Rajat Chaudhuri

Rajat Chaudhuri is an Indian novelist and short story writer. He is the author of the critically acclaimed works Hotel Calcutta (2013) a short story cycle and the novel Amber Dusk (2007).[1][2] He is also a book reviewer and literary critic, reviewing for such publications as Outlook, CNN-IBNLive, Indian Literature, published by Sahitya Akademi (India’s National Academy of Letters) and The Asian Review of Books.

Personal Background

Rajat Chaudhuri grew up and lives in Kolkata. He attended school at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya and then studied Economics at University of Calcutta. He is a bilingual writer writing in English and Bengali. His books include the novel Amber Dusk (2007), the short story cycle Hotel Calcutta (2013) and Calculus (2014) a collection of Bengali short stories. He is the Charles Wallace Creative Writing Fellow (2014) of the University of Chichester, United Kingdom, Hawthornden Castle Fellow, Scotland, United Kingdom, a Korean Arts Council-InKo sponsored resident writer (2013) of Toji Cultural Centre, South Korea and a past of Fellow of Sangam House International Writers’ Residency (2010), India.[3][4][5] Toji Cultural Centre, South Korea was set up by acclaimed Korean novelist Park Kyung-ni. His fiction, criticism and essays have appeared in Indian Literature journal (Sahitya Akademi), Asian Review of Books (Hong Kong), American Book Review (University of Houston-Victoria),[6] Thresholds (University of Chichester),[7] Eclectica, Outlook magazine and elsewhere.

Chaudhuri has been directly involved with environment and development related activism and has contributed to the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report.[8] Chaudhuri continues to lobby for and support environment related causes. He has worked for and nurtured development, environment and consumer rights groups and has spoken about environment and sustainable consumption issues in venues within and outside the country. He has published books and monographs on such topics as `right to water’, `sustainable consumption’ and `green advertisements’.[9][10] Chaudhuri has also served as the developing country (Southern) coordinator on the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) NGO caucus for climate change and energy.[11]

Work

Hotel Calcutta

The century-old Hotel Calcutta run by an Englishman, is under threat from land sharks who want to raze it and build a shopping mall. As the staff stare at uncertain times, a monk turns up at the hotel and prophesies that the hotel will still stand only if a wall of stories can be built. Peter Dutta-the manager-though a little unsure, is ready to give it a shot and begins looking for a storyteller. A painter, who has just stepped into the bar volunteers to tell the first story. As the storytelling fever catches on, new guests arrive everyday, among them a shifty-eyed producer of smut movies, an American woman who hears the footsteps of a dead soldier in the corridor and finally an odd pair who pretend to be war historians. It seems they have all arrived there with a purpose. As the stories flow, the fortunes of the hotel begin to change, sometimes for the better, sometime for the worse. This book has been mentioned by critics for its evocative descriptions and the magic of storytelling.[12]

Amber Dusk

Amber Dusk is a cross cultural novel set in Calcutta and Paris amidst the rapid economic changes of a newly liberalised India. The young Rishi, in love with the French photographer Valence travels west for work. Meanwhile, his friend, the hard nosed Pedro Braganza, looking for the good life is taking too many chances in Calcutta. While in Paris, Rishi gets drawn into a vortex of racism and sporadic violence unleashed on the city by a little known neo-Nazi white supremacist outfit. Just then, Pedro has been putting in place his get-rich-quick plans and the initial success goes to his head. Then something happens which puts the two friends on a collision course against each other. It will be difficult for both of them to come out of it unscathed. This is as much a story about the clash of ideas as it is about love, loathing and the quest for peace in a time of intolerance. The novel was welcomed by critics for exploring surrealistic themes and for its handling of cross cultural themes.[13]

Calculus

A collection of short fiction written in Bengali. The stories are set in the city of Calcutta and its suburbs. A variety of characters including a tantric guru, an autorickshaw driver who speaks in Sanskrit, a crooner called Napoleon (who sings in bar in Waterloo street of Calcutta), book publishers with a sinister agenda, a detective who is losing his mind, spooks and salesmen, people these pages. The stories while plot driven foreground the spiritual vacuum of the present using satire, wit and sometimes black humour. Critics have described the stories as postmodernist and magical with one critic saying the book `transports us to a symbolic plane of existence, perched between the possible and the impossible.'[14]

Fellowships and Awards

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ "Review of Hotel Calcutta at Asian Review of Books, 27 July 2013". Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  2. ↑ "Review of Amber Dusk, Indian Literature journal, Vol 52, No.3, Sahitya Akademi", Sahitya Akademi. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  3. ↑ "Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship in Creative Writing at University of Chichester". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Profile and report at Arts Council Korea (ARKO) webzine, Nov 2013". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Profile at Sangam House". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  6. ↑ " Chitpur Local and the Rip Van Winkles of Calcutta. Volume 36, Number 6, September/October 2015, pp. 7-23." DOI 10.1353/abr.2015.0117. Retrieved 02 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Three Stories of Love, Thresholds, University of Chichester, 2015". Retrieved December 2015
  8. ↑ "UNDP Human Development Report 1998" , United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "Water: What are our Rights to it?" Water: What are our Rights to it? Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  10. ↑ "Green Advertisements – Are they Telling the Truth?" Green Advertisements – Are they Telling the Truth? Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  11. ↑ "Guidelines for Major Groups on CSD 9". Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Magic of Storytelling, Anu Kumar, The Thumb Print Magazine" , Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Surreal Explored, Deccan Herald, 3rd Feb, 2008", Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Politics peley oboshyoi porben. (in Bengali) Book review of Calculus in Ekak Matra, February 2016. Retrieved 06 March 2016.

External links

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