Victory Colony, 1950

by Bhaswati Ghosh

When she lands in Calcutta’s Sealdah railway station on a humid day in 1949, Amala Manna has managed to flee from the communal violence in her village, but not from all her trials. Within moments of crossing over to India as a refugee from East Pakistan, she loses Kartik, her younger brother. Thanks to a group of young volunteers, Amala finds her way to a refugee camp in Gariahata where she meets Manas Dutta, who is the leader of the volunteer group. Despite the sordid camp life, Amala finds sustenance in her quest to find Kartik and the new familial bonds the camp allows her to forge with complete strangers. With dwindling official support, the situation in the camp deteriorates, and the refugees take things into their own hands. They establish Bijoy Nagar—literally meaning Victory Colony—by occupying a zamindar’s vacant plot of land. This dramatic event is a harbinger of radical shifts in Amala’s personal life.

Victory Colony, 1950 is the story of the resilience of refugees from East Pakistan, who found themselves largely unwanted on either side of the border following the partition of India in 1947. In the face of government apathy and public disdain, the refugees built their lives from the bottom up with sheer hard work and persistence, changing, in the process, the socio-cultural landscape of Calcutta—the city they claimed as home—forever.

Genres: History, India

292 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2020

About the author

Bhaswati Ghosh writes and translates fiction and non-fiction. Her first book of fiction is Victory Colony 1950, published by Yoda Press.

Her work of translation from Bengali into English–My Days with Ramkinkar Baij–has been published by Niyogi Books. This work also won her the Charles Wallace (India) Trust Fellowship for translation in 2009. Her stories have appeared in Letters to My Mother and My Teacher is My Hero— anthologies of true stories published by Adams Media.

Bhaswati’s writing has appeared in several literary journals, including Cargo Literary, Cafe Dissensus Everyday, Pithead Chapel, Warscapes, Earthen Lamp Journal, Lakeview International Journal of Literarure and Arts, Stealing Time, Open Road review, Humanities Underground, Global Graffiti, The Four Quarters Magazine, Parabaas, Coldnoon, Stonecoast Review, and The Maynard.

She has a background in journalism and writes for The Wire. She has also written for Daily News and Analysis, The Times of India, The Statesman and The Pioneer.

Bhaswati lives in Ontario, Canada. She is currently writing a book on Delhi, India.

Reviews

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1950, in the wake of the Partition of India, among the refugees streaming into Calcutta from what was East Bengal but is now East Pakistan, is young Amala. Orphaned and having just lost her brother Kartik—literally lost him, somewhere on the crowded and chaotic platforms of Sealdah Railway Station—Amala finds herself all alone, rootless and friendless. She is soon taken under the wing of a group of student volunteers, of whom one, Manas, helps Amala eventually find her feet as she moves into a refugee camp and then to the eponymous settlement of Victory Colony, Bijoy Nagar.

Victory Colony, 1950 is an interesting peek into the Partition as it affected Bengal. Bhaswati Ghosh doesn't make this as intense a reliving of the violence that followed Partition, unlike (say) Khushwant Singh in Train to Pakistan, Bapsi Sidhwa in Ice Candy Man or Bhishma Sahni in Tamas. True, when one is setting a story against a backdrop of the Partition, the violence cannot be simply brushed under the carpet, and it is there, in the memories of the characters of this book, in the trauma they suffered and the impact it has on some of their personalities.

Ultimately, though, by setting her story in Calcutta rather than East Pakistan, and by setting it a couple of years down the line, Ghosh firmly puts her novel in a different space and gives it a different mood: it becomes not a story of loss and despair, but a story of resilience, of the rebuilding of lives. It is about the tenacity of people like Jogen Babu and his wife, Amala and Malati and Urmila and many others, all devastated by the Partition, but picking themselves up and making a fresh start in life.

I liked the different aspects of the 'refugee problem' Ghosh brings forth here. The apathy of the government, the restlessness of the refugees and their increasing dissatisfaction with the status quo. The discrimination faced by them, the differences between the cultures of the two sets of people.

