Amar Mitra wrote the story back in 1977, when he was only 26; today, it has fetched him the 1919-founded O. Henry Award, whose past winners include William Faulkner, Saul Bellow and Raymond Carver.
The award has reinforced Mr. Mitra’s belief that the short story — titled Gaonburo in Bangla and The Old Man of Kusumpur in English — must have some “internal force” for even the Western audience to find it relevant after 45 long years.
“It has often been hailed, at various times, as a ‘wonderful story’. Maybe it really is a wonderful story. I don’t remember the last time an Indian writing in an Indian language getting such a recognition,” Mr. Mitra, recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and several other prestigious honours at home, told The Hindu.
