The invisible bhadralok

FIELD NOTES FROM A WATERBORNE LAND SHEDS LIGHT ON THE LIVES OF THOSE BENGALIS WHO BARELY EXIST FOR THE OUTSIDE WORLD

- SAMPAD PATNAIK

WATER: CHEST-deep, waist-deep, knee-deep. The human body turned into a measuring scale." In his latest book, Parimal Bhattacharya describes the innumerable forms of precariousness that haunt populations living in the flood-prone lands of Bengal and Odisha. These are places where one attack of malaria can condemn a child to a lifetime of illiteracy. There are no coaching classes to help the sick child catch up on weeks of missed schoolwork. Dropping out of school is inevitable.

Through the book, Bhattacharya narrates the stories of people who appear to be selected at random: A woman branded a witch because she is literate; a tribe claiming Harappan ancestry; fishing settlements repeatedly uprooted by a river. The author presents fragmented accounts of their lives, inviting readers to use their imagination to complete the story arc. But this randomness and fragmentation in the narration-writing techniques from postmodern fiction-draw out the essence of life amid the fury of nature.