Badal Basu had played a key role in the revolution that Ananda Publishers had brought about in the publication of Bengali books. ‘What, Nilupishi has written a cookery book!’ He then called after his wife, whom he handed over the book once she came out. ‘Look, Nilupishi has written a recipe book. She only feeds us dry nimkis in the meetings of Sandesh.’ He was really amazed to see the book that was presented to him. The book in question was written by none other than Leela Majumder. And the speaker is none other than Satyajit Ray. The book was given to him by Badal Basu of Ananda Publishers. Publishers hardly ever go into great detail about their trade. When they do, which is rather infrequently, the content makes for an interesting read. In his book Peon Ttheke Prakashak, published by Ananda Publishers, Dwijendranath Basu – popularly called in the publishing world as Badal Basu openly discussed his interactions and collaborations with authors and others in the industry, as well as lesser-known details from the lives of notable figures like Nirad C. Chaudhuri and Gunter grass. He also speaks rather candidly about meetings of Budh Sandhya, the Saturday addas held at the office of Desh magazine with authors like Shirshendu Mukherjee, Sunil Ganguly, Dibyendu Palit and others over bowls of quintessential puffed rice and fritters or the Frankfurt Bookfair or the chaos over Bibar, that made Samaresh Basu, a controversial name in the Bengali literary world, that paved way for court cases and the involvement of Ananda Publishers. Originally, the family's senior male member or head used to hire a goldsmith to create jewellery, mostly for the female residents of the house. The motifs were made using common patterns popular at the time, created by competent artisans. Later, the patterns and motifs underwent alterations. The women of the Tagore family created fashion trends by donning flowing sarees and western-designed blouses embellished with gem-studded brooches. They put on matching diamond ear studs and other trendy accessories. Ananda Shatak walks you through the growth and progress of several industries- including trade, politics, and society as well, that existed and changed over the course of last 100 years. Interested in abp books and bengali ebook purchase? Log in to www.anandapub.in to access and purchase ebooks of Pratham Alo, Amader Katha, Mahabharater Chhay Probin, Thakurbarir Bahir Mahal among others.
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