Pather Panchali deals with the life of the Roy family, consisting of Harihar, Sarbajaya, Apu and Durga, both in their ancestral village Nishchindipur in rural Bengal and later when they move to Varanasi in search of a better life, as well as the anguish and loss they face during their travels.
It first appeared as a serial in a Calcutta periodical in 1928 and was published as a book the next year; it was the first published novel written by the author. It was followed in 1932 by a sequel Aparajito, which was later also adapted into a film of the same name by Satyajit Ray.
Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (Bangla: 唳唳唳む唳唳粪Γ 唳Θ唰嵿Ζ唰嵿Ο唰嬥Κ唳距Η唰嵿Ο唳距Ο唳�) was an Indian Bangali author and one of the leading writers of modern Bangla literature. His best known work is the autobiographical novel, Pather Panchali: Song of the Road which was later adapted (along with Aparajito, the sequel) into the Apu Trilogy films, directed by Satyajit Ray.
The 1951 Rabindra Puraskar, the most prestigious literary award in the West Bengal state of India, was posthumously awarded to Bibhutibhushan for his novel 唳囙唳距Ξ唳む.
This is a somewhat slow, silent story of a young boy growing up in a poor village in Bengal. It follows Apu and Durga, (two children who are poor even by the standards of their village mates), as they search for wild berries and leaves, steal mangoes from their neighbors, get beaten, play cowries, get lost, and discover trains. Their lives are simple and their stories simply told. You get a sense both of the rarified, natural beauty that village life holds, and of the ways in which it grinds people down, keeps them narrow, and strips them of their dreams.
The other interesting thing about the story is how tangential British presence is in the story. We hear about a now defunct factory near the village, we see the train tracks, and we see a somewhat ridiculous Westernized family putting on airs. But ultimately, the world they live in is so small that Shorbojoya, the mother of Apu and Durga, has never been to a temple 6 miles away in the 10 years she lived in the village. It is a kind of pre-Colonial life that could have been described almost identically if it had been set in the 1600's.
Durga, who is constantly derided, often beaten, never quite loved -- is especially heartbreaking. Because she is a girl, she never gets as much food, is berated for not doing housework, is never taught to read, and lives a jungly, solitary existence. In other ways, the story plainly captures the ways in which women were powerless, less valued, and utterly mistreated.
This story was adapted into a famous Satyajit Ray movie. In some ways I like the movie better, because film seems a better medium to capture the twittering, dripping sounds of the forest, or the quiet, long shots of fields of waving grass.
Still, I would recommend reading the book because it captures the way a child sees the world in a particularly charming and unpretentious manner.
A book so innocent and pure. A book so vivid and imaginary. A book that fills your heart with nostalgia and joy. A book that also makes you cry. A book that will stay within me forever now that I have read it. A book that I am so thankful exists!
It is not hard to comprehend why the publishers didn鈥檛 wish to proceed with the manuscript of this novel. It lacks a cohesive narrative structure and can be put forward best as a collection or a string of fragments that together make up a slice-of-life delineation. However, I feel that the author鈥檚 Aranyak is more like a string of events; that did not face so many problems, so maybe the structure was not all that bothered the publishers so much. Rather, the reasons were very much the same as why no one wanted to fund the adaptation when Satyajit Ray wanted to make it, the thematics and the honest, brutal description of the economic duress of the then village life of the lower-middle class. It is not very surprising, given how many Indians dismissed the movie as poverty porn.
I will always maintain that Manik Bandopadhyay and Bibhutibhushan are two among very few authors who can portray village life with such a display of calibre and authenticity. And Bibhutibhushan managed to add to the images a melancholic and nostalgic theme of loss of innocence and leaving your home for a hopeful yet unpredictable tomorrow.
It is confounding how the author brought some of the characters to life with so few words, especially Indira Thakuron (it feels weird to write all this in English. But there is no point in writing in Bengali either because I do not think I can do more justice to the review that way), who is present for around merely a tenth of the novel, perhaps. There is a subtle undertone to the story about the hierarchy of power in family dynamics and patriarchal dominance, but it is tough to be judgmental because the tonality was not ambiguously sympathetic but factual.
Another noticeable and remarkable aspect of the story is how it does not dwell on the grief of loss or sorrow. A character's demiss does impact the lives of the people around them, but it does not stop. That adds to the bittersweetness of the morale of the tale. But, it can be perceived as being too devoid of emotions. However, that argument does not last, because, in the long run, it is a tale of the relation between man and nature, like all of Bibhutibhushan's stories. Birth, coming of age, and adulthood all are but additional elements to elevate the storytelling.
On another note, Pather Panchali was further popularised by Ray鈥檚 masterful adaptation back in the 50s, a movie that is close to my heart but not as much as the books. That being said I doubt half of the people who understand Bengali have bothered to read it. Either way, I suggest anyone watch the movie first because otherwise, the details that the novel (or the next one, Aparajito) goes to will leave you asking for much more from the screen. And that is not a good thing.
