The fiction “Bridging Souls
– a Journey from Mahabharata to Bharata” makes fascinating reading. Written
lucidly in the form of a diary, it weaves a magical tale that takes the
readers’ mind back and forth to the glory and grandeur of the epic period of
Indian history and present day realities. The characters in the novel are
fictional but the book is grounded on the personal experience and perceptive
vision of Arindam Nath, a senior officer of Tripura Police, who travelled
across the country as a chairman of Tripura Rifles Recruitment Board. The
author’s knowledge of the epics and his cultivated, discerning and scholarly
mind come out through the pages of the book.
The story comes out of the diaries written by one medical practioner Dr. Ashamanja Bhowmik, who accompanied a recruitment team of Tripura State Rifles, an elite armed police force of Tripura all over the country. Through the pages of his diary, the author has spun a delightful tale that captivates the mind. The recruitment team traversed different regions of India, where about 5,000 years ago, some of the famous battles and events recounted in Mahabharata had taken place. Acts of heroism as well as frailties of the different ‘dramatis personae’ of Mahabharata are compellingly and evocatively recounted by one Ambujanaba Sharma, Commandant of the battalion, who headed the team. The pen portrait of the Commandant drawn by the author shows the qualities of his head and heart---a happy blending of scholarship and humanism. He narrated and interpreted in a new light and perspective, and with consummate knowledge to his accompanying colleagues the characters and events of the Mahabharata. His vivid description of the valour of the heroes as well as the deeds of princes and sages will grip the minds of the readers.
The Mahabharata is not merely “a song of victory”, it is a “Padma Samhita”, a collection of old legends, and Itivritta or traditional account of noble kings, pious sages, of dutiful wives and beautiful maids. It is also “Mokshya Shastra”---pointing ways to salvation. The Mahabharata also lays down rules of conduct for attainment of three great aims animating all human conduct--Dharma, Artha and Kama.
Some of the characters in the novel are fascinating. Dr. Bhowmik is an ideal Boswell. He has painstakingly noted down the references, comments and perceptive observations of Sharma after narration of different episodes of Mahabharata. However, some of the comments of Sharma on the nature of crimes committed by heroes of Mahabharata are somewhat trite and may not stand the glare of scrutiny. Some of the acts of the epic heroes now interpreted as crimes under the Indian Penal Code were not so in the days of yore. They were in accordance with the prevailing customs.
Against this wider backdrop of acts and transgressions of the heroes of Mahabharata, the author weaves a tender sub-plot of a love affair between the Bengali doctor Bhowmik and the Punjabi girl Dr. Harleen Bedi, a medical officer of CRPF Group Centre, Jalandhar. The pages of the diary unveil the tragic story of the death of Harleen’s fiancé, Aman who reportedly committed suicide, but actually was murdered. The untold story could be unearthed by Harleen with the help of the members of the recruitment board. Enchanting romance blossoms between the two doctors, hailing from two different parts of the country. It was indeed “omnia vincit amor”.
The book will enthral the readers and provide them with glimpses of Mahabharata as well as many other events of the past and the present. Issues like Maoism, Gorkhaland agitation, etc., figure in the narrative. Lay readers will also gather from the book interesting details of the methods of recruitment in the paramilitary forces and the pains taken to select appropriate candidates from different parts of the country. Arindam Nath deserves plaudits for writing an informative and interesting book revealing his scholarly as well as analytical mind. I am sure that the book will be widely read and well received.
The story comes out of the diaries written by one medical practioner Dr. Ashamanja Bhowmik, who accompanied a recruitment team of Tripura State Rifles, an elite armed police force of Tripura all over the country. Through the pages of his diary, the author has spun a delightful tale that captivates the mind. The recruitment team traversed different regions of India, where about 5,000 years ago, some of the famous battles and events recounted in Mahabharata had taken place. Acts of heroism as well as frailties of the different ‘dramatis personae’ of Mahabharata are compellingly and evocatively recounted by one Ambujanaba Sharma, Commandant of the battalion, who headed the team. The pen portrait of the Commandant drawn by the author shows the qualities of his head and heart---a happy blending of scholarship and humanism. He narrated and interpreted in a new light and perspective, and with consummate knowledge to his accompanying colleagues the characters and events of the Mahabharata. His vivid description of the valour of the heroes as well as the deeds of princes and sages will grip the minds of the readers.
The Mahabharata is not merely “a song of victory”, it is a “Padma Samhita”, a collection of old legends, and Itivritta or traditional account of noble kings, pious sages, of dutiful wives and beautiful maids. It is also “Mokshya Shastra”---pointing ways to salvation. The Mahabharata also lays down rules of conduct for attainment of three great aims animating all human conduct--Dharma, Artha and Kama.
Some of the characters in the novel are fascinating. Dr. Bhowmik is an ideal Boswell. He has painstakingly noted down the references, comments and perceptive observations of Sharma after narration of different episodes of Mahabharata. However, some of the comments of Sharma on the nature of crimes committed by heroes of Mahabharata are somewhat trite and may not stand the glare of scrutiny. Some of the acts of the epic heroes now interpreted as crimes under the Indian Penal Code were not so in the days of yore. They were in accordance with the prevailing customs.
Against this wider backdrop of acts and transgressions of the heroes of Mahabharata, the author weaves a tender sub-plot of a love affair between the Bengali doctor Bhowmik and the Punjabi girl Dr. Harleen Bedi, a medical officer of CRPF Group Centre, Jalandhar. The pages of the diary unveil the tragic story of the death of Harleen’s fiancé, Aman who reportedly committed suicide, but actually was murdered. The untold story could be unearthed by Harleen with the help of the members of the recruitment board. Enchanting romance blossoms between the two doctors, hailing from two different parts of the country. It was indeed “omnia vincit amor”.
The book will enthral the readers and provide them with glimpses of Mahabharata as well as many other events of the past and the present. Issues like Maoism, Gorkhaland agitation, etc., figure in the narrative. Lay readers will also gather from the book interesting details of the methods of recruitment in the paramilitary forces and the pains taken to select appropriate candidates from different parts of the country. Arindam Nath deserves plaudits for writing an informative and interesting book revealing his scholarly as well as analytical mind. I am sure that the book will be widely read and well received.
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