Thema Books , Memoirs and Cartoons

Memoirs, Biography/Autobiography:

	Alauddin Khan: Amaar Jibani Compiled, edited and introduced by Anindya Bandyopadhyay
	Hb. 18.5 x 24.5 cm. viii + 167 pp. 48 b/w Photographs. Rs. 400 ISBN 978-93-81703-31-1
	Foreword by Annapurna Devi. Preface by Ashish Khan. Complete text of the maestro’s handwritten memoirs; notations of over 40 gats and bandishes composed by the maestro from Sangeetvijñan Praveshika, letters, diary entries. 40 rare black and white archival stills. 70 pages of notation transcripts.

Onek Mukh Onek Muhoorta Mrinal Sen. Compiled by Sibaditya Dasgupta
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. xii + 129 pp. Rs. 150 ISBN 978-93-81703-42-7
A collection of 35 memoiral essays by Mrinal Sen—some in a sombre mood as he reminiscences, some in that inimitable tongue-in-cheek style of his—all carrying the unmistakable stamp of a deeply committed and political human being who has taken pride in standing up for his ideals. Detailed notes by Samik Bandyopadhyay on personalities, events and films enrich this volume that will be a delight for cultural history scholars, film scholars and general readers alike.

	Shatabarshiyan Jyotirindra Moitra Edited by Samik Bandyopadhyay and Sibaditya Dasgupta
	Hb. 14 x 22 cm. x + 414 pp. 28 b/w Photographs. Rs. 500 ISBN 978-93-81703-30-4
	Special Centenary Tribute. A collection of critical and memoiral essays on poet, lyricist and composer Jyotirindra Moitra (1911-77); two selections of his poems, compiled and introduced by Alokeranjan Dasgupta and Samik Bandyopadhyay; 20 plates of rare photographs; facsimiles from notebooks; the most exhaustive compilation of 127 letters by Jyotirindra Moitra written to some of the greatest minds of our time, with detailed editorial annotations on personalities, events, happenings and places, weaving together a fascinating socio-political and cultural history of the times. A genealogical table and a unusual chronology that interlaces events in the life of Moitra with texts on those events from his own reminiscences, or by his friends, peers and contemporaries will be a special treat for readers.

Sripanthadarpan Edited by Samik Bandyopadhyay, Subir Dutta and Ratan Khasnobis
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. viii + 168 pp. Rs. 275 ISBN 978-93-81703-32-8
A collection of essays in memory of journalist, scholar and social historian Nikhil Sarkar (1932-2004), who wrote under the pseudonym ‘Sripantha.’ This book also includes a selection of letters written to Sripantha by some of the most creative and talented minds of our time; facsimiles from his notebooks and sketches; and 16 plates of rare black and white photographs—all recreating and celebrating Nikhil Sarkar’s commitment to meticulous detail in everything that he did.

	Maya Ghosh: Mancha-i Jiban [Maya Ghosh: A Life on Stage] Rusati Sen
	Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. vi + 97 pp. 30 b/w Photographs. Rs. 200 ISBN 978-93-81703-20-5
	The first ever critical appraisal of this wonderfully talented actress of Bengali theatre (based on extensive and candid interviews with the author) who acted in memorable roles in several groundbreaking productions from the 1960s to the 1990s. Enriched with rare archival photographs and memorabilia.

Karkatsahabas [Living with the Crab] Ajoy Gupta
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. xii+136 pp. Rs. 130 ISBN 978-93-81703-08-3
An unusual autobiographical piece, written by Ajoy Gupta, novelist, artist and book designer, recording his painful experiences being treated for cancer in a hospital caring for the poor; reaching and upholding the point that it is poverty that kills more cancer patients than the disease itself—not ‘the emperor of maladies,’ but a ‘cowardly sneak of a killer!’

	Hasir Gaan [Songs of Fun and Satire] Chandranath Das
	Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. xvi+100 pp. Rs. 120 ISBN 978-93-81703-05-2
	A facsimile reprint, with substantial supplementary / editorial inputs, of a collection of popular songs, humorous and satirical, by Chandranath Das (1852–1938), widely sung throughout eastern Bengal (now Bangladesh) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, reflecting the sensibility of rural Bengal,
especially in its negotiations with the changing urban values of the time.

