Tag: No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha

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Review

Mapping Stories of a Warming World

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: The Climate Crossroads: Literature’s Encounter with a Planet on Fire

Author: Rajat Chaudhuri

Publisher: Bloomsbury

The climate crisis has produced an unprecedented body of scientific research, policy documents, and environmental journalism. Yet facts alone have often failed to generate the emotional engagement necessary to confront a planetary emergency. How, then, can literature bridge the gap between knowledge and action? In The Climate Crossroads: Literature’s Encounter with a Planet on Fire, Rajat Chaudhuri argues that stories are indispensable to understanding climate change—not merely as an environmental phenomenon but as a profound cultural, ethical and imaginative challenge.

This is neither a conventional work of literary criticism nor a handbook on climate science. Instead, it is an ambitious interdisciplinary exploration that moves effortlessly across literature, philosophy, history, politics, art, and environmental activism. Drawing upon his own experiences as a climate novelist, researcher and environmental communicator, Chaudhuri creates a work that is as intellectually stimulating as it is deeply personal.

The book opens with intriguing questions that immediately unsettle familiar assumptions. Why do climate activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers? What connects a venomous spider with a centuries-old myth from the Sundarbans? How does an ancient Chinese calligrapher recording snowfall resonate with Indian farmers marching in protest?

These seemingly unrelated images become entry points into a larger conversation about the relationship between culture and ecological crisis. Rather than offering simplistic explanations, Chaudhuri demonstrates how literature reveals hidden connections between the human imagination and the changing planet.

Organised into three sections—Maps, Routes and Discoveries—the book unfolds like an intellectual journey. The first section introduces readers to the conceptual landscape of climate storytelling. Chapters such as A Rainy Night in the North and Poets, Volcanoes and a Chinese Calligrapher explore how literary traditions preserve ecological memory and help us read environmental change through cultural narratives.

Chaudhuri argues convincingly that climate stories did not begin with twenty-first-century climate fiction; they have existed in myths, travel writing, poetry, and historical narratives for centuries.

One important feature of the book is its refusal to isolate literature from other disciplines. Michelangelo appears alongside recipes and agriculture; philosophy intersects with environmental history; artistic imagination coexists with political activism. These unexpected juxtapositions enrich the discussion, illustrating that climate change cannot be understood through scientific data alone. Instead, it demands an engagement with aesthetics, ethics and memory.

The middle section, Routes, represents the intellectual heart of the book. Here Chaudhuri explores the relationship between climate and aesthetics, asking whether beauty and artistic representation remain meaningful in an age of ecological catastrophe. Drawing upon philosophical traditions that include Kantian ethics and the Freudian concept of the uncanny, he examines how literature helps readers experience realities that often seem unimaginable. His readings of significant climate novels demonstrate how fiction transforms abstract scientific projections into lived human experience.

Equally compelling is the chapter Heart of Darkness: Climate and Justice. Chaudhuri insists that climate change is inseparable from questions of inequality, colonial history and political responsibility. The climate crisis is shown not simply as an environmental emergency but as a crisis of justice, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities while exposing the moral contradictions of modern development. His discussion avoids ideological simplification, instead encouraging readers to appreciate the complex intersections of ecology, economics and power.

The concluding section, Discoveries, offers a cautiously hopeful vision. Rather than ending with despair, Chaudhuri argues that stories possess the power to cultivate empathy, resilience and new forms of planetary consciousness. Literature becomes not merely a record of ecological collapse but an imaginative space where alternative futures can be conceived. This emphasis on possibility distinguishes The Climate Crossroads from many climate books that remain trapped within narratives of inevitable catastrophe.

Chaudhuri’s prose reflects his dual identity as novelist and literary critic. It is elegant without being ornamental and scholarly without becoming inaccessible. Although the book engages sophisticated theoretical frameworks, including environmental humanities, philosophy and literary criticism, its language remains lucid enough for general readers willing to engage with complex ideas. The inclusion of visual material further enhances accessibility, making abstract concepts easier to grasp, as does the extensive footnote.

The author’s own credentials significantly enrich the work. As the acclaimed author of The Butterfly Effect, editor of pioneering Solarpunk anthologies, translator, and climate communicator, Chaudhuri occupies a unique position at the intersection of creative writing and environmental thought. His international engagements, including literary fellowships and participation in global sustainability forums, provide the book with a perspective that is both rooted in South Asia and attentive to global conversations on climate change.

The book is unquestionably an important contribution to the growing field of climate humanities. It reminds us that the climate crisis is not solely a scientific or political problem but also a crisis of imagination. Rajat Chaudhuri demonstrates with remarkable insight that stories are among humanity’s most powerful tools for understanding uncertainty, confronting ecological loss, and envisioning more just futures.

Richly researched, beautifully written and intellectually adventurous, The Climate Crossroads deserves to be read by scholars, students, writers, environmentalists and anyone interested in how literature can illuminate one of the defining challenges of our time. It is both a map of climate storytelling and an invitation to imagine new pathways through an increasingly uncertain world.

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

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Excerpt

Stories of Individuals who Shaped History

Title: Icons of Odisha – Lives that Shaped a State

Author: Bhaskar Parichha

Publisher: BK Publications Private Limited

Introduction

The history of Odisha is often approached through the visible markers of civilization—its ancient kingdoms, magnificent temples, maritime trade, freedom struggles, and political milestones. While these frameworks are indispensable, they do not fully explain how Odisha came to possess its distinctive moral and cultural character.

Beneath these historical structures lies another, equally powerful narrative: the story of individuals whose ideas, actions, and creative energies shaped the consciousness of the land. This book begins from that premise—that civilizations are not sustained by monuments and institutions alone, but by people who articulate values, challenge inertia, and imagine new possibilities for society.

Icons of Odisha: Lives That Shaped a State is an attempt to trace the making of modern Odisha through thirty such lives. These men and women belonged to different generations, professions, and ideological persuasions, yet each responded to the demands of his or her time with uncommon clarity of purpose. Their contributions—whether through literature, politics, education, social reform, music, dance, or visual arts—collectively chart Odisha’s transition from a region struggling for linguistic and cultural recognition under colonial rule to a self-aware society negotiating the complexities of modern democracy and globalization.

