Sumudrantike

by Dhruv Bhatt

`સમુદ્રાન્તિકે' ધ્રવ ભટ્ટની મનોરમ રચના છે. 1993માં પ્રગટ થયેલી, માસ્ટર પીસ ગણાતી આ રચના સૌરાષ્ટ્રના સમુદ્ર તટે સર્વેના કામ માટે નિમાયેલા યુવાન સિવિલ ઈજનેરના સંસ્મરણો રૂપે લખાઈ છે. કથના કેન્દ્રમાં આધુનિક જીવનશૈલી અને પરંપરાગત મુલ્યોનું સમતોલન કરવાની તડપ છે. પાત્રો, પ્રસંગો, સ્થળો અને લોક જીવનને વણી લેવા ઉપરાંત આ કથામાં ધ્રુવ ભટ્ટે પોતાની સંવેદનશીલતા ઉમેરીને ભાવકને જકડી રાખે તેવું સર્જન કર્યું છે. ભાવકને, સમુદ્ર અને તેની આસપાસની પ્રકૃતિ પણ પાત્ર તરીકે દેખાયા વગર રહેતાં નથી.

Genres: Fiction, Novels

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Dhruv Bhatt was born on 8 May 1947 in Ningala village of Bhavnagar State (now Bhavnagar district, Gujarat) to Prabodhray Bhatt and Harisuta Bhatt. He studied at various places, standard 1 to 4 at Jafrabad and Matriculation from Keshod. After studying commerce for two years, he left further studying[1] in 1972 and joined Gujarat Machine Manufacturers as Sales Supervisor. He voluntary retired and started writing career.[2]

His novel Akoopar has been adapted into a play directed by Aditi Desai.[3] Tattvamasi was adapted into the 2018 Gujarati film Reva.[4]

Reviews

[Ashish Iyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Gujarati book. I love the author narration style and love the way he describe nature. I would say this book was more like memoir and travelogue. It is a novel on seafaring off the coast of Saurashtra. He travelled from Gopinath to Dwarka via Mahuva, Diu and Somnath and its experience formed the novel in autobiographical style. While reading this book i realized how rural are not aware of whats happening with Rest of India. They are busy with their own life. Dhurv Bhatt reminds of famous Kannada writer K.P. Poornachandra Tejaswi. Both have unique styles of narrating nature. You just fall in love with them.

This book is based on his experience while traveling on foot with a group of young students, teaching them about Nature, Science and also the values and culture of the underprivileged on the Saurashtra coasts. This book was originally written in Gujarati. Its available in Hindi, Marathi and English.

[Ujjwala Singhania · Rating 4 out of 5]

ध्रुव भट्ट जी की पुस्तक एक कहानी ना हो कर एक यात्रा होती है, भारतवर्ष के अनूठे और अंजाने प्रणतों की। प्रगतिशील समाज से छिप्पा हुआ गांव/प्रांत, जहां का साधारण और मासूम जन-समाज अपने पुराने विचारधारा में लिपटा, अपनी सांस्कृतिक धरोहर को बचाता, प्रकृति के साथ परस्पर एक होकर रहता है। एक बहुत ही सुंदर अनुभूति होती है भट्ट जी के साथ इस यात्रा पर अग्रसर होने में।

[Riddhi Trivedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it...we always belive that mankind is a great creation of God ahha.. this book will give you the answer

[Dhrumal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unconventional and offbeat title taking us to the lives of hundreds and thousands of folks living in remote coastal areas close to the nature with all the climatic & other hardships related to backward areas but still remain connected with the nature & take the life 'head on' & live with great fighting spirit.
While reading, I kept asking myself is it really a privilege or matter of pride being part of civilized society who is always calculative & profit driven versus the non-scientific, faith driven society which even with every material scarcity but are content and satisfied?
Appreciate that Sahitya Akademi got this title translated in English.
A nice read...

