Samaresh Basu’s first brush with literature was at an early age of 15, when he wrote a novel called Samadhi-Milan for a hand-written magazine ‘Beena’. Around 6 years later, his first short story ‘Adaab’ was published in 1946. He continued to write till the very end of his days for his unfinished novel ‘Dekhi Nai Phire’. During his active literary years (1946- 1988), the country and especially Bengal were experiencing historical shifts such as India’s Independence, partition, banning of the Communist party of India, Bangladesh liberation war and the Naxalite movement among others. Along with it, the people of the land, their livelihood, aspirations, troubles, beliefs, anger and the expression of it were metamorphosing.

Samaresh’s literature was a first hand product of the time and land he inhabited. His stories told the tales of the people around him. It is fair to say his life and his works were inextricably intertwined. So, in order to understand the latter, it is essential to understand his personal journey and the world around him. In this section, the reader will find three avenues to explore the same. The first is a chronological view of the author’s life, the second is a comprehensive list of his literary work and the third is a thorough collection of the works done on him (books, magazines, research papers etc). The keen eye will be able to draw parallels between milestones presented in the first section, and the shifts in his literary voice and voyage, while the third section providing references of critical analysis of both.