However, a miraculous turn of events brings her to a chance association with a courtesan who introduces her to a life of music, poetry, literature and theatre.

Gradually, her love for the theatre and her sheer talent, gets her noticed by stalwarts such as Girish Ghosh.

The author  goes on to paint in words one of the greatest theatre artists of Bengal whose life and journey has been documented in several books and television adaptations till date.

What many of us do not know is the girl behind the woman.

Did her life as an artist gives her the peace and respite she has so long been looking for?

Did her entity as a woman and her desire for a husband and a family get crushed under the narrow outlook of an orthodox society?

Her love and increasing devotion to Lord Krishna, brings her life to a climactic round up that all the riches in her world could not evaluate for.

Here we need to especially mention the author's detailed research of the life and times of Noti Binodini and the solemn portrayal of her character and the transitions that it goes through over time.

The book is priced at Rs 230 and is available at power-publishers.com, flipkart.com and ebay.in.

Reviewed by Anupriya Dutta