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Fever
Ruhiton Kurmi has been in jail for seven years. Once a notorious Naxalite—a militant leftist revolutionary—he is now a withered shell; a man broken by police torture, racked with fevers and sores. The only way he can endure his life is by shutting out the past. But when Ruhiton is moved to a better jail and eventually freed, memories return to haunt him.
Ruhiton inevitably looks back upon his youth, his marriage, his home in the Himalayan foothills—and he remembers, too, the friends he has killed, the revolutionary colleagues he worked with, and the ideals he once believed in. Dark, powerful, and full of ambiguities, the classic novel Fever, originally written in Bengali in 1977, questions the human cost of revolution and its inevitable transience. A sensation in its time, it remains one of the greatest novels about the Naxalite movement. Fever is an intense look at the universality of militancy, violence, and civil war, and the power of revolutionary ideals to seduce young minds.
Ruhiton inevitably looks back upon his youth, his marriage, his home in the Himalayan foothills—and he remembers, too, the friends he has killed, the revolutionary colleagues he worked with, and the ideals he once believed in. Dark, powerful, and full of ambiguities, the classic novel Fever, originally written in Bengali in 1977, questions the human cost of revolution and its inevitable transience. A sensation in its time, it remains one of the greatest novels about the Naxalite movement. Fever is an intense look at the universality of militancy, violence, and civil war, and the power of revolutionary ideals to seduce young minds.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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123 people want to read
About the author
Samaresh Basu
123 books65 followersSamaresh Basu (Bengali: সমরেশ বসু) was born in December 22, 1924. He spent his early childhood in Bikrampur, Dhaka. He also wrote under the pen-name of Kalkut.
He would in later days recall the deep impressions that the Brata-kathas (fantastic folk-tales recited by women while performing certain religious rites) narrated by his mother left on him as a child. His adolescent years were spent in Naihati, a suburb of Kolkata, in West Bengal. His life was rich with varied experiences. At one point, he used to hawk eggs from a basket carried on his head; later, he worked for meager daily wages. From 1943 through 1949 he worked in an ordnance factory in Ichhapore. He was an active member of the trade union and the Communist Party for a period, and was jailed for during 1949-50 when the party was declared illegal. While in jail, he wrote Uttaranga,his first published novel. Soon after his release from the jail, he began to write professionally, refusing to join the factory even when offered his old job.
When he was only 21, he wrote his first novel Nayanpurer Mati, later published in Parichay. it was never published as a book. Adab was his first short story published in Parichay in 1946.
A prolific writer with more than 200 short stories and 100 novels, including those written under the aliases "Kalkut" and "Bhramar", Samaresh Basu is a major figure in Bangla fiction. His life experiences populated his writings with themes ranging from political activism to working class life to sexuality. Two of his novels had been briefly banned on charges of obscenity. The case against one of these, Prajapati (Bangla:প্রজাপতি), was settled in the Supreme Court of India which overturned, in 1985, the rulings of the two lower courts.
Among other intellectuals, Buddhadeva Bose, himself once accused of similar charges for his রাত ভ'রে বৃষ্টি, came out strongly in support of Samaresh. To quote from Sumanta Banerjee's recent translation Selected Stories (Vol.1), Samaresh Basu "remains the most representative storyteller of Bengal's suburban life, as distinct from other well-known Bengali authors who had faithfully painted the life and problems of either Bengal's rural society or the urban middle class. Basu draws on his lived experience of Calcutta's `half-rural, half-urban,' industrial suburbs."
While the pen-name "Kalkut" was adopted in 1952 for the immediate need to publish an overtly political piece, the real "Kalkut" can be said to have been born with the publication of Amritakumbher Sandhane, a hugely popular, semi-autobiographical narrative centered around the Kumbha-mela. The many subsequent books by Kalkut had depicted the lives of the common people from all over India and all walks of life (including those who live on the periphery of the "mainstream") with their varied cultures and religious practices in a unique style that was Kalkut's own. He also drew upon the recollections of the Puranas and Itihas; Shamba (Bangla:শাম্ব), an interesting modern interpretation of the Puranic tales, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980.