[Dr. Rima Soni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dhruv BhattOceanside blues =: Samudrantike

Title: Oceanside Blues
Writer: Dhruv Prabodhray Bhatt
Original Language: Gujarati
Gujarati Title: સમુદ્રાન્તિકે (Samudrantike)
Translation Language: English
English Translator: Vinod Meghani
Illustrator: Amrutlal Vegad
Publisher: Sahitya Akademi (1 January 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10 81260115
ISBN-13: 978-8126011582
Item Weight: 250 grams
Dimensions: 21 x 14 x 1.2 cm
Country of Origin: India

Dhruv P Bhatt, who is excellent in Gujarati language and literature, is one of the foremost
pioneers of impudent ecocritical issues in narratives in Gujarati literature. Contemporary accomplishments of Gujarati literature are depicted in Bhatt’s Samudrantike, written in the Gujarati language in the foundation stage. In 2013, Vinod Meghani translated the text into English as Oceanside Blues. The focus of the novel offered is set against the background of his own experience.

The writer in Oceanside Blues provides the warning literature that is needed in modern times by awakening the mind of the listener to think about the environment in this work. The rhythm of harmony with nature has been broken in urban society. Here the author gives an opportunity to
reflect on it. Elements of nature can experience the primitive rhythms of life. Ornithologists like Noor-bhai, even though they are economically backward, their heart wealth is full! As a result of attachment to nature, full of heart, several characters of the work Noor-bhai, Saboor, Sadhubaba, Krishna etc. live in poverty. Due to modern urbanization, human beings are alienated from the original life and rhythm of nature. To get this return, if we go to the people who live in the lap of nature, then we will realize that to what extent we have lost the internal splendor and prosperity! What we got in return was the closeness of nature, the beauty of life, and the music we lost.

Modern humans have tampered with the environment so much that we have created a threat to our very existence. Every human being has to understand that nature has to contribute to preserve and improve the environment; only then will the future generation have this kind of no need to make programs. In the end, I listed below some significant quotes related to ecocritical problems.

Quotes concerned to the Ecocriticism

“મોર જેવા રૂપાળા પંખીડાને જીવન ટકાવી રાખવા સમુદ્રની ભેખડોમાં ભટકવું પડે, એટલી હદે ઉજ્જડ થતો જતો ખારો પાટ. કદાચ તે હવે પોતાની જીવનશક્તિ ખોઇ બેઠો છે. બાકી હશે તે રસાયણોનાં કારખાનાંઓ પુરૂં કરશે…ક્તવનાશની ભૂક્તમકા રચીને જતો રહીશ, આ ધરતીના રહ્યાસહ્યા જીવોને તેમનું બાકીનું જ ટકે તયાં સુધી જીવાડવાની જવાબદારી....”
(ભટ્ટ, ધ્રુવ. સમુદ્રાન્તિકે પેજ નં. 84)

“The salty plains have turned so barren and infertile that the peacock, an angelic bird, has to struggle up and down the seashore rocks for survival. The land had, probably forever, lost its sap, its will to live. Remnant, if any, would be consumed by the factories producing chemicals. I would not be saying back to witness the fate of Banyan, Almond and the remaining Coconut trees. I would
disappear after enacting the scaffold for their strangulation and handing over to the ocean the responsibility of rescuing from death the creatures who might somehow manage to survive the annihilation, if at all.”
(Meghani, Vinod. Oceanside Blues. p.107)

“However, something would be lost forever. These saline swamps swept by dust-laden tornadoes, this vast emptiness, this deserted yet extremely picturesque seashore, these ravines – probable hideous of frolicking fairies and angles descending the heaven to play hide and seek on the earth – and this crisp, transparent sky. Yes, dear, it was not too high a price to pay, after all, for those who aspired progress and prosperity! .....“What will be done shall be undone someday. Everything was bound to perish one day only to sprout once again!”
(Meghani, Vinod. Oceanside Blues. p.156)

Meticulous Translation!!!
Wonderful book!!!
Best Reading!!!!

[Rachit Nimavat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fiction featuring coastal Gujarat written in the form of a memoir. I liked the dialogues and the setting of vast salty wasteland, but found the pov character a snob. The narration is a lot of tell and too little of show. The side characters are portrayed as innocent villagers who don't think for themselves.

