By Parvathi Ramkumar

An unforgotten old romance is rekindled and fading dreams are revived in Ramapada Chowdhury’s novella Second Encounter. Originally published in Bengali as Je Jekhane Danriye, and translated into English by Swapna Dutta, the slim book follows Anupam, a professor, and his sudden, unexpected encounter with his old flame, Anjali. There are feelings between them that have remained unresolved, but in the two decades since their last encounter, families, spouses and children have all changed their lives.

When the novella opens, Anupam is on a holiday in Musabani, a mining town. Far removed from the cares of bustling Calcutta, Anupam finds Musabani idyllic, but is soon confused when he meets a woman at the weekly market. The woman in question is Anjali, someone he’d known as a teenager, a woman he’d been besotted with. A misunderstanding, it is given to understand, led Anupam and Anjali to go their separate ways… but whatever feelings they’d shared have remained, as they discover. Many of the characters in Second Encounter are quickly introduced right at the beginning of the book. Read more

Source: Deccan Herald