New Delhi, 16 April 2021: Penguin Random House India is proud to announce the acquisition and publication of the English translation of a charming memoir by the late Hindi writer Shivani. Titled Amader Shantiniketan, this book has been translated into English by Ira Pande, translator par excellence and the author’s daughter. It will be published under the Vintage imprint and released in May.
This timeless memoir was written by Shivani nearly fifty years ago from her perspective as a child and young girl studying in Shantiniketan, the school set up by Rabindranath Tagore. It is a loving homage to a grand institution and its legendary gurus. Along with the moving tributes she wrote when some of her beloved contemporaries passed away, the memoir is a sort of diptych that captures the spirit of the Ashram and the liveliness of its inmates, many of whom went on to become iconic Indians. Shivani’s recall of her time there takes the reader into a magical space that remains as inspirational as it was to her when she went there all the way from Kumaon a lifetime ago.
Translator Ira Pande comments on the book, ‘Amader Shantiniketan has always been the favourite of my mother’s works. Apart from recording an important part of the fashioning of the Bengal renaissance, the book is written from the perspective of a child. It captures the innocence and the pristine, pastoral world that Tagore created, and brings alive people in a way that only a child can portray them. This book was born to be translated into English now, at a time when that Bengal and that life has almost vanished. Today, when I see the legacy of Tagore being fought over, I think this world needs to be remembered, and this school needs to be preserved in our memories.’
Elizabeth Kuruvilla, Executive Editor, Ebury Publishing & Vintage, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Shivani is a masterful storyteller, and in Amader Shantiniketan, she transports you to the carefree world of the childhood she spent at Shantiniketan. Witty and filled with warmth and laughter, this is a rare, intimate view of life in Tagore’s experimental school, which shaped the most creative minds of the age. These are stories that need to be read by adults and children alike, of a school that allowed its students to not just dream but also, importantly, to day-dream.’
Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Ebury Publishing and Vintage, Penguin Random House India, says, ‘Amader Shantiniketan by Shivani takes us on a trip to her formative years spent in Shantiniketan that had a huge influence on her life and her work. This remarkable memoir with its vivid portrayal opens the window to a unique world, and the people who inhabited it giving us an insight into the influences and inspirations behind one of the foremost Hindi writers of twentieth century. I am delighted that Ira Pande has translated this gem, and brought it alive for many more readers.’