[Pradeep Rajput · Rating 5 out of 5]

સમુદ્ર કિનારા પર રહેનારા માણસો અને તેમના જીવન વિષય ની કેટલીક બાતો જાણવા મળી. સમુદ્ર ના ખારા પાણી ને ભી પૂજતા અને દેવતા માનતા લોકો ને જોયા, એમની શ્રદ્ધા ને જોયા. એક એવી સ્ત્રી ની કથા જાણવા મળી કે જે અન્નપૂર્ણા છે, એક એવા સન્યાસી ની વાર્તા આવી કે જે પ્રકૃતિ જોડે સંવાદ સાધતા જાણતો. ગ્રામજનોની એવી સુંદર પ્રકૃતિ ની જાણ થઈ જ્યાં એમના માટે કોઈ પરાયુ નહીં બધા એમના ગ્રામ માં જે આવે એ એમના મહેમાન ગણાયે. ધ્રુવ ભટ્ટ ની આ બીજી રચના વાંચું છું, માનવો ના વ્યવહાર અને એમના જીવન વિષય ગેહરાઈ થી એમને લખ્યું છે.

[Sudhir Dalal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally readable book. The story is captivating, almost believable to be true. The descriptive passages are brilliant. The use of native tongue makes the characters authentic. Pity I had missed reading Dhruv Bhatt till now. He is a master story teller. He stands tall amongst the tallest in Gujarati literature.

[Bhavik Andani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story of Samundrantike! I think I'm in love with dhruv bhatt's novels...
First i read his latest release 'Na Iti' , and then 'Tatvamasi' , and now i read his 'Samundrantike' and i felt so connected to the story, the character, i felt much good after finishing the story....

[dunkdaft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forty pages still left, and I have started writing this. Cause at page no.96. Just a few minutes back I read this conversation between the main character and Bengali baba. And that got me overwhelmed-as if someone slapped a universal truth at me, got me goosebumps all over and the crux of the book, the life everyone living - stood in front of me! Just the way Dhruv Bhatt does it.

This story, as always, based on his real life experiences, takes you to the world around the sea and people of seashore. Their livelihood that has the sea as an integral part of their life, a family member, a god and more than that. Each chapter makes you want to go to a beach and spend your whole day and night there looking and hearing the roars of waves, the silence of sky and the paintings of the sun. A definitely recommended read that would enlighten and enrich your soul.

[Dyuti · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom and dad grew up close to this area. I loved how it’s described. I loved the relationship between nature and people!

[Mitali Raval · Rating 5 out of 5]

He takes you with him when he writes.

Wherever he goes.

Be it the coastline of Gujarat, as in this one or the yatra of Reva as in Tatvamasi.

I feel connected to him because of the way he feels nature, which is so close to how I feel. But, he has a knack to humanize nature. And THAT takes my breath away.

Must read if you want a very simple book to tell you the things that are going to matter in life.

[Harshada Sowani · Rating 4 out of 5]

या गोष्टी मध्ये लेखक आपल्याला त्याच्या सोबत सुंदर प्रवास वर्णनाला घेऊन जातो, निसर्गरम्य समुद्रकिनारे, शहरी वारे न पोचलेली सुंदर खेडी, छोटी शेत, गाव, रेती, खडक आणि त्या सगळ्यांसोबत राहणारे वेगवेगळे पक्षी, प्रेमळ, साधी माणसं, त्यांचे रोजचा आयुष्य आणि त्या सोबतचा लेखकाचा प्रवास.
अजूनही शहरी सभ्यता, अभिमान, विकसित रस्ते वैगेरे न पोचलेली, फक्त निसर्गाला जवळ करून राहणारी साधी माणसं, त्यांचा वागणं, बोलणं, फिरणं, प्रसंगी त्यांनी घेतलेले धाडसी आणि वेगळे निर्णय, त्यांचा स्वभाव आणि शहरी मनावर त्याचे होणारे परिणाम..
हे सगळं वाचत, आपणही नकळत या सुंदर प्रदेशात राहून आल्याचं, तेथील माणसांना भेटल्याचं, समुद्रावरचा सूर्योदय, सूर्यास्त बघितल्याचा, चांदण्यात रेती वरून चालल्याचा, आपल्या सभ्यता मागे टाकत, मोकळेपणी प्रामाणिक, साधं आणि स्पष्ट मनानी बोलायला शिकवत आपण हि या प्रवासाला जाऊन आल्याचा अतिशय सुंदर अनुभव हे पुस्तक आपल्याला देते.

