A Triptych

A Triptych presents three intense narratives set in distinctly diverse yet paradoxically convergent worlds, tailing the trajectory of some very unusual bonds: a scavenger, living off the street rejoices in his dark life, covertly watching from his post a desolate painter whose life is no more than a ,blank canvas. Their lives are connected by a common fascination for the unknown, and there are startling secrets waiting to be unmasked ...; a young, city-bred girl on a visit to her native village to finalise the sale of common ancestral property is drawn to a neglected 'statue' staring unblinkingly at the horizon, perhaps astigmatic like Van Gogh, perhaps an artist and a philosopher slowly defining his vision ...; a little boy from a sleepy hamlet with a disturbing past and an insignificant present discovers an unusual and enigmatic visitor, who he 'adopts' as his own, courting some unforgettable experiences that distill haunting memories for a lifetime ... What makes this collection of three novellas a triptych is the intriguing carry over, from one narrative to another, of an intense mystery that not only negotiates unexpected twists, but defies the reader's imagination, each time, with its atypical denouement.

Dipanjan Rai Chaudhuri, born in Kolkata in 1944, read Physics at Presidency College in the turbulent late sixties and early seventies, while breathing philosophy, politics and d literature. Over the years, he alternated between physics and political activism —earning a PhD from London, spending a term in prison, teaching and publishing research papers in physics and also working with the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights. This strange mix led VS Naipaul to feature Dipanjan in one of his books, India: A Million Mutinies Now. He has published two volumes of poetry in Bengali, several books on the political economy of West Bengal, and books on science for children. He writes prolifically on current affairs, both in Bengali and English. He retired as Professor and Head, Department of Physics, Presidency College, in 2004, but continues to demystify physics for school children. In his spare time, apart from writing, he is involved, along with his students, _ in the education of children in the slums of Kolkata.