Desh Subarnajayanti Galpa Sangkalan Edited by Sagarmay Ghosh [Hardcover]

In Bengali literature, it was once questioned by Narayan Gangopadhyay whether Rabindranath, the poet, playwright, essayist, and novelist, would have written short stories if the Hitabadi magazine had not been published. In fact, the close connection between the creation and development of short stories and the demand of periodicals is well-known to literary readers. Under the constraints of the limited space in magazines, this new medium of art took over the place of traditional literature in the 20th century. As Narayan Gangopadhyay put it, "It existed in the spirit of the era, but the magazines brought it to the forefront." Rabindranath was the first short story writer in Bengali literature, and in that sense, Bengali short stories are not even a century old yet. However, it is widely recognized that, like poetry, Bengali literature’s pride and richness, as well as its equivalence to world literature, can also be seen in the realm of short stories. Over the last fifty years, the Desh magazine, which has been published weekly, has featured nearly five thousand short stories, making its contribution to Bengali short fiction highly significant. This role of Desh magazine has been acknowledged by a contemporary critic, who, in a survey of the stories and novels published in Desh over the past fifty years, noted that it is nearly impossible to categorize all the types of stories published in the magazine. The critic wrote, "Many types of experiments with the form of short stories have been conducted in Desh, and no other magazine has likely published such a diverse range of stories." Thus, in terms of both subject matter and form, Desh magazine has been one of the main pillars of Bengali short fiction over the last fifty years. On the occasion of Desh magazine’s Golden Jubilee, a collection of fifty stories was selected from its pages. These fifty stories are not just simple selections; it is like drawing fifty rare and precious jewels from a vast ocean. Needless to say, this was not an easy task. Desh is not just a magazine that publishes writings; it also nurtures writers. Many of today's most notable figures in Bengali literature first published their works in Desh. Furthermore, Desh magazine has always believed in publishing worthy writings by deserving authors, irrespective of their political or ideological affiliations. This collection of stories, therefore, stands as a unique document of Bengali literature—an essential anthology showcasing the rare and indispensable works of both seasoned and emerging writers.