In the Land of the Pandavas

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Description:

Author: Mahbubar Rahman
Pages: 108
Year of Publication: 2014
Price: Rs 300
ISBN:
978-93-5045-087-1 (9789350450871)

About the Author:
Mahbubar Rahman is a physicist by education and civil servant by profession. He always had a strong interest in music and books but actually started pursuing a literary career in earnest somewhat late in life. Before this, he was involved with literary circles and book forums held by professional Bengalis posted in the then West Pakistan. In independent Bangladesh, he started writing for newspaper columns and periodicals and was invited to participate in literary sessions in Calcutta. Between 2002 and 2008, he published four books in Bengali: Pancha Byanjan, Pancha Pandaber Charan Bhumi, Abak Alir Nishiddha Palli o Anyanya Katha, Pancha Sindhu Nadiya Katha. His writings deal with, among other things, social and political events underpinned by a satirical perspective of life in general and the bureaucracy in particular.

Teaser:

An excerpt from the preface:

“This book is an English version of Pancha Pandaber Charan Bhumi, written in Bengali and published in 2005. It is a personal narrative set during a significant period of history in the Indian subcontinent – the last days of the British Raj, the traumatic pains of Partition and the struggle of fledgling nations trying to find their place in the sun. Decades later, when revisiting Delhi through a series of trials and tribulations, readers are treated to nostalgic encounters and bemused insights.

While the first-person account relates to reality, the social and political nuances are kept alive in the background in a plausible manner with an accurate timeline of events that match the time period in which the narrative is set. At the same time, a critical analysis of unrevealed agendas, intrigues and machinations of national and international powers are intertwined to throw light on several developments in the region that have had a continuing effect on the political stage of the subcontinent. This follows on to the emergence of Bangladesh in 1971, an event which, though created on home ground by myopic and ill-guided policies, was also played out on a much larger international turf, impacting the lives of millions. As a citizen of independent Bangladesh today, I am fortunate to take a step back and review this history through a wider and perhaps a wiser lens.”

Contents:
Prologue / 9
Childhood Years in Delhi / 11
First School in Delhi / 30
Farewell Rites for a Bird / 40
Dhan ki Khil / 44
Gau Pita ka Sewa / 49
An the British Sun Was Setting over the Indian Sky / 54
Escape from Pakistan / 70
Later Visits to Delhi / 92
Twilight Zone / 98

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