The temporal arc of this book broadly spans the late nineteenth century to the present. This was a period of profound transformation, marked by colonial intervention, the rise of nationalism, social reform movements, and the challenges of post-independence governance. For Odisha, these changes were especially significant.

At the turn of the twentieth century, Odia language and identity faced marginalization; administrative divisions ignored linguistic realities, and cultural confidence was under strain. The response to these challenges did not emerge solely from mass movements or political negotiations. It was shaped decisively by individuals who understood that language, culture, and ethics are the foundations of collective self-respect.

Language emerges as a central thread running through this volume. The struggle to establish Odia as a language of administration, education, and literature was inseparable from the struggle to assert dignity and belonging. Fakir Mohan Senapati’s pioneering realism transformed Odia prose into a vehicle for social critique.

Gangadhar Meher demonstrated that poetic excellence could arise from lived experience rather than elite privilege. Sachi Routray, Gopinath Mohanty, Ramakanta Rath, and Manoj Das expanded the thematic and aesthetic boundaries of Odia writing, ensuring that the language could address modern anxieties without losing its rootedness. Through their works, literature became a site of resistance, reflection, and renewal.

Parallel to this literary awakening was the emergence of a political consciousness grounded in ethical responsibility. Figures such as Madhusudan Das and Gopabandhu Das understood that political rights without cultural self- respect were fragile. Their efforts to unite Odia-speaking regions, build educational institutions, and mobilize public opinion laid the groundwork for statehood and democratic participation.

In the post-independence era, leaders like Nabakrushna Choudhury, Harekrushna Mahtab, Biju Patnaik, Nandini Satpathy, Rabi Ray, and J. B. Patnaik represented diverse approaches to governance—Gandhian idealism, mass politics, charismatic leadership, administrative firmness, and parliamentary propriety. Their careers reveal the tensions between ideals and power, and the enduring challenge of translating moral vision into public policy.

The book also foregrounds the role of culture and aesthetics in sustaining civilizational continuity. Odisha’s artistic traditions, particularly in dance and music, were once confined to ritual spaces and threatened by neglect. The revival and global recognition of Odissi were made possible by individuals such as Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sanjukta Panigrahi, Raghunath Panigrahi, and Balakrushna Dash, who combined rigorous training with creative reinterpretation.

In the realm of visual art and cultural scholarship, figures like Dinanath Pathy demonstrated that tradition could be preserved without fossilization, and modernity embraced without rupture. Popular music and cinema, shaped by artists like Akshaya Mohanty and Jharana Das, carried cultural values into everyday life, reaching audiences beyond elite circles.

A defining feature of this volume is its attention to voices that expanded the boundaries of participation. Women such as Rama Devi, Kuntala Kumari Sabat, Bidyut Prabha Devi, and Nandini Satpathy entered public and creative spaces at a time when such participation was constrained by social norms. Their lives represent different modes of resistance—quiet reform, lyrical assertion, intellectual challenge, and administrative authority.

Similarly, the inclusion of Raghunath Murmu underscores the importance of indigenous cultural assertion. By creating the Ol Chiki script, he transformed linguistic empowerment into a tool of cultural survival, reminding us that Odisha’s identity is plural and layered.

This book does not present these figures as flawless icons or distant heroes. Instead, it offers interpretive portraits that seek to understand what each life represents within a broader historical and cultural context. The essays focus on ideas, values, and influence rather than exhaustive chronology. In doing so, the book invite readers to engage critically with legacy—to see these lives as conversations across time rather than closed chapters of history.

The organization of the volume reflects a unique approach. Literary figures appear alongside political leaders; artists are placed next to reformers; revolutionaries share space with philosophers and administrators. This deliberate juxtaposition underscores a
central argument of the book: that the making of a civilization is a collective, multidimensional process. Progress in one domain is sustained by developments in others, and cultural vitality depends as much on ethical leadership as on creative expression.

In an era where public conversations are frequently influenced by quick reactions and disjointed thoughts, looking back at these lives has a more profound significance. It shows us that cultural confidence is developed slowly, through consistent effort and moral vision. The people honored here didn’t just react to their situations; they transformed what could be achieved within those situations. Their legacies push readers to confront tough questions about accountability, creativity, and a sense of belonging.

Icons of Odisha: Lives That Shaped a State is not only a book about the past. It is an invitation to reflect on the present and the future. To remember these lives is to recognize that heritage is not inherited passively but renewed through conscious engagement. The values embodied by these figures—integrity, courage, empathy, intellectual rigor, and cultural pride—remain as relevant today as they were in their own time.

Through their stories, this book seeks to affirm that the making of Odisha, like the making of any living civilization, is an ongoing moral and cultural endeavor.

About the Book

Icons of Odisha: Lives That Shaped a State explores modern Odisha through the lens of thirty-five impactful individuals—writers, reformers, artists, educators, and political figures—who engaged with their era through creativity and intent. Covering the fight for the Odia language and identity, the resurgence of dance, music, and literature, as well as ethical politics and cultural revitalization, these profiles illustrate how a region developed its self-awareness. Not a hagiography or a comprehensive biography, the book presents thoughtful essays that delve into ideas, values, and influence. It encourages readers to view heritage not merely as something that is passively inherited, but as a duty that is revitalized with each new generation. A reflective chronicle on Odisha’s history—and a contemplation of its present and future.

About the Author

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

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Review

Celebrating the Monsoon

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: The Fragrance of Rain: A Brief History of the Monsoon

Author: Stephen Alter

Publisher: Aleph Book Company  

Stephen Alter has long established himself as one of India’s finest chroniclers of landscape, memory, and the natural world. In The Fragrance of Rain: A Brief History of the Monsoon, he turns his attention to the phenomenon that has shaped the subcontinent more profoundly than perhaps any other force of nature—the monsoon. The result is a richly textured work that combines travel writing, environmental history, natural science, and cultural reflection into a compelling narrative that celebrates India’s most anticipated season.

At its heart, the book is a journey. Alter traces the progress of the monsoon from the southern coast of Kerala through the Western Ghats, the forests of Goa, the plains of North India, and the mist-covered hills of Mussoorie. Yet this is not merely a geographical expedition. It is also an exploration of the countless ways in which rain has influenced the lives, livelihoods, imagination, and history of the people of the Indian subcontinent. The monsoon emerges not simply as a weather system but as a civilisational force that has determined agricultural cycles, guided maritime trade, nurtured ecosystems, inspired artistic expression, and shaped political destinies.

