Samares Basu remains one of the most distinctive, boundary-breaking, and powerful figures in Bengali literature. His works reflect a deep engagement with life, combining social awareness, labour politics, extensive travel, and a profound understanding of human emotion. Between 1943 and 1949, Basu worked at the Ishapore Rifle Factory, during which time he became actively involved in the trade union movement and aligned himself with the Communist Party of India. This political activism led to his imprisonment in 1949–50. Yet, this period of incarceration proved to be a fortuitous moment for Bengali literature; it was during the solitude and harshness of prison that he composed his first novel, Uttaranga. Following his release, writing became the primary foundation of his livelihood.
Born on 11 December 1924 in Kolkata, Basu spent his childhood in Bikrampur, now part of Bangladesh, and his adolescence in the narrow lanes of Naihati. Experiences of poverty, struggle, and close interaction with the working class shaped his consciousness and inspired the realism in his stories. The boy who once carried a basket of eggs on his head to earn a living eventually became an immortal storyteller in Bengali literature, portraying life with authenticity and passion.
Basu was a master of experience-driven storytelling. He vividly depicted the lives of labourers, the inner workings of political movements, sexuality, and the complex tensions within society, employing a courageous and refined literary voice. He wrote under two pseudonyms, Kalkut and Bhramar. Under Kalkut, he produced numerous acclaimed novels, including Amrita Kumbher Sandhane, Kothay Pabo Tare, Amrita Biser Patre, Mon Meramoter Ashay, and Tushar-Shringer Padataale. These works explore suffering, sorrow, and the search for truth through an extraordinary artistic medium. His writings under Kalkut are charged with intensity, making them stark, raw, yet profoundly humane. In 1980, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for these contributions.
Basu’s contributions to children’s literature are equally enduring. Gogol, the adventurous, curious, and mystery-loving boy he created, remains a favourite among Bengali readers. Across his immense body of work, which includes over 200 short stories and more than 100 novels, Basu revitalised nearly every genre of Bengali literature, introducing bold new forms and perspectives.
On 12 March 1988, Bengali literature lost a towering figure. Yet Samares Basu’s writings continue to resonate in the hearts of readers. In the sweat of the labourer, the dust of the traveller, and the raw truths of human emotion, his presence endures. His literary legacy remains a timeless treasure of Bengali literature, immortal and perpetually alive.