Dhulokhela by Sourabh Mukhopadhyay [Hardcover]

Rising from the dust only to return to it—is that all there is to life? Is this tiny speck of life merely a drop in the vastness of eternity, just a few moments of breath in the endless span of time? Is there truly any deep meaning to this fleeting existence? These are the unsettling questions that stir the novel Dhulokhela (Play of Dust). The curious Kingshuk and the disillusioned Tamal search for answers to these questions, each in their own way.

A time laden with the smell of gunpowder coils up from the northeast. Kingshuk gets caught in the whirlwind of a movement to protect agricultural land, while Tamal is drawn to his writing desk. Around them marches a procession of many other faces—unexpected twists in the wavering relationship between Nairita and Unmesh, the magical emergence of new colors in the faded world of the seventy-something Tarulata, and the constant tension between the young Raka and her playful lover Jayjit.

Everyone is floating and sinking in the deep and multi-hued waves of life, with its love and lovelessness, joy and sorrow. But did anyone find the answer to that eternal question? The narrative moves forward, carrying the seeds of that answer—sometimes in a tumult of intense conflict, and other times in a tender embrace of deep affection. Since its serialization in Desh magazine, this novel’s underlying resonance has deeply touched its readers.