A key strength of the book is Alter’s ability to weave together diverse strands of knowledge without losing narrative momentum. He moves effortlessly from meteorology to mythology, from ecology to economics, from history to literature. Readers encounter perfumers in Kannauj who preserve the scent of rain in tiny bottles, fishermen who read the skies with remarkable precision, scientists tracking elusive amphibians and glowing fungi, and artists whose works reflect humanity’s enduring fascination with clouds and storms. These encounters lend the book a vibrant human dimension and prevent it from becoming a purely academic study.

The prose is among the finest aspects of the work. He writes with the sensitivity of a naturalist and the observational acuity of a seasoned traveller. His descriptions of rain-laden landscapes are evocative without becoming sentimental. Whether portraying the first monsoon clouds gathering over the Arabian Sea or the dense mist enveloping Himalayan ridges, he captures the sensory richness of the season with remarkable clarity. Readers can almost smell the damp earth, hear the distant thunder, and feel the coolness that follows a long spell of summer heat.

The title itself points to one of the book’s central concerns: the emotional and sensory experience of rain. Alter understands that the monsoon occupies a unique place in the Indian imagination. It is a season associated with longing and fulfilment, romance and renewal, abundance and uncertainty. Across centuries, poets, musicians, painters, and storytellers have celebrated its arrival. The author explores these cultural representations with insight, demonstrating how the monsoon has become a recurring metaphor for transformation, desire, and hope.

At the same time, The Fragrance of Rain does not romanticise its subject. Alter acknowledges the monsoon’s unpredictability and its capacity for destruction. Floods, landslides, crop failures, and storms are integral to the story. As climate change intensifies weather extremes, the monsoon has become increasingly erratic, raising urgent questions about environmental sustainability and human resilience. Without becoming alarmist, the author highlights these concerns and encourages readers to appreciate the delicate balance upon which ecosystems and communities depend.

The book also succeeds as a work of environmental writing because of its deep attention to biodiversity. Alter’s fascination with wildlife and natural habitats is evident throughout. His encounters with rare species and fragile ecosystems reveal a world that thrives because of seasonal rainfall yet remains vulnerable to ecological disruption. These passages add depth and reinforce the idea that the monsoon is not merely a climatic event but a life-giving process that sustains countless forms of existence.

The Fragrance of Rain is much more than a history of weather. It is a meditation on nature, culture, memory, and belonging. Stephen Alter has produced a work that is informative, beautifully written, and deeply engaging. By blending personal observation with historical and ecological insight, he reminds us that the monsoon remains one of India’s most powerful and defining experiences. Like the season it celebrates, the book is refreshing, nourishing, and lingering in its impact—a rewarding read for anyone interested in India, nature, or the intricate relationship between climate and civilisation.

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Review

The Legacy of Wajid Ali Shah

Title: Wajid Ali Shah: A Cultural and Literary Legacy 

Author: Kaukub Talat Quder Sajjad Ali Meerza

Translated fromUrdu by Talat Fatima

Publisher: Hachette India

The late Dr Kaukub Quder Sajjad Ali Meerza’s study of Wajid Ali Shah is far more than a conventional biography. It is an act of historical recovery, a painstaking attempt to rescue one of nineteenth-century India’s most misunderstood figures from the distortions of colonial historiography. His book has been translated from Urdu by Talat Fatima, the great-great grand daughter of Wajid Ali Shah and Hazrat Begum and brought out as Wajid Ali Shah: A Cultural and Literary Legacy recently.

For generations, Wajid Ali Shah has survived in public memory largely as the indolent aesthete who lost his kingdom to the British while immersing himself in music, dance, and courtly pleasures. Dr Meerza’s deeply researched work dismantles this simplistic caricature and restores before the reader a ruler of extraordinary artistic imagination, intellectual depth, and cultural sophistication.

What makes this volume particularly compelling is the sheer breadth of its archival engagement. Drawing upon rare manuscripts, personal letters, poetic compositions, and forgotten historical documents, Dr Meerza reconstructs not merely the life of a king but the cultural ecology of nineteenth-century Lucknow.

The book vividly captures the refinement of Awadhi court culture at a moment when colonial expansion sought to undermine and delegitimise indigenous centres of power and creativity. Through meticulous scholarship, the author demonstrates that Wajid Ali Shah was not a passive dreamer detached from governance, but a prolific poet, dramatist, composer, patron, and innovator who consciously shaped the artistic identity of his kingdom.

The chapters dealing with Wajid Ali Shah’s literary contributions are among the most illuminating. His poetic works, especially Sabatul Quloob, emerge not as ornamental exercises in royal vanity but as deeply emotional meditations on exile, loss, devotion, and memory. Equally fascinating is the discussion of the ‘Shahi Rahas’, the nawab’s theatrical experiments that blended music, dance, costume, and storytelling into forms that anticipated modern performance traditions.

Dr Meerza carefully situates these innovations within the broader evolution of Urdu literary and theatrical culture, making a persuasive case for Wajid Ali Shah’s centrality in the development of North Indian artistic traditions.

One of the biggest strengths of the book is its refusal to separate culture from politics. The British annexation of Awadh in 1856 is shown not merely as a political event but as an ideological campaign that required the systematic defamation of its ruler. Colonial narratives portrayed Wajid Ali Shah’s love for the arts as evidence of decadence and incompetence, thereby legitimising imperial intervention. Dr Meerza exposes the deeply political nature of these accusations and presents a more nuanced portrait of a ruler who attempted administrative reforms, maintained military discipline, and remained deeply connected to the cultural aspirations of his people.

The English translations by Dr Fatima deserves special appreciation. The prose retains scholarly precision while remaining accessible and elegant, allowing contemporary readers to engage with an important body of Urdu scholarship that may otherwise have remained confined to academic circles. Her translation also carries emotional resonance, extending a family legacy of preserving the memory of a much-maligned ancestor through intellectual rigour rather than sentimentality.

At nearly six hundred pages, the work is expansive and occasionally dense, yet its richness never feels excessive. Every chapter contributes to the larger project of historical correction. More importantly, the book invites readers to reconsider how colonial narratives continue to shape modern perceptions of Indian rulers and cultural figures.