[Kushal · Rating 4 out of 5]

(The below review is of the original Gujarati version. The book has also translated to Hindi and Marathi under the same name, and to English under the title “Vivacious Waves”- all available on amazon/kindle)

The author and his friends travelled the coasts of Gujarat on foot from 1 May to 8 May each year starting 1980 to 1986. They walked by the shore and spent the night wherever they reached being content with whatever facilities and amenities they were offered. This book brings together the characters he encountered during his travels stitched together in one part-autobiographical, part-fictional narrative.

The book brings out the coastal life of Gujarat through the eyes of a city dweller. As the protagonist interacts with the villagers, he is confronted with some seemingly bizarre characters and schools of thought- a sage who talks to the sea, a man who wants to farm on rocks, another who takes a life altering decision based on a dream to name a few. As he processes all that he is confronted with, he realizes the place he has moved to is a world very alien in every sense- the landscape, the language and the thoughts. Over time, he begins to understand their way of living and begins to experience that grey which his black and white vision prevented him from seeing. It’s a touching and enriching experience.

I personally loved the book. It’s the first of its kind I have read. The book is packed with some really powerful scenes and dialogues that drove home a way of living that I was unaware of- perhaps I was aware to an extent but looked down upon it or considered it stupid. A highlight of the book had to be the character of “Aval”- a vocal woman and a towering character who cooks for the protagonist. Her story unfolds throughout the breadth of the book and she grows taller and taller in stature as the narrative progresses. Legendary is also the scene with the old lady who came to take a dip in the sea.

Given its non-existential narrative (which goes against majority of the fiction I read) and usage of rural dialects, there were places I lost interest or found difficult to understand. But soon enough, there was something that caught my attention and I carried on.

I definitely recommend it- simple read, good for the soul, opens up the mind and introduces you to a different way of living.

[Manisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a fair idea about lives of people living on islands and coastal areas, cut off from main stream

[Nitin Limbasiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

અદભુત, હંમેશની જેમ ધ્રુવદાદા સંવેદનાને વાચા આપે છે. આ પુસ્તક પણ સમુદ્રકિનારે વિચારતા જીવોની સંવેદનાનને ખૂબ અંતરથી સ્પર્શે છે..

[Digvijay Nikam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book consisting of excellent story line and beauty of human character and nature's beauty

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read once in a lifw

[Ravindra Ogale · Rating 4 out of 5]

भट्ट यांनी विविध पुस्तकांतून गुजरातच्या निरनिराळ्या भागांचं, तिथल्या-तिथल्या समाजजीवनाचं अत्यंत प्रगल्भ दर्शन घडवलेलं आहे. तत्त्वमसि, अकूपार या कथा अनुक्रमे नर्मदा खोरं आणि गीर अभयारण्याच्या परिसरात घडतात तर सागरतीरीमध्ये भट्ट आपल्याला सौराष्ट्राच्या दक्षिण किनाऱ्यावर नेतात. त्यांच्या या कादंबरींमध्ये काही समान दुवे आहेत. 'सागरतीरी'तही कथानायकाचं नाव शेवटपर्यंत आपल्याला कळत नाही. या निनावीपणामुळे ती कथा प्रथमपुरूषातूनच वाचली जाते आणि vicariously ती कथा आपण आपोआपच जगतो. संपन्न अनुभव म्हणजे काय याचा प्रत्यय या कथा वाचताना येतो. ती कथा तुमची, माझी प्रत्येक वाचणाऱ्याचीच होऊन जाते.

