Prosenjit Das Gupta

Chasing a Dream: Journeys into the Heartland of Tribal India Prosenjit Das Gupta

Chasing a Dream is a travelogue with a difference. It tells of the author's experiences and impressions when he travelled to the tribal areas of central and south eastern India in the 1970s and 80s. Here he encountered tribal gods and goddesses like Anga Pen, Son Kuar, Kandakankalin, Telgin Mata and Siraha or medicine-men Bhaku Netam. He trekked more than once accompanied by just one or two local acquaintances into areas very far from common knowledge or public gaze, into the land of the Muria and Maria and the Hill Saora, with their unique beliefs and cultures. His inspiration being the writings of Dr. Verrier Elwin, the noted anthropologist, these accounts are interwoven with what Dr. Elwin had himself written of about thirty years before these travels were made. It also goes on to give glimpses of the life that Elwin spent in these areas in the 1940s. It provides the reader with rare insights into the different reality of tribal life in India. Born in Calcutta in 1944, Prosenjit Das Gupta completed his education from St. Xavier's Collegiate School and Presidency College, Calcutta. He joined a commercial organization in 1966 and worked there, till his retirement a few years ago. His interest in wildlife and tribal and folk culture developed in his college days. He has travelled extensively, to tribal areas of central India as well as to national parks and sanctuaries. He has written a number of articles on wildlife and tribal culture and has authored several books on Calcutta, wildlife, common forest trees, his travels to tribal India, and economic change in India. He has also written a biography of Jim Corbett. His other interests include travelling, photography, reading and writing.