A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it.
–Rabindranath Tagore
Ghost stories are beyond logic yet carry a magnetic pull that holds the reader captive. Arundhati Nath’s delectable translations from Bengali sources offer a spine chilling range from skeletons that talk to ghouls that gorge. And they take us back to the storytelling evenings with grandma when kids sat wide-eyed and huddled under blankets. Bengal seems to enjoy a rich tradition of bhooter golpo or ghostly tales as Arundhati’s selection covers the great writers Rabindranath Tagore and Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay along with a few lesser known ones such as Jogeshchandra Bandyopadhyay whose work gives the title to the book. What is especially commendable is her translation that transfers into English the localized terms. Bengal believes in categorizing the ghosts: bhoot, pret, pretni, shakchunni, etc., each endowed with coded characteristics that readers recognize easily and link with delight to the expectations of the narration. For example, a shakchunni camouflaged as a bride would not hesitate to immodestly extend her very long and bony arm to reach out for a favourite sweet! In English, it’s a challenge to preserve such original contexts but Arundhati has succeeded superbly in translating the tone and tenor of these classic tales.