Eventually, this is not simply a book about a dethroned nawab. It is a meditation on memory, power, art, and historical injustice. Dr Meerza succeeds brilliantly in restoring Wajid Ali Shah to his rightful place not merely as the tragic last ruler of Awadh, but as one of the great cultural visionaries of nineteenth-century India.

For anyone interested in Urdu literature, the history of Awadh, colonial politics, or the cultural life of India, this volume stands as an indispensable and deeply rewarding work of scholarship.

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access Wild Winds: The Borderless Anthology of Poems

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Review

Reclaiming the Forgotten History of a Pioneer

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: Daktarin Jamini Sen: The Life of British India’s First Woman Doctor

Author: Deepta Roy Chakraverti

Publisher: Penguin/ EBURY PRESS

History often celebrates great events, revolutions, and institutions, yet it frequently overlooks individuals whose quiet determination helped shape the modern world.

Deepta Roy Chakraverti’s biography, Daktarin Jamini Sen: The Life of British India’s First Woman Doctor, seeks to restore one such remarkable figure to her rightful place in history. Through meticulous research and deeply personal storytelling, the book brings to light the life of a pioneering physician who challenged conventions, crossed borders, and carved a path for women in medicine at a time when such ambitions were rare.

Jamini Sen (1871- 1933) was among the earliest women doctors of British India and the first woman to become a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the world of medicine was overwhelmingly dominated by men, her achievement was nothing short of extraordinary. To study medicine, it required courage and determination; to excel in it and gain international recognition demanded a resilience that few possessed.

Chakraverti’s book traces Jamini Sen’s journey from the changing social landscape of Bengal to the complex and often dramatic world of royal Nepal. Born in a time when child marriage, strict gender roles, and social conservatism defined the lives of many women, Jamini’s life unfolded against the backdrop of a society in transition. The opening chapters evoke a Bengal negotiating between tradition and reform—where ideas of modern education, nationalism, and social change were beginning to challenge entrenched customs.

It was in this milieu that Jamini took her first steps toward a career in medicine. The path was far from easy. As a woman entering a profession dominated by men, she encountered skepticism, resistance, and prejudice. Yet the biography portrays her not as a passive victim of circumstance but as a determined individual driven by conviction and intellectual curiosity. Her pursuit of medical knowledge reflects both personal ambition and a broader spirit of reform that characterized parts of Indian society during the late colonial period.

One of the most fascinating phases of Jamini Sen’s career unfolded in Nepal. She was invited to serve as physician to the royal family during the reign of Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah. Nepal at that time was a kingdom cautiously opening its doors to modern influences, and Jamini’s presence there represented an important step in introducing modern medical practices to the royal court.

Serving in the palace required far more than medical skill. Court life was shaped by hierarchy, intrigue, and political sensitivities. Yet Jamini’s professionalism, discretion, and quiet confidence earned her the trust of the king and the respect of those around her. The biography suggests that her friendship with Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah was marked by mutual regard, and that she played a role in supporting his aspirations for a more modern Nepal.

But the story of Jamini Sen is not merely one of professional success. The book also reveals the personal costs that often accompany pioneering lives. Loss, loneliness, and emotional hardship form a recurring undercurrent in her journey. She endured the deaths of loved ones and navigated difficult relationships yet remained steadfast in her commitment to her work and her ideals.

Chakraverti’s narrative emphasises that Jamini’s resilience was rooted not only in determination but also in faith and introspection. Moments of spiritual reflection and philosophical questioning appear throughout the narrative, suggesting that her inner life was as complex as her public career. This dimension of the biography adds depth to the portrait of a woman who was not simply a medical pioneer but also a thoughtful and introspective individual.

The author’s own connection to the story lends the book a distinctive emotional resonance. Deepta Roy Chakraverti is the last of Jamini Sen’s descendants through the line of Jamini’s niece, Roma Sen Chakraverti. A lawyer educated at King’s College London with a first degree in mathematics from University of Delhi, Deepta writes not only as a historian but also as a custodian of family memory.

In the prologue, she reflects on the idea that our ancestors live within us—not only through blood and lineage but also through memory and spirit. Her decision to write about Jamini Sen arose from a growing sense of injustice. Why had a woman of such accomplishment been largely forgotten? Why had her life been reduced to little more than a historical footnote?

That question became the driving force behind the book. What began as a short story gradually expanded into a blog and finally into a full-length biography. Along the way, Chakraverti discovered family heirlooms, letters, and personal belongings passed down through generations—small fragments of the past that helped reconstruct Jamini’s life.

The author also drew upon anecdotes preserved in family memory and earlier Bengali writings by her great-aunt, Kamini Roy, which provided valuable insights into Jamini’s character and experiences. These sources give the narrative an intimate quality rarely found in conventional historical biographies.

Structured across twenty-five chapters, the book moves through the many stages of Jamini’s life—from her childhood in a changing Bengal to her years in Nepal, her struggles and triumphs in medicine, and the legacy she left behind. The chapter titles themselves hint at the drama and complexity of her life: ‘A Woman in a Man’s World’, ‘The Fight to Wield the Scalpel and Stethoscope’, and ‘Becoming British India’s Saree Wali Daktarin Sahib’.

A foreword by Hany Eteiba, President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, adds an important institutional recognition of Jamini Sen’s achievements. It situates her story within the broader history of global medicine and acknowledges the significance of her pioneering role.

Daktarin Jamini Sen is more than a biography. It is an act of historical recovery—a reminder that many women who challenged social boundaries and advanced professional fields were gradually erased from public memory. By reconstructing Jamini Sen’s life, Deepta Roy Chakraverti restores one such figure to the narrative of South Asian history.

Jamini Sen emerges from these pages as a courageous, intelligent, and deeply human figure—a woman who carried both the stethoscope and the burden of breaking barriers. Her story reminds us that the progress of society often begins with individuals who refuse to accept the limitations imposed upon them.

In telling that story, this book ensures that Jamini Sen will no longer remain a forgotten pioneer.

.

Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

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Bhaskar's Corner

Odisha after 1947

By Bhaskar Parichha

The narrative of Odisha post-1947 is one of change, unity, and strength, set against the backdrop of India’s fresh independence. Although Odisha was established as a distinct province from the Bengal Presidency in 1936, primarily based on linguistic and cultural factors, its evolution into a modern political and administrative entity truly commenced with independence.

