Another work about Bengali diaspora in US, but this time it is personal and political, historical and more, both when it is in US and when the story is in India. Lahiri gives a kaleidoscope of broken images after the first straight narrative up to the moment when a sudden turn in the story with death of one character twists not only the story in unexpected directions but various characters too, and then on there are sudden and abrupt changes from one character, one time to another character and another time, quite often unexpected and sometimes more.
The small glimpse into history of a small part of Calcutta, now officially Kolkata as it always has been for its residents (or for the few centuries when colonial rule happened and until recently, anyway - if there was another name that makes more sense, it is lost not so much in antiquity as in full view of everyone, for fear of being named not secular enough in the pseudo politics that goes on in the nation to forget the majority of the populace and its culture, history et al, as far as possible and more). How British rule turned a stream named Adi Gangaa into Tolly's nullah (the latter being sewage outlet), a palace into a club for the ruling British and other non Indians, and more.
The two brothers grow up close to one another in Tollygunge, living close to Tolly club, and being very different in spirit take very different directions after high school. The elder, the quiet one who accompanies his mother at her work when he is home and not playing with his brother or studying, goes on to study and migrate for a doctorate to New England to a small town on seashore in RI. He is expected to return, to take up a safe job, to marry as per his culture according to his parents' arrangements for him (not yet taken up). He would too but for his brother the active and restless one who always takes initiative in unexpected directions with scant regard for safety of his own person or those associated, who is inexorably drawn to the movement that shook the region and the nation with its mixture of caring about poor and disfranchised while taking a violent route in name of revolution to achieve its goals, unlike the Gandhian path established in India until then as the way to go.
The author gives history and background, of the movement and its leaders, and a portrayal of the general adherents the intelligentsia and the students in particular, in very brief where it is not personal for the characters of the narrative, and extensively but subtly pervading the whole story otherwise like the scent of one's home, locale and land. The younger of the two brothers who goes into the movement with a deep dive as per his nature defines the whole story, events and turns of life and mindset or hearts for those close to him, and more. He is short lived, his effect not so much, but this is not laudatory in the narrative and this without any recriminations or branding or pointing at him by those who knew him and were close to him.
The author succeeds in making a point silently and tellingly - that often the ones who do one's own duty silently and care for others and get called selfish are those that end up with little, and don't even grudge having given their lives to caring for others with little or no consideration for themselves in exchange, while those that proclaim caring or love most loudly whether in words or political movements or acts of extreme nature in name of this caring end up destroying a great deal and leave it to others who carry their burden, and manage to deal with the devastation left behind.
Often the turns in the narrative are unexpected and often extremely so, and one cannot call this something satisfactory to read in terms of feeling good when one finishes, but if one misses this it would be a loss, and as usual to Lahiri one ends up wishing there was more - what happened to various people, especially the daughter and the granddaughter, even though if one thinks about it enough has been given about most characters. This is the success with this author, this wanting more.
