New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI) US-based aerospace engineer Jyotiska Ganguly credits his two grandmothers for his debut novel “The Zamindar the Rebel and the Revolutionary”, saying their ancestral stories from the time his forefathers migrated to Bengal from Kannauj mesmerised him.
In a time when echoes of freedom started reverberating through the streets of colonial India, the book unfolds as a saga of a Bengali Brahmin landlord family’s relentless pursuit of a sovereign India.
Ganguly weaves together the lives of three generations of a family, exploring the enduring forces of love, resilience and revolution against a backdrop of violence, betrayal, caste prejudice and the fervent struggle for India’s independence.
In the 1880s, Keshav, the zamindar of Madaripur near Dhaka, challenges oppressive societal norms while wielding his printing press as a weapon to empower revolutionaries fighting for the nation.
His son Mukund is determined to continue this legacy, but a treacherous marriage agreement forces him to live in his wife’s home, shackling his ambitions.
Just as Mukund escapes his in-laws’ machinations, an attack on their estate threatens to obliterate everything they cherish. Undeterred, Mukund revives Keshav’s printing business to rebuild their lives and fuel the national cause.
In the early 20th century, Mukund’s son Aneek joins Calcutta’s underground armed movement, taking up the mantle of resistance.
“The Zamindar the Rebel and the Revolutionary: A Saga of Madaripur” is published by Rupa.
Ganguly says the lives of these extraordinary individuals in his book became an integral part of India’s history, their personal struggles and triumphs reflecting the country’s fight for freedom.
“United by love, moulded by hardship and guided by destiny, they navigated through a time that demanded courage and resilience,” he writes. PTI ZMN MG MG
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