Termite

Set in 1960s Kolkata, Ghunpoka, Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s debut novel, traces Shyam’s haunting descent from a life of respectability into alienation and despair after he resigns from his job in humiliation. Wandering through the restless city like a disillusioned flâneur, he confronts its noise, its people, and the hollowness of his own ambitions. Memories of his past success collide with the emptiness of his present—his mother’s fading prayers echo across borders, while strange visions of deer,trains, and clouds fill his mind. When a reckless act involving a motorcyclist plunges him deeper into darkness, it is up to Leela, a receptionist at the American Consulate, whom he is obsessively fascinated by, to instill some hope. The question remains: can redemption or meaning still be found? With striking psychological insight and lyrical precision, Mukhopadhyay crafts a portrait of the modern man’s disintegration—brilliantly brought to life in Tapas Kumar Sen’s evocative English translation.