भट्टांच्या इतर कथांप्रमाणेच 'सागरतीरी'तही ‌निसर्गाप्रति सदैव कृतज्ञता बाळगून, त्यातल्या समस्त जैवविविधतेसह आनंदानं एकत्र जगणाऱ्या, साध्या पण उदात्त, रूढार्थाने आर्थिकदृष्ट्या गरीब पण सुखासमाधानाच्या बाबतीत अतिशय संपन्न राहणीमान असलेल्या लोकांच्या आयुष्याचे फार जवळून आणि सुंदर दर्शन त्यांनी घडवलं आहे.

अकूपारची सांसाई, तत्त्वमसिची सुप्रिया आणि सागरतीरीची अवल. मुक्त-निर्बंध, खंबीर, स्वाभिमानी, निःस्वार्थी आणि स्पष्ट विचारांची नायिका हेही भट्ट यांच्या कादंबरींचं लक्षण. अवल अशीच आहे, पुस्तकी शिक्षण थोडंफारच झालेली पण व्यवहार, धर्म, भावना, नैतिकता या साऱ्या गोष्टींची तिला व्यवस्थित जाण आहे. तसं पाहायला गेलं तर जेमतेम सव्वाशे पानांच्या या कथेत अवल मोजक्याच वेळी आपल्याला भेटते पण त्यातही तिचं पात्र लेखकाने इतकं सुबक रेखाटलं आहे की हिला तर आपण नीटच ओळखतो असा भास होत राहतो. त्यांच्या इतर कथांप्रमाणेच 'सागरतीरी'तही नायक-नायिकेमध्ये असणारं एक अव्यक्त, गूढ, आदरणीय नातं दिसून येतं. म्हटलं तर ठसठशीतपणे जाणवणारं, नि काही प्रसंगात हळुवारपणे काळजाला हात घालणारं असं.
या नात्याचं वर्णन इतकं प्रभावशाली आहे की अवल नि नायकाचा शेवटचा संवाद संपताना, हा अवलचा कथेतला शेवटचा सहभाग आहे हे जाणवत असल्याने हुरहूर लावून जातो.

कथेची सुरुवात तिथल्या परिसराप्रमाणे थोडी रूक्ष (कथानायकाच्या त्यापरिसराप्रति सुरूवातीला असणाऱ्या भावनांमुळे कदाचित) भासते. पण जसजसे नायकाचे त्या परिसराशी, तिथल्या लोकांशी बंध जुळत जातात तसा वाचकही अलगद बांधला जातो. आणि हळूहळू चाललेली कथा शेवटच्या वादळाच्या प्रकरणात सुरेख वेग घेते आणि वाचकाला crescendo चा अनुभव होतो. आणि शेवटाला या वादळी अनुभवातून निसर्गाची, तिथल्या लोकांची, त्यांच्या जाणिवांची आणि या सगळ्यांच्या एकसामायिक जगण्याची नायकाला पटलेली ओळख व त्यातून आपणही इथलेच होऊन गेल्याची त्याची भावना अशा समतोलानं कथेचा शेवट करत लेखकाने हा काहीसा Ascending storytelling (which has a rather scholarly name of 'Fichtean curve') परिणाम फार सुंदर साधला आहे. बाकी सबूरिया, सर्वण, किष्ना तांडेल, बेली, मुखिया, हादाभट्ट, बंगालीबाबा आणि मुख्य 'अनंतमहाराज' दर्या या लोभस पात्रांना भेटण्याकरता पुस्तक वाचा.

सागरतीरी
मूळ पुस्तक સમુદ્રાન્તિકે : ध्रुव भट्ट
मराठी अनुवाद: अंजनी नरवणे

जाता जाता:
ध्रुव भट्ट हे गुजराथी साहित्याचा शाश्वत, पथदर्शी ध्रुवतारा आहेत. त्यांची तत्त्वमसि, अकूपार, अतरापि आणि आता हे सागरतीरी ही सगळी मराठीत अनुवादित पुस्तके वाचल्यामुळे त्यांचं इतर साहित्य वाचण्याची प्रबळ इच्छा होते आहे. पण इतर पुस्तके तिमिरपंथी, कर्णलोक, अग्निकन्या इ. मराठीत अनुवादित सापडत नाहीत. कुणाला कल्पना असल्यास कळवावे. अन्यथा गुजराथीतच वाचावी लागतील.

