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The decade of 1970s was an important chapter in the history of Bengali Literature. Bengal saw a massive change in its political, economical and social sphere and literature was no exception. The 1950s saw the emergence of such prolific writers as Sunil Gangopadhyay , Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay and Sandipan Chattopadhyay. The 60s was also diverse in its experimentation of the subject matter, language and style of literature. The 70s and the subsequent years carried out these experimentations further. As a result, the 70s emerged as the Golden period of Bengali Literature with its most prolific writers writing one literary masterpiece after another in their vernacular tongue. This was the time when Milon Mukhopadhyay with his distinct subject matter and style entered the Bengali literary scene. His distinct style was evident in his second novel “ Mukh Chai Mukh” itself, which was published in the ‘Desh’ magazine in 1976. The novel raised the issue of the trials and tribulations of painters, their monetary deprivations and their struggle in the society. Although the novel dealt with a unique subject matter, it did not receive the attention that it deserved then. And just like his novel, Milon Mukhopadhyay also failed to attract the attention of his Bengali readership.

Milon Mukhopadhyay is still neglected in Bengali Literature. But the question remains , why? Is it because his body of works do not adhere to the traditional norms, or is it because of its lack of dopamine inducing plot , or is it merely because the gap between each of his composition was considerably long? Or is it merely the negligence and indifference on the part of the reader that made them overlook his serious important literary works? Whatever the reason maybe ,it is now evident that he certainly did not deserve this negligence. His novels and stories capture a momentous time in Bengal’s history as well as the values and ideologies of Bengali people, which had also gone through a tremendous change because of the socio-political upheaval. The Naxal rebellion, the Emergency, the Marchjhapi massacre of 1978, the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, all these events shook the core of Bengali society and brought an immense change in the way Bengali people perceive the world around them. It is at this tumultuous point in history that Milon Mukhopadhyay’s novels and stories were born. There is no better medium available to human kind than that of writing to express a certain kind of thought or idea. Through his/her writings, a writer tries to understand or make sense of his/her own acquired experiences or realizations. The acquired experiences and realizations of Milon Mukhopadhyay manifest itself in his second novel “ Mukh Chai Mukh”. His writings are replete with the mysteries of the inner self, the empathetic portrayal of social circumstances, and the constant conflict between the ancient and the modern. He was a socially aware writer. He wrote constantly from 1976 to 2006. During this time, he wrote nine novels, two plays, twenty one short stories and several essays. His twenty one short stories were later anthologized in the short story collection called “Oraori”. What is most unfortunate is that there is not much discussion around Milon Mukhopadhyay’s works up until now. Although some essays do analyze his works but the analysis is far from being sufficient. His contribution in Bengali literature is undeniable yet his works are neglected, almost lost in the incessant wave of time. Our objective in this research initiative is to analyze in detail Milon Mukhopadhyay’s works and to bring his works to the attention of a wider readership.

Chapter Format of Research Paper- A number of possible chapters have been divided for ease of study. Chapter divisions or chapter headings may change later in the course of research.

We will, through this research initiative, discuss this subject extensively for the first time.

Personal life and literary practices : Milon Mukhopadhyay lived  and practiced his literary pursuits from Tollygunge in Kolkata. His grandfather was the ‘Zamindar’ or landlord of Kalashkathi village which is situated in Bakerganj Upazilla in Barisal district. It is because of his grandfather that Milon got to experience the country life and nature from a close proximity in his childhood.  Although he was born in Kolkata, his work took him to Mumbai time and again. Milon’s writing career began from quite a young age with such columns as “Chotoder Pattari” published in ‘Jugantar’ magazine and “Sobujer Pata” published in ‘Loksebok’ magazine. He has also regularly contributed in college magazines. He started writing regularly in the ‘Jalsa-Satrang’ magazine towards the end of the 60s. And his first novel in 1975, that was “ chena- ochena”. Then his remarkable novel “ Mukh Chai Mukh” was serialized in the weekly ‘Desh’ magazine in the latter period of the 70s. He has also written numerous serialized novels, travelogues and short stories for many esteemed Bengali magazines such as ‘Anandabazar’, ‘Desh’, ‘Sananda’, ‘ Anandalok’, ‘Krittibas’ ‘Bartaman’, ‘Pratidin’, ‘Sambad Darpan’ etc.

Milon’s formal education began in Barisal’s Brajamohan Vidyalaya and later he continued his education in Kolkata’s Sanskrit Collegiate School. He  enrolled himself in the Government College of Art & Craft in his daytime and in night he used to attend the Bangabasi College. Thus he completed his education. The learning of literature and the learning of paintings happened simultaneously for Milon. The lifelong practice of both these arts made him, on the one hand an accomplished painter and on the other hand a profound man of letters.

