By the Banks of the Ajoy, Jaideb Vanishes into the Blue

Subhankar Das' new offering of poetry, his collection, By the Banks of the Ajoy, Jaideb Vanishes into the Blue, is a first for Virgogray Press in that it is printed bilingual-in English and Bangla. Many of the poems in the collection follow a trail of stream of thought, cut-up, a beatish ripple in the flow of words, subtle and overt wisdoms, and colorful use of imagery that at times touch the reader with pure psychosomaticism. The title poem of the book alludes to authors Henry Miller and Henry Denanant while mingling with echos of Bangla lore of the mythical poet Jaideb who lived by the river Ajoy. This collection offers a recalling of such traditions and is also an outstanding introduction to American readers to the work of Subhankar Das, a poet carving a niche for himself in his homeland of Kolkata, Bengal, India as a purveyor and advocate of underground Bangla poetry and literature.