Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay: Tales of Early Magic Realism In Bengali

Is virtue what is compromised in an arranged (coerced/’forced’) marriage? Is that every girl’s horror movie dream? For Little Kankabaty, however, it is a quickly impending reality even while the love of her life promises enlightenment but is a mama’s boy leading his life constantly circumspect and carefully. Yet now she is tasked with rescuing him from the clutches of scorned ghostwoman Nakeshwari, of the beautiful nose and broken marriage alliance with Ghyanghon Bhoot, belonging to a community of cutesy spirits from which Lullu has spirited the comely but crafty wife of Aameer away. Will Aameer reunite with his wife either? These, and other pressing concerns (who invented porcelain? Who was the king of Iran’s Nishapur and how was the monster of Sumiyoshi slain? What exactly is the politics of Neelambarbabu’s kitchen?), are suitably addressed in Trailokyanath’s zany tales, which do not disappoint the reader, grip their attention and always, always, entertain.

Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay

Trailokyanath Mukhopadhyay (22 July 1847–3 November 1919) was the curator of the Indian Museum in Kolkata and a classical Bengali writer. He published nine novels and over 24 short stories. Trailokyanath also wrote a travelogue, A Visit to Europe (1902), in English. Damrucharit, published posthumously in 1923, is his most famous work.