Feb 27, 2003 10:21 AM
13161 Views
(Updated Feb 27, 2003 10:21 AM)
I can say this several times and still will not be enough.
This was part of my literature curriculum, and I couldn't bring myself to read it then. Huge fat stuff in small print.
Well, after my college got over (10 years back), I did decide to get down to read it. O boy!! Why had I delayed reading it!
It is an amazing novel. The protagonist is a stickler of orthodoxy - Hindu orthodoxy, and is so vehement in ensuring its implementation. Tagore takes us through beautiful exchanges between Gora (by virtue of his complexion) and many of the other characters including his future wife, another person who can stand on her own.
The only mystery for Gora is that his orthodox father does not seem to be impressed by his views.
The climax is the unwinding of this mystery and what it does to Gora.
It is an amazing book because, to me, what it shows is that fanaticism does not arise due to beliefs but because your nature is fanatic and beliefs are an excuse for expressing that intensity. Though not a terrorist, Gora borders on to that in the intensity of his faith.
Don't miss it. It may give a clue to some of our current day
fanatics.
