Mukherjee Musings

“Visions of a Summer Past” is the debut novel of Avishek Gupta. I have read Avishek’s short stories in the past and started reading his debut novel with certain expectations. The good news is that, his writing exceeds all my expectations. The story chronicles the journey of a family across five generations, starting in the 40’s with the Partition as backdrop and ending in this decade. Selecting this as the premise of one’s debut novel, in itself, proves that Avishek is a gutsy author. When your canvas is so wide and varied, you need to not only develop characters that are true to the times and spaces they inhabit, but you also sign up for exploring the changing social, political and cultural milieu of a nation or nations as your story traverses through time. And this is where Avishek excels. In his novel, you see the gradual progression of means of livelihood – farmers and landlords, independent practitioners of law, entrepreneurs, public servants, and practitioners of c...

Rajorshi Patranabis'  collection of poems "The Crossover: Love Beyond Eternity" published by Biva Publication is a collection of poems with a difference. All the poems in this collection are about love that's eternal and immortal. They are about love that transcends borders of time, of life and of death. Rajorshi writes about love that cannot be confined within space and time, it flows unhindered and stays in the hearts and souls of lovers even as they cross over to other worlds, to other times. In the poem "Happily Ever After" Rajorshi says: Devoid of our bodies and just our souls Warrants never to hide in holes... We would flow in the wind and sun, Just you and me, in sorrow and fun... The same idea finds voice in his poem "The Crossover" where thus laments a lover- Your hands so easily, slipped over, With tears in my eyes, You managed to Crossover. The lover goes on to spend his days and nights in the chasm of gr...

Author Sabarna Roy's Abyss is a quick read in the format of a short 2-act play that manages to leave a lasting impact. In the garb of a murder mystery, Abyss raises pertinent questions around the burning issue of land procurement for the purpose of industrialization. It takes a realistic look at the plight and the resulting compromises of authors in the modern ecosystem, where the quality of one's work is not enough to catapult one to heights of success and popularity. Most importantly, Abyss impressed me with its intriguing and realistic character sketches. It leaves the reader with questions - how do we deal with indelible scars from the past? What prices do we pay for our ascent and how hard can we fall? How far down the abyss do our lust and our craving for power drive us?  When do relationships that we treasured till the other day, don't matter any more? Kudos to the author Sabarna Roy! I look forward to reading his other books.