Bhabani Bhattacharya was born in the same decade of the 20th century in which famous Indian Novelists Mulk Raj Anand, R. K. Narayan and Raja Rao were born. He is strongly called as one of the four wheels of the Indian English novelist. The other three are Mulk Raj Anand, R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao. Bhabani Bhattacharya is one of the most famous amid the older generation of Indian English novelists. He was born on the 10th of November, 1906 in Bhagalpur (Bihar). Bhabani Bhattacharya belonged to an educated family. He had his schooling at Puri and joined Patna Univer¬sity for his undergraduate studies. After taking his Bachelor’s degree with Honours in English Literature in 1927, he left for England to study at the University of London. He completed
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All the poor are depicted as the exploited ones but not all the rich are the exploiters. While only one member of the rich family is responsible for the exploitation of the poor, the other members on the contrary extend their helping hand to the poor. The stories of these two families run parallel till the end of the novel. Samarendra Basu, who is a lawyer by profession, looks at the war as an opportunity to make a fortune. He forms a trading company with the ironic name ‘Cheap Rice, Limited’. He feels that this opportunity gives a proper way in shaping himself as a millionaire. His younger son Kunal, who loves thrill, joins the British Army. The elder son Rahoul who follows the footsteps of his grandfather Devesh looks at the war as a danger to democracy. Samarendra’s wife feels that shortage of food and necessary supplies will make the life of the ordinary people unhappy. Devesh Basu, whom the villagers of Baruni call ‘Devata’, inspires them to contribute in the Civil Disobedience Movement. The police arrest Devata and Kajoli’s father. The villagers take action with anger and set the post office on fire. The government imposes a group fine upon the whole village for the flammable. The villagers set the rice grains to pay the fine. A number of villages at the coastal area are taken into control by the British army. The willing ones rush to Calcutta to earn their living. The situation in the countryside worsens day by day. The rice hunger swells with the time. The store of cattle fodder gets exhausted. The people start feeding themselves on the fish, crabs and green tree figs. The traders from the cities start appearing at the doors of the villagers to sell rice in exchange of the household tools and cattle. The brothel agents from the city attract the poor peasants by telling them how they can get rich by sending their young daughters to the city. When the lack of food becomes intolerable, Kajoli’s family too
All the poor are depicted as the exploited ones but not all the rich are the exploiters. While only one member of the rich family is responsible for the exploitation of the poor, the other members on the contrary extend their helping hand to the poor. The stories of these two families run parallel till the end of the novel. Samarendra Basu, who is a lawyer by profession, looks at the war as an opportunity to make a fortune. He forms a trading company with the ironic name ‘Cheap Rice, Limited’. He feels that this opportunity gives a proper way in shaping himself as a millionaire. His younger son Kunal, who loves thrill, joins the British Army. The elder son Rahoul who follows the footsteps of his grandfather Devesh looks at the war as a danger to democracy. Samarendra’s wife feels that shortage of food and necessary supplies will make the life of the ordinary people unhappy. Devesh Basu, whom the villagers of Baruni call ‘Devata’, inspires them to contribute in the Civil Disobedience Movement. The police arrest Devata and Kajoli’s father. The villagers take action with anger and set the post office on fire. The government imposes a group fine upon the whole village for the flammable. The villagers set the rice grains to pay the fine. A number of villages at the coastal area are taken into control by the British army. The willing ones rush to Calcutta to earn their living. The situation in the countryside worsens day by day. The rice hunger swells with the time. The store of cattle fodder gets exhausted. The people start feeding themselves on the fish, crabs and green tree figs. The traders from the cities start appearing at the doors of the villagers to sell rice in exchange of the household tools and cattle. The brothel agents from the city attract the poor peasants by telling them how they can get rich by sending their young daughters to the city. When the lack of food becomes intolerable, Kajoli’s family too