I liked the heroine, Amala, and several of the ancillary characters (Chitra Mashi in particular) are well-etched. The story is a pleasant one, heartwarming even when Amala and her fellow refugees, and more rarely Manas, are up against formidable odds. There is a sense of hope, of bonding together and facing tribulation together, that buoys up the story.

And one cannot help but mention the vivid way in which Ghosh brings alive Calcutta: the sights and smells, the sounds. The food. New Market. Dakshineshwar Ghat. College Street.

Reading this book was like being in Calcutta.

[Sookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victory Colony, 1950, in the end, was a joy to read. Set during 1950 partition of East Pakistan, scores of refugees came to Calcutta and the protagonist of this story is one such woman. Amala holds her strength throughout the course of this story while facing problems and obstacles of refugee life. It comes as no surprise that the life in refugee camp is easy. With handful of volunteers and distinct lack of resources, what isn't given has to be taken, what is violated, has to be avenged, what is denied over and over again, has to be snatched. And thus, Victory Colony shapes up as the new home of the refugees.
Myriad of people become part of Amala's new life, including, Manas, a young volunteer who finds her the very day she arrives. A gentle friendship blossoms between them as Manas, a rich grandson of a zamindar, sees the world around him change and warp and mutate in accordance with class and caste. It is indeed important to note that during partition, class, caste and creed of the displaced mattered in the manner the way the displaced individuals were treated.
I do liked the fact that Ghosh maintained a fairly neutral tone through out the narration and the nuances were left for the readers to pick up. I am absolutely thrilled with the fact that Ghosh largely wrote about diverse set of women; from hopeful to hopeless, from righteous to morally grey, we got it all. That is perhaps what makes this book a balanced read. She also captures the city in itself - and the lovely people of Calcutta, its food, its temples, festivals, the noise and the flavors. The belly of the city where the story unfolds, acts as a warm hearth to this hopeful story of strength and acceptance.
The only nitpick I have is that it should have been a bit longer. The third act does feel a bit rushed where a lot of things seem to happen, cramping the wonderfully toned narration built up to that point. But that doesn't dampen the book as a whole.

Definitely recommend.

[Suraahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may be biased about this book because it was published by Yoda Press, where I work, and I proofread it when it was in its galley stage. But I am leaving a review here as a reader.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Stories of the Partition of India majorly stem from the western border of India, i.e. the Punjab border. In fact, when mainstream media refers to the Partition, it shows the images of the carnage that took place on the western side. The trauma and violence that took place on the eastern border is seldom referred to or is spoken about much. This novel, among many other things, also attempts to right this imbalance.

Since I am born to a Sikh father, my paternal family was among many Sikh families that crossed the border during the Partition, and as a result, I too grew up with stories of the massacre that continues to haunt people even today. And perhaps because of this I do not like reading about the Partition because having listened to my grandparents' experiences as a young girl, I just simply can't stomach any more.

So when I sat down to read Ghosh's novel I had to first mentally prepare myself to read about the horrors and the bloodshed. But I was so wrong and was surprised from the very first page itself.

Ghosh's novel is not interested in giving you a blow by blow account of what happened during this carnage. Instead, it focuses on the idea that what we may perceive as courage, or what we may associate with resilience can often lead us astray. We don't have to fight physical battles to show proof of our strength. And that's what Ghosh's Amala does in the novel. She arrives in Sealdah station as a petrified young woman who has lost her parents to the horrors of this partition and is separated from her brother, her only living family and yet she not only builds a home (literally) for herself but also offers a home to many people who have suffered like her.

Ghosh has written Amala with a lot of heart. When you read her, you feel that you have met women like Amala because while embodying resilience within herself, Amala also doesn't shy away from showing vulnerability. During an instance, Amala says to a refugee camp officer that she wants some respite from her daily chores because she is feeling sad. Her statement makes the officer deride her but Amala fights back quietly even when her fellow camp members take the officer's side. Why shouldn't she be allowed to feel sad? Why should she keep putting on such a brave face despite everything that she has been through? And just this statement was enough for me to gauge, as a reader, the extent of the horrors this young woman must have seen on her journey to Kolkata. I didn't need any gory details of her trauma and for that fact, I deeply admire Ghosh's control over her narrative.

