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Line On A Map
This novella is partly based upon the real-life experiences of the author, a doctor based in India. He belongs to a Bengali family that was displaced due to Partition. In the course of his professional duties, he is invited by a Bangladeshi colleague to deliver a talk in a doctors’ conference in Dhaka. The author’s family background and the sub-continent's history leading up to Partition and the subsequent liberation of Bangladesh provide a fascinating backdrop for his visit to Dhaka. He uses the opportunity to visit the ancestral villages of his grandparents. A local employee of a pharmaceutical company accompanies the author on his exhilarating, painstaking and, at times, nerve-wracking search for the houses in which his paternal and maternal ancestors had once lived. He has a series of lively encounters with the local villagers and is overwhelmed by their hospitality and kindness. In the course of the search for his roots, the author and his companion strike up a heartwarming relationship. While conversing on the way back to Dhaka, the author invites his new-found friend to pay a return visit to India. This line of conversation uncovers an unexpected link with his Bangladeshi friend and throws up a bizarre coincidence that the author could never have imagined. One thing leads to the other and the author is engulfed in a traumatic, psychological conflict. He is left grappling with some of the oldest questions that have befuddled mankind, questions related to nationality and a sense of belonging….
140 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 6, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 30, 2017
Line on a map, a truly intriguing title, is an account of a true life incident that occurred in the life of an eminent pediatrician working at one of the premier institutions in the country. I wondered how a line on the map featured in the life of busy, hard-working doctor. Figured it for some experience on an airport while travelling, because what else could it be. Well, it turned out to be something that, for some reason, never crossed my mind.
The author had always heard stories of the life of his ancestors in Bangladesh before moving into what later became India, for jobs and such. When he was given an opportunity to visit the country for a medical conference, he decided to take that chance to try and trace out his roots. The preparation for the trip was almost as interesting as the trip turned out to be. The author's hilarious observations on the differences in the Bengali language spoken by Bengali's in different parts of the word were spot on. A simple journey of discovery turned into something much more when he came across the tales of changing world scenarios drastically affecting the lives of people caught in the cross-hairs of such events. A coincidence that seemed almost karmic in its occurrence, brought certain facts to light that the author may never have known about in the course of his life. Unfortunately, they were disturbing enough to shake him to his core and result in this story as a way of unburdening himself.
There is no doubt that the book has been written from the heart. As and when the reader moves ahead with the story, the question that keeps vibrating in one’s head is, ‘how can an event that took place decades ago and which had absolutely no impact on the author’s life be so devastating as to give him recurring nightmares for months together?’ I think the answer for that lies with the kind of person who is telling the story. He comes across as someone with a very strong sense of empathy as well as a heart that is full of kindness. Both extremely desirable qualities in a man who deals with little children on a daily basis. But I would think it probably leaves him open to much hurt and heartache as well.
When you see him consulting the works of great philosophers in the quest of an answer that most people would simply brush off as too complex to delve into or simply too time-consuming to ponder, it tends to make you pause and take some time to look around you and ask a few questions yourself that may not have easily available answers.
Once you understand where the author is coming from, everything else begins to fall into place. It seems an incredible journey to be able to trace your ancestry to a part of the world you have never been to before. The author’s experiences with the people he meets, from different strata of life, is an enriching read in itself. A little more editing would certainly help to make the book more taunter and more appealing to the reader, but the story certainly merits standing alone. It is a fast, easy read which is always a plus in today's busy lives. Also, for a first effort it certainly has a lot of flair. It is story that will make everyone who reads it strive to be a better person and do something good in this world.
Hopefully this experience of writing about all that he went through, proved to be as cathartic as he wished it to be.
The author had always heard stories of the life of his ancestors in Bangladesh before moving into what later became India, for jobs and such. When he was given an opportunity to visit the country for a medical conference, he decided to take that chance to try and trace out his roots. The preparation for the trip was almost as interesting as the trip turned out to be. The author's hilarious observations on the differences in the Bengali language spoken by Bengali's in different parts of the word were spot on. A simple journey of discovery turned into something much more when he came across the tales of changing world scenarios drastically affecting the lives of people caught in the cross-hairs of such events. A coincidence that seemed almost karmic in its occurrence, brought certain facts to light that the author may never have known about in the course of his life. Unfortunately, they were disturbing enough to shake him to his core and result in this story as a way of unburdening himself.
There is no doubt that the book has been written from the heart. As and when the reader moves ahead with the story, the question that keeps vibrating in one’s head is, ‘how can an event that took place decades ago and which had absolutely no impact on the author’s life be so devastating as to give him recurring nightmares for months together?’ I think the answer for that lies with the kind of person who is telling the story. He comes across as someone with a very strong sense of empathy as well as a heart that is full of kindness. Both extremely desirable qualities in a man who deals with little children on a daily basis. But I would think it probably leaves him open to much hurt and heartache as well.
When you see him consulting the works of great philosophers in the quest of an answer that most people would simply brush off as too complex to delve into or simply too time-consuming to ponder, it tends to make you pause and take some time to look around you and ask a few questions yourself that may not have easily available answers.
Once you understand where the author is coming from, everything else begins to fall into place. It seems an incredible journey to be able to trace your ancestry to a part of the world you have never been to before. The author’s experiences with the people he meets, from different strata of life, is an enriching read in itself. A little more editing would certainly help to make the book more taunter and more appealing to the reader, but the story certainly merits standing alone. It is a fast, easy read which is always a plus in today's busy lives. Also, for a first effort it certainly has a lot of flair. It is story that will make everyone who reads it strive to be a better person and do something good in this world.
Hopefully this experience of writing about all that he went through, proved to be as cathartic as he wished it to be.
November 13, 2017
A touching novell, must read by all humans
Excellent book by a first timer. As you read through you live through his eyes/mind/heart and enjoy the sensitivities of the author. The book is a must read for any person from Indian subcontinent or I would say anyone in Asia and Europe as each one of us or our elders have gone through similar pain of uprooted from our land some time in our life. Interestingly I read the book on my way to a business trip to Berlin and in the evening I saw that One Brick Line symbolising the Berlin wall and just remember this author once again, and hoped that one day he and all of us would have a united world, with no bloodied national boundaries and just put flow of humanity and love as experienced by Dr Sourabh and his friends from Bangladesh.
Waiting for your next one, hope your family is already pestering you to right next one...
Excellent book by a first timer. As you read through you live through his eyes/mind/heart and enjoy the sensitivities of the author. The book is a must read for any person from Indian subcontinent or I would say anyone in Asia and Europe as each one of us or our elders have gone through similar pain of uprooted from our land some time in our life. Interestingly I read the book on my way to a business trip to Berlin and in the evening I saw that One Brick Line symbolising the Berlin wall and just remember this author once again, and hoped that one day he and all of us would have a united world, with no bloodied national boundaries and just put flow of humanity and love as experienced by Dr Sourabh and his friends from Bangladesh.
Waiting for your next one, hope your family is already pestering you to right next one...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews