This book, for the vast majority of those who will read it, is about an alternative way. It tells the story of an unusual artist who does not care about money, status or security; who has kept no track of the paintings he has given away to friends in three continents or left in abandoned places of abode: who has never attached prices to his work, or put on exhibitions except when others have persuaded him: who has never married, preferring the company of dogs, cats, rabbits, birds and snakes to people; who has chosen to live in rural Bengal rather than in the big international cities that beckoned when he received recognition early in his life: who has always worn his hair long, has sometimes worn a sari, has Jived on ganja when he could not afford food.
In his art, no less than in his life, his way has been different, and entirely his own. He has preferred, even when friends have been willing to supply him with materials, canvas made from jute, paints made from earth and plants of Bengal. He has painted his land and people, but not as others see them. In canvases so large that to create their swirling forms the painter dances from one end to the other, the villagers of Bengal are heroically muscled, strong, because they have had to be strong to survive centuries of poverty, oppression, flood, storm and war.
Another way, another vision, another style of life and art. But S. M. Sultan has never been a drop-out from the main trends of our age, nor despite his sodhu-hke appearance-is he a survival from an earlier phase of culture. The huge Bengali river on whose bank he stands is our river too. Most of us look across it and see the towers and pylons and smog of a city, present-day Dhaka perhaps. Sultan knows about cities, was trained in Calcutta, toured America, lived in London and Karachi: has absorbed the techniques of the great urban painters of the West into his style. But he looks across the river at a different, tree-lined shore, where people and nature are not at odds, where villagers grow crops, but can also send their children to schools where painting, music and dance
are taught.
A romantic, vanishing dream? Who knows? The villages of Bengal may in the end be more durable than the cities that currently threaten them, the legend that is Sultan may prove stronger than the realities he has recklessly defied.
A different way has to be projected in a different way. Unlike most novelists, who try to turn fiction into reality, Hasnat Abdul Hye has succeeded in turning reality into fiction. The characters in his book are real people; the story it tells is true. But in its splicing and mixing of narrative, interview and reminiscence it is like a dream, and in its free-floating search for truth, it matches Sultan's haphazard quest. Now, through Kabir Chowdhury's fine English translation, the dream and the quest can be known by many beyond Bengal. For Sultan's friends it has often seemed that "Sultan the man has gone beyond Sultan the artist." But as Hasnat himself says in his book. "I would rather say that quite the opposite has taken place. Sultan the artist has gone beyond Sultan the man." If that indeed proves to be so, gratitude in no small measure will be due to the author, translator and publisher of this wonderful book.
William Radice February 17, 1993 Calcutta

About Writer : Hasnat Abdul Hye studied Economics at Dhaka University, the University of Washington and London School of Economics and Development Studies at Cambridge University. After teaching Economics at Dhaka University he joined civil service and served in various capacities including that of Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh.
Hasnat Abdul Hye is a leading writer of fiction and travel books in Bangladesh. He was awarded Bangla Academy Prize for short story. He received the national award "Ekushey Padak" for his contribution to literature. His novel "Sultan" was nominated for the Irish "Impact Award" in 1997.
Hasnat Abdul Hye was born in Calcutta in 1939.
About Translator : Kabir Chowdhury (1923-2012) is a noted translator, critic and essayist. His elegant and lively English translation of Bengali poems, novels and short stories have been widely acclaimed at home and abroad.About Writer : Hasnat Abdul Hye studied Economics at Dhaka University, the University of Washington and London School of Economics and Development Studies at Cambridge University. After teaching Economics at Dhaka University he joined civil service and served in various capacities including that of Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh.
Hasnat Abdul Hye is a leading writer of fiction and travel books in Bangladesh. He was awarded Bangla Academy Prize for short story. He received the national award "Ekushey Padak" for his contribution to literature. His novel "Sultan" was nominated for the Irish "Impact Award" in 1997.
Hasnat Abdul Hye was born in Calcutta in 1939.
About Translator : Kabir Chowdhury (1923-2012) is a noted translator, critic and essayist. His elegant and lively English translation of Bengali poems, novels and short stories have been widely acclaimed at home and abroad. He has received many national and international awards for his contributions in the field of literature and peaceAbout Writer : Hasnat Abdul Hye studied Economics at Dhaka University, the University of Washington and London School of Economics and Development Studies at Cambridge University. After teaching Economics at Dhaka University he joined civil service and served in various capacities including that of Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh. Hasnat Abdul Hye is a leading writer of fiction and travel books in Bangladesh. He was awarded Bangla Academy Prize for short story. He received the national award "Ekushey Padak" for his contribution to literature. His novel "Sultan" was nominated for the Irish "Impact Award" in 1997. Hasnat Abdul Hye was born in Calcutta in 1939. About Translator : Kabir Chowdhury (1923-2012) is a noted translator, critic and essayist. His elegant and lively English translation of Bengali poems, novels and short stories have been widely acclaimed at home and abroad. He has received many national and international awards for his contributions in the field of literature and peaceAbout Writer : Hasnat Abdul Hye studied Economics at Dhaka University, the University of Washington and London School of Economics and Development Studies at Cambridge University. After teaching Economics at Dhaka University he joined civil service and served in various capacities including that of Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh. Hasnat Abdul Hye is a leading writer of fiction and travel books in Bangladesh. He was awarded Bangla Academy Prize for short story. He received the national award "Ekushey Padak" for his contribution to literature. His novel "Sultan" was nominated for the Irish "Impact Award" in 1997. Hasnat Abdul Hye was born in Calcutta in 1939. About Translator : Kabir Chowdhury (1923-2012) is a noted translator, critic and essayist. His elegant and lively English translation of Bengali poems, novels and short stories have been widely acclaimed at home and abroad. He has received many national and international awards for his contributions in the field of literature and peace He has received many national and international awards for his contributions in the field of literature and peace