2 ratings | 2 reviews | avg rating:3.00

more photos (13)

Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay)’s Followers (5)

Devasis’s Bookshelves

to-read (2)
currently-reading (0)
read (3)

Devasis’s Friends (130)

Tisha

1,080 books | 382 friends

Milan Vohra

339 books | 1,163 friends

Shruti Kohli

148 books | 91 friends

Saad

14 books | 91 friends

Shreyas Mohite-sawant

123 books | 29 friends

Aparna Ray

136 books | 109 friends

Sudarshan

3 books | 175 friends

Frederick Noronha

1 book | 643 friends

More friends…

Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay)

Goodreads Author

Born

Kolkata, India

Website

https://muckrack.com/devasis-chattopadhyay

Twitter

DevasisC

Influences

https://www.amazon.in/Harry-Hobbs-Kol...
...more

Member Since

February 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/devasischattopadhyay

edit data

Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay) is an Author, Columnist, Corporate Reputation Adviser and Brand Strategist.

He was born in Kolkata a decade after India attended her independence. His father Nityananda was an executive in a Public-Sector Undertaking and an amateur flute player trained under renowned Maestro Pannalal Ghosh. His mother Sadhana was a homemaker.

Devasis did his graduation in commerce from Calcutta University. He started his work-life as an insurance broker. Thereafter, he did his post-graduate diploma in PR. And, he chose his career in advertising and PR.

Devasis is a bilingual writer and writes both in Bengali and English. He began writing free-lance non-fiction features since mid-1980s, and continued writing them in various In ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay) questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay) The issues related to Mumbai dance bars are multifaceted and very deep-rooted. They have layered nuances, primarily socio-economic and carry legacies …moreThe issues related to Mumbai dance bars are multifaceted and very deep-rooted. They have layered nuances, primarily socio-economic and carry legacies of our colonial past. The core problem is a complex social issue. Unfortunately, currently it has become a focused politicized agenda. What we see as a debauched revelations of cultural travesty in the dance bars are only a manifestation of a deep-rooted social problem. We need socio-economic and socio-cultural interventions at various levels of our society to cure it. Politics will not be able to solve the issue at all. By preventing the dance bars to operate in Mumbai, the malady will not be eradicated. They will come up in someplace else. Like dance bars have started mushrooming in Kolkata post 15th August 2005 after proclamation of closure of dance bars in Mumbai.

The dichotomy of this debate is that the people those who patronize dance bars or participate as performers don’t talk about it and, the people those who are debating the issue have hardly any clue of what they are talking about. I have rarely seen any compelling debate or discussion on the genesis and evolution of this genre – because it is stigmatized. The subject is taboo and, surrounded by prejudice. In civil society we pretend that it does not exist. And even when rarely we speak about it, we speak in a very hushed tone.

I am not at all glossing over the goodness of dance bars, neither am I remotely suggesting that it should not be barricaded. All that has been suggested is that some amount of mature thoughts should be applied to eradicate the root-causes of the issue. And, those causes are not surely inside the dance bars. They are somewhere else.

Have we really studied the ‘supply chain management ‘ of the dance bar business? Do we know how did the dance bars started operating in Mumbai? Have we ever tried to find out where from the dancers come? Their origins?

What could be their compelling reasons? Poverty? Coercion? I have my doubt that these could be the only and most significant reasons. Is there anything else…?

What is the lifestyle of this section of our society – the dance bar girls? Why did they choose the Mumbai dance bars? Why is it that the majority of the dancers of Mumbai dance bars hail from the central Indian provinces of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan? Even specifically from a certain region of these states. Where do they live in this city? How is the family life like? What are their aspirations? Have we ever tried finding the answers to all these questions?

In my book ‘Without Prejudice‘ I have tried narrating this story.

Like every action of our society, pieces of evidences and situations narrated in my book are scattered over different media through the centuries; from the published memoirs of the British era, to the government records of our country, to study papers submitted by the scholars in the recent times, as well as news reports in various newspapers, magazines, electronic and other media.

I have referred to certain historical, social, and political events in the story as well, which were necessary for establishing the veracity of the theme. And, of course, I have spoken to a lot many dancers. And, it took a lot of time to win over their confidences.