Growth and diversity of Milon Mukhopadhyay as a novelist : Novel is an art form which entails of a close to life, realistic depiction of certain time and place and it tries to depict every element of a certain milieu in all its entirety and with as much precision as it possibly can. Keeping this notion of a novel in mind Milon Mukhopadhyay has written nine novels in Bengali - 1. “Mukh Chai Mukh”(1976), 2.“Hrawsvai dirghoi”(1977), 3.“Sakshatkar”(1987), 4.“Arabyakahinia”(1991), 5.“Noiswabde Mrituyr Probesh”(1991), 6.“Chena ochenaa”(1975), 7.“Atmopor”(1991), 8.“Jibsohoshro”(2004), 9.“Rat-Porider Bangkok”(2004,2012). Replete with an artist’s experiences and sensibilities , Milon’s second poetic novel “mukh chai much” is unique in its experimentation of subject matter and stylistics. The city of Kolkata and Mumbai and their surrounding suburbs form the background of most of Milon’s novels. A writer’s individual realizations and perspective can make the familiar unfamiliar. Their own specific way of narration or the use of linguistics  also give their writing an individualistic fervor. In Milon Mukhopadhyay’s works these tendencies are overtly evident. Rich in the experiences and feelings of an artist's life, his novels are full of novelties and originality of subject or stylistic experimentation. The entire novel is written in the form of letters addressed to his wife, he continues to describe all the events. The desperate struggle of the painters in Paris is observed with helplessness and imperfection from the author's point of view. In parallel, the socio-economic status of native students and artists has also been shown. The theme of 'Sakshatkar' is an artist's hard struggle and the harsh reality of life with great depth and certain melancholy consequences. A successful film director who has reached the pinnacle of success, becomes mad with alcohol and unknowingly wants to have sex with his own daughter. Realizing your growing greed and inhumanity, he accidentally discovers a primitive incorrigible beast beneath the guise of elegant politeness. But self-deception and perversion of human mind was not the only aim of the writer. The story of the hard work of becoming a successful director is the core of this novel. The novelist combines empiricist and conventionalist. Experiences and passions derived from an extraordinary curiosity about human life and from deep empathy have motivated him time and again. In his second phase of novels, he made special experiments with theme and variation. The novel 'Hrwasvai Dirghoi' is novel in terms of genre fiction. The naming of each chapter is organized by Bengali alphabet. The novel 'Chena Achena' exists at the intersection of his travels, love and politics. Not just a travelogue, but the story of the narrative, the characters, the environment all progress gradually through the journey to Siliguri and Kedarnath, Badrinath. The main character of the novel repeatedly finds the lover of his imagination through these two journeys. The novel 'Noiswabde mrityur probesh' is another genre novel of the author. The novel revolves around the immoral activities of the underworld of Mumbai. There is also a detective character. It can be assumed that the writer Milon wrote this type of novel to change the taste and deviate from the usual conventions. Mst of his novels are set in Kolkata and Mumbai and the suburbs close to these two metropolises. A touch of originality in perception or philosophy makes the well-used or familiar matter fresh, and the distinctiveness of diction and penmanship also distinguishes the writer. The existence of Etadubhay is very visible in Milon's novel. 

“Oraori” : A Comprehensive Discussion: The twenty one short stories included in the short story collection “Oraori” is diverse in its subject matter, characterization, time period and place. This diversity gives the reader a unique taste of literature. Milon has masterfully employed his prosaic language in accordance with the subject matter of his stories. “Haradhoner Cheleta”, “Bioscope”, “Ishwarer Probesh”, and “Jege Achi”- the background of these four short stories are respectively the slum by a Mumbai rail-pull, Mumbai and its suburbs, among the sewer filled with decomposed petals and leaves and trash by Bandra’s rail-pull ,  actresses’ makeup room in a film set of Mumbai.  In the first story of the “Oraori” collection, the author, in order to express the psychological state of Khagenbabu aka K.N. Banerjee in his retirement day, writes that “Khagenbabu can fly”. Here we see that the author has presented this special day in Khagenbabu’s life in a unique humorous way.

Each story in the “Oraroi” collection gives the reader a distinct and different sort of taste. The masterful amalgamation of reality and the writer’s imagination has brought the characters to life. The way the characters are written with all the nuances and with empathy also reflects the empathetic, sensitive nature of the author himself. Here in lies the success of Milon Mukhopadhyay as a storyteller.

Milon Mukhopadhyay: Regarding various works- Apart from novels and short stories Milon Mukhopadhyay has also written several essays which is called “ Mumbai montaj” and two plays. The short story “Ghoraghora” was later published as a play.

Finally, a special statement about this chapter is that Milan Mukherjee's unpublished writings do not end here, the search is still ongoing. Later we will add all the writings we receive to this episode.

Contemporary Writers and Milon Mukhopadhyay : Milon’s contemporaries were such writers as Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, Shyamal Gangapadhyay, Moti Nandi, Raghab Bandyopadhyay etc. Along with Shirshendu’s “Jao Pakhi” a quite altogether different kind of novel of Milon called “Mukh Chai Mukh” was simultaneously published in the ‘Desh’ magazine. Raghab Bandyopadhyay was also writing about Naxal uprising and its effect in his novel “Communis”. At the same time Moti Nandi was also writing novels like “Koni” for the sports enthusiasts. From the above discussion it is evident that the 70s was a time of diverse literary productions and the novelist Milon Mukhopadhyay was certainly an important writer of this momentous time in Bengal’s history.

Data collection and selection:- Go to different libraries and collect discussions related to the topic. Descriptive Method :- The research work will be completed with the help of Descriptive Method through chronological continuity in discussion.

Akar Granth

1. Milan Mukhopadhyay, Atmapar, Sahitham, 2006

2. Milan Mukhopadhyay, Arvyarajani, Mondal Book House, 1991

3. Milan Mukhopadhyay, Oraori, New Bengal Press Private Limited, 2010

4. Milan Mukhopadhyay, Jibsahashra, Sahitham, 2004

5. Milan Mukherjee, noisobde mrityur ptobesh,1991

6. Milan Mukherjee, Jodi o songi, MC Sarkar Andsons Private Limited, 2005

Gazetteer

1. Khoi, No. 29, 25th Baisakh 1424

2. Madhwarti, Bangla Sahitya Monthly Magazine, July 2017

3. Khoi, number 34: 7th Paush 1425