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At our university, education goes beyond the classroom. Join us in celebrating their efforts and let's continue to build a more compassionate world together!
At our university, education goes beyond the classroom. Join us in celebrating their efforts and let's continue to build a more compassionate world together!
General News
01 February 2026
🖊️Dayeeta Chowdhury At the International Kolkata Book Fair 2026, storytelling took multiple forms as Sudeshna Goswami, Professor at Sister Nivedita University, cinematographer, filmmaker, and storyteller, launched three significant books—Short Stories of Tagore Volumes 1 and 2, and the adventure thriller Obhijan 5. Each work reflects her distinctive voice, shaped by literature, cinema, and social consciousness. The two volumes of Short Stories of Tagore are carefully curated collections of Rabindranath Tagore’s short fiction with a sharp focus on women characters. Prof. Goswami explained that she approached Tagore’s women as a frame of reference, allowing contemporary readers to place themselves beside these characters. Through this lens, readers can reflect on how women’s lives have transformed over time—and how certain struggles, emotions, and questions continue to persist even today. The collection invites a dialogue between Tagore’s era and the present, making the stories deeply relevant for modern audiences. In contrast, Obhijan 5 takes the form of a city-based adventure thriller, yet its core is profoundly political. The novel is an anti-war narrative, inspired by the devastating human cost of the Russia–Ukraine war, particularly the loss of children’s lives. By situating the story within the familiar geography of Kolkata, Prof. Goswami uses the thriller genre as a contained yet powerful medium of protest against violence and conflict. Reflecting on her writing journey, she shared that Tagore’s stories have been her lifelong companions since childhood, making the selection process instinctive rather than difficult. The real challenge lay in translation—ensuring that the language of each story remained harmonious, consistent, and emotionally faithful to the original text. Prof. Goswami also spoke thoughtfully about changing reading habits among younger generations. While acknowledging the practicality and environmental benefits of e-books—“knowledge without weight”—she noted that the sensory joy of holding a printed book remains irreplaceable. The scent of fresh pages and the tactile intimacy of reading, she believes, still hold a quiet spell over readers. Through these diverse works, Sudeshna Goswami bridges literature, politics, memory, and medium—offering students and readers stories that are both timeless and urgently contemporary.
