Adarsha Hindu Hotel
Adarsha Hindu Hotel (Ideal Hindu Hotel)[1] is a Bengali novel written by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay. The novel was first published in 1940.[2][3][4]
 Third edition title page | |
| Author | Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay |
|---|---|
| Original title | আদর্শ হিন্দু হোটেল |
| Country | India |
| Language | Bengali |
| Genre | Novel |
| Set in | Bengal |
| Published | 1940 |
Plot
Hajari, a middle-aged Bengali Brahmin is the male protagonist of the novel. He works as a cook in a hotel owned by Bechu Chakraborty near Ranaghat railway station. Here customers are often cheated and Padma, a maid at the establishment, steals the hotel's food. Hajari is strictly against these, but being just a cook, he does not have right to say anything. Here he is regularly mocked and insulted by Padma, who, though only a maid, is the owner's paramour and has immense influence over him. Hajari dreams to start his own hotel, but for that he needs Rs.200. Kusum is a young widow, whom Hajari considers as his daughter. One day utensils of Hajari's shop are stolen and police arrests Hajari. Following this incident, he loses his job.
After getting a loan from Kusum and Atashi, a girl from his village, Hajari starts his own hotel. Here he works hard with dedication and sincerity. In just a year his hotel becomes the most popular hotel of the area. Two other hotels of the area: one of Bechu Chakraborty and another of Jadu Banerjee almost get shut down. Hajari also gets a railway tender to manage a government-run hotel in the railway platform. At the end of the novel, Hazari signs a contract to manage a large hotel and goes to Bombay. Before leaving, he appoints Bechu Chakraborty (whose own hotel was sealed recently) as a manager of the market area hotel. He also gives Padma a job, who used to insult him every now and then.
Adaptations
In 1957 a Bengali film Adarsha Hindu Hotel was made based on this novel. The film was directed by Ardhendu Sen.[5]
References
- Ray, Utsa (5 January 2015). Culinary Culture in Colonial India. Cambridge University Press. pp. 56–. ISBN 978-1-107-04281-0.
- Caṭṭopādhyāẏa, Sunīlakumāra (1 January 1994). Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyaya. Sahitya Akademi. pp. 53–. ISBN 978-81-7201-578-7.
- George, K. M.; Akademi, Sahitya (1992). Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Fiction. Sahitya Akademi. p. 112. ISBN 978-81-7201-506-0.
- "হাজারি ঠাকুরেরই….."আদর্শ হিন্দু হোটেল"" [Hajari Thakur ... Adarsha Hindu Hotel]. www.shobdoneer.com (in Bengali). Shobdoneer. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- "Adarsha Hindu Hotel (1957)". gomolo.com. Gomolo. Retrieved 2 January 2016.