Calcutta: The Stormy Decades

This is an attempt to present the history of Calcutta by a new approach—that of combining poetry with historical writing thereby retaining the essence of both forms. Unfolding the tumultuous events of a critical period in the history of Calcutta—the 1940s and the 1950s, it views the city of Calcutta as a whole during the decades. It deals with the ordering of urban space, impact of war, famine and unrest, the nature of communal relations, and the city’s early post-colonial transition. It discusses its cultural life and politics, social dichotomies, and conflicts between groups. Referring to varied sources like literary writings, letters, official ordinances issues, minutes of meetings and reports of committees during the crucial period, it takes up the mills of the city, the politics of survival during the period of famine, role of colonial administration, urban planning and the state of the Muslims in Calcutta.