Buker Bhetor Bangladesh by Samaresh Majumdar [Hardcover]

"Every person on earth shares an eternal bond with their homeland. Just as a child cannot sleep peacefully without their mother, no one finds solace in foreign lands, away from their own country. When it comes to one’s homeland, sometimes the distinctions of religion and caste seem trivial.
Around seventy years ago, due to religious riots in the subcontinent, Prashanta and his family were forced to sell their land and property and move from Narsingdi to distant Kolkata. Yet, even at seventy-five years of age, Prashanta Mukherjee fondly remembers the land of Bengal with great reverence. He has never forgotten Bengal’s lush greenery and the murmuring rivers. In his later years, Prashanta gets the opportunity to visit Bangladesh. At the request of his father’s childhood friend, ninety-five-year-old Yasin Chacha, Prashanta sets out with his grandson Prabesh to his birthplace. Yasin Chacha’s family’s hospitality leaves Prashanta and Prabesh mesmerized.
An interesting female character in the novel is Yasin Chacha’s granddaughter, Jina—a sharp, spirited, and sociable girl. The simplicity of Prabesh and the liveliness of Jina create a unique ambiance in the story.
Through the eyes of a renowned writer from across the border, the beautiful descriptions of Bangladesh cannot fail to captivate the readers! Each sentence of the novel is simple yet profoundly touching. Most of the characters are straightforward and ordinary, though some scheming characters also appear. The sequences, starting from the journey in Kolkata to crossing Dhaka and finally reaching Narsingdi, are meticulously crafted. Alongside, the author portrays how a person, irrespective of their identity, considers their homeland sacred and pure.
The novel holds many twists that readers will discover for themselves. Perhaps, after reading it, one’s love for Bangladesh will grow even more!"