Jal Pare Pata Nare by Gour Kishor Ghosh [Hardcover]

This novel begins in the year 1922, a time when Kolkata was abuzz with preparations for the council elections. A fierce struggle had begun between the Moderates, the Swarajists, and the ‘No-Changers.’ It was during this period that Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das made his bold declaration: “We are entering the council not to cooperate with the British government, but to strike from within and dismantle their governance.”

Against this backdrop, a segment of a traditional joint Hindu family starts drifting away from rural life in search of livelihood in the city. Centered around such a family, Gaurkishore Ghosh’s monumental and deeply human novel, Jal Pore Pata Nore (Water Falls, Leaves Tremble), unfolds. Though spanning only four years, this novel paints an enduring and timeless portrait of rural life.

On one hand, it explores the love, aspirations, disappointments, hatred, conflicts, customs, and traditions of a lower-middle-class rural family. On the other, it vividly portrays the complex, sometimes tense, relationships with their closest Muslim neighbors. This great literary work serves as a faithful chronicle of social dynamics and communal interactions of that time.

Jal Pore Pata Nore is the first volume of the epic three-part novel Desh Mati Manush (Land, Earth, and People). The second volume, Prem Nei (No Love), has been honored with the prestigious Bankim Puraskar. Now, after a long time, this self-contained first volume has been reprinted.