Launched at Book Fair: Ujjal Sinha’s second Bengali novel ‘Kalodighi’ blends reality & magic

KOLKATA: For any new author, receiving praise from a literary giant like Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay is nothing short of a dream. On Thursday, author Ujjal Sinha experienced that rare honour when his second Bengali novel, ‘Kalodighi’ was launched at the 48th Kolkata International Book Fair. The book launch event was attended by Mukhopadhyay himself, along with playwright, writer, and state education minister Bratya Basu; celebrated authors Amar Mitra and Pracheta Gupta; poet Srijato; and senior bureaucrat and essayist Alapan Bandyopadhyay.

Following the success of his debut novel, ‘Ujanjatra’, Sinha’s latest work by Dey’s Publishing challenges conventional storytelling with its experimental narrative, drawing readers into a world where reality and the magic realism beautifully merge. “The form Ujjal has used in Kalodighi isn’t new to Bengali literature, but it is rarely explored. I’m glad he took that path,” said Mukhopadhyay, who penned the introduction to the novel. In his introduction in the novel, Mukhopadhyay wrote, “Ujjal has employed magical realism in his own unique style… Such writing is rarely seen. The fusion of the real and the surreal, the strong command over the language, and the poetic prose adds a new dimension to readers’ literary experiences.”

Basu praised the author’s ability to intertwine magic with reality. “Both Ujanjatra and Kalodighi share an underlying thread of melancholy and nostalgia,” he said. Bandyopadhyay shed light on how the book beautifully navigates the complexities of globalization while blurring the boundaries between reality and magical realism.

A well-known name in the advertising industry, Sinha has spent over three decades crafting compelling narratives.

His passion for storytelling extends across cinema, literature, and various artistic disciplines. Srijato and Gupta said that Bengali literature has discovered a remarkable new voice in Sinha.