To tell the truth, I am not competent enough to fully express my feelings about this novel. Or any of the other works by Bibhutibhushan that I first read as a child. They always manage to cause turmoil of a very absurd combination within me, and while I am glad or sad, there remains a void inside me. Maybe someday I can justify it. Either way, this is as good a start to this year as I could have asked.
His mother might think he was spending his days in the woods, but really he spent them in the desert and hills of Rajabara, inside the theatres of Delhi and Agra, in mirror panelled rooms in the company of gorgeous women dressed in full skirts and colourful dupattas. What a wonderful worid, this! The golden light of the full moon shone every chapter, the friendship of beautiful faces and Don games was the norm and on the occasion of the Aaheria hunt in spring, people went on long horse rides wi Spears, racing through barren valleys and fields of golden maize.
This beautiful story set in the imaginary village of Abode Of Contentment is a Bengali cult classic. It talks about the Roy family, and their journey while Opu, their second child discovers the world of fantasy and fiction.
The book is a cultural phenomenon, with poetry and prose, all intermingled in one another.
The Roy family constitutes of five people - Horihor, Shorbojoya, Durga, Opu and Indir Thakrun. The book starts with a background story on Indir Thakrun and her ancestors, and then later on pans to Opu who is the star kid of the story.
It talks about financial hardships, motherhood, sibling-hood and the beautiful world of books.
People often say that mothers are the greatest pillar of society, for they give civilization its greatest asset: its men. We praise women, and justly so, for unselfishly bearing and raising our boys without expecting any recognition or compensation in return. But in that praise, do we not often forget the gifts that a child bestows upon its mother? It is true that our children enter the world empty-handed, without the coins to pay for their care. But what worldly wealth can compare to the joy of seeing that first gummy smile, hearing those first lisping words? Can any earthly treasure treasure e as precious as watching the wonder with which our ban slowly discover the world? No, we do not minister to our children solely out of the goodness of our hearts. Parenting not an act of charity or duty, akin to giving alms to a beggar. Children pay us for every moment of care that we give them. They pay for it with the sheer joy and wonderment that we feel in watching them grow.
The reason I cut 0.5 stars was because I felt there a small element missing in the book, somewhere lost in translation, and if you know how to read or understand Bengali, highly recommend reading or listening to the book in the OG language.
A mesmerizing read that transports you to a different realm altogether!
In conclusion
A beautiful read about the world through a child's eyes. A great introduction to Bengali culture and literature. .
Originally published in 1929 (I think), a terrific story of a life of poverty in an Indian village. I wish Mitt Romney would read this book. (Not sure it would do Paul Ryan any good to read it.)
This book started my love for Indian novels. The apu's trilogy, Aranakata Pem banda and Gora,Srikantha, Srikantha and Rajalakshmi, all books translated by Ms Sinhaarachchi were loved and read and re read until they got rabbit eared. I was just a teen, eager to get lost in a world, and forget that I was seated in a corner of the school library, unseen by anyone. The story takes you to world of a bygone era, where Apu and his sister love each other with the same love-hate passion that is common for all Era's. We find what it means to be poor, we empathize with Sarwajaya, her harsh life, the little beauties of life she cherishes that she get through her children. Mostly we see a girl, old enough to be married, but yet an adventurous dreamer who has discovered the beauty of the life through little sweet berries and little secret treasures of nature known only to a wandering soul like her. She asks, from her little brother, with eyes full of hope, whether he would take her to see the railway. Her wish never fulfilled, her thirst for life unstated, we bid her good bye with a tear. It maybe because I was just a teenager, with an active imagination and a soft heart without much exposure to the rueful world. But these stories shook me to my very core and left it's mark and has such a powerful hold of me to this date, that while writing this even, a tear came to my eyes just remembering the initial painful moment where I cried with Apu over the loss of his dearest big sister.
Saya penasaran sama kesusateraan klasik dari India karena nama pengarangnya yang menurut saya unik "Bibhutibhushan Banerji" yang ternyata menulis cerita tentang kisah dua kakak adik bernama Durga dan Apu. Selain itu penerjemahnya yang Koesalah Soebagyo Toer (Adik Pramoedya Ananta Toer) membuat saya makin penasaran karena saya menyukai penyajian terjemahannya sebelumnya beliau tulis di dalam buku dan .
