Literature is vast and in that Indian literature has many precious gems and pearls, some of which remain unexplored. To me, Michael Madhusudan Dutt was one such gem. The play Betrayed by Hope penned by Namita Gokhale and Malashri Lal takes us through the tragic life of Dutt.The book which is only about a 100 pages or so encapsulates Dutt’s life. While there is a narrator to take us through, there are also letters and poems by Dutt which give us a comprehensive picture of his life. In this the authors successfully employ the epistolary form of narrative, the one I love reading the most.The play is written in the most simplistic language. And the narrator’s part evokes the right amount of pity and frustration in the readers for the messed up life that Dutt lived. He was one genius who had a tragic personality. He seemed quite sporadic to me in the decisions that he took. He has been a pioneer in bringing about great many changes in the Bangla literature yet the person who left behind his wives or the one who kept borrowing money from acquaintances makes you feel sorry for him. Born in riches he died in poverty. Genteel poverty.Last word – I would love to see this play staged sometime in the near future.

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publisher – HarperCollins India
To buy the book, pls click – https://amzn.to/37LwSGP

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