Banal Arc, Benign Sky

The author picks some prototypal characters from life to weave this story of faith betrayed, love unrequited and ambitions coming a cropper. The readers will experience a unique, evocative style in this story of Niti, the protagonist of the story, whose mother’s obsessive concern for her son has nightmarish consequences for him. Niti, a brilliant academic, also a bit of an oddball with an extraordinary sensitivity to his environment, finds the most difficult thing to achieve in life is to be understood by people around. Yet, he feels, if we could all come out and touch each other, what a splendid tribute it could make for the amazing life. The early promises of a bright future fail to materialise due to a series of betrayals by people whom he trusted. His ambition, rational scientific temperament and optimism turn into defeatism. Love unrequited comes down like a bane on the life of Jogesh, a seeker of true love, and his life is torn asunder by futile chase of a chimera. On realising the futility of the pursuit, he tries to return to his native village, but dies on the way in tragic circumstances. The comic elements interspersed in the lines of he story alleviate the weight of grim realities surrounding the characters. On reaching the last page of the story the reader may exclaim if we all could better understand each other!