Buku ini menceritakan kisah Dua kakak beradik bernama Durga dan Apu yang tinggal di Desa kecil di Bengali, India. Durga namanya mengingatkan saya akan Dewi Durga Istrinya Dewa Syiwa yah . Mereka termasuk ke dalam Kasta Brahmana karena ayah mereka adalah seorang pendeta yang suka melakukan perjalanan keliling tapi sayangnya meski mereka adalah kasta tertinggi didalam Hindu (Brahmana, Ksatria, Waisya dan Sudra) tetapi mereka hidup dalam garis kemiskinan. Durga dan Apu sering bermain di hutan dan mengumpulkan buah-buah yang berceceran untuk dibawa pulang kepada ibu mereka.
Yang membuat menariknya buku ini memaparkan konflik dan perlakuan orang dewasa yang tidak adil ataupun jahat dari kacamata si Durga dan Apu. Saya terenyuh ketika melihat betapa kasarnya perlakuan ibu Durga dan Apu terhadap seorang nenek tua renta yang diusir dari rumah mereka namun Durga kembali mengajak si nenek untuk kembali tinggal dengan mereka. Ada beberapa hal yang didalam buku ini membuat saya miris betapa sederhananya kebahagiaan Durga dan Apu hanya menemukan buah-buah yang bececeran di kebun dan betapa kemiskinan membuat ketidakadilan semakin nyata
Sayangnya buku ini plot twistnya saya rasakan hampir tidak ada. Ada sedikit sih di akhir2 buku ada suatu kejadian yang membuat kehidupan mereka sekeluarga berubah tetapi disitu aja. Entah kenapa saya berhasil bertahan dengan buku ini yang cenderung stagnan alurnya.
Saya berharap sekali buku keduanya akan dicetak ulang juga di Indonesia yang berjudul :)
India ternyata banyak memiliki penulis novel yang piawai. Satu lagi saya temukan pembawa keajaiban itu: Bibhutibhushan Banerji (Wuuiiiih, susah banget ya mengejanya). Lelaki kelahiran 12 September 1894 ini menulis novel Pater Pancali (Judul asli: Pater Panchali, atau dalam bahasa Inggrisnya diartikan sebagai Song of them he Road) pertama kali dalam bentuk cerita bersambung di majalah Vichitra tahun 1928 dalam bahasa Bengali. Pada tahun berikutnya karya ini terbit dalam bentuk buku. Koesalah Soebagio Toer menerjemahkannya ke dalam bahasa Indonesia, diterbitkan pertama kali tahun 1996 oleh Pustaka Jaya yang bekerja sama dengan The Toyota Foundation. Pater Pancali ini adalah salah satu karya Banerji yang besar. Kisah novel ini telah memesona sutradara film India, Satyajit Ray, yang kemudian mengangkatnya ke dalam film layar lebar pada tahun 1955 dan mendapat penghargaan di ajang Festival Film Cannes.
Bagi saya, yang paling menarik dari buku ini adalah kisahnya yang sederhana dan amat membumi. Begitu dekat dengan kehidupan kita sehari-hari walaupun berjarak geografis dan waktu sekian puluh tahun yang lalu. Selama membaca novel ini, ingatan saya melayang ke masa-masa paling bahagia dalam hidup saya, yaitu masa kanak-kanak. Kenapa demikian? Sebab buku ini berkisah tentang seorang bocah lelaki bernama Apu yang hidup bersama ayah, ibu, serta seorang kakak perempuan yang amat mencintainya, Durga. Mereka berasal dari kaum berkasta brahmana yang miskin dan melarat. Ayah mereka, Harihar, adalah pria yang memiliki impian dan cita-cita besar bagi anak lelakinya seorang, Apu. Di tengah-tengah kesulitan hidupnya, ia masih sempat menyisihkan sebagian kecil uangnya untuk membeli buku-buku bacaan Apu. Dia tak mampu membiayai sekolah putranya itu, oleh sebab itu ia mengajarinya sendiri dengan pengetahuannya yang terbatas. Sementara ibunya, Sharvajaya, adalah seorang perempuan desa biasa yang buta huruf. Baginya, pendidikan bukanlah hal penting dalam hidup seseorang. Kehidupan di India pada tahun-tahun itu memang amat diskriminatif terhadap kaum perempuan. Mereka tidak berhak atas pendidikan seperti halnya lelaki. Tugas mereka adalah kawin secepatnya dan menjadi istri yang baik. Dengan demikian, Durga, kakak perempuan Apu itu, juga tidak pernah mendapat kesempatan bersekolah.
