Samaresh Basu’s ‘Ganga’: An Analytical Discussion on Life and Livelihood/ সমরেশ বসুর ‘গঙ্গা’ : জীবন ও জীবিকা বিষয়ক একটি পর্যালোচনা

Abstract

Ganga’ is one of the distinguished river centric novels which deal with the hard realities of life and the livelihood of the fishermen community. The mythical and spiritual significances that are generally attributed to the river Ganga by the Hindus, are absent in the novel. The glory of the Ganga lies in its bounty to fulfill the biophysical necessity of the people irrespective of class and caste, living in a particular socio-economic environment. The novelist has been able to portray the eternal picture of life within a very short span of time. The stern life and occupation of the people, their longings and aspirations have been successfully presented. Living in isolation in human society is almost unthinkable. The desire for better living gives rise to social relations and interdependence. The ‘Malo’ people are to se ‘ll’ their fish to the stockists; the retailers, in turn, buy from them and ultimately the fish reach the local consumers. The consumers earn the much needed money to purchase the materials by adopting various occupations.

In the novel ‘Ganga’ we become familiar with many characters through the struggling life and familial crisis of Panchanan Malo alias Panchu of Dhaltita. Most of the part of the story has been described from the perspective of Panchu. His reminiscence of the past, moral conflict with his nephew Bilas, his worry for the future make the presentation of ever-changing life very subtle. The novel has ended with a reference to the philosophy of recklessly progressive life of Panchu. Although the story is limited to the time of five months, it manages to reflect on the account of life and time of generations. Hence, the presentation of fragments of life achieves the dignity of eternity within a limited plot which contributes to the universality of the novel. This paper investigates how the variety/diversity of life is reflected through the struggling life of a particular community, its social life and the broader life of variety of people along with their occupations in the novel ‘Ganga’.