Sarasibala Basu (1886-1929) belonged to the generation of writers of the Bengali renaissance period, along with Rabindranath and Saratchandra, though she was born almost a generation later. In her short lifespan and despite all kinds of adverse circumstance she made a big impact on Bengali literature. Sarasibala wrote passionately and eloquently about the social issues and the world around her. In Prabal, we see a society in transition. Rural areas are alienated from urban areas. Widow marriage cause a storm in a rural town but does not raise a ripple in Calcutta. Anglicized Bengali Babus and memshahebs look like crows in their western garb but they want to sing like Koels. They are armchair critics of social ills but are unwilling to do anything to change them. But Sarasibala does. With her pen-sometimes in sarcasm, and other times in narration and in the plot of Prabal – she finds the real cause of social ills and suggests remedies. But in doing so, her style of story telling doesn’t become weak or dry lecturing. Sarasibala’s views and her social values are no less relevant today. She wrote more than twenty novels, many short stories and poems and all of them were published in the prestigious periodicals of the day, including, bharatbarsha, Prabasi, manashi, and Marmabani.
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