Manik Bandopadhyay (Bengali: 唳唳ㄠ唳� 唳Θ唰嵿Ζ唰嵿Ο唰嬥Κ唳距Η唰嵿Ο唳距Ο唳�) was an Indian Bengali novelist and is considered one of the leading lights of modern Bangla fiction. During a short lifespan of forty-eight years, plagued simultaneously by illness and financial crisis, he produced 36 novels and 177 short-stories. His important works include Padma Nadir Majhi (The Boatman on The River Padma, 1936) and Putul Nacher Itikatha (The Puppet's Tale, 1936), Shahartali (The Suburbia, 1941) and Chatushkone (The Quadrilateral, 1948).
A visceral and enchanting saga into the lives of the fishermen of the river Padma. Padma is their lifeline, their mother and father. Their protector and destroyer, she offers plenty and also snatches away in the same manner. You are sucked into this world populated with lush scenery and the mighty river like goddess who is always in the background, controlling the lives of her dependents.
The author is successful in bringing life into the mere characters and their livelihood. Forming a close-knitted community, we see friendships, betrayal, love, adultery, cruelty and kindness in this miserable yet stubborn group of people.
The characters inked by the author will undoubtedly leave their mark on the reader. A family man, on the verge of an illicit relationship, yet bounded by his love for his family members, his wife:a bed-ridden miserable homemaker, unable to gain her husbands sympathy yet loving him all the way, an ordinary mother thinking about the well-being of her children and family yet unable to do the required, her sister:a seductress, and neglected being, receiving warmth and recognition by her brother-in-law. Then there are the side-characters. The ever-loyal Ganesh, the lovable,caring, yet guilt-ridden and vengeful Rashu, the irritating and liar neighbor, the ever-mysterious Hossain Mian, the kindly yet wrongly-misunderstood zamindar Mejokorta, the countable characters from the island of Moynakhali are the people who occupy this small world, away from the cacophony of city life in a far away village-island on the mighty Padma where we are transferred to.
'Padma Nadir Majhi', a classic novel by Manik Bandopadhyay, depicts the life of the riverine people living on the banks of the Padma River. The writer has developed the story around the main character Kuber Majhi. Kuber is a boatman on the Padma river, who drives other boats and fishes for others during the hilsa season to earn extra. He has a family in Majhi Para of Ketupur, a village on the banks of the Padma, with his crippled wife Mala and sons and daughters. In the life of this poor boatman, there is always a tug of money.
By presenting the life of Kuber boatman and his surrounding environment, the author has portrayed the life of the riverine village people of Bengal in his story. Apart from Kuber, some other characters have important place in the story. Through each character the poverty, simplicity, low-level deceit, as well as blind religious and sin mindset of these people are vividly portrayed. And the characterization of Hussain Mia as a different character was very strong.
Although the book is written in old style, it is simple and easy to read. And the description of the river Padma and its banks of Majhi Para is so strong that it feels like I am physically there. Also, the combination of the author's oldstyle narration and local dialect dialogues is beautiful. The presentation of the story was realistic. That's why along with the story of the simplicity of those people, things like deception, crime, emotional tension, forbidden relationship between men and women have also emerged.
Also, reading about the poverty, economic hardship and destitution of these riverine people due to the frenzy of nature has made me feel very sad. All in all, the book 'Padma Nadir Majhi' has become one of my favourites. Wanted to give more feedback on the book. I also wrote a larger review. But after selecting the text and pressing paste while copying, it has disappeared. Don't want to write them again now. So I can't say much about the book.
This is another contemporary, Bengali classic that I had to read in my college level. It again shows the Bengali culture, norms. However, I found it better than 'Hajar Bochor Dhorey'. At least, no one is beating wives here. In fact, the protagonist in this book married a cripple woman, and never demeaned her about it, as I thought I would be seeing. Besides, in this book the protagonist takes actions in the end. The issue with reading old classics is not the writing. The writing and all the human emotions and philosophy it portrays are great. But if there's no character I want to follow, even good writings will make me sleep.
This one does not need a review. Despite being a text, I am very fond of this one and find myself rereading parts of it every once in a while. One of the best works of Manik B.
The thing that attracts me towards the writing style of Manik Bandopadhyay is that his story builds up on the character of the characters, their decision they take. He transpires to his readers the picture that he has seen closely.
Now talking about this book Padma Nadir Majhi is that I found the tone of the book simillar to that of Hemmingway's The Old Man And The Sea. Maybe primarily because the main character is a fisherman or maybe that I found a scent of 'Nada' philosophy in Padma Nadir Majhi also (the moment Kuber realisized in the end that whatever he do one way or the other Hosan will take him to Moynadweep.
For those who are not familliar with Nada: The 鈥渘ada鈥� (or 鈥渘othing鈥�) focuses on man鈥檚 confrontation with the absence of God, the indifference and seeming hostility of the universe, and thus with the absence of purpose, order, meaning, and value in the universe and in human life.
And the naming of the central character is itself a great irony in this novel as Kuber is Hindiu God of wealth and prosperity but in the story it is Kuber who suffers from poverty.
Its hard to write a review for such classics. This novel is a must read.