Samaresh Basu breathed his last on March 12, 1988.
He would in later days recall the deep impressions that the Brata-kathas (fantastic folk-tales recited by women while performing certain religious rites) narrated by his mother left on him as a child. His adolescent years were spent in Naihati, a suburb of Kolkata, in West Bengal. His life was rich with varied experiences. At one point, he used to hawk eggs from a basket carried on his head; later, he worked for meager daily wages. From 1943 through 1949 he worked in an ordnance factory in Ichhapore. He was an active member of the trade union and the Communist Party for a period, and was jailed for during 1949-50 when the party was declared illegal. While in jail, he wrote Uttaranga,his first published novel. Soon after his release from the jail, he began to write professionally, refusing to join the factory even when offered his old job.
When he was only 21, he wrote his first novel Nayanpurer Mati, later published in Parichay. it was never published as a book. Adab was his first short story published in Parichay in 1946.
A prolific writer with more than 200 short stories and 100 novels, including those written under the aliases "Kalkut" and "Bhramar", Samaresh Basu is a major figure in Bangla fiction. His life experiences populated his writings with themes ranging from political activism to working class life to sexuality. Two of his novels had been briefly banned on charges of obscenity. The case against one of these, Prajapati (Bangla:প্রজাপতি), was settled in the Supreme Court of India which overturned, in 1985, the rulings of the two lower courts.
Among other intellectuals, Buddhadeva Bose, himself once accused of similar charges for his রাত ভ'রে বৃষ্টি, came out strongly in support of Samaresh. To quote from Sumanta Banerjee's recent translation Selected Stories (Vol.1), Samaresh Basu "remains the most representative storyteller of Bengal's suburban life, as distinct from other well-known Bengali authors who had faithfully painted the life and problems of either Bengal's rural society or the urban middle class. Basu draws on his lived experience of Calcutta's `half-rural, half-urban,' industrial suburbs."
While the pen-name "Kalkut" was adopted in 1952 for the immediate need to publish an overtly political piece, the real "Kalkut" can be said to have been born with the publication of Amritakumbher Sandhane, a hugely popular, semi-autobiographical narrative centered around the Kumbha-mela. The many subsequent books by Kalkut had depicted the lives of the common people from all over India and all walks of life (including those who live on the periphery of the "mainstream") with their varied cultures and religious practices in a unique style that was Kalkut's own. He also drew upon the recollections of the Puranas and Itihas; Shamba (Bangla:শাম্ব), an interesting modern interpretation of the Puranic tales, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1980.
Samaresh Basu breathed his last on March 12, 1988.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 2, 2020
An insight into the life of a sharecropper turned Naxalite revolutionary. Most of the works I have come across discusses the revolution from the students' point of view, so it was already richer for the alternative viewpoint. I was also fascinated by the discussion on caste and class relationships in rural Bengal, as well as its insight into Santhal households.
Pity I had to resort to a translation instead of the original Bengali, but it is what it is.
Pity I had to resort to a translation instead of the original Bengali, but it is what it is.
September 29, 2017
Mahakaler Rother Ghoda (a phrase in Bengali) or Fever is a piece of fiction which narrates a story set in the post-Naxal naxalbari. The title which literally translates to 'Horse to the Chariot of Time', signifies the chariot which becomes not only a vehicle of time but also of relentless annihilation. We witness Ruhiton, a broken shell of a man who works as a metaphor for the historical situation. The english title 'Fever' works as a symbolic feature which signifies the decay and despair that Ruhiton is haunted with.
My only regret is that I should have read it in the original. The translation is good but you don't feel the atmosphere that surrounds the narrative. It is a novella of 130 pages and is written in simple yet effective style. I gave it a 3.5/5.
My only regret is that I should have read it in the original. The translation is good but you don't feel the atmosphere that surrounds the narrative. It is a novella of 130 pages and is written in simple yet effective style. I gave it a 3.5/5.