For me, the hardest scenes to read weren't the ones where Amala is rebuilding her life piece by piece, first in the refugee camp and then in Bijoy Nagar. For me, the hardest scenes to read were when Amala eventually marries Manas and is then mistreated by his mother because she is not of the same caste or class as him.

It is important to mention here that Ghosh is quite sensitive to the fact that there were class and caste aspects in place when the Partition happened. Amala was a fisherman's daughter and Manas was a zamindar's grandson. They inhabit very different worlds but what binds them together is this mutual respect for each other but their lived experiences vastly differ from each other's. Post partition it was the lower classes and castes that were displaced in a manner that they never quite recovered materially or financially. In Delhi, the upper caste Sikh refugee families were given properties in the central and south of Delhi as compensation and this was, and is, a prime real estate area. I was so happy as a reader (and as an editor), that Ghosh touches upon this aspect and doesn't keep it brief.

So, if you are looking to read a novel that has women with gentle strength, found families, friendships forged on shared experiences and love realised on mutual respect and understanding, then this is a book for you.

[Nilanjana Taraphder · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is the turning of the wheel of fortune that is unique about Victory Colony 1950. The triumph in this tale lies in Kartik's discovery as a symbol of hope for what is lost will be found. All that was lost in the struggle for freedom, save lives, was retrieved and rebuilt on another land with resilience, forbearance and quietude. In this journey of discovery many roads were taken leading to man's most coveted destination: love.
Besides being a story of triumph, it is also one of emancipation. As her country sought liberation, so did Amala, making a world of her own with those she loved.

[Anuradha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An evocative story of courage, resilience and kinship. The words are a rollercoaster of emotions and imagery, there's grief but there's also hope. A beautiful read.

[Joyce Yarrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compelling novel is set in Calcutta, three years after India’s painful partition along ethnic lines and at a time when, as the author puts it, Every day, new batches of refugees spilled into the city like sugar falling off a torn sack.

When we visualize a refugee camp most of us see blurry images of tents and indistinct faces of people trapped in squalid living conditions. Enter Bhaswati Ghosh, who vividly portrays life within the Gariahata Refugee Camp in all its complexity. Her attention to detail sets the mood and readers will savor descriptions such as, “Water gathered in stray pieces of junk littered on the ground: torn clothes, old newspapers with blotting ink splattering on the ground, a perforated aluminum plate that sang stridently as the rain hit its base.”

There are two protagonists in Victory Colony, 1950: Amala—who arrives by train in Calcutta with her little brother Kartik, after fleeing the violence in her village in East Pakistan and Manas Dutta—a book-lover and volunteer at the camp who comes from an upper class family. Both of them are well drawn and the evolution of their relationship as well as their individual growth are central to the book.

As the story begins, Amala loses Kartik in the crowded railway station and desperately searches for him. Manas finds her there and with great difficulty persuades her to enter the van going to the camp.

Having adjusted to camp life, Amala is recruited by Manas to help other women, in spite of her needing as much, if not more support as those she is expected to comfort. This theme of how we can lift ourselves up by helping others runs through the book and spoke to my heart. Amala continues her search for Kartik and as she bonds with other women in the camp they face many other conflicts and obstacles. There is also a love story that makes the book even more of a page-turner.

Manas is a voracious reader and at one point he purchases Ivan Turgenev’s A Sportsman’s Sketches from a bookseller on College Street. He reflects in his diary on the similarities between the downtrodden people Turgenev writes about and the people in the camp where he works. He asks himself, “Who is going to write their stories when no one even cares whether they exist or not?” This is a question that I can hear author Bhaswati Ghosh asking herself. Her answer is a resounding “I will.” She has done a magnificent job.

