From the Ganga to the Tay by Bashabi Fraser sampler

Acknowledgements
we would like to thank all the organisations who have financed us on
our trips to India to take the photographs which bring the epic poem
From the Ganga to the Tay alive. Kenny received grants from the Scottish
Arts Council, Aberdeenshire Council, Royal Scottish Geographical
Society and the Geddes Trust for his visits to Bengal and I was able to
travel to India and along the Ganga with research grants from Napier
Uni versity and the Carnegie Trust and support from the British
Council in Kolkata. Both Kenny and I were warmly looked after in
India, so while my aunt, Reba Chakraborty, made my stay anxiety-free
and comfortable, Kenny’s hosts were his artist friends, Tandra and
Pulak Ghosh.
The material in the National Library of Scotland and at Edinburgh
University Library has proved an invaluable resource on the history of
Indo–Scottish connections.
There were acts of generosity which facilitated the poem, like that of
the receptionist at my optician’s in Edinburgh, who insisted that I keep
an issue of The Scots Magazine which had a feature on the Tay. I am
grateful to my husband, Neil, and my father, Bimalendu Bhattacharya,
for giving me their time and help on my many trips along the Tay over
a few years and for accompanying me on the epic journey along the
Ganga in July 2008. On this last trip, my cousin, Rajatshuvra
Chakraborty, took several of the photographs and helped us with the
technology of digital transfer. My father, who is a geographer, also acted
as a reference point for checking many geographical details related to
the two rivers while I was writing the poem.
I would like to thank many of my writer friends in Scotland and my
colleagues at Napier University for their patience in reading through
the poem and giving me their insightful comments.
I am grateful to Luath Press for publishing this book which has had a
long journey in its making, like the rivers whose story it portrays.
Kenny would like to thank Sheena Watson and her daughter, Kerry, for
their constant support of the project, helping him on many photo
shoots, and for conducting research into the history of Kenny’s ances -
tral links with India. Finally, I am grateful to my family, especially to my
daughter, Rupsha, who have all read through several drafts of the poem
and have been good sounding boards and encouraging readers.
Bashabi Fraser
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