Life with an Author, an autobiography of Nomita Ghosal plunges us into her rich inner world, revealing her intimate knowledge of great literature , music and art. She turns to the great writers and poets to help her “make sense” of her experience, and her writing in punctuated with sparkling quotations at every turn. Her story charts the archetypal human journey from innocence to experience which often painfully crash-landed into reality. From her first, intense experience of grief as a young girl at her grandfather’s death, to the hardship incurred by her husband’s impecunious career as a writer, and the “anguish” she endured through his illness and death, we share with her, as we read, the whole gamut of human emotions. She reveals to us such personal trials as the absence of children in her marriage, and we can only admire the courage of such honesty. And through all her life’s experiences – or perhaps in spite of them all – she remains, at heart, an incurable romantic. Nomita’s autobiography is a tribute to her courage and tenacity in face of adversity: to her remarkable work as a teacher, and her great learning, to her endurance and strength in the face of great sadness. Above all, it is a tribute to her womanhood and to Indian womanhood: in writing the autobiography she asserts the talent and power of women in a culture where women must often take a back seat, and live remarkable lives which pass tragically, unnoticed by many.
About the Author
Nomita Ghosal was a visiting professor of English at Salesian College, Sonada for over three decades. She served Government College as lecturer and hostel warden before moving to Loreto College as lecturer of English. She was also very active in the circle of literature, music, art, debate and drama enthusiasts in Darjeeling. She authored Life with an Author and a collection of poems entitled Songs of Soul.
