The Middleman
by Sankar
Published in Bengali in 1973
Published in English translation by Penguin India, 2009
From the jacket
1970s Calcutta. The city is teeming with thousands of young men in search of work. Somnath Banerjee spends his days queuing up at the employment exchange. Unable to find a job despite his qualifications, Somnath decides to go into the order–supply business as a middleman. His ambition drives him to prostitute an innocent girl for a contract that will secure the future of Somnath Enterprises. As Somnath grows from an idealistic young man into a corrupt businessman, the novel becomes a terrifying portrait of the price the city extracts from its youth.
Sankar’s The Middleman is the moving story of a man torn between who he is and what he wants to be. Stark and disquieting, the novel deftly exposes the decaying values and rampant corruption of a metropolis that is built on broken dreams and morbid reality. The evocative prose and vivid imagery in this first-ever translation successfully capture the textures of the Bengali original.
Reviews
translations 
Mr.Sinha,
I have luckily come across your translation of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s poem. Enjoyed your work.
After twenty years of writing computer programs (that demands a different sense of brevity and expression), I have been interested in translating Bengali literary works in English in spare time. Published a monograph of Shakti Chattopadhyaya’s poems [1][2] and would like to draw your attention for feedback given your skill and expertise in this area.
You are welcome to reach me at pinaki.poddar@gmail.com
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Rebel-Shakti-Chattopadhyay/dp/1463662122
[2] http://www.scribd.com/doc/65638932/Poems-of-a-Rebel
Regards
Pinaki Poddar, PhD