Rarang Dhaang

Book Review

The story is about a young civil engineer, Vishwanath Mehendale who has joined a military job with Border Road, a division of Indian Army, because he believes that he will find fulfillment of his idealist dreams in building roads in Himalaya that will help transportation for local people. He has left a well paying job in Mumbai because he feels that the builders are obsessed with making money. The rugged scenery in the Himalayas is painted vividly through words. There is also a very interesting paragraph explaining the difference between bravery and courage. The story is told from Vishwanath's viewpoint but brings out the personalities of military personnel and other laborers that he deals with.Major Bamba who is in charge of the main project is shown as a typical army man who believes that obeying orders and meeting deadlines is more important than understanding issues that his subordinates and others may have to deal with – either emotionally or technically. The reader can feel Bahadur's anguish and understand his sense of responsibility when he commits suicide after the gurkhas from his village who had come to work on the Border Road die in the landslide. Another character painted well is lieutenant colonel Right and the story shows a flashback of him when he was a young lieutenant who was very idealist and the reader realizes that as people age, various experiences as well as responsibilities make them compromise their principles. There are other characters like happy-go-lucky Caption Minoo Khambata, young hapless Sarjerao, Vishwanath's girlfriend Uma who also come across as very realistic individuals. Story keeps the reader's attention as it moves through all the obstacles that Vishwanath faces, and tries to surmount in coming to terms with reality. He succeeds in building 8 pillars in memory of the 7 who died in the landslide in a manner that will not only be a reminder to the military about the people who died building the road but also that will serve as a support for the rock ceiling on the road to avoid future problems. Vishwanath faces a court martial, is found not guilty but is released from his 3 year contract with military because it is determined that his independent thinking is detrimental to the discipline expected in the military. It ends with Vishwanath leaving the Border Road, disillusioned that this job also ignored the suffering of the laborers and local people.