Bab-bab dalam buku ini sekilas terasa sebagai sebuah penggalan cerita yang tidak saling berhubungan satu dengan lainnya. Sempat juga membuat kening saya berkerut dalam usaha menyatukan potongan-potongan kisah itu. Menurut saya, novel ini seperti catatan harian seseorang tentang masa kecilnya, dalam hal ini Apu dan Durga. Mereka kakak beradik yang saling menyayangi. Ke mana-mana hampir selalu berdua. Jika yang satunya tidak tampak, yang lainnya segera saja merasa kehilangan. Mereka bermain bersama. Sebagai anak-anak dari keluarga miskin, permainan mereka bukanlah benda-benda elektronik milik orang-orang kota . Mereka bermain dengan benda-benda yang ada di sekitar mereka. Seperti buah pinang, bambu-bambu, pepohonan, gerumbul semak, sungai, atau apa saja yang bisa mereka ambil dari alam. Banerji menuturkan itu semua dengan bahasa puitis yang sarat metafora. Akhirnya, jalan cerita yang terpotong-potong itu menjadi tidak penting lagi buat saya, sebab saya telah terpesona oleh kalimat demi kalimat yang indah itu. Banerji membawa kita mengembara melihat dunia dan kehidupan di India lewat mata kanak-kanak Apu dan Durga
Desa tempat mereka tinggal bernama Nishchindipur. Banerji mendeskripsikan desa itu dengan sangat sempurna sehingga tergambar dengan jelas di kepala saya tentang rumah-rumah bambunya, pohon-pohon nyiur, jalan-jalan setapak,burung-burung, langit, gemericik air sungai, matahari senja yang kemerahan, awan, bunga-bungaan, dan segalanya yang menjadi sahabat kedua anak kecil itu. Begitu juga ketika ia bercerita saat Apu dan Durga bermain. Saya jadi terkenang masa kecil. Seperti Durga, saya juga punya adik lelaki yang usianya terpaut dua tahun dengan saya. Kami selalu melakukan apa-apa bersama. Bermain, mandi, makan, berhujan-hujan, sampai tidur pun kami selalu bersama. Terkadang saya jengkel juga jika adik saya itu memaksa ikut padahal saya hendak bermain hanya dengan teman-teman perempuan seusia saya. Biasanya jika sudah begitu saya lalu memarahi dan menyuruhnya pulang. Tetapi saya lebih sering merindukannya. Sebagai kakak, saya selalu ingin menjaga dan melindunginya dari teman-teman yang mengganggunya. Saya ikut sedih kalau ia kalah dalam sebuah permainan. Sekarang kami sudah sama-sama dewasa (bahkan ia telah menikah tgl. 5 September yang lalu). Entahlah, saya tidak tahu, apakah ia juga menyimpan kenangan yang sama dengan saya tentang masa kecil kami.
Kembali ke Apu dan Durga. Mereka tumbuh terus menjadi besar. Kebutuhan hidup pun bertambah sementara Harihar tidak juga mendapat pekerjaan yang layak walaupun telah mengembara ke kota. Istri dan anak-anaknya ditinggalkan kadang-kadang tanpa uang sama sekali. Sharvajaya acap kali terpaksa berutang kepada para tetangganya agar dapat tetap hidup. Segala penderitaan dan kesengsaraan itu membuat ia jadi sering marah dan berkata kasar kepada kedua orang anaknya, terutama kepada Durga. Kemiskinan yang mengimpit mereka hampir membuatnya putus asa. Kepedihan hatinya makin bertambah ketika ia harus kehilangan putrinya itu. Durga meninggal dunia karena terserang malaria. Yang paling berduka tentulah Apu. Ia tak punya lagi kakak dan teman bermain yang setia. Hari-hari setelah kepergian Durga baginya adalah hari-hari yang sepi. Ia selalu teringat saja pada senyum dan tawa kakak yang amat mengasihinya itu. Ia mengerti betul, tak ada orang yang benar-benar mencintai Durga dengan tulus seperti dirinya. Bahkan ibunya sekalipun. Kenangan itu dibawanya terus sampai mereka akhirnya terpaksa harus pindah ke luar Nishchindipur tercinta demi kehidupan yang lebih baik.
Kelanjutan kisah Apu dapat kita baca di novel Aparajito (saya belum selesai bacanya).
I read this to celebrate my friend鈥檚 birthday week. I haven鈥檛 read much of Bengali literature, and my friend had long since urged me to read Bibhutibhushan鈥檚 works. What an alliteration-filled name! I had desisted reading this saying that I can鈥檛 even pronounce the author鈥檚 name.
But finally, I did come around. 鈥楶ather Panchali鈥� was gifted by a friend, and it was lying there on my bookshelf. When I did start reading, I fell in love with Opu and Durga. Bandyopadhyay at once took me on a journey to the heart of rural Bengal. Here at once is a depiction of poverty in terms of material wealth, but the lives of Opu and Durga come alive with richness. The descriptive flair of the narration had me enthralled and the antics of Opu and Durga tugged at my heartstrings.
Of such is the flavor of life - the cycle of longing, desire, loss, and the cycle of finding happiness in the smallest things. Bandyopadhyay excels in creating a world that you can immediately immerse yourself in, and he does know how to get inside a child鈥檚 head. Easily one of my favorite books with an ending that left me in tears. Thank you @Swati for pushing me to read this.