Truth be told, Chowringhee too happened because of Barwell sahib (Calcutta High Court advocate Noel Barwell, who was Sankar’s first boss. It has after his stint as Barwell’s babu that Sankar wrote his debut novel, Koto Ajanare, a runaway hit).
Around the time I started working for him as a clerk, he left his rented accommodation in Middleton Street and took up residence in Spence’s Hotel, opposite Raj Bhavan. Established in 1830, this was the oldest among Calcutta’s finest hotels. So, I used to go to Spence’s Hotel every day, once in the morning, once in the evening. As a result, I made friends with many people — those at the front office, the kitchen, the liftman. I would go up to the terrace, there were temporary structures there, where the cabaret girls would put up. I became friends with all these people.
After Koto Ajanare came out, some leading lights of Bengali literature were dismissive of its success. They said I was a one-book author. This tag fell on me like an abuse. I would go to a Kali temple in Howrah and say, ‘Ma, I don’t want fame, I don’t want money, just let me rid myself of this stigma of one-book author.’
But I didn’t know what to write next! I couldn’t find the courage to start anything. Two years went by.
One day I got caught in torrential rain near the K.C. Das sweet shop in Esplanade. Adjacent to the shop, there was a tiny second-hand bookshop, where I chanced upon a book of English poetry, by an unknown poet. One poem caught my attention:
Our life is but a winter’s day; Some only breakfast and away; Others to dinner stay and are full fed; The oldest man but sups and goes to bed; He that goes soonest has the least to pay.
— A.C. Maffen
While I was mulling this interesting theme, the rain stopped and I looked up to see this bright light that used to shine from the Grand Hotel back then. And I thought I am familiar with one hotel, let me try to write on a hotel then.
Teetotaller’s troubles
Thereafter, of course, I had to work on it for many, many days. I didn’t drink, I didn’t visit hotels and bars, nor did I have the money to, so how could I write about this life?!
One day, I was walking down Dalhousie Square when I met Amiyoda. Amiyo Chakraborty was very dear to Barwell sahib. I told him how I was finding the going tough writing about alcohol. He turned out to be the second-in-charge in the excise department! He took me to his office and told one of his colleagues, ‘For the next six months, take him to every bar, hotel or off-shop in Calcutta that he wants to, let him speak to anyone there, and inspect their books if necessary. If anyone asks, say he has come from Assam for training’ (chuckles).
No prem, just write!
Before the serialised novel started appearing in Desh magazine in 1961, its editor Sagarda (Sagarmoy Ghosh) warned me, ‘Shono, I think this novel will take about a year to write. Don’t be restless, don’t be impatient, don’t get involved in any romance, just write. Sleep on time, eat properly, read only good books, don’t waste time on bad books….’
But my mother started looking for a match for me. When she would go to see a prospective bride, she would say, ‘My son is writing a serialised novel, its fate will determine if you are lokkhimoyee (one who brings good fortune).’ Hearing this, the poor girl, who eventually became my wife (Bandana), got scared.
But I had promised Sagarda, no prem (romance). So I waited till the end of the novel. The day I submitted the last chapter of Chowringhee, I also gave Sagarda my wedding card.
Chowringhee was published as a book on June 10, 1962. The same day we got married. If Bandana had been alive today, this would be our 55th wedding anniversary as well.
Best prize for binding
Chowringhee is today hailed as the only contemporary Bengali novel that has made a mark across the world. But, do you know, when it came out, it received only one award — for best binding (laughs out loud)!
I don’t know if I could write this novel now. The only reason I had started writing this was to wash off the stigma of ‘one-book author’. If I didn’t have that fear of being branded, or a hurt pride, I don’t know if could have written this.
Universal language of ‘hotel’
Readers everywhere are the same. This is the realisation I have come to after this book has travelled to so many corners of the world. I have known people who have come to see Calcutta after reading Chowringhee.
I think there is a universal language of ‘hotel’. Readers of all languages have said there is a certain universality in this novel and its characters, it doesn’t matter in which city it is set.
Chowringhee was translated into Hindi fairly quickly, in 1964. And from Hindi, it was translated into Russian. The English translation happened much, much later (in 2007). Two people were responsible for it finally happening — Khushwant Singh and Vikram Seth.
Vikram and his mother (Justice Leila Seth) had read Chowringhee in Hindi. He was, of course, a big writer for Penguin. He told Khushwant Singh, who was then an adviser for Penguin, ‘What kind of rubbish books are you publishing, when there’s such a book (Chowringhee) that hasn’t been published in English yet?’
Khushwant Singh rang up Penguin and said, ‘You people come to take advice from me and then go and print all kinds of rubbish!’
Within days people from Penguin came down from Delhi to meet me. They said, ‘Oray baba, we have been asked to get your book for translation.’
Without Vikram and Khushwant Singh’s help, this English translation would not have come about. At least not by my efforts alone.
I met Vikram some years later, and I told him, ‘Because of you my work has got a 50-year life.’ He said, ‘Arrey, you should have no worries for the next 100 years!’
FOR THE NEW READER
♦ The title: Chowringhee, Sankar’s second novel in Bengali, published on June 10, 1962.
♦ The setting: The fictitious Shahjahan Hotel, where young narrator Sankar gets a job.
♦ The story: Revolves around the lives of a group of people associated with the hotel.
♦ The inspiration: The erstwhile Spence’s Hotel in Dalhousie.
Set up in 1830 it was famous as the first ever five-star hotel in all of Asia. For the first 50 years, Sankar never revealed which hotel his Shahjahan was based on.
♦ The film: In 1968, the novel was adapted for the big screen, with Uttam Kumar as the inimitable front office manager, Sata Bose.
♦ Trivia: The Bengali novel is currently on its 117th edition (yes!). And every Bengali edition has had this iconic cover. The stamps were used to signify the global comings and goings at Shahjahan Hotel.