June 15, 2017
অসমাপ্ত বই নিয়া আসলে ঠিক কোন্ জায়গায় দাঁড়ায়ে কথা বলতে হয় কে জানে। আমি জয়েসের পোর্ট্রেট পড়ার পর এই বইয়ে প্রথম দেখলাম বাংলায় ইন্ডিরেক্ট থার্ড পারসন আনতে।
গ্রামার বাদ দেই।
বইটা ভালো। অনেক জায়গায় মনে হইতে নেয় লেখক মরালিস্ট, কিন্তু এগুলি আসলে বুলুর...
মোমের বিষয়টা খুবই ধাক্কা দিছিলো।
অন্যরকম লেখার ধাঁচ, প্রজাপতি-বিবর-এর চেয়েও অনেক বেশি অন্যরকম। শেষ হলে কেমন হইত জানি না।
পড়তে হয়, না পড়লে মিস করতে হয়।
গ্রামার বাদ দেই।
বইটা ভালো। অনেক জায়গায় মনে হইতে নেয় লেখক মরালিস্ট, কিন্তু এগুলি আসলে বুলুর...
মোমের বিষয়টা খুবই ধাক্কা দিছিলো।
অন্যরকম লেখার ধাঁচ, প্রজাপতি-বিবর-এর চেয়েও অনেক বেশি অন্যরকম। শেষ হলে কেমন হইত জানি না।
পড়তে হয়, না পড়লে মিস করতে হয়।
April 18, 2020
An interesting and powerful novella. There is a lot of literature focusing on revolutionary figures, but what makes this story unique is it focusses little on the revolution itself, but rather the after affects as our protagonist reflects on his life whilst on prison - switching between the now and then.
December 6, 2022
Hero worship. Dark side of revolution. Slow change in society.
October 7, 2019
"The great Naxalite Novel" written at back of the cover convince me to pick this book.This book draws inspiration from the Naxalbari uprising which was mainly led by local tribals and the radical communist leaders of Bengal.Ruhiton Kurmi, the protagonist of the plot is one of the notorious Naxalite, setenced for unknown period.Even Ruhiton Kurmi has no idea of his sentence period, will he ever be released or going to die in hell?
The "Fever" will take you to Ruhiton's personal, social and political life which will leave a deep impact on you. It questions the human cost of revolution.How a revolution takes each and everything a revolutionary possess, his family, children, friends, society, each and everyone of them. Even at one point of time his family denied to accept him and was forced to live in segregation because of a disease he carries with him.
If one have even a slight greed to know the life of a victim as prisoner after revolt and uprising, must hold "Fever" in their hands. As uprisings and movements are sensitivity observed till it is in public domain. No one gives attention to it aftermath but this book will take you through every single pain they witness.
The "Fever" will take you to Ruhiton's personal, social and political life which will leave a deep impact on you. It questions the human cost of revolution.How a revolution takes each and everything a revolutionary possess, his family, children, friends, society, each and everyone of them. Even at one point of time his family denied to accept him and was forced to live in segregation because of a disease he carries with him.
If one have even a slight greed to know the life of a victim as prisoner after revolt and uprising, must hold "Fever" in their hands. As uprisings and movements are sensitivity observed till it is in public domain. No one gives attention to it aftermath but this book will take you through every single pain they witness.
May 25, 2015
This is potent literature packaged in deceptively simple language. I wish I could have read it in Bengali, but I'm thankful Arunav Sinha translated it for us anyway. This is the third of a series of books I've read about Naxalism, and while it pales in scope compared to the Lives of Others, or in depth compared to the Lowland, it offers a beautiful glimpse of the post-Naxal Naxalbari. The book, for the large part, is a metaphor. You'll find yourself constantly zooming in and out of the narrative to get a grip on what the author's trying to tell you. It's a quick read, with less than 130 pages in the edition I bought, but be prepared for your reading to be peppered with long walks and smoke breaks. It demands that degree of introspection.
June 25, 2025
Ruhiton's character embodies a sense of displacement and disillusionment, grappling with the changing tides of society and the transient nature of human emotions. The themes of isolation, familial longing, and the futility of certain ideals resonate strongly, reflecting the complexities of the human experience.
Want to read
February 3, 2017Reviewed by The Complete Review
March 6, 2012
Short and bone-chilling.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews