Ektara by Tilottama Majumdar [Hardcover]

On the evening of her wedding, Debarati’s in-laws were scandalized by a wobbly old wardrobe among the dowry items. That was just the beginning. For seven years, humiliation clung to her in different ways.

In her youth, she had loved Ritoban, only for him to teach her a painful truth—people leave. In response, she too began playing the game of leaving. Moving from one fleeting relationship to another—Neel, Sanjayda, Subhashis, Amiteshda, Sushanta Jana—she slowly realized the harsh truth of her failures and unbearable loneliness.

Despite her intelligence and strong desire for independence, she found herself trapped in a haze of hopelessness. After a bitter experience at a small private company, she impulsively decided to marry Neel without much thought. She wanted to love him, but love never came. Betrayal and humiliation became constants in her life until, one day, she discovered something extraordinary—her creative self.

Poetry and novels began flowing from her pen, offering her an escape from despair. But even in the literary world, she encountered the vile greed of a publisher. Crushed by endless solitude, she began contemplating death, all while watching Neel sink deeper into his own moral decay out of greed.

And then, one day, she made a choice—to stand up for herself. In a final act of defiance, she left Neel, carrying an uncertain future but a newfound sense of self. Thus began her journey into a different kind of solitude—one of strength and self-reclamation.