Annada Shankar Rayer Rachanabali Vol-4: A Collection of Heartwarming Novels
Title: Annada Shankar Rayer Rachanabali Vol-4,
Author: Annada Shankar Ray,
Genre: Collected Works, Collection, Bengali Romantic Novel,
Format: PDF (20MB), Pages: 584,
Annada Shankar Rachanabali Vol-4: A Collection of Heartwarming Novels
Introduction
The author Annada Shankar Ray himself said while writing this novel, “He did not set out to write a philosophical treatise. ‘Satyasatya’, though not a work of philosophy, is a kind of philosophy of life. It is a testament to his immature age and unskilled writing.
But if he hadn’t written it then, he would never have had the courage to write it later. It was a daring act. Such daring is only possible in early youth. Those who expect maturity in this novel will be disappointed. He himself withdrew the claim of it being an epic novel. However, his youth is enshrined in its core.”
It took the author twelve years to write the six-volume novel ‘Satyasatya’. Those twelve years were the best part of his youth. He was then between twenty-five and thirty-seven years old. Seven of those twelve years were spent in East Bengal, and the rest in West Bengal. From another perspective, eight years were spent in the administrative department and four years in the judicial department.
Towards a Mature Voice
He had no desire to join the judicial department, even though that department offered more leisure. The administrative department provided ample opportunities for free interaction with people. He mingled with everyone, from the Governor to the village watchman. He had close contact with everyone, from kings, maharajas, and nawabs to farmers and peasants. Not to mention the police, he even had free interaction with terrorists.
He traveled to villages and towns on foot, by bicycle, on elephant back, in a houseboat, in a palanquin, and in a horse-drawn carriage. There were no good roads like today. Motor vehicles couldn’t travel very far. He had to live in tents at night. That was his special joy. Once, however, he was stranded after setting up a tent on a sandbank of the Padma River.
He wondered, ‘Should I live or should I write?’ That was his question. Those who are born writers might say, ‘I will write’. He was not a born writer. He would say, ‘I will live’. He lived life to the fullest and wrote whenever he had the time. He would send his writings to the publisher by mail. At that time, proofs were mostly sent by mail. He would check the proofs and send them back by mail.
He was never able to finish a book and hand over the complete manuscript to the publisher for any of the volumes. Gopal Das Majumdar was not a man to wait; his demand was that whatever was written should be sent to the press immediately. He was unwilling to give the author time for revision. Consequently, five of the six volumes remained unrevised. The only exception was the first volume, which was published serially in the monthly magazine “Bichitra”.
Expanding His Vision
The plan was for the novel to be completed in five volumes within five years. But his life was not entirely within his control. He somehow managed to write up to “Dukhamochan” and could not proceed further. He might have been able to if he had remained in the sub-divisional magistrate’s post. But suddenly he was promoted to the position of district magistrate. He wanted to prove that he was worthy of that post. Once that obsession took hold of him, it refused to let go.
Legacy of Volume-4 (Four)
He chased after a wild goose for three years. Against his will, he was made a judge. Although there wasn’t much running around involved in the judge’s position, he had ample time. And with that time, he wrote “Martyer Swarga” (Heaven on Earth). The story was supposed to end with that volume. But while writing, he found that the story was not finished. So, he wrote “Apasaran” (Withdrawal).
In the original plan, the final volume was to be titled “Martyer Sharta” (The Condition of Mortality). Needless to say, heaven and condition are not synonymous. He wanted to write one thing, but something else emerged. Readers will understand this when they read the book.
Culmination
Finally, after writing the fourth volume of “Satyasatya”, he was free after twelve years. The complete ‘Satyasatya-Volume 6’ was included in the fourth volume of the collected works. The novels published in this fourth volume are — Satyasatya – Volume 5, Martyer Swarga (Heaven on Earth) (1940), Satyasatya – Volume 6, Apasaran (Withdrawal) (1942), and the novel Putul Niye Khela (Playing with Dolls) (1933), etc. Each of these novels has won the hearts of readers. Therefore, keeping the readers in mind, the PDF link for ‘Annada Shankar Ray’s Collected Works Volume 4’ has been provided on this webpage. Readers can download the ‘Fourth Volume’ PDF from this webpage and read it online.
Download PDF: A Collection of Timeless and Heartwarming Novels.
Annada Shankar Rayer Rachanabali (Annada Shankar Ray’s Collected Works) Vol-4 PDF.