Every Indian student remembers studying Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Kabuliwala’ in school. The short story, translated from Bengali, was many people’s introduction to Bengali literature. Yet, the region’s literature is diverse, extending beyond Rabindranath Tagore—and has something for readers of all tastes and genres. Below, we round up seven Bengali books—from queer fiction to children’s comics and science fiction—that can introduce you to the world of Bengali literature.

Harvest Song by Sabitri Roy

A novelist writing about rural Bengal, Sabitri Roy never got her due credit in her lifetime. However, recent critics have started to notice and celebrate her work, especially for its meticulous documentation of the social and political turmoils of the 1930s-40s as well as her gendered critique of political freedom movements in the state. A recently translated and abridged version of her three-part novel Paka Dhaaner Gaan, Harvest Song talks about the farmer-led Tebhaga Movement of undivided Bengal. Roy’s talent lies in bringing alive characters from different walks of life and representing the oppressed without ever taking their voices away.

Translator: Adrita Mukherjee, Chandrima Bhattacharya

Nonte Fonte by Narayan Debnath