On the Cusp of Independence

The foremost and most urgent challenge was the amalgamation of 26 princely states, collectively referred to as the Garjat states, each governed by its own ruler, administrative system, and local customs. These states were scattered throughout the hilly and forested regions of Odisha, and their unification required not just political acumen but also cultural awareness, negotiation skills, and strategic insight.

The responsibility of bringing Odisha together largely rested on Harekrushna Mahatab, the state’s first Premier, who collaborated closely with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and V.P. Menon from the central government. The discussions commenced in 1946–47, prior to India’s official independence, and extended into the early years following independence.

Several rulers quickly consented to join, swayed by enticing offers of financial rewards, ceremonial honors, and guarantees that their roles would be honored in a democratic Odisha. In contrast, some were hesitant, worried about the potential decline of their traditional power and local sway.

Mahatab skillfully blended diplomacy, patience, and strategic advantage, methodically uniting all 26 states under Odisha’s governance. This consolidation not only enhanced administrative efficiency but also set the stage for consistent laws, tax systems, and development initiatives throughout the region.

Democracy Finds Its Feet

In the political landscape following independence, Odisha experienced the formation of democratic institutions and practices. The Indian National Congress played a pivotal role in the early political scene, capitalising on its organisational strength and the heritage of the independence struggle.

Elections, local governance bodies, and legislative assemblies were created, providing citizens with a voice in governance and facilitating a gradual shift from princely rule and colonial frameworks to democratic self-governance.

The strengthening of political authority also enabled the formalisation of administrative practices, the modernisation of the bureaucracy, and improved coordination with the central government, which aided in developmental planning for both urban and rural regions.

Farmers First

Economically, Odisha grappled with the twin issues of historical underdevelopment and susceptibility to natural disasters. Agriculture, which employed the majority of the populace, relied heavily on monsoon rains, while traditional tools and methods hindered productivity. After gaining independence, governments focused on land reforms, including tenancy regulations and the redistribution of surplus land to small farmers, with the goal of reducing inequalities and empowering the rural poor.

Rise of Industrial Odisha

The enhancement of irrigation systems, canals, embankments, and reservoirs, especially along the Mahanadi, Brahmani, and Baitarani rivers, aimed to stabilise agricultural production and lessen the risks associated with droughts and floods. These initiatives established a foundation for sustainable rural development while ensuring food security in a state that has historically faced famine.

Industrialisation emerged as a crucial element of Odisha’s strategy following independence. The state’s rich mineral resources—such as coal, iron ore, bauxite, and chromite—served as the foundation for establishing heavy industries. Industrial hubs like Rourkela, which hosts India’s inaugural integrated steel plant, were developed with assistance from the central government and international partnerships, leading to job creation, urban expansion, and economic diversification.

The establishment of the Paradip port during the 1960s and 1970s enhanced the transportation of raw materials and finished products, connecting Odisha to both national and global markets. These industrial and infrastructural developments were part of a concerted effort to shift Odisha from a predominantly agricultural economy to one that is more varied and robust.

Furthermore, education and social reform played a vital role in Odisha’s growth after independence. Literacy initiatives broadened access to primary and secondary education, while improvements in teacher training and school construction elevated educational quality.

Tribal communities and marginalised groups were given focused support, including scholarships, vocational training, and legal protections aimed at helping them integrate into the broader economic and political landscape. Health infrastructure also saw significant growth, with the establishment of hospitals, primary health centers, vaccination campaigns, and maternal care initiatives that gradually enhanced life expectancy and lowered infant mortality rates, especially in remote and tribal regions.

Culture in Full Color

Oddisi dance at a temple

Cultural revival and the building of identity were closely linked to these economic and social changes. Odisha took active steps to promote Odissi dance, music, literature, and handicrafts, which not only bolstered regional pride but also created economic opportunities through tourism and the livelihoods of artisans. The state committed to preserving and promoting traditional arts like pattachitra painting, silver filigree, appliqué work, and handloom weaving, often facilitated by cooperative societies and government support.

Pattachitra
Silver filigree work
From Public Domain

Temple towns such as Puri and Konark have maintained their significance in spirituality and culture, with events like the Rath Yatra and the Konark Dance Festival serving as key highlights of both religious fervor and cultural tourism. This fusion of age-old traditions with contemporary elements has enabled Odisha to carve out a distinctive identity while also addressing the developmental needs of a modern state.

The political landscape in Odisha after independence has transformed over the years, influenced by a mix of national and local factors. Initially, the Congress party held sway, but the rise of tribal movements, regional activism, and calls for increased administrative autonomy posed challenges to central governance and enriched the discourse on democracy.

Local leaders from tribal and marginalised communities have stepped forward, championing the cause for representation and the fair distribution of resources to overlooked areas. As a result, Odisha has cultivated a diverse political environment, featuring a variety of parties, coalitions, and grassroots initiatives that mirror the state’s intricate social and geographical tapestry.

Nature’s Wrath

Odisha’s natural environment has consistently challenged the resilience of its people and governance. The state faces threats from cyclones, floods, and droughts, which have repeatedly resulted in catastrophic losses of life, property, and agricultural productivity. Significant cyclones in 1971, 1999, 2013, and 2020 caused tremendous devastation, underscoring the susceptibility of coastal and rural populations.

Each disaster led to improvements in early warning systems, disaster readiness, and coordinated relief efforts, gradually turning Odisha into a benchmark for disaster management in India. The involvement of communities, enhanced infrastructure, and strategic planning enabled the state to respond more adeptly to natural disasters over the years.

Mining Marvels

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, economic development centered on industrial growth, mining, and energy generation. Odisha emerged as a center for steel, aluminum, and power industries, drawing both domestic and international investments. Urban areas like Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, and Sambalpur grew swiftly, transforming the demographic and social fabric of the region.

Industrialisation ushered in a wave of prosperity and job opportunities, yet it also introduced significant challenges, such as environmental degradation, community displacement, and the pressing need to balance economic growth with sustainable development. Efforts to address these issues included policies focused on corporate social responsibility, environmental regulations, and rehabilitation initiatives, although the struggle to harmonize development with conservation persisted as a continual challenge.

