The Merry Adventures of Hardhabardhan & Gobardhan

Shibram Chakraborty (1902Ð1980) wrote extensively for both children and adults, using his trademark humour and wordplay to tell stories about the peculiarities of human beings. His most memorable characters were the brothers Harshabardhan and Gobardhan Ð innocents from Assam who were endowed with plenty of money, thanks to their wood and furniture business, but not with the toughness needed to survive in the big bad city of Calcutta.
Chakraborty was a free spirit who ran away from home as a boy, took part in the freedom movement and went to jail as a teenager Ð he never finished school Ð and lived alone in a boarding house in Calcutta most of his adult life. His stories are about eccentric people in absurd situations, and brim over with fun and puns. He wrote in Bengali. Arunava Sinha translates classic, modern and contemporary Bengali fiction, non-fiction and poetry into English.
Over two dozen of his translations have been published so far. His recent translations for children also include Satyajit RayÕs The Magic Moonlight Flower and Other Enchanting Stories and Moti NandyÕs Kalabati, The Showstopper. He was born in Calcutta and lives in Delhi.