[Neha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Current Gujarati literary scene can be described by two terms- facepalm and eye roll. There are couple of jokers(of both sex) dishing out garbage at regular intervals with their horrible photographs on back cover as if the writing inside isn’t distasteful enough. So when I read about Dhruv Bhatt, I promptly went ahead and bought all of his work except Lovely pan house. Samudrantike was first one and it’s a good read. Still, would have preferred him to write it as a travelogue not the fictional version. Barring few parts it is quite readable (took me only 5-6 hours to finish it) with interesting detailing about kharwa culture and Saurashtra coast in general. My favourite part was Noorbhai as he speaks about Indian paradise flycatcher and other memorable lines by him and Bengali baba.(found the protagonist bit annoying though)

[Tejas Modhvadia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“હું એ સભ્યતાનો પ્રતિનિધિ છું, જે એમ માને છે કે માનવી સિવાયનાં પ્રકૃતિનાં તમામ સર્જનો માનવીની સેવા કરવા સર્જાયા છે.” (પાના નં. 32)

જે માણસ પ્રકૃતિની નિકટ રહે છે તેને પ્રકૃતિ પોતાના મૂળભૂત ગુણોનું દાન કરે છે, સ્વાભાવિકતા, નિર્દંભીપણું, અભય અને જેવા છીએ તેવા દેખાવા જેટલી સરળતા.” (પાના નં. 155)

સાહીત્ય અકાદમી પુરસ્કાર થી સમ્માનીત અને ખૂબ જ સરળ છતાં ૧૬૦ પાનાં માં આખું તત્વજ્ઞાન સમાવી બેઠેલું ધ્રુવ ભટ્ટ નું આ પુસ્તક અચૂક સમય કાઢી ને વાંચવા લાયક.

ભલામણ અને ભેંટ બદલ આભાર

[Satvik Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

11 કે 12 માં ધોરણના ગુજરાતી પાઠ્યપુસ્તકમાં આ નવલકથાનું એક અંશ પાઠ તરીકે હું ભણ્યો હતો, ખુબજ ગમ્યું અને મારે આખું પુસ્તક વાંચવુજ રહ્યું, અને એમ મેં મારુ સૌથી પહેલું પુસ્તક ખરીદ્યું અને વાંચ્યું, yes this was the first book i read in my life, the beginning was glorious and I think i am still going great.

[Grishma Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read. It feels so light and deep with this book. It's not a story still it's one. It says lots of simple things in such a simple way. I loved Aval a lot. I read it's Gujrati version. I loved it a.....lot. one must read.
I read three of this author's book Tatvamasi Pratishruti and Samudrantike. And all of those are fabulous.

[Sumant Sambrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the Marathi transliteration of this amazing book by Dhruv Bhat. One gets simply drawn to that region with the hero of the story. The Ocean, locals living in that region and hero's emotional rollercoaster that continues through out the story, keeps us totally in it.

[Tushar Bharkhada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the way he narrated the people of coastal, from their accent of speeches, look, simplicity and one more thing the connection between them and nature.

Sometimes changes are good for us. That I have learned from what writer experienced.

[Smit Ajani · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of best book about sea and people living there!!

[Dipang · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about how a life is going on to stay in a coastal area Their lifestyle ,their livelihood everything is in it. And also How people is different by different coastal areas

[Akshey Bhavsar · Rating 5 out of 5]

ઓચિંતું કોઈ મને રસ્તે મળે ને કદી ધીરેથી પૂછે કે કેમ છે
આપણે તો કહીએ કે દરીયા-શી મોજમાં ને ઉપરથી કુદરતની રહેમ છે!

[Manoj Pujara]

"toute" વાવાઝોડા જવું જ કોઈ તુફાન જાફરાબાદ, શિયાળ બેટ અને રાજુલા પંથક માં આવેલું હશે,જેની વાત સમુદ્રંતિકે માં હિન્દી ફિલ્મ ના climex સીન જેમ અંત માં આવે છે,,this the beauty of Druvdada's writing!

[RAJAN R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvelous, Every gujarati must to read this book.