Connectivity and Integration

The evolution of infrastructure has been pivotal to Odisha’s transformation since independence. The expansion of roads, railways, ports, and communication networks has linked rural and urban areas, facilitating the flow of goods, services, and people. Notable projects like the Hirakud Dam on the Mahanadi not only offered irrigation and flood management but also produced hydroelectric power, playing a crucial role in the region’s industrial growth.

Ports like Paradip and Dhamra have enhanced trade and maritime links, while the development of rail and road networks has connected remote areas with urban centers and industrial zones. These advancements have contributed to the geographical and economic unification of the state, diminishing isolation and encouraging greater involvement in the national economy.

Social and cultural transformations progressed in tandem with economic growth. Literacy rates saw a consistent rise, particularly focusing on the education of girls. Women became more involved in education, the workforce, and politics, mirroring both national policy efforts and evolving social standards.

Tribal and rural populations maintained aspects of their traditional lifestyles while also embracing modern education, healthcare, and job opportunities. Folklore, languages, and ritual practices were safeguarded through documentation, festivals, and community-driven projects, ensuring that the process of modernisation did not obliterate local identities.

Multi-faceted Society

By the dawn of the 21st century, Odisha had transformed into a complex, multi-faceted society, striking a balance between tradition and modernity, rural and urban progress, and the management of natural resources alongside industrial expansion. Politically, the state had transitioned from a period of Congress dominance to a more pluralistic and competitive democratic framework, with regional parties and coalitions influencing policy and governance.

Economically, the state’s diverse foundation in agriculture, industry, mining, and trade enabled it to endure external challenges while fostering ongoing development. Socially and culturally, Odisha preserved a vibrant heritage, merging classical arts, festivals, and tribal customs with the requirements of a contemporary, globalised world.

The era following 1947 in Odisha embodies a tale of unity, strength, and change. It spans the intricate discussions with princely states leading to the formation of democratic frameworks, agricultural advancements, industrial growth, recovery from disasters, and a resurgence of culture. Odisha’s evolution mirrors the larger narrative of India’s shift from colonial domination to sovereign nationhood.

The state’s skill in managing natural disasters, economic hurdles, and societal shifts while maintaining its cultural essence showcases an extraordinary ability to adapt, positioning Odisha as a fascinating case of regional evolution in a swiftly modernising country.

(Excerpted from the book Odisha – 500 Years of Turmoil, Mayhem and Subjugation by Bhaskar Parichha. Published by Pen In Books/Bhubaneswar)

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Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

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Review

Last Song Before Home

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: Last Song before Home

Author: Indira Das

Translator: Bina Biswas

Publisher: Rupa Publications

Last Song Before Home, the English translation of Indira Das’s Bengali memoir Shuru Theke Phera – Mayer Smritikatha[1], emerges as a luminous elegy to the fragility of memory and familial bonds. Translated by Bina Biswas, the book chronicles the author’s mother, Gayatri Das, navigating vascular dementia post-stroke. Through an epistolary structure of imagined letters, Das captures the slow erosion of self, where recollections surface like half-remembered melodies amid Bengal’s partitioned landscapes. The thematic depth and stylistic finesse position it as a vital contribution to South Asian memoir literature.

Central themes orbit memory as both lifeline and tormentor. Dementia strips Gayatri of chronology, yet fragments—rain-soaked courtyards, Partition’s unspoken wounds—resurface as anchors of identity. Das reframes loss as resistance, transforming maternal decline into a testament to resilience. Sisterhood underscores this; bonds with siblings weave a tapestry of shared silences, countering isolation’s void.

Partition looms subtly, not as a historical spectacle but an intimate scar—displaced homes echo in Gayatri’s fading queries: “Where is home?” This mirrors postcolonial Bengal’s flux, where personal trauma intersects collective upheaval. Dignity persists through ritual: songs hummed off-key, hands folding faded saris. Das elevates the mundane, critiquing modernity’s erasure of oral legacies. Resilience triumphs, not via triumph, but quiet defiance—memory’s “last song” before oblivion. The memoir critiques gendered aging in India, where women’s stories dissolve unspoken, urging reclamation.

A practicing gynaecologist, Das’s prose, via Biswas’s fluid translation, mimics dementia’s rhythm: elliptical sentences drift, loop, and fracture like synapses firing erratically. “The courtyard bloomed once, or was it twice? Rain came, carrying voices from across the river.” This stream-of-consciousness narrative eschews linear plot for associative flow, evoking Woolfian interiority fused with Bengali lyricism—sensory motifs—jasmine perfume, monsoon mud—ground abstraction, rendering emotion tactile.

In the translator’s note, Biswas, who is a poet and academician, says: “This book is not simply a narrative-it is a mosaic of survival, and the search for belonging. As John Berger once wrote, ‘Never again will a single story be told as though it is the only one.’ The protagonist’s journey is part of a greater collective-a shared history of migration, exile, and emotional displacement. Her voice rises in a chorus of the grieving, each thread woven with shared loss and a fierce resolve to cling to identity.

“She is a figure many will recognize: a woman who, though exiled by circumstance, carries the remnants of home in every gesture and memory. Her story becomes a vessel for inherited struggle, for resilience passed from one generation to the next. As Milan Kundera so memorably stated, ‘The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.’”

Epistolary form innovates: letters to an absent self-blur authorial voice, fostering intimacy without sentimentality. Repetition (“Remember? No, forget.”) mirrors cognitive loops, building hypnotic cadence. Das avoids melodrama; understatement amplifies pathos— a single, misplaced utensil evokes existential ache. Cultural bilingualism enriches: Bengali idioms, untranslated, preserve authenticity, challenging monolingual readers. Pacing accelerates in crescendo passages, where songs bridge eras, culminating in cathartic release.

Last Song Before Home transcends memoir, becoming a philosophical meditation on impermanence. Its strengths—haunting style, layered themes—outweigh minor translation hiccups, like occasional stiffness. Essential for readers of Partition literature or aging narratives, it earns four stars for profound humanity. Das not only mourns but hymns endurance, leaving echoes that linger.

[1] Translates to: Returning from the Beginning: Memories of Mother

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Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

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Bhaskar's Corner

The Riverine Journey of Bibhuti Patnaik

By Bhaskar Parichha

Bibhuti Patnaik (born: 1937). Photo provided by Bhaskar Parichha

Bibhuti Patnaik’s literary career unfolds like a long river—steady, persistent, and quietly transformative—running through the landscape of Odia literature for more than six decades. From the late 1950s onward, he wrote with a rare combination of emotional honesty and narrative discipline, giving voice to the evolving inner lives of middle-class Odias.

