ICHHAMOTI

Bandyopadhyay’s classic novel of colonial Bangladesh is presented in a new translation.

The Ichhamoti River flows through southwestern Bangladesh into the vast mangrove delta of the Sunderbans. In the late 19th century, the banks of the river are dotted with indigo plantations owned by British settlers and worked by local villagers. The residents of the Mollahati plantation and its nearby village range along the social scale, from the feared, whip-carrying plantation owner Mr. Shipton and his impulsive son David at the top to the lowly Nalu Pal, a poor, unmarried betel nut seller, at the bottom. Somewhere in between are Rajaram Ray, the administrator of Shipton’s plantation, resented for his sycophantic devotion to his sahib; surveyor Prasanna Chakkotti, known for twisting lies into truth and truth into lies; and the beautiful but low-born Gaya-mem, who rises in the world by becoming Shipton’s mistress. At the center of the novel are Rajaram’s three spinster sisters—Tilu, Bilu, and Nilu—who are married off to the Brahmin hermit Bhabani Barujje. The not-so-little family’s fortunes rise and fall with those of the village. Through technological changes in the indigo industry and revolts among the workers, the people of Mollahati are subject to shifts just as sudden and violent as those of the Ichhamoti’s snaking waters. Originally published in 1950, this new translation by Bewtra breathes frenetic new life into the classic Bengali novel. Bandyopadhyay is a great chronicler of lush ecosystems, both natural and human-made, as when he describes a spot in the river where Bhabani and Tilu bathe: “There, the yellow acacia flowers dropped in the water, which was as clear as a crow’s eye. A narrow vine of moonseed dangled overhead from the annatto branches. Small schools of techoko fish swam close to Tilu’s breasts, disappearing in a flash when she tried to catch them.” It’s a rich, remarkable novel that captures the complex fragility of human societies and the environments in which they are built.

A dynamic Bengali epic dazzles in a smart new translation.