To borrow the words of Abraham Lincoln, this book is written, ‘with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right …’. Lastly, any resemblance with any person, living or dead, with any character of the book is not intentional and deliberate.(less)

flag

like
Comment

See 1 answer from Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay)…

Combine Editions
Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay)’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 12 ratings · 5 reviews · 2 distinct works

	Without Prejudice: Epic Tale of a Mumbai Bar Dancer 3.73 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2017 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and Other Forgotten Lives it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

1 post
Devasis ( Devasis Chattopadhyay)'s Blog

Idle Musings : What Makes Mumbai… Meri Jaan*…/ thoughts on a windy, rainy weekend evening

I am in awe of Mumbai. Even after more than 20 years of living in this city. I look at her with the dedication and vigor of a teenager in his first love. Intensely and completely.

I am born in Kolkata in the last century. Educated and brought up in that city, as well. I have travelled practically half of the globe. Been to the cities like London, New York, Prague, Sofia, Budapest, Dubai, Abuja, Ho Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 20, 2019 10:06 • Tags: bookwithoutprejudice, devasisidlemusings, idlemusingsdevasis

rss
Devasis’s Recent Updates

Devasis Chattopadhyay) and 1 other person liked Yashashree Sanap's review of Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and other Forgotten Lives (P.B): "Some books pull you into the past, not through grand events or famous figures, but through the lives of people history barely remembers. Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and Other Forgotten Lives does exactly that. Devasis Chattopadhyay takes us through the str" Read more of this review »
Feb 24, 2025 12:26PM · see review
Devasis Chattopadhyay) liked Purva • readwithpurva 's review of Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and other Forgotten Lives (P.B): "Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and Other Forgotten Lives takes readers on a captivating journey into 19th-century Kolkata through the stories of nine remarkable yet overlooked individuals. From civil servants and judges to an opera impresario and a detective" Read more of this review »
Feb 24, 2025 12:26PM · see review
Devasis Chattopadhyay) liked JT's review of Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and other Forgotten Lives (P.B): "Whenever we think of the British people , we only consider a handful of people who were either in the oligarchy or held high administrative positions. But along with the elite , there were several common British people who lived a banal life in India" Read more of this review »
Feb 24, 2025 12:26PM · see review
Devasis Chattopadhyay) wants to read Harry Hobbs of Kolkata and other Forgotten Lives (P.B) by Devasis Chattopadhyay	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 24, 2024 03:54AM · like

More of Devasis's books…

Devasis’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-6) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 6: by Devasis

Oct 03, 2021 12:36PM

Almost a century after they first came up, ‘pice hotels’ are still popular in #Kolkata and a unique phenomenon. And, they carry within them our social history.
'Pice Hotels' are so-called thanks to their uniformly priced meal at six paise (an Anna) in the 1930s in undivided India. They serve wholesome and tasty Bengali home #food, freshly made from the catch of the day at dirt cheap prices, even today.
National Herald India - print and online 03.10.2021. Please click on the link added to read on.
https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/f...

reply | flag

message 5: by Devasis (last edited Aug 12, 2021 03:03AM)

Aug 12, 2021 03:01AM

About Harry Hobbs, the forgotten chronicler of imperial Calcutta, my article -
https://www.livehistoryindia.com/stor...

reply | flag

message 4: by Devasis

Sep 28, 2020 09:48PM

https://www.livehistoryindia.com/cove...
The Other ‘Shakespears’ in India...
Read More at https://www.livehistoryindia.com/cove...

reply | flag

message 3: by Devasis

Sep 28, 2020 09:45PM

https://www.thequint.com/voices/blogs...
This Mahalaya Kolkata is Set For Most Unique Puja in Living Memory
Mahalaya marks the end of Shraadh or Pitr-Pakshma, and the beginning of Devi-Pakshma. It’s unique this year.

reply | flag

message 2: by Devasis

Sep 28, 2020 09:43PM

https://www.thequint.com/entertainmen...
British India’s Racist Theatre: How ‘Blackface’ Took Centre Stage.
Does anybody from Calcutta, now Kolkata, remember Dave Carson – the American who popularised ‘blackface minstrelsy’?

reply | flag

message 1: by Devasis

Sep 28, 2020 09:37PM

The Indian Charivari and its Dirty Secret...
Read More at https://www.livehistoryindia.com/cove...
Why would a mercenary soldier with no literary leanings launch a magazine in Calcutta, that heaped scorn on Indians? Catch the curious case of Colonel Percy Wyndham and the twist in his outlandish tale.

reply | flag