Poetry, paintings and essays: Mamata's offerings at book fair

Predicaments and controversies she came face to face with after becoming the Chief Minister in 2011 have been penned in prose and verse by Mamata Banerjee in five new books on sale at the Kolkata Book fair.

The books 'Ek Palake Ek Jhalake' (Moment at a glance) and 'Bhabnar Saathi' (Companion of Thoughts) are written in the form of short essays and poetry.

Another book 'Se Nei' (He is no more) pays an emotional tribute to people whom the Chief Minister has lost in life.

A collection of 100 of her favourite poems have been compiled in a volume 'Pachander Kobita' (Poems of my choice). While, another, 'Earth Song', a collection of 70 poems and paintings, is scheduled to be released tomorrow.

Published by Delhi-based Roli Books, the poems have been translated into English from Bengali by Nandini Sengupta.

Painter Shuvaprasanna, said a variety of poems and paintings have been selected.

"Some of them are about what she felt after seeing something on the streets, problems being faced by the common man, or about nature or the seasons," he told

Human suffering, human rights violations, political protests and statements have always been common notion of her poetry.

Dispite being a feisty politician Banerjee, a regular writer and a poet, has made it a point to release her books at every edition of the book fair for the last few years.

Besides this, a CD on recitations of Banerjee's poems by Sutapa Banerjee has also been released.

The Chief Minister has posted the cover pages of her new books on Facebook.

"I am posting this for information of the people at large, as in our democratic system they are the real foundation. I always update the people about my activities, be it related to issues like political struggle, human rights, love of nature, poems, paintings, etc, so that they come to know details," she wrote.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Verdict in Dec 16 rape case expected by month-end: Neeraj Kumar

China incursion: Both sides withdraw troops from Daulat Beg Oldi sector

Sonia Gandhi consults A K Antony on Pawan Bansal issue

Coalgate probe: No accused or suspect let off, says CBI chief Ranjit Sinha