ABOUT THIS BOOK
‘If, rather, I had been an Arab Bedouin…’
Originally written in 1942 by Mohonlal Gangopadhyay, Charanik beautifully captures the trials and travails of the author and his friend Mirek while trekking through pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, when it was still independent and posed no problems of entering or leaving the country.
The duo set out on an adventure of a lifetime, walking through the tranquil and beautiful Czechoslovak countryside. As they cross villages and small towns, and climb hills and valleys, they discover the sheer joy of walking. Meeting strangers and making new friends on the way, they realize that sometimes you have to lose your way to find yourself.
Charanik has been translated by Jayanta Sengupta, who had earlier translated Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Chander Pahar, published by Rupa as The Mountain of the Moon.
AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
MOHONLAL GANGOPADHYAY (19 August 1909–14 January 1969) was an eminent writer of a number of very popular books, some of which are still widely read. His travel books, including Charanik, Lafa Yatra and Punardarshanaya Cho, are still in print, as are Dakshiner Baranda and Gaganendranath.
He had also written stories for young people, notably Galpodadar Galpo; a few other stories were compiled into the volume Kishor Rachana Sangraha. He also produced a study of the jute industry, titled Asamapta Chatabda. In addition, he published Bengali translations of Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Erich Maria Remarque’s classic All Quiet on the Western Front.
JAYANTA SENGUPTA worked in advertising for many years, before deciding to leave the corporate world and take up things that he couldn’t earlier. Being a voracious reader all his life, he started to dabble in writing. His first book, WrapAround: Delivering a Great Brand Experience (Rupa Publications, 2006), was about designing and delivering great brand experiences.
In 2011, his translation of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s Bengali classic Chander Pahar was published by Rupa as The Mountain of the Moon.
This book is his second translation and his third book published under the Rupa banner. Charanik: The Walker is a travel classic by Mohonlal Gangopadhyay, which was first published in 1961.
