BHABANI BHATTACHARYA’S SHADOW FROM LADAKH: A CRITICAL STUDY

Abstract

In his most recent novel, Shadow from Ladakh, Bhattacharya has a
challenging theme; India at the time of the Chinese invasion of 1962.
The title itself sets the pace of the writing, and the military situation
casts its shadow almost everywhere.
Words and snatches from Mahatma Gandhiji's or Nehru's
speeches, recapitulation of recent Indian and world history – help to
evoke the appropriate historical background; the main characters in the
novel tend to merge with the figures of history; and types, symbols,
myths and individuals mingle and fuse to throw us off our guard.
If the whole action of the novel is something of a shadow play
cast by the Chinese peril, many of the characters are shadows too –
shadows chasing shadows. Satyajit is Gandhi's shadow and Bhaskar,
the Chief Engineer of Steeltown, is almost a Nehruistic symbol or
shadow.