Ruchir Joshi on the Calcutta you don’t know

The Sandip Roy Show

In this episode, host Sandip Roy Show is joined by author Ruchir Joshi who takes us back to Calcutta in the early 1940s, an era charged with political upheaval, global war, and cultural ferment. Set against the backdrop of Tagore’s death, Subhash Bose’s escape, the Quit India Movement, and the looming Bengal Famine, Joshi’s novel Great Eastern Hotel captures a city on the brink of transformation. Sandip and Ruchir discuss why the years 1941–1943 were pivotal, how Calcutta became a crossroads of empire and resistance, and how a diverse cast of characters from elite Bengalis to British expatriates and street pickpockets bring this moment alive.
Produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar