The cover of the Mahanagar Calcutta Halchal Sharadiya issue

From the Sunderbans to the works of Sunil Gangopadhyay and the life of Swami Vivekananda to a history of Durga puja — city-based weekly Mahanagar Calcutta Halchal’s Sharadiya issue is a slice of Bengal for Gujaratis all over India.

In a Puja number market dominated by time-tested Bengali publications, Halchal has carved a niche for itself. This year’s Sharadiya Halchal is the 10th brought out by editors Bhavesh Sheth and Sanjay Shah. The issue consists mainly of translations of works by renowned Bengali writers, but there are also a few original essays.

“We have translated into Gujarati over 2,000 pages of Bengali literature in these 10 years,” says Sheth. The list of writers include Rabindranath Tagore, Nazrul Islam, Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay and Banaphul.

Gujaratis in West Bengal, Maharashtra and Gujarat “eagerly wait for the magazine, as it is widely known that for decades, the best literature in the country has come out of Bengal”.

“Navratri, which started on Saturday, is the foremost festival of the Gujaratis and coincides with Durga puja. Special editions of magazines are published around this time. But Halchal’s Bengal bouquet has a special place in the hearts of Gujaratis,” adds Sheth.

The families of Shah and Sheth have been living in Bengal for generations. “The Sharadiya issue is our tribute to the state that has been our true home,” says Shah.

The Halchal Puja number, priced at Rs 25, contains a write-up on Sri Ramakrishna and short stories by Sunil Gangopadhyay, Subodh Ghosh, Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay and Dinendra Kumar Roy. There is also an original write-up on poet Jibanananda Das.

“In addition, there is an extensive essay on the Sunderbans, for which writer Shyam Asher had to spend a month in the region, and an article on Howrah bridge,” says Sheth.