A Goddess Named Gold

A Goddess Names Gold is a modern fable of rural India narrated against the back drop of freedom struggle. It is a masterly satire on those who live by the lure of the gold.

The characters are introduced one by one in a leisurely manner, and we meet among them a pretty girl, a wandering minstrel and a luxuriously mustachioed seth. Skilfully blending fable and reality it the relatively it delves deep into the human mind.

The plot centers around a touchstone given to Meera by her sagacious grandfather. It is believed that the amulet would enable Meera to turn copper into gold, provided she acts kindly as a natural and spontaneous expression of herself.

Wearing It on your person, if you do an act of kindness, real kindness, then all copper on your body will turn to gold… parted from your arm, the touchstone will be bead, a worthless pebble.

BHABANI BHATTACHARYA (1906-1988), remains one of the most celebrated writers of his time, widely admired not only as a novelist but also as a translator, scholar, cultural historian, biographer and a short story writer.

Bhattacharya's achievement as a novelist lies not only in the choice and handling of themes, narrative technique and art of characterization but also in shaping the English language as a suitable medium to convey Indian sensibilities.

`Think of the wonderfully embroidered rhythms of Joseph Conrad, who wrote in English though some part of his mind was still thinking in Polish... so it is with Bhabani Bhattacharya. He writes in a language which is not English, yet all the words are English...,' wrote the prestigious Saturday Review, New York.

One of the striking features of his novels is the prominence given to women characters. Women are usually presented by him as highly significant if not central characters and in no way inferior to men.

He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1967.

Music for Mohini is outstanding among Bhattacharya's novels for its charm, warmth and artistic economy.

Bhattacharya paints every emotion with ease and dexterity of the seasoned artist that he is.'

**Contents and Sample Pages**