Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Nirmal K Bhattacharjee (tr.) and Agantuk (ill)The ghost of Gosain Bagan [orig: গোঁসাই বাগানের ভূত, 1972) 3>
Mukhopadhyay, Sirshendu; Nirmal K Bhattacharjee (tr.); Agantuk (ill);
The ghost of Gosain Bagan [orig: গোঁসাই বাগানের ভূত, 1972)
Ponytale books, 2008
ISBN 9788190574822
topics: | fiction | children | bangla | translation
Burun scored 13 (out of 100) in mathematics in the annual examination. The news spreads, but when even the parrot starts saying "Burun got 13 in maths", he gives up and goes to the forest nearby in despair. There he meets the ghost Nidhuram, who helps him score high in maths, and also become a sports star. Meanwhile, Habu, the town criminal and tantrik, is being released from jail. Their paths cross, via a fascinating cast of characters including Burun's grandfather the kaviraj Rambabu, and the math teacher Karalibabu.
An inconsistency in the story has to do with the fact that the ghosts are very scared of the word "Ram" and disappear the moment it is uttered, (e.g. Rambabu). Yet the leading ghosts name is Nidhuram.
The translation by Nirmal Bhattacharjee (erstwhile secretary at Sahitya Akademi) reads smoothly, and holds the plot together.
amitabha mukerjee (mukerjee [at-symbol] gmail.com) 2011 Apr 15