On the Wings of Music

Shantanu Moitra

On the Wings of Music is a collection of short tales that are autobiographical in nature. These memoirs have been translated from Shantanu Moitra's writings in Bengali, with the help of Aruna Chakravarti.

Musician Shantanu Moitra at his studio. Pic/Sayed Sameer Abedi

The book has been written a lot like a documented conversation, letting you in on all the adventures Moitra had. At some point, most readers would feel that these adventures could be shared at no price at all, may be, as a blog or a freelance contribution. Why buy someone's incomplete scrapbook?

On the Wings of Music: A book of Journeys, Shantanu Moitra with Arun Chakravarti, HarperCollins, Rs 325. Available at leading book stores.

Besides, the charm of short anecdotes is that they leave you thinking for a long time; in a weird way, the best short story writers can disease you with their thoughts but here one is convinced that not all diseases are communicable. Sample this: "He knew neither English nor Hindi but his smile was Esperanto. Carrying the load on his back as lightly as if it were a fly, he strode jauntily ahead of us, exchanging greetings with other porters and chit-chat with the villagers we met en route."

Nevertheless, Shantanu Moitra can be credited for his thirst for adventure that is quenched by a lot of travel and a philosophical temperament that makes its presence felt at the end of every narration. What one takes back is the simple fact that is less than the 140-character limit: "Travel is Inspiration". And just in case you are in two minds about paying just for the literature, there is a free CD inside as well.