The wandering of Kalkut : A Reflection of Society and His Times/ কালকূটের ভবঘুরেবৃত্তি : সমাজ ও সমকালের নির্মাণ

Abstract

The theme of bhabaghurebritti (wandering)—wandering without a clear aim—appears only occasionally in Bengali novels. The word bhabaghure, as explained in Bangiya Shabdakosh¹, refers to one who roams without purpose, a homeless and unsettled figure. In life, as in fiction, most people remain within the safe boundaries of family and the familiar. Yet, Bengali literature has given us characters that repeatedly leave these enclosures to seek new paths. Kalkut, the literary persona of Samaresh Basu, is one such character.

            While Samaresh Basu wrote extensively under his own name, his novels under the pseudonym Kalakut focus on journeys beyond the home. Kalkut openly admits to a “passion for seeing people.” He does not go to the Kumbh Mela for religious merit, but to witness the diverse gathering of people from across India. For him, this diversity is sacred. Kalakut is a free wanderer whose primary goal is to experience the varied expressions of human life.

            Born in 1924, Basu grew up during a time of global unrest that culminated in the Second World War. In the years that followed, India faced communal violence, Partition, and political turmoil. Democracy was established, but it also brought shameless power struggles and the seeds of distrust. It was in this troubled mid-twentieth-century context that Kalakut emerged— a name that itself means ‘deadly poison.’ His writing reflects the unrest of his times and the doubts of the educated middle class, where suspicion and ego often replaced trust. His wanderings became a way to search for freedom from narrowness and to discover greatness within ordinary human beings.

            The journeys of Kalkut take place in an age defined by decline and distrust. Against this backdrop, he searches for faith—faith in humanity, in goodness, and in the ability to keep one’s heart open². His works such as Amritakumbher Sandhne and Kothaẏ Pabo Tare clearly reveal this quest.

           Thus, the driving forces behind the wandering of Kalkut are threefold: a passion for observing people, a search for trust, and a longing for beauty—not superficial beauty, but the inner beauty of the human spirit, often clouded by urban deceit and selfishness. This paper explores why Kalkut could not remain bound by familiar enclosures, why he was compelled to take to the road again and again, and how his wanderings embody the marks of modern society and his turbulent times. Through this, the study shows how the wandering of Kalkut is a reflection of his age.