[Anindya Chakravorty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bhaswati Ghosh’s Victory Colony 1950. Let’s begin with what it is not. It is not an apocalyptic novel that revolves around partition. It has no gory, heart rending accounts of loss. It does not capture the fear and the horror, the violence or the decimation that accompanied the migration across the borders during those tragic years. There are no vicious perpetrators just as there are no bloodied victims. There is no loot. No plunder. Its pages don’t burn with the heat of hatred, nor reverberate with any howling cries of pain. Which is not to say, that there isn’t any pain or grief but it is not what leaps off the pages.

But for all that it is not, Victory Colony 1950 is an un-put-down-able novel.

It is a story of endurance. It is a story of reclamation. It’s a story of the triumph of the human spirit. From the ruin of the times, the squalor, the grime, the apathy, the poverty, the struggle for survival, emerge its two central protagonists, Amala and Manas, -whose love story the novel is at one level- not just unscathed and resplendent but forged and rarefied by a quiet and resolute defiance of the apparently insurmountable odds they are pitted against.
It is evident that the author invests a lot of her heart in creating a character like Amala or for that matter Manas. Characters, we would love to be, that’s what makes Victory Colony so endearing to read- Manas, Amala, Chitra, Nimai or Malati-the saviors and the saved are woven together by a nobility of intent and action.
There is a ‘Once upon a time’ character to the novel, a simple story well told. And while partition will continue to remain in the collective consciousness as a tragic and forgettable nightmare, Victory Colony will usher in a different tune: an almost lyrical ode to humanity set in the sordid squalor refugee camps and resettlement swamps.

[Rashida Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bhaswati Ghosh's debut novel, Victory Colony 1950, is a beautiful, tender and intelligently visualised story set in the aftermath of the Partition of India in 1947; specifically focussing on Bengali refugees fleeing the new nation state of Pakistan, and seeking refuge in Kolkata. The attention to detail, the way the refugees' memories are tied to their watery homeland and its food, the kindness as well as cruelty of the strangers they encounter, are rendered in language so precise I forgot I was reading a work of fiction. Other reviewers have commented on Ghosh's ability to invite the reader along on a journey at once difficult and intimate, but also generous and expansive. The author does not deliberately unsettle; nor does she seek to make the reader comfortable. Instead she takes the reader down the alleyways of messy, bustling Kolkata and its humanity and despair, like a trusted guide. As much a story of the city and its attempt to hold itself together, to draw in and thrust away, as of the people who inhabit it, this novel intrigues, educates and surprises in equal measure. The story of Amala and Manus and the individuals who hinder and help their eventual path towards each other will remain one of this year's best reads for me.

[Madhubrata · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5

Feel like I would have liked this better if it had been written in Bangla lol? Something about the narrative style that didn't sit right with me. I had higher hopes from this.

[Avishek Bhattacharjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

আমার-তোমার গল্প, আমাদের গল্প |
ভিকট্রি কলোনী বা বিজয় নগরী শুধু এক ভালোবাসার গল্প নই, শুধু দেশ ভাগ ও তাকে কেন্দ্র করে শত অশান্তির গল্প নই | এটি প্রকৃত অর্থেই জয়ের গল্প, বেঁচে থাকার অদম্য ইচ্ছার গল্প | মানস- অমলা এবং তাদের কে ঘিরে থাকা প্রতিটি চরিত্রই খুবই আপন লেগেছে; সহজ ,ভালো লেখা | পড়ে দেখুন | @bhashwatighosh

[Indranil Mukherjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Partition stories are heartrending. And I don't find too many novels written that depict the mayhem it caused in Bengal. Victory Colony, 1950 is one that delves into the eastern India tragedy that split families, land, property, the very sense of belonging, while Death pirouetted in its macabre dance.

However, this book is not about relentless, unmitigated tragedy; it is rather, a tale of love, of hope, of human courage in the face of mountainous odds, of resilience and fortitude. When men and perhaps more tellingly, women, are faced with such inimical--and often, inexplicable--hostility and uncertain future, they dig deep within and deal with whatever fate throws at them. Such resilience is truly magnificent.

