Here, Day And Night Were Interchangeable. The Immaculately Dressed Chowringhee, Radiant In Her Youth, Had Just Stepped On To The Floor At The Nightclub. Set In 1950S Calcutta, Chowringhee Is A Sprawling Saga Of The Intimate Lives Of Managers, Employees And Guests At One Of Calcutta S Largest Hotels, The Shahjahan. Shankar, The Newest Recruit, Recounts The Stories Of Several People Whose Lives Come Together In The Suites, Restaurants, Bar And Backrooms Of The Hotel. As Both Observer And Participant In The Events, He Inadvertently Peels Off The Layers Of Everyday Existence To Expose The Seamy Underbelly Of Unfulfilled Desires, Broken Dreams, Callous Manipulation And Unbidden Tragedy. What Unfolds Is Not Just The Story Of Individual Lives But Also The Incredible Chronicle Of A Metropolis. Written By Best-Selling Bengali Author Sankar, Chowringhee Was Published As A Novel In 1962. Predating Arthur Hailey S Hotel By Three Years, It Became An Instant Hit, Spawning Translations In Major Indian Languages, A Film And A Play. Its Larger-Than-Life Characters The Enigmatic Manager Marco Polo, The Debonair Receptionist Sata Bose, The Tragic Hostess Karabi Guha, Among Others Soon Attained Cult Status. With Its Thinly Veiled Accounts Of The Private Lives Of Real-Life Celebrities, And Its Sympathetic Narrative Seamlessly Weaving The Past And The Present, It Immediately Established Itself As A Popular Classic. Available For The First Time In English, Chowringhee Is As Much A Dirge As It Is A Homage To A City And Its People.

First Published in 1996. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1874.

The Rough Guide Snapshot to Kolkata and West Bengal is the ultimate travel guide to this beautiful part of India. It guides you through the state with reliable information and comprehensive coverage of all the sights and attractions, from sophisticated, friendly Kolkata (Calcutta) to the dense forests of the Sundarbans, home to Bengal tigers, and the charming tea plantations of Darjeeling. Detailed maps and up-to-date listings pinpoint the best cafés, restaurants, hotels, hostels and shops ensuring you have the best trip possible, whether passing through, staying for the weekend or longer. Also included is the Basics section from The Rough Guide to India, with all the practical information you need for travelling in and around Kolkata and West Bengal, including transport, food, drink, costs, health, activities and tips for travelling with children. Also published as part of The Rough Guide to India. Full coverage: Kolkata (Calcutta), Sundarban Tiger Reserve, Murshidabad, Malda, Siliguri, New Jalpaiguri, Jaldapara, Gorumara, Darjeeling, Singalila treks, Kalimpong (Equivalent printed page extent 123 pages).

Briefly describes the culture and history of India, and gives tips on shopping, sightseeing, taking photographs, dining, and selecting accommodations.

100 classic tales from the master of Bengali short fiction 'Banaphool's love of precision and economyof words, his eye for the apparently insignificant detail give us a sudden glimpse of the human condition ' -Nabaneeta Dev Sen Translated into English for the first time, these stories by legendary writer Banaphool cleverly explore how life's absurdities are negotiated through human relationships- whether between friends,lovers family or strangers. In the title story, a lovelorn boy waits earnestly in his hostel room for the arrival of his beloved, only to be greeted by a rude shock. The fickle nature of love is at the centre of 'Conjugal Dreams' , as two newlyweds confront their old loves. 'The Homecoming' is about an isurance agent's encounter with a most unexpected co-passenger while travelling home by train for Durga Puja. And a harmless wager leads to very dramatic consequences in 'The Corpse'. These sparkling vignettes are moulded out of the everyday, and range from poignant and tragic to whimsical and satirical. Reminiscent of the effortless prose of O. Henry, Banaphool's stories conjure up a host of enduring characters while making sharp observations about the human condition.