The Turmoil’, a novel by reputed administrator-turned eminent writer Bijay Kishore Sundar Ray was released here on Saturday. This gripping novel centres round the theme of marriage, harmony, discordant notes, estrangement, finally leading to a tragic separation.
Kalpana, the female protagonist of the novel, gets married to her lover Bikram ignoring vehement family opposition. They do not live happily ever after. The marriage gets sour when trust deficit grips the couple. Bikram moves away from Kalpana and dates with another woman, Namrata. It goes on until Bikram commits suicide, being betrayed by his fiancee.
One can feel a fresh nuance in the narrative while flipping through the pages of the captivating book that deftly ties a knot between two opposing plotlines like family affairs and social strife against corruption. The novel takes one on a rollercoaster ride to some dizzy heights through intricacies of sequences and, finally, leaves the reader astounding with a sense of overwhelming tragedy. The beauty lies in the contrast of living to one’s ideals as exemplified by Kalpana and her younger brother Rajiv, which proclaims the continuity of life.
Chief guest of the book release occasion, India’s former Ambassador to the US lalit Mansingh eulogised the author for his continued urge for writing. Mansingh made the packed elite audience burst into rollicking laughter when he humorously alleged that the author, who happens to be his own brother-in-law, has made it a family affair by inviting himself and his elder brother lalatendu Mansingh (both his brothers-in-law) to the dais.
Another guest of honoor and former administrator Dhirendra Kumar Roy was full of appreciation for the author, who has managed to keep on writing on the contemporary Indian society.
President of this literary soiree Professor of Geo-physics, Ontario University, Canada, Dr lalatendu Mansingh also encouraged the author to keep producing more and more and wished in a lighter vein that the author Sundar Ray might have drawn characters from the limitless sky beyond so as to enable a scientist like him to understand his sci-fi’s better.
The author, a former Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh, has written thirty books including his just-released novel, ‘The Turmoil’ has also created a wide reader base across the country and abroad. The packed audience enjoyed the intellectual feast to the full. And Prof SN Tripathy, who acted as repertoire, added spice to the occasion by his witty and lively observations.