His writing emerged at a time when Odia literature was searching for a new expression after Independence, trying to reconcile classical traditions with modern psychological sensibilities. Into this space stepped a young writer who was not concerned with ideology or grand social systems, but with the stirrings of the human heart.

A defining feature of Pattanaik’s oeuvre is his meticulous representation of the Odia middle class. His novels, whether Aswamedhara Ghoda (Horse of Aswamedha), Sesha Basanta (Last Spring), or Prathama Sakala (First Dawn), foreground the ethical tensions, emotional fragilities, and moral negotiations embedded in quotidian life.

What distinguished Patnaik from many of his contemporaries was his unwavering commitment to emotional realism—a faith that the complexities of human relationships, especially love and desire, could carry as much literary weight as any political or social theme.

In his earliest works, Patnaik revealed a sensitivity to the fragile moral dilemmas that shape everyday life. His characters were not heroic figures or tragic archetypes; they were ordinary men and women negotiating expectations, impulses, and the confines of middle-class respectability. His prose, clean and unadorned, immediately established a new relationship with the reader—intimate, direct, and unpretentious.

For Odia readers of the 1960s, accustomed to more stylized narrative forms, this was refreshing. Young readers in particular embraced his novels, drawn to a writer who articulated emotional experiences with clarity and sincerity. Even at this early stage, Patnaik showed a remarkable ability to create female characters with depth and interiority, granting them agency in a literary culture that often placed women on symbolic pedestals rather than treating them as independent subjects.

As Patnaik moved into the 1970s and 1980s, his literary world expanded. The emotional tensions that shaped his early novels did not disappear, but they began to encounter new social realities. Odisha was changing—economically, culturally, and morally—and Patnaik’s novels became sensitive mirrors to these shifts. Urbanisation, job insecurity, the erosion of joint families, and the anxieties of modern aspiration found their way into his fiction.

He continued to write about intimate relationships, but these relationships were now embedded in broader pressures: generational conflict, economic burdens, and shifting gender dynamics. His characters struggled not only with their feelings but also with the demands of a changing society. Through this evolution, Patnaik maintained a narrative clarity that made his writing accessible to a wide audience, allowing him to be both widely read and critically noticed.

The 1990s marked a turning point in his career. While he continued to produce fiction, Patnaik increasingly turned his attention toward literary criticism and self-reflection. His essays—fearlessly honest, sometimes provocative—revealed a writer deeply engaged with the ethical health of the literary world. He wrote about the politics of awards, the failures of institutions, the erosion of literary standards, and the compromises that authors often make.

These writings unsettled the comfortable spaces of Odia literary culture but also enriched the discourse by demanding accountability and sincerity. At a time when many writers preferred diplomatic silence, Patnaik chose frankness. This choice, while controversial, made him an indispensable voice in understanding the dynamics of Odia letters in the late twentieth century.

His memoirs and autobiographical writings in the 2000s and 2010s further broadened his contribution. They are not mere recollections of a long literary life but important historical documents that offer insight into the personalities, politics, and conflicts of Odisha’s literary circles. The candour with which he narrates his experiences—sometimes tender, sometimes critical—makes these works stand apart in Odia autobiographical literature.

They reveal a writer who, despite being celebrated, never hesitated to critique himself or the milieu in which he worked. The tone of these later writings is marked by a late-style simplicity: calm, distilled, and enriched by decades of observation. Unlike many of his generation who grew stylistically heavier with age, Patnaik’s prose became lighter, clearer, and emotionally more resonant.

One of the most enduring features of his work is his representation of women. Throughout his career, Patnaik returned again and again to the complexities of female experience—women torn between personal desire and social expectation, women who resist, women who compromise, and women who assert themselves. His empathy for his female characters is evident not in idealisation but in the dignity he grants to their doubts, choices, and vulnerabilities. In a literary tradition long dominated by male narratives, this alignment with women’s emotional truth marked a significant departure and set a model for subsequent writers.

What ties Patnaik’s diverse phases together—novels, essays, memoirs—is an ethical thread. At the heart of his writing lies an insistence on sincerity: sincerity in feeling, sincerity in storytelling, sincerity in literary practice. His criticism emerges from the same commitment that shaped his fiction—the belief that literature must remain close to life, uncorrupted by pretension or institutional manipulation. Even when he critiques, he does so with the conviction that honesty is necessary for a healthy literary culture.

Today, looking back at his multi-decade journey, it becomes clear that Bibhuti Patnaik’s importance extends far beyond his widespread readership. He shaped the emotional vocabulary of several generations of Odia readers. He penned some of the most psychologically astute portrayals of love and moral conflict in Odia fiction.

He exposed the fissures in literary institutions through his bold essays. And he preserved the history of Odia literary life through his memoirs. His evolution—from a young chronicler of quiet emotions to a mature critic of cultural politics—mirrors the transformations of post-Independence Odisha itself.

Bibhuti Patnaik’s legacy is defined by this continuity of purpose. Whether writing a tender love story or a sharp critical essay, he remained committed to the integrity of human experience. His work endures because it speaks, with remarkable clarity, to the fears, hopes, and contradictions that shape ordinary lives.

 In doing so, he carved a place for himself as one of the most authentic voices in modern Odia literature—unshakeable in sincerity, unafraid of truth, and unforgettable in the emotional clarity of his storytelling.

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Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

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Review

A Woman of No Consequence

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: A Woman of No Consequence: Memory, Letters and Resistance in Madras

Author: Kalpana Karunakaran

Publisher: Westland/Context

When a historical account of a housewife’s quest for intellectual growth and her quiet defiance of twentieth-century orthodoxies in Madras comes alive through words and memory, it has every reason to be celebrated. A Woman of No Consequence: Memory, Letters and Resistance in Madras by Kalpana Karunakaran is a remarkable work precisely for that reason—an intimate, yet deeply analytical, exploration of the life of the author’s maternal grandmother, Pankajam (1911–2007).

Kalpana Karunakaran, Associate Professor in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at IIT Madras, is known for her research on gender, poverty, microcredit, women’s work in the informal sector, and solidarity-based collective action. In this book, she brings both her academic depth and personal tenderness to bear on the telling of one woman’s extraordinary life.

