Shesh Namaskar

Shesh Namaskar (pronounced [ʃeʃ nʌmskɑːr] (listen)) (The Last Salute) is a 1971, Indian, Bengali-language novel that was written by Santosh Kumar Ghosh. The novel, which is considered to be its author's magnum opus, is written in the form of a series of letters from a son to his deceased mother. It won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972.

Shesh Namaskar
Cover of English translation; 2013
AuthorSantosh Kumar Ghosh
Original titleশেষ নমস্কার
TranslatorKetaki Datta
CountryIndia
LanguageBengali
GenreEpistolary novel
PublisherDey's Publishing, Sahitya Akademi
Publication date
1971
Published in English
2013
AwardsSahitya Akademi Award (1972)
OCLC859170615
891.44371
LC ClassPK1718.G477

Publication

Shesh Namaskar, which is subtitled Shricharaneshu Make (To my Mother), was first published in 1971 by Dey's Publishing.[1]

Being a confessional narrative,[2] the novel is written in the form of a series of letters from a son to his mother, who has died. Through these letters, the narrator seeks forgiveness from his mother just before his death, telling the story using the second-person narrative technique.[3][4] The author tries to concentrate on self-analysis and his search for the meaning of life and of death through a confessional self-projection into the narrator's persona.[5]

Characters

The principle characters of the novel:[6]

  • The narrator
  • Pranab – narrator's father, an unsuccessful playwright
  • Tanu – narrator's mother
  • Sudhirmama (lit. Sudhir Uncle) – Tanu's friend
  • Rajani – an almost blind girl

Synopsis

Because the author does not want to be dependent on an abundance of events, he selects a few events, observes them poignantly and analyses them with meticulous care. As a result, Shesh Namaskar does not have an overt plot or a sustained story-telling style.[3]

The novel starts with a letter from a son to his mother, Tanu, followed with another such letter each week. At the end of the novel, the narrator realizes the search for the mother is endless and that perhaps every son searches for his mother and with her, the supreme spirit. The novel ends with the narrator asking whether this search ever ends. The story develops through the letters using flashbacks. Each character reveals a story in their statements.[6]

Reception

Shesh Namaskar received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1972. A translation into English by Ketaki Datta was published in 2013.[4][7][8] For its profound sensibility and realistic depiction, the novel is considered an outstanding contribution to Bengali literature.[3]

Subhash Chandra Sarker praised Shesh Namaskar for its "remarkable use of Bengali language" and its "ability to make a vivid presentation of [a] complicated scene with the most common words".[1] Critic Amalendu Bose highlighted the use of technique and "remarkable" quality.[9]

References
  1. Sarker, Subhash Chandra (August 1973). "A Novel Of Profound Human Sentiments". The Modern Review. Modern Review Office. 133 (2): 105–108. OCLC 1028547963.
  2. The Illustrated Weekly of India. 93. Published for the proprietors, Bennett, Coleman & Company, Limited, at the Times of India Press. January 1972. p. 29. OCLC 1034956988.
  3. Lal, Mohan, ed. (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 4009–4010. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
  4. Sarma, Atreya (January–February 2014). "Shesh Namaskar (The Last Salute)". Muse India (53). ISSN 0975-1815. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  5. Datta, Amaresh, ed. (1988). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Devraj to Jyoti. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 1404. ISBN 978-81-260-1194-0.
  6. George, K. M., ed. (1997). Masterpieces of Indian literature. 1. New Delhi: National Book Trust. p. 181–183. ISBN 978-81-237-1978-8.
  7. Datta, Ketaki (23 July 2015). "An interview with Ketaki Datta" (Interview). Interviewed by Elisabetta Marino. Flinders University. hdl:2328/35462. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  8. Roy, Jibendra Sinha (1990). Sahitya Akademi Awards: Books and Writers : 1955-1978. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. p. 52. ISBN 978-81-7201-014-0.
  9. Bose, Amalendu (November–December 1981). "Bengali: Yeatsian Undertones". Indian Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. 24 (6): 211–212. JSTOR 23330141.
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