When Amala and her little brother Kartik land at the Sealdah station early in 1949 she is devastated at losing him in the milling crowds immediately. The siblings had already lost their parents and they were all by themselves. While she is herded into the relief camp by the thoughtful volunteer, Manas Dutta, her heart is wrenched and left behind in the station.

How she copes with this, and how Manas slowly becomes her pillar of support and strength form the story... and how all that change to love. It is a poignant story, and constantly reaffirms humanity, how diverse people make common cause and work to uplift those in need. And that's never to say that the affected people themselves don't put their shoulder to the yoke and make change happen. Hope... never dies.

There are two things I'd like to quickly mention here, and neither is a spoiler. One, why would Amala (or anyone in her situation) not tell her benefactors immediately about her missing brother. And two, personally, I was hoping to read more of the political background that prevailed during those times that aided--and hindered--the resettlement of the refugees. In fact, how Victory Colony (more appropriately, Bijoy Nagar), became a permanent and proper residential colony, serviced by the Calcutta Municipality as much as it served the other areas of the city. Perhaps this was not quite the author's charter and she is well within her rights to determine that, of course. A misplaced personal wish, then, and one that doesn't detract a whit from this novel's humanity and worth.

I urge every reader to read this work of humanity.

[Ranga Iyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Bhaswati Ghosh's Victory Colony 1950 last week. And I am going to read it again. I have a kindle copy, I am ordering the hard copy soon.
So why am I rereading it and also wanting to own a hard copy? One for my library is a must, simply because I want my future generation to read and know about life as it is and, was.

There are no guarantees in life. And we might lose our land, home, jobs, and everything else. But what nobody will ever gain access to is our inner qualities, of hope, spirit, desire to fight back.
These qualities turn into weapons for Amala, the protagonist of this tale to fight and piece her life together in a country (Kolkata, India) she lands as a refugee (from East Pakistan) for no fault of hers.
Besides rebuilding her life, she also has to find her brother who gets lost after they both land in Kolkata. And Amala decides to take charge of her life and sets out on a journey.
Manas joins Amala in this journey and falls in love with her qualities, and then her.
Even when Amala and a few other refugees leave the camp and build Bijoy Nagar, aka the Victory Colony, Manas supports her/their decision and helps them to build their lives.
In a nutshell, Bhaswati Ghosh’s Victory Colony 1950 is about overcoming challenges in love, life and living itself.

Bhaswati’s treatment of a tale overcoming challenges is a winner here.
Bhaswati has the ability to literally command her words and phrases to move in tandem and form meanings.
Creating magic with words like no one else is what Bhaswati has done with Victory Colony 1950. Otherwise, how would you explain why you are glued to the book right from the word go and unable to snap out of that trance?
A must-read, not only for book lovers but for people who love to learn how to use words effectively to create a saga that stays with the reader long after they have done reading.

Ranga Rajah

[Maharshi Bhattacharya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this book no stars if I could. It's so so terribly written. It's as if the author started off with the thought of writing a story about the refugees from East Bengal and then completely forgot what she was writing about and made it a completely ridiculous love story between two of the main characters.
The book starts off trying to portray Amala as a strong person who can overcome anything that life throws at her to completely taking away any and all agency and just turning her into a shy, timid and completely dependent bride for Manas.
The whole arc of her losing Karthik is also so insane because she seems to have absolutely no urgency to try and find her brother with her visiting Sealdah station to try and find him only twice for the duration of the book which spans over a year of time.
And their reunion at the end is just such a cop-out and unlikely way to end the story. As of she had run out of pages to write and just needed to tie off this loose end. This was one of the main troubles in Amala's life and it was handled so casually it's impressively nonsensical.
And when she is harassed at the station, the logical answer to her problems is that Manas and her should marry immediately? How on earth does that solve anything at all.
She also tries to portray the suspicious gentleman at the tea stall as an interesting character who might cause trouble but that attempt at another story arc seems to have been just randomly abandoned.
I could really go on and on. I have certainly not read a book this ridiculous this year and I can't remember the last time I did.
I am so disappointed in this book because it could have had so much potential. I would not recommend this to even my enemies.

