Chander Amaboshya and the Burden of Mourning

Introduction This year marks the centenary of Syed Waliullah’s (1922-1971) birth. A pioneering writer whose life has been cut short at the age of forty-nine by a brain hemorrhage, he is more often mourned than celebrated. During his brief but productive life, he published three novels, three plays, and two collected volumes of short stories. But given the depth of its influence, this rather diminutive body of work is often ranked among the finest ever produced in Bangla language. Waliullah also wrote fiction and non-fictional essays in English—some of which were published in newspapers and magazines. However, his literary reputation is predominantly established on the foundation of his novels and short stories, most notably on his first and second novels Laal Shalu [Tree without Roots] (1948) and Chander Amaboshya [The Eclipse of the Moon] (1964).