Taslima Nasrin launches Hindi edition of Besharam

Bangladeshi author and women rights advocate Taslima Nasrin launched 'Besharam', her sequel to the controversial 'Lajja', in Hindi at the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair on Saturday. She was present at the Rajkamal Prakashan's Jalsaghar stall, along with Ashok Maheshwari, the MD of Rajkamal Prakashan and author Alpana Mishra, Dastango Himanshu Bajpai. 

The novel has been translated from Bengali to Hindi by Utpal Banarjee. 'Lajja' revolves around the Hindu families who had to leave Bangladesh to seek exile in India because of the religious violence in the country. 'Besharam,' portrays the aftermath life of Suranjan, Maya and her parents after leaving Bangladesh and how it impacted them. 

"This is not a political story but a social story about their lives, families and relationships. I could visualise myself in this novel as I was living in Calcutta while writing this book," Nasrin said. Sharing her personal experience about the exile, Taslima confessed that people who migrated from Bangladesh to India still have the opportunity to go back to their country, but she did not have that opportunity. 

"After writing 'Lajja' I was banned by the Bangladeshi government. My suffering is different from the people who can visit, but there is no compensation or comparison for any suffering," she said.