[Hamsini · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fresh story deserving to be told, as partition narratives and stories are dominated by those of the west and the 'east' ones are few and far between. This is a brave attempt and the story is absorbing. However, I want to register a few things about the book:

- the formatting has gone for a toss. I'm not sure if this is because I read it on kindle but I do think this is something the publishing agency needs to look at carefully. The overall experience of reading the book was on the negative side because of inconsistent spaces and awry indentation.

- the editing of the book could've been stronger and tighter. on the whole, it felt like I was reading a high potential, decently written first draft.

- there was an uneven/ disproportionate distribution between the narrative and dialogue conversation.

I know every book is a labour of love and for the sake of the honestly narrated and intriguing story, I'd hate to dissuade potential readers with my review!

[Chaitali Sengupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful narrative

Bhaswati Ghosh’s debut novel “Victory Colony 1950” is a bracingly original and beautiful testament of love, hope, loss, and struggle. And finally, victory.

It is a wonderful read of unspeakable horrors faced by Amala Manna, a girl among millions of refugees, and how she finds her footing in the city of Calcutta, where she flees to, from Bangladesh.
A story of hope and survival, of not sacrificing one’s dreams or abandoning her people, this book reveals moments that bring out the sorry plight of the refugees. The moments stay with us even after we close the book.
The plot moves smoothly and at the correct pace. I especially loved the way she has masterfully depicted the ‘hospitality’ inherent in the Bengali culture and how flavors of food are much more than taste; it too forms an integral part of our memory. All in all, it is a gem of a book., a compelling narrative.

[ANURAG RAKSHIT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Refugee camp dwellers with the help of local left leaders taking control of vacant land and setting up their own residential colonies is one of the most important chapter in post partition politics. This book though doesn't dwell too much on the politics of refugee rehabilitation. As the book progresses the story becomes lesser and lesser about Bijoy Nagar (the refugee colony) and more of a love story between the two main characters of the novel (which btw was quite predictable). The ending of the book is too hurried and has a cliche happy ending for all the characters.
However, considering the story line to overall good, couldn't help but wonder that this would have been a way better novel had it been written in Bengali (the English language does not quite capture the essence in multiple places).

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Protagonist Amala lands in a railway station in Calcutta, India, after fleeing from riots in her village in East Pakistan. At the busy train station, she gets separated from her younger brother, Kartik. She then gets taken to a refugee camp. A group of volunteers help out at the camp, and one of the volunteers falls in love with her and they get married, but with difficulties from the groom’s high class family. The residents at the refugee camp get tired of the lack of progress at the camp and set up their own colony on a landowner’s piece of land and restart their lives

[Lopamudra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Tumultuous Saga of Love, Loss, Displacement and Human Struggles

