Manik Bandopadhyay is not an easy read. Highly acclaimed as a great Bengali storyteller, his stories often throw light at the darkness of the human mind that we want to overlook. His most famous work being "Padma Nadir Majhi" - is legendary in its capability of depressing the reader.
I am not sure why I picked this book, even after knowing fully well the effect his writing has historically had on people. Reading a Bengali book after a long time, it took a little bit of effort on my part to warm up to the writing and pick up the pace to read it. I am generally a fast reader and can finish a 200 pager over 2 days to a week depending upon my interest level. This book took me a little more than a month and it was around 200 pages. This is not a testimony of the book being boring or not engaging. In fact, it was more than engaging, a little too engaging if I may say so. It was 200 pages of pure pain.
Of course it is an outstanding work of art and a beacon in modern Bengali novel writing. The stunning word play that is alternatively exquisite and rustic makes it quite charming. We have an ensemble of characters who have their own flaws and forthright qualities. The protagonist Shashi is a doctor in a village and though he begins as a do-gooder in the small community, he wants to rid the people of their petty superstitions, create a better society, provide facilities. This absolutely exemplary public figure is not as straight as an arrow as he appears to be. He is tempted by the urban life, wants on multiple occasions to ditch the people and move out and even gets romantically involved with a farmer's wife - a farmer who is his friend and greatest cheerleader.
The story takes a close look at the lives of the ordinary people and the struggles that they have to go through. The pain of being poor and without resources, the ability to be happy in limited means and the realities of being born in a certain socio-economic class in India are core to the book. But it is more than just that - it is not just about building a hospital and getting a better life for the people - it is about the nuance of friendship and family, love and sense of duty.
Generally, when I read a book, I am rooting for a particular character or feeling absolutely heartbroken for one. This story takes me through a roller coaster journey where I alternatively love and hate the same person.
From the very first page to the last, there is a constant quest for the very purpose of life, the immense importance we attach to ourselves and obvious frivolity of it all. In that seemingly bleak prospect of our lives actually amounting to nothing at all, every now and then people find their true purpose and identity.
If I have to describe the story in one word, i would say "intense". I kept thinking back about one isolated event and another, many weeks after I had read the book. there are moments that just stay with you and these moments would be different for different people. Bandopadhyay plays masterfully with the emotions of his readers - what affects you, makes you really connect to the real person you are. I highly recommend.
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