A Book Review Of Kacher Manush Authored By Suchitra Bhattacharya #BookMarathon

A Book Review Of Kacher Manush Authored By Suchitra Bhattacharya

 

  • Publisher: Ananda Publishers

  • Publication Year: 2014

  • ISBN-10: 8172155417

  • ISBN-13: 978-8172155414

  • Pages: 640

  • Rating: 5 on 5

One of the modern Bengali authors whom I admire a lot and very fond of the writing style is undoubtedly Late Suchitra Bhattacharya. What attracts me towards this author is her narrative style which gives me the feel as if I am experiencing the story in real life. One such book of her which I read a few months back was ” Kacher Manush”( কাছের মানুষ) … someone close to me. The base of the story is the contemporary period of Bengal and the reality of a middles class family and their problems. I am quite sure that many of us being a part of such families or came across families who represent the characters of the story. For Kacher Manush the base was 80’s Bengal and she wrote this book at the beginning of her career as an author but still so polished and touchy her narrations were.
It’s the story of Titir a teenager from the 80’s Bengal who finished her papers of higher secondary. She was waiting for the mother Indrani who went to bring back home her alcoholic father from the hospital. She is a part of a huge joint family very common to witness in Bengal during this particular period. The person who is holding this family together was Titir’s grandpa an ailing man. In the family we can see the presence of Sudip and Runa, Aditya’s one of the two younger brothers and his wife. They have a son named Atom, which is quite uncommon to witness during the 80s. Titir’s second uncle was Kandarpa a struggling actor sandwiched between what’s right and what’s wrong. But the central character of the story is Bappa, the elder brother of Titir and through his vision, the whole story is scripted by Suchitra Ji. Bappa believes him to be that narrow thread of the family who wants to move out breaking the same from this abnormal family as he applied for the job of a sailor. ( Subhashish sn
But if you are thinking the key character of the story is either Titir or Bappa you are mistakenly wrong as she is Indrani the duo’s mother. Her life experienced shattering events one after another with the progress of the story. She turned as the bread earner for her family of 4 because of his callous and alcoholic husband is good for nothing.
Aditya is a loving father besides being a craving husband. But why? The answer is Subhasish another important character in the story. What makes me fall in love with the story is the way Suchitra Ji knitted the story connecting one character to other. The surrounding characters of the story do wonder to find the reason as to why Subhasish being the doctor and Indrani’s Ex, keep visiting her and mix so well with her entire family. When the story progress further readers will get to know about Subhasish and his family. The story narrates how he is pissed off between two women and how is he managing in life.
The equation between each relation starts changing its meaning with the demise of Indrani’s father in law and several events took place one after another. Kandarpa’s struggle in career and love affair with friend’s widow, the disappearance of Naxalist brother of Indrani. Emotional clash of Titir and Toto ( Subhashish son) and many other. Twist and turn to keep the storyline gripping till the end and readers need to stay tuned to know what exactly happened in the story.
What makes me feel sad is that no more I will get the chance to read books by Suchitra Bhattacharya as she is no more within us. But her completed works of Bengali literature will keep me connected with as a devoted fan. If you love reading good Bengali books then do read this book.