No school is an shari Parimal Whattscharya devered when he loured the distric of Wort Bengal on a project, Binduetion. De a prism, refracte spectrum of economic, political and cultures that sally remain knotted. With the highest population density, a large work force tied t subsistence agriculture and small manufacturing, and millions livine in ecologically critical areas, the fice of today's West Bengal reflects in many ways, that of tomorrow's India. At present, the face as riven by an unprecedented anarchy and despair. But some of the roots the un obscure, and ignored, spaces From the heart of Sundarban to maniered Shantiniketen, from the floodplains of dying riven to the ochre plains of Jargalmahal, Bhattacharya has roamed these spaces in seanch of the seal face of Bengal, recording the narratives encrusted on locations What emerges is a tapestry of sagims, sounds and smells that ofien spe more than cold statistics. It is a travelogue that takes the reader on a journey through fascinatine hands peopled with untorgenable human beings, anto marmoties and the self A unique, captiv anang tourney Cover photograph: Soma Ray