Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Henry Derozio, David Hare, and Debendranath Tagore, who come alive in its pages. Sei Samay is a vivid cinematic portrayal of a turbulent era, skillfully weaving fact with fiction. It is a masterpiece of historical fiction, honored with the Bankim Puraskar and the Sahitya Akademi Award.

This collector’s edition brings together both volumes of Sei Samay into a single hardcover as a tribute to its lasting literary significance.

About the Author:
Sunil Gangopadhyay (7 September 1934 – 23 October 2012) was born in Faridpur, Bangladesh, and educated in Calcutta. He earned his M.A. from the University of Calcutta and started his career as a private tutor before taking on various roles, including insurance trainee, UNESCO adult education worker, government clerk, and newspaper editor.

He began his literary career with poetry, co-founding the legendary ‘Krittibas’ magazine. Though acclaimed as a poet, he later gained equal fame as a novelist, starting with ‘Atmaprakash’, published in Desh magazine.

His first poetry collection, ‘Eka Ebong Koyekjon’, cemented his place in Bengali literature. Writing under pseudonyms like Nil Lohit, Sanatan Pathak, and Neel Upadhyay, he was equally loved by adult and young readers alike.

Among his numerous accolades:

• Ananda Puraskar (early in his career)
• Bankim Puraskar (1983)
• Sahitya Akademi Award (1985)