SONG IN THE RUINS is an epic story of love, loss, acceptance and forgiveness, grounded in history, time and place. It spans across two continents, from a small village in India-to the turmoil ridden campuses at Stonybrook, Berkeley and beyond-to the serene Willamette River in the foothills of Calapooya Mountains in Eugene, Oregon. In the stretch of three decades, as the protagonist’s life unfolds and is overtaken by grief and death, the choice he makes can only be understood in the context of the setting.

When Mohan Samanta travels from his native India to America to pursue higher education, he expects to stay only long enough to complete his PhD. But this stretches into decades after he marries Sophie, a twice-married widow with a young son. For this, Mohan pays dearly when his parents back in India disown him for marrying a Christian. A decade later, the loving, secure life Mohan has built with Sophie crumbles after she takes her own life. Desperate to escape his immense pain, Mohan turns to philosophies of Gita and Vedanta, and to meditation. He becomes an ascetic and adopts the name Sukhatma, rejecting all ties to his past. But after years of training his mind to forget, Sukhatma must follow his guru’s command that, to forgive his parents and truly shed his past, he has to revisit the place he comes from. In the end, Sukhatma faces the ultimate test of choosing between his new life and the one he left behind.

Sthabara Jangama (Static Kinetic), his only novel, a green best seller, is devoid of any human characters, a rarity in Indian literature. The novel starts with a young Sal (Shorea Robusta) tree’s desire to have kinetic quality and it’s desire to lead a different life. Trouble shadows other characters too, a female- monkey who has strayed away from her troop perseveres to be on her own and a weakened cock, who has survived death, continues to long for life. The novel is littered with what the novelist terms as “sabuja hingsa” (green violence). Despite the struggle, crisis, and cruelty, Sthabara Jangama is ignited with strokes of optimism. It is a glorious reminder that life is beautiful in all its myriad colours.

Kailash Pattanaik is a retired professor of Odia Language and Literature who lives in Deer Park, Santiniketan 731235, West.Bengal., India. Email: kailashpattanaik@gmail.com.

The story of Siddhartha and Yashodhara, their romantic marriage, marital life, the birth of the son Rahula, and the eventual transformation in their relationship when Siddhartha left home are depicted here. They were mortals of flesh and emotions in an immortal partnership of love, understanding, and compassion! After toiling for six years in the jungles, Siddhartha achieved enlightenment and found the path to happiness in a constantly changing and suffering world and became the Buddha. Read also all the stories of how the Buddha handled the events of his long life with equanimity and championed the cause of individual dignity and the Dharma.