Pratidwandi

Read the Bengali novel Pratidwandi by Sunil Gangopadhyay, translated by Enakshi Chatterjee.

I have read Malayalam translations of two novels by the author before - Swargam Thedunna Manushyar and Ajnjathan (I don’t know the original Bengali titles), and liked them. But the primary reason for reading Pratidwandi was that Satyajit Ray has made a film based on it, which I haven’t seen yet. Ray has written a "foreword" for this translation, in which he says: "I happened upon Pratidwandi at a time when I was looking not just for any suitable subject, but for a subject of a specific type. This was early 1970. The urban scene was then dominated by the youth - whether in politics, on the fringe of it, or out of it. Joblessness, cynicism, the clash of generations, seething discontent exploding into violence.. one couldn’t help reacting to it all and, going one step further, wishing to put some of this into a film."

Pratidwandi is set in Calcutta of late 1960s. Siddhartha, the main character, is a representative of the youth of those days - He is from a family which was once very rich. But now they are under tough times and he is unable to go for higher studies after completing BSc., as the family cant afford his education. His efforts to get a job are futile, and he spends his days attending interviews, and searching for some object to offload his anger. His younger sister is having to discontinue her studies when she is offered a job. She acts as a rebel, and lives in her own way. His younger brother is attracted towards the communist party, and hopes to build a "new world" through revolution, just like many other young men of those days. "The redeeming feature of this otherwise bleak novel is a streak of romanticism that runs through the narrative and the glimpse of a beautiful and innocent world which keeps the protagonist striving and the reader sympathetic to his cause", the publisher's note says. As Ray has mentioned, the most likeable aspect in this novel is Siddhartha himself. He never appears as an idealist; He is just an ordinary man, with several contradictions and shortcomings, failing in life most often than winning. We could easily understand him and his emotions.

Pratidwandi is a very readable novel. But I cant say it is anything extraordinary or unforgettable.