Photograph of the Book 'Footpather Dokhan' by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay
'Footpather Dokhan' by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay: Book Review & Book Recommendation
Shri Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay was born on 2 November 1935 and is a Bengali author from India. He has written many stories for both adults and children. His childhood has seen a lot of travel to different places since his father was an employee of Railways.
Jobs in Railways are mostly transferable and people need to be in different places as part of their work schedules. During the Second World War, Shri Mukhopadhyay was in Kolkata and then he moved to various places like Bihar, North Bengal, East Bengal and Assam. He did his BA from Calcutta College. He has written many story books and many of these have a social message.
In that context, I came across a book written by him called, ‘Footpather Dokan’. The book comprises stories, travel, memories, literature etc. The stories are mostly based on social thoughts and their implications. Much of the thoughts expressed have their source from our day to day lives.
Simple stories but powerful messages.
The story ‘Footpather Dokhan’ in the book has the ability to make one learn a nice lesson of life. Even after reading the story, the thought expressed by the author still looms in our imagination. Many of the stories written here have a social message, if one reads carefully.
Much has changed as the years passed.
The so-called passion of reading of the 1960s and 1970s had given way to social networks and other movie video applications. These days even Kolkata dishes of Luchi (Puri) thali have given away to Mousse au Chocolat, Italian Pepperoni Pizzas, Pastas etc. But then what is the difference between reading the yester-years and spending some time with these books? The answer according to me is finding one-self.
I have not read much of Shri Mukhopadhyay on travel but when I read this book's travel section, I was really impressed. This is because I can feel the scenery of the mountains, the sunrise at Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Lava. These small towns like Lava, which is a small hamlet situated 30 kilometers (19 mi) east of the town of Kalimpong through Algarah in Kalimpong district of the state of West Bengal has an altitude of 7,200 feet (2,195 m). It is one of the few places in West Bengal to receive snow during winter.
For many decades Mukhopadhyay has mesmerized everyone with his realistic, lucid and impressive characterization, gripping plots, and impeccable story telling. ‘Haru’ and ‘Putulwala’ are a few of those. This book though has other sections which may be interesting or may be re-inventing memories for those who like retrospection about people in the early 1960s.
If you need an experience of stories, travel, literature and many other things, this book is for you. I read the book and if I have to rate the book on 10 Stars and 10 being the highest, I will give the book 8 stars.
(Please Note: The above are my own personal thoughts after going through the book. Your views, facts, and opinions after reading the book may differ)
This is all from me in this short article. Hope you have liked my personal thoughts and opinions.
Please share your thoughts or comments on the Book Review and Book Recommendation of the book, ‘‘Footpather Dokan" by Shri Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.
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Thanks and Regards:
Mainak Majumdar, Book Critic
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