Review by Erin Wilson

“Even before dawn broke, the news that Chanda Bir was approaching the palace with Rongomala’s severed head arrived like a storm.” Explosive and gripping, the very first sentence of this novel begins with the end of what is only the beginning of a calculated and complex story during the 18th century in Bangladesh. 

Set in Bangladesh’s Noakhali region, this novel is full of action and a myriad of characters that work their way through society with themes of pride, status, and power. Raj Chandra, the heir of a kingdom, is only slightly concerned about the family business and the potential wars between different regions. His interest lies in the lovely women in the region. Phuleswari Rai, his wife, is a passive character whose sole purpose in this story is to be a homely wife and produce an heir for the family. Her childlike ways and love for birds creates a sense of sorrow. Rongomala, or Rongi, a low-caste woman dancer, singer, and poet, captures Raj Chandra’s heart. At first he cannot stand her arrogance but of course falls for her artistry, poems, and straightforwardness with him. In their love affair, she requests a pilgrimage from Raj Chandra in which he prepares for her, taking money from the decreasing treasury. Rongomala understands that she cannot just lie in beds of “gold or silver coins” but to have a lasting name despite her status that she will have a lake built in her name. 

Meanwhile Phuleswari Rai, with some pressure from her mother-in-law, tries to seduce her own husband due to her jealousy and acknowledgment that she must have a child to keep her status in the family. Phuleswari dresses up like Rongomala and seduces her husband to bed. Raj Chandra’s mother, also vying for her son’s affection, wants to have an heir. All three women use their positions and status to gain the sole attention of Raj Chandra and his wealth. Yet at the end of it all, all three women end up bound to the chains society has put them in and only Rongomala’s name continues as a legend. 

Although Raj Chandra was the center of the story, the women filled the novel with their thoughts, desires, and attempts to move him so they could become the main character. They fluttered around, like Phuleswari’s birds, trapped in a cage only able to squawk and make noises but to now avail could not make a heroic change in their lives. 

This book is a beautifully dense and exciting story that will take you back in time to an era of wealth, status, and power. Each character speaks to the reader with many backstories and unravels a tiny bit of the complexity of this society during this time. Geographically one will see how vast the trading and connections extended to by moving between regions of Bangladesh to Myanmar. A few things for readers not familiar with this region that could be useful is a map of the region and a reference to the original legend of Rongomala. These additions will provide any reader a richer and meaningful experience.

Additional Reviews

“Men and women of lost legends: Shaheen Akhtar’s ‘Beloved Rongomala’, translated by Shabnam Nadiya” Dhaka Tribune

“Beloved Rongomala by Shaheen Akhtar, translated by Shabnam Nadiya,” Hindustani Times

Original Book Info:

Title: Shokhi Rongomala

Author: Shaheen Akhtar

ISBN:9789848765401

Publisher: Prothoma Prokashon

Language: Bengali

Date: 2010

Translation Info

Title: Beloved Rongomala

Author: Shaheen Akhtar

Translator: Shabnam Nadiya

ISBN:9789395073356

Publisher: Eka an imprint of Westland Books

Language: English

Date: 2022

Author Bio: Shaheen Akhtar is the author of five novels and four short story collections. In 2004, her novel Talaash won the Book of the Year award from Prothom Alo, Bangladesh’s most widely read newspaper. The English translation of Talaash (The Search) was published by Zubaan in New Delhi in 2011. Akhtar was presented with the Sera Bangali 2014 award in the field of literature by India’s leading Bengali news channel, ABP Ananda. She received the Akhteruzzaman Elias Kotha Shahitya Puroshkar 2015 and the IFIC Bank Puroshkar for her novel Moyur Shinghashon. She was awarded the Bangla Academy Shahitya Puroshkar for fiction in 2016. Her works have been translated into English, German, and Korean. Akhtar currently works for the Bangladeshi human rights and legal aid organization Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

Translator Bio: Shabnam Nadiya  is a Bangladeshi writer and translator, settled in California. A  graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she was awarded the Steinbeck Fellowship (2019); a PEN/Heim Translation Grant (2020); and the 2019 Himal Southasian Short Story Prize. Her work has been published in Joyland, Asymptote, Flash Fiction International, Al Jazeera Online, Pank, Amazon’s Day One, Chicago Quarterly Review,  Wasafiri, Words Without Borders, and Gulf Coast. Nadiya’s translations include Leesa Gazi’s novel Hellfire (Eka/Westland, September, 2020), Moinul Ahsan Saber’s novel  The Mercenary (Bengal Lights Books, 2016; Seagull Books, 2018) and Shaheen Akhtar’s novel Beloved Rongomala (Forthcoming, Eka/Westland; Bengal Lights Books, 2018). 

Website; Shabnam Nadiya

Translator Interview: Translating literature: Arunava Sinha in conversation with Shabnam Nadiya

Reviewer Bio: Erin Wilson currently works as a Teacher Librarian in Dhaka, Bangladesh and has worked internationally for 10 years in the following countries; China, India, and now Bangladesh. She has vast experience working in diverse cultures from Native American students to inner-city students and the international community. Her other passion lies in studying Asian dances. Currently she is focused on Odissi classical dance, and uses this dance vocabulary for storytelling in the library to actively engage children. It’s never boring in the library. 

You can follow the school where she works, International School Dhaka Instagram: @ isd_library

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