When I had first picked up Bhaswati Ghosh’s debut novel ‘Victory Colony, 1950’ for reading, it was for two prime reasons. The first being the fact that the wonderfully subtle and nuanced quality of her poetry, prose and translation works which I have had the pleasure and honor of reading (since we were friends in Facebook and our virtual writing community for years now) always held me in awe. Secondly, the theme of the book involves the partition of Bengal right after India attaining independence as a nation. Myself hailing from a family that had its roots in Bangladesh, listening to the stories of being uprooted, the stories of displacement and migration of my both sides of my grandparents had a deep, lasting impact on my psyche since my childhood days. It is the reverberation of those stories of class and culture struggle, the echoes of communal violence which tore apart the fabric of humanity that has defined generations of migrated individuals and their families. Bhaswati Ghosh’s novel ‘Victory Colony, 1950’ has given voice, texture and meaning to the essence of these true stories in such an enthralling way that it not only moves you, but also leaves a twinge of pathos in your heart.
In the course of the narrative, I moved along with the protagonists Amala Manna, the young woman uprooted from her native land in Bangladesh and Manas Dutta, the large-hearted young philanthropist from Kolkata coming from an aristocratic zamindar family, and when their lives intermingled in a storm and torrent of events, I became intensely aware of the author’s commendable grip over not only the radical shifts in Bengal’s nuanced and volatile political history, and also how the history shaped their personal, social, emotional selves. Amala is a dreamer, a wistful young soul with the bounty of the river Padma of Bangladesh, whom destiny gives a brutal blow and tosses into an apathetic part of the world, but she picks up her broken pieces with grace. Manas, on the other hand, a soulful idealist, loves and accepts her along with her cohabitants of Victory Colony, coming out of his privileged shell, bearing the brunt of his immediate family with stupendous courage and resilience. Together, they collide and unite, even as they find the world around them crumbling, and struggle to find their respective places in the universe.
As I absorbed the myriad hues of the emotional journeys of Amala and Manas to discover their true identities in relation to their societal realities, the deft, masterly narration of the author left me pondering over not only the socio-political milieu of their times, but also their emotional upheavals, their agitation and unrest, and in the end, the breathtaking revelation of their endearing togetherness in spite of their displacement and excruciating struggles. The journey of Amala that had started amid the crowd and sweltering heat of the Sealdah station in 1949, with losing her young brother Kartik, gained momentum in the course of time as she became one with the other inhabitants of the refugee camp in Bijoy Nagar (Victory Colony), Malati, Urmila, Jogen Babu and his wife and numerous others, and became part of their mundane existence, the collective trauma, chaos and the inherent goodness of their beings. As the novel flows along, their stories are shaped and tuned not only with their emotions of despair and loss, but with the way in which lives are rebuilt, resurrected with the essence of hope and acceptance in the face of apathy and the bitter realities of the status quo of society. Many a times, while reading their accounts, the seamless details woven into the narration made me misty-eyed as I recalled that those are the devastating truths of the lives of my ancestors, humans who swam in the other part of Bengal in the wake of my nation’s partition, the chronicles of their exodus and the formidable obstacles that lay in their life’s path. It made me misty-eyed, thinking how the Kolkata of the yesteryears, with its sensory presence had unknowingly become part of their societal fabric, and how they merged with Her ubiquitous existence.
I have always admired Ghosh’s flawless poetry which is evocative in so many levels, her stories (some of which I have read online) which bear testimony to her strength as a narrative storyteller, but in this novel, her debut fiction, her deep, penetrative insight about human life in context of the deep historical backdrop of Bengal’s partition breathes in every page of the story, and undoubtedly makes the book a memorable one in the domain of Indian writing in English of the contemporary times. I would definitely look forward to reading more of her fiction in future, hoping that her writing will continue to absorb, inspire and reflect the ground realities of our surroundings.

[G.P. Gottlieb · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Amala’s parents are murdered in 1950, she and her brother flee East Bengal. He gets lost. She ends up in a refugee camp outside of Calcutta. When conditions start deteriorating in the refugee camp, a group of men and women occupy a vacant plot of land nearby. There they rebuild their lives with backbreaking work, in a society of their own making in this novel about immigrants, family, and the struggle to belong.

I was honored to interview the author. https://newbooksnetwork.com/victory-c...

[Manisha Sahoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘But the ink they stamped on paper failed to arrest the flow of blood on the ground.’

Bhaswati Ghosh’s Victory Colony 1950 is a story set between 1949-1951 in the aftermath of Partition, which saw communal riots in East Bengal force a large number of its citizens to flee the country and seek refuge in the neighbouring land.

In her debut novel, the author brings alive the Calcutta of that era. From the raw, visceral and delicate conditions of the refugee camp dwellers to the posh mansion of Manas, Bhaswati Ghosh captures the sounds, the smells, and the scenery almost to perfection. The same detailing...

Read the rest of the review here.