A novel by Bani Basu centering eight persons of different ages related to each other by various interests. The chief characters include Aritra, a Pune based executive with a Bohemian past with his non-Bengali wife Neelam, their common college friend Esha Khan and their teacher, Professor Mahanam. The next most important character is Pupu, daughter to Neelam and Aritra. Two more characters, that of Aritra's aquintance Vikram and his wife Seema plays some crucial roles near the middle and the end while Esha's roommate Piku is used just for a better emphasis on Esha's character during the first few chapters.
The story starts with Aritra while recuperating from an accident at his house, suddenly receives a post from his college darling Esha informing tha she will be visiting shortly on course of her tour to Maharashtra and Goa. Coincidentally Aritra and Neelam gets a visit from Prof. Mahanam, who was more than a teacher to them from their university days. Feeling insecured from Esha's promised visit, as she knew that her husband is still emotinally weak towards Esha, Neelam invites Vikram, a confirmed womaniser to woo away Esha from Aritra's grasp. The rest must be read to understand the different perspectives of human nature which the novel sheds light upon but a little patience is required, which I promise, will be rewarded wonderfully as the story blossoms.
Beginning with Aritra's present life, the novel quickly touches on Mahanam's past and Esha's life. Then it revolves around all the characters in the signature Bani Basu style and just when the reader feels that the theme is slipping from his/her grasp, a nice twist brings the prime characters in the same plane and from then onwards begins the unravelling of the masked past of each individual.
The best thing of the novel is the author has brought to light some very primal and true features of the modern human being that is seen everywhere but nowhere in the book had it appeared vulgar or out of the ordinary and at the same time its literary quality remains uncompromised. It may not be impertinent in this juncture to mention that there are instances where her work bears a resemblance to that of Sankar. At places where there is a transition from the present to the past or vice versa, the author has excelled in her unique style though I felt that certain repetations and length of passages devoted to desribe the mental conditions of the characters could have been lessened at places.
The story starts with Aritra while recuperating from an accident at his house, suddenly receives a post from his college darling Esha informing tha she will be visiting shortly on course of her tour to Maharashtra and Goa. Coincidentally Aritra and Neelam gets a visit from Prof. Mahanam, who was more than a teacher to them from their university days. Feeling insecured from Esha's promised visit, as she knew that her husband is still emotinally weak towards Esha, Neelam invites Vikram, a confirmed womaniser to woo away Esha from Aritra's grasp. The rest must be read to understand the different perspectives of human nature which the novel sheds light upon but a little patience is required, which I promise, will be rewarded wonderfully as the story blossoms.
Beginning with Aritra's present life, the novel quickly touches on Mahanam's past and Esha's life. Then it revolves around all the characters in the signature Bani Basu style and just when the reader feels that the theme is slipping from his/her grasp, a nice twist brings the prime characters in the same plane and from then onwards begins the unravelling of the masked past of each individual.
The best thing of the novel is the author has brought to light some very primal and true features of the modern human being that is seen everywhere but nowhere in the book had it appeared vulgar or out of the ordinary and at the same time its literary quality remains uncompromised. It may not be impertinent in this juncture to mention that there are instances where her work bears a resemblance to that of Sankar. At places where there is a transition from the present to the past or vice versa, the author has excelled in her unique style though I felt that certain repetations and length of passages devoted to desribe the mental conditions of the characters could have been lessened at places.
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