Karunakaran achieves something rare: she captures the singularity of an exceptional woman while situating her firmly within the complex social universe of Tamil Brahmin orthodoxy. She shows how the “utterly ordinary” life of a “woman of no consequence,” as Pankajam once described herself, was in truth far from ordinary.

Drawing upon letters, semi-autobiographical short stories, and a lifetime of writing—from Pankajam’s first autobiographical fragment in 1949 to her final reflections in 1995—the book offers a riveting portrait of a woman’s inner world. Through heartbreak and endurance, yearning and creativity, Pankajam emerges as a housewife with a philosopher’s mind and an artist’s courage, whose friendships and intellectual pursuits transcended cultural and geographic boundaries.

In her foreword, Karunakaran reflects on Pankajam’s motivation to write: “A humble housewife tied to mundane work may have a story or two worth telling,” Pankajam writes, “and I write to show that my soul has ever been trying to soar up and break the bondage of the flesh.”

It is here that the book finds its deepest resonance. Pankajam understood that women—forever consigned to their bodies—were denied a life of the mind. Yet she wrote as a way of freeing herself, of realising a soul not enslaved by gender or domesticity. Her faith offered a language of liberation, but her writing offered the means to enact it in the here and now.

Set against the vast canvas of twentieth-century India, Pankajam’s story unfolds amid momentous change: the World Wars, the freedom movement, the Japanese bombing of Madras in 1943, and the dawn of Independence. Through her eyes, we see a young mother building a home and nurturing her children while also fashioning herself as a progressive patriot in a nation-in-the-making.

In its essence, this is as much a social history as it is a biography. Pankajam’s writings provide a unique window into the domestic, cultural, and intellectual world of an era often missing from mainstream histories.

 In one of her later Tamil essays—written, perhaps, in the 1960s—she muses that history only records “governments, kings, wars, and conflicts,” not the “people’s everyday lives.” She wrote, therefore, so that her grandchildren might know her not merely as a loving grandmother but as a witness to history, a woman who lived fully and thought deeply.

Through Pankajam’s voice and Karunakaran’s scholarship, A Woman of No Consequence restores dignity to what is often dismissed as ordinary. It chronicles the spiritual and intellectual evolution of a woman who sought transcendence within the rhythms of domestic life, turning the everyday into a site of resistance and renewal.

Ultimately, this book is not only about one woman’s life but also about the birth of a nation as seen through its daughters—restless, self-aware women who compelled both home and nation to confront their own contradictions.

A Woman of No Consequence is a moving, layered, and profound testament to women’s inner lives, and to the quiet power of writing as an act of freedom.

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Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International

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Review

Boats in a Storm: Migrant Narratives

Book Review by Bhaskar Parichha

Title: Boats in a Storm: Law, Migration, and Decolonization in South and Southeast Asia, 1942–1962

Author: Kalyani Ramnath

Publisher: Westland/Context

The legal frameworks established during the period from 1942 to 1962 in South and Southeast Asia played a crucial role in shaping migration patterns and influencing decolonisation processes. This era witnessed significant changes as countries in these regions sought to redefine their legal systems in the wake of colonial rule, which in turn affected the movement of people across borders.

Migration patterns were influenced by various factors, including the aftermath of World War II, the struggle for independence, and the establishment of new national identities. Additionally, the decolonisation processes during this time were marked by the emergence of new legal frameworks that aimed to address the complexities of post-colonial governance and the rights of migrants. Understanding the interplay between these legal frameworks, migration trends, and decolonisation efforts provides valuable insights into the socio-political landscape of South and Southeast Asia during this transformative period.

Boats in a Storm: Law, Migration, and Decolonization in South and Southeast Asia, 1942–1962  authored by Kalyani Ramnath is a thoroughly researched work. This book is  part of the series South Asia in Motion and was originally published by Stanford University. Ramnath serves as an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Georgia and has conducted extensive research on migration.

Says the blurb: “For more than a century before World War II, traders, merchants, financiers, and laborers steadily moved between places on the Indian Ocean, trading goods, supplying credit, and seeking work. This all changed with the war and as India, Burma, Ceylon, and Malaya wrested independence from the British empire.”

This captivating book is set against the backdrop of the tumultuous post-war period. It delves deeply into the legal struggles encountered by migrants who are determined to maintain their traditional ways of life and cultural practices. The narrative highlights their experiences with citizenship and the broader process of decolonisation. Even as new frameworks of citizenship emerged and the political landscapes of decolonisation created complexities that often obscured the migrations between South and Southeast Asia, these migrants consistently shared their cross-border histories during their engagements with the legal system.

These narratives, often obscured by both domestic and global political developments, contest the notion that stable national identities and loyalties emerged fully formed and free from the influences of migration histories after the fall of empires.

In her book, Kalyani Ramnath draws on archival materials from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, London, and Singapore to illustrate how former migrants faced legal challenges in their efforts to reinstate the prewar movement of credit, capital, and labour. The book is  set against the  backdrop of a climate marked by rising ethno-nationalism, which scapegoated migrants for taking away jobs from citizens and monopolising land.

Ramnath fundamentally illustrates in the book that the process of decolonisation was marked not just by the remnants of collapsed empires and the establishment of nation-states emerging from the debris of imperial breakdown. It also encompasses the often-ignored stories of wartime displacements, the unexpected consequences that arose from these events, and the lasting impacts they have had on societies.

This perspective highlights the complex and multifaceted process of decolonisation, demonstrating how it was shaped not only by significant political transformations but also by the personal narratives and experiences of individuals who faced the challenges of conflict and displacement.

An excellent book to read!
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Bhaskar Parichha is a journalist and author of Cyclones in Odisha: Landfall, Wreckage and Resilience, Unbiased, No Strings Attached: Writings on Odisha and Biju Patnaik – A Political Biography. He lives in Bhubaneswar and writes bilingually. Besides writing for newspapers, he also reviews books on various media platforms.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTICLES CAN ONLY BE REPRODUCED IN OTHER SITES WITH DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TO BORDERLESS JOURNAL

Click here to access the Borderless anthology, Monalisa No Longer Smiles

Click here to access Monalisa No Longer Smiles on Amazon International