Sangeet Samrat Khansahab Alladiya Khan: My Life Translated and introduced by Urmila Bhirdikar and Amlan Das Gupta.
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. x+115 pp. 42 rare b/w photograps. Rs. 150 ISBN 978-93-81703-02-1
A Thema bestseller, this revised second edition of the autobiography of one of the legendary masters of Indian classical music and the founder of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, as told to his grandson Azizuddin Khan, includes several rare photographs, which have been added to the ones in the first edition, and a
translation by Vidhushi Shruti Sadolikar Katkar of an excerpt from a chapter in Govindrao Tembe’s biography of Khansahab, the only recorded account of the maestro’s singing style.

	NEW Apnader Sebay: Swarasamrat Ali Akbar Khan-er Atmajeebani Compiled and edited by Anindya Bandyopadhyay
	Hb. 18 x 24 cm. viii+144 pp. 44 rare b/w photograps. Rs. 300 ISBN 978-93-81703-01-4
	The autobiography of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, as told to Anindya Bandyopadhyay; with a long introduction, and discography, and details of film credits, ragas composed and played by him, the curriculum of Ali Akbar College of Music, bibliography, list of
awards,and genealogy; and a collection of rare archival photographs.

Hindi Theatre in Kolkata: Shyamanand Jalan and His Times. Edited by Pratibha Agarwal and Samik Bandyopadhyay. [In the series Natya Shodh Sansthan Interviews]
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. xii+123 pp. Rs. 200 ISBN 978-81-86017-80-7
Interviews with Shyamanand Jalan (1934 – 2010), distinguished theatre director, actor and film maker, and his colleague, Pratibha Agarwal, and excerpts from his working diaries provide an account of Hindi theatre interacting with the Bengali theatre in Calcutta.

	Bado Badir Chhoto Smriti Smriti Mitra
	Year 2011 Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. xii + 108 pp. 16 rare b/w photos. Rs 150 ISBN 978-93-81703-04-5
	Reminiscences of life in two of the most illustrious houses of North Calcutta, bringing in rare insights into a life and world of the elite that has faded into the past.

Mother of My Heart: The Story of Bivabati Bose by Chitra Ghosh
Hb. 18.5 x 24.5 cm. x + 114 pp. 45 rare b/w photographs. Rs 250 ISBN 978-81-86017-71-5
A daughter’s memoir of her mother laced with sensitively recollected situation and episodes of life at home, grows into something larger and momentous, when the author happens to be the daughter of Sarat Chandra Bose, elder brother and political comrade of Subhas Chandra Bose, and Bivabati Bose, all
three of them actors in their own ways in India’s struggle for freedom, and development of socialist politics in the country. The personal and political camaraderie of the Bose brothers, and how the homely Bivabati took on their mantle and come to find her own niche in politics constitute the drama at the core of the work.

	Torur Shwasurbadi Jyotsna Devi
	Hb. 13 x 18.5 cm. 144 pp. Rs 150 ISBN 978-81-86017-69-2
	A semi–autobiographical novelette with an accounts book from 1948-49 and a couple of stories from the same time. Rare family photographs by Parimal Goswami. A collector’s item.

Ketaki Dutta: Nijer Kathay, Tukro Lekhay [Ketaki Dutta: in her own words and fragmentary pieces] Compiled by Samik Bandyopadhyay
Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. More than 30 rare b/w stills. viii + 120 pp. 2012, ISBN 978-93-81703-19-9 Rs. 130.
Ketaki Dutta reveals in her candid reminiscences her training in the theatre under the legendary Sisirkumar Bhaduri and Prova Devi; while reflecting on later acting techniques and recollecting the day to day struggles of being a performer on stage and screen.

	Jatray Swapankumar Surojit Bandyopadhyay
	Pb. 14 x 21.5 cm. viii+160 pp. 30 rare b/w photograps. Rs. 180 ISBN 978-93-81703-00-7
	Swapankumar Mukhopadhyay (1930–2008) was the first ‘star’ of the Jatra, a traditional rururban performative form popular all over Eastern India, performed in the open to audiences of 5000 to 20,000 at a time. The book contains a biography of the actor set against a history of the modern evolution of this popular form,
and memoiral pieces by the artist himself; with a collection of rare archival stills, posters, etc.