Last Song Before Home
Translated by Bina Biswas, Indira Das . Rupa Publications India . English
<i>Memories do not vanish all at once�they fade, fold, and sometimes return like long-lost visitors. In those moments, they become lifelines, holding fast to who we are.</i><br><br> After two strokes and a diagnosis of vascular dementia, Aparajita begins to live in two worlds simultaneously�the shifting present and the vivid landscapes of her past. In letters to her elder sister, she gathers the scattered fragments of her life: a childhood in Barisal, the upheaval of Partition, the tenderness of love, and the quiet triumphs of ordinary days. Faces blur, years collapse into one another, yet she writes on�each letter an act of resistance against the slow erasure of self.<br><br> Inspired by the true story of the author�s mother, Gayatri Das, Last Song Before Home is a luminous tapestry of memory, loss, and resilience. Woven from the threads of pre- and post-Partition Bengal and a changing India, this epistolary novel is both a daughter�s tribute and a meditation on what we carry within us�even when we forget. .<br><br> Originally published in Bengali, it is an elegy to sisterhood, a record of a life fully lived, and a testament to the dignity of those who drift yet are never truly lost.
Categories: Health, Family & Personal Development/Family & Relationships
About the Author
<b>Dr Indira Das</b> was born in Kolkata, where she was raised amidst literature, classical music and dance. A practising gynaecologist based in Delhi, she earned her medical degree from Calcutta Medical College and completed post-graduate training at PGIMER, Chandigarh. Despite a demanding medical career, her passion for writing and music flourished.<br><br> Indira has published several acclaimed poetry collections, short story anthologies and novels in both Bengali and English. Her English debut, <i>The Last Dance and Other Stories,</i> offers poignant glimpses into urban Indian life. Her works have appeared in national journals and international anthologies, reflecting a distinctive voice that explores human complexity with empathy and grace. <br><br> A trained singer in Rabindrasangeet and Nazrulgeeti, she has also composed music for her own verses. <br><br> <b>Dr Bina Biswas</b> is an academician, translator, poet, critic and editor. She previously taught at a college affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad. An alumna of the University of Delhi, she holds a PhD in English Literature from Andhra University and is widely recognized as a Tagore scholar. Dr Biswas has authored nine books and led four major translation projects. Her bilingual English translation of <i>Meghnaadbadh Kabya</i> was launched by former President Pranab Mukherjee, and her study �Tagore�s Heroines: Portraits of Gender Orientation� has received critical acclaim. Her translation of Masum Reza�s <i>Araj Charitamrita </i>was published in the UK by Methuen Drama, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. <br><br> She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Rubric Publishing, New Delhi.
