Duttachowdhury

Ounce of Joy (synopsis) The hero Raj, a Hindu by birth is brought up with his family in the foothills of Himalayas (early seventies) in India, bordering China, the border posts being manned by Indian & Chinese forces, on either side. There in his childhood friend, Tshiring, a girl from the monpa tribe (Buddhist by faith), he discovers the first feelings love. Eventually she meets with an accident and dies in his presence, but the reverberations of pain ring through his mind. Then, during his school days at a Christian convent, he meets another tribal girl-Mary, with whom he develops emotional ties. Subsequently he proceeds to the metropolis for higher studies. There he comes in touch with the Indian communists, of real flesh & blood. Later, he becomes a business executive in the liberalized economy of a resurgent India .In between on a trip to the hills, he meets Mary. Tongue & temper loosened by liquor, Raj betrays her trust. On a fateful evening, he betrays her trust. Unable to face the world, Mary leaves for an unknown destination, leaving Raj to search for her, which proves futile. He goes back to the city for his career. Some years later, on receiving the information that Mary had suffered because of being an 'unwed' mother, from an old friend, he is overcome with grief. In his frenetic search for Mary and the 'child', whom somehow he conjures to be his son deep down in his heart: he is inconsolable. During the search which takes him back to the hills he comes across the greatest shock of his life. Mary was dead and the child- his own son, was at an orphanage .He somehow recovers to meet his son, who is desperate to get love and affection. On an Easter Sunday, he walks up to Mary's grave for forgiveness. That very day which followed the celebrations of a Hindu religious festival, he 'adopts' his son (who is ALL, a HINDU, a BUDDHIST, a CHRISTIAN, OR is simply a child, craving for love); at a 'divine pool' of Hindu beliefs. His redemptive resurrection to manhood over, Raj walks back into the world with his son, 'their son.'

The author, a civil engineer by qualification and training, grew up in the foothills of Himalayas in India bordering China. In the pluralistic setup in the ambiance of nature in pristine form, he gained experience that life taught him then and thereafter. Some autobiographical shades do appear in the work which however is a pure work of fiction.