Panchti Bajronirghoser Upanyas by Saibal Mitra [Hardcover]

The five protagonists across these five novels are not all present throughout their respective stories. In the novel *Je Agun Kheyechhilo* (*The Fire That Was Consumed*), the protagonist Rupak appears once and then vanishes. He used to sing Rabindra Sangeet. One day, he took up arms and set out to eliminate class enemies. In *Mundohin Dhor* (*The Headless Torso*), the protagonist Arindam appears no more than once or twice. The media repeatedly reports his death, yet Arindam never actually dies. In *Asta Manush* (*A Whole Man*), the protagonist Debu, who lost half of his left palm to a police bullet, is seen only once. He descends into a well filled with toxic fumes to rescue his trapped friend Basu. The protagonist of *Pagladhonti*, Pratul Jana, returns to India from England in middle age. Having heard of thunderous unrest in the Indian skies, he returns with a heart full of defiance, ready to build anew—only to find ruins instead. In *Dharmayuddha* (*The Holy War*), the middle-aged protagonist Barun Lahiri responds to the call of spring’s thunder and narrowly escapes death. Though he fails once, he doesn’t give up. He crafts a new manifesto of liberation for the people of the 21st century. The central characters of these five novels are not just individuals—they are symbols of a vivid, flowing time that carries with it human memories, dreams, and the longing to live in peace.