It does not happen regularly that authors devote parts of a novel to epistolary storytelling. It is a risky terrain, that too when the story is predictable and the plot feels almost flat. But Pinaki Gangopadhyay’s Yet, Remember Me navigates it well, and his novel is a delightful read, even though the storyline itself may not seem that exciting. What keeps readers hooked until the end are the letters being exchanged between Shashi and Aditi—a celebrated Bengali couple at the heart of this novel.
The novel is about this couple separating after more than two decades of marriage; they are on their final date, trying to find resolution. Now they have memories of life they lived, despite so much love, they decided to part ways. Eros (passionate love) has subsided in their lives, and they have moved to agape love—selfless and unconditional love.
Shashi is a celebrated poet of his time, and Aditi is a literature professor obsessively in love with Rabi Thakur (Rabindranath Tagore). She is an idealistic woman whose love for Shashi is an aesthetic transference—a projection of her love and admiration for Tagore. Naturally, Aditi falls for Shashi because his persona echoes her romanticised image of Rabi. Through their conversations, it is gradually revealed how Shashi is both similar to and distinct from Tagore.
Gangopadhyay takes readers to Bengal of the 1990s, though this mostly unfolds in the background, it hardly becomes the foreground of the novel. Shashi reflects on injustices around him, especially involving tribal communities, and views his life as a mission, while Aditi doesn’t share this vision. This contrast of worldviews, along with their similarities, is captured very nicely by the author. The lyrical prose forces readers to pause and reflect.
The resemblance between Shashi’s life and Tagore’s in terms of personality and private experiences is used with great nuance. The bond between Kadambari Devi and Tagore is explored through the character of Lavanya, the wife of Shashi’s cousin, who lives in London. The bond between Lavanya and Shashi is quite important in the life of Shashi.
Moreover, like Tagore, Shashi wrote his early poems under a pen name: Himanshu Singha. The conversation in which Shashi admits to Aditi that writing under his real name filled him with self-doubt is a moment that contrasts Tagore’s confidence with self assurance. Interestingly, Gangopadhyay brings Shashi and Tagore closer not directly, but through the perceptive eyes of Aditi.
Another striking quality that Gangopadhyay displayed is how he offers a perspective on Bengali lifestyle, for instance, the importance of Bengali Addas. He writes, “The modern idea of third space beyond home and work may have roots in the Bengali addas. Addas are the favourite and the most satisfying part of a Bengali’s life. In substance, they are far more meaningful than gossip, and in style, they surpass idle chit-chat. An adda is essentially a spirited exchange of ideas and viewpoints, reminiscent of dialogues that took place in ancient Greek gymnasium. For Bengalis, addas provide the essential spice to their lives, which might otherwise feel bland and filled with mundane mediocrity, at least for the last 100 years.”
Overall, Yet, Remember Me is worth reading. It is a slow, partly epistolary, poetic and unconventional in its own sense love story that makes reading enjoyable. For instance these lines from a poem that Shashi wrote for Aditi:
Yet remember me, If I ever go far away, Even if old love greys, Under the mesh of new love,
Yet, remember me. Yet, remember me, If I choose still to be around, As a shadow to be found, Appearing and disappearing, Yet, remember me.
Another striking quality that Gangopadhyay displayed is how he offers a perspective on Bengali lifestyle, for instance, the importance of Bengali Addas. He writes, “The modern idea of third space beyond home and work may have roots in the Bengali addas. Addas are the favourite and the most satisfying part of a Bengali’s life. In substance, they are far more meaningful than gossip, and in style, they surpass idle chit-chat. An adda is essentially a spirited exchange of ideas and viewpoints, reminiscent of dialogues that took place in ancient Greek gymnasium. For Bengalis, addas provide the essential spice to their lives, which might otherwise feel bland and filled with mundane mediocrity, at least for the last 100 years.”
Overall, Yet, Remember Me is worth reading. It is a slow, partly epistolary, poetic and unconventional in its own sense love story that makes reading enjoyable. For instance these lines from a poem that Shashi wrote for Aditi:
Yet remember me, If I ever go far away, Even if old love greys, Under the mesh of new love,
Yet, remember me. Yet, remember me, If I choose still to be around, As a shadow to be found, Appearing and disappearing, Yet, remember me.