Balli of Bagdih-Nilotpal Dutta

Book: Balli of Bagdih
Author: Nilotpal Dutta
Publisher: Leadstart Publishing

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Smart and confident Balli has a deep connection with Bagdih, a coal mine in a fairly remote part of Bihar where his father works and where his Nana had chosen to work after the partition of India. Bagdih, which nurtures everyone who comes to earn livelihood and still holds no grudge when they never return, has a special relationship with Balli, whom she finds so much like herself. Growing up in a small colony, Balli builds his beautiful world with Samar and lovely Samaira, whom he loves and feels fiercely protective about. As he helplessly watches his world slowly disintegrate due to misunderstandings and unmet expectations, he only has his promise of joining the Indian Army made to Nana and affection of a much older Shambhu to keep him moving. Balli leaves the place that gave him everything to pursue his goals only to return years later on a rescue mission. As he encounters several emotions on his return and goes through upheavals, he finds solace only in Bagdih's serene lap. Set in the later part of twentieth century, 'Balli of Bagdih' is a depiction of how the characteristics of a place can build the character of a person born and brought up there.

The book is a wonderful example of how a single-person narrative can be used to show how a place and the events around that person can affect their mindset. Nilotpal uses Balli as a central character and uses his life to show how the thoughts of a person get molded as they age. Setting up the story in the small mining town of Bagdih, he creates a world that is self-contained, yet is connected with the world to show that the national and international events do affect a person’s psyche. The storytelling is engaging and keeps you hooked into how Balli negotiates his life and faces reality. The idea of weaving in key events in Indian history such as partition, the emergency etc. is quite brilliant. Another interesting aspect of the story is friendship and how the facets of friendship change during various stages of our life. Balli’s friendships evolve and as a reader, you start empathizing with Balli. Nilotpal also weaves in the social construct of the Indian society and how the social divide starts right from when we are kids and gets ingrained into our minds. I loved the climax and the call back to the idea of friendship and the power of love.

The characters created in this book are quite relatable. Balli as a middle-class child exploring the world is well crafted. He is created as a simple person, without malice in his heart and I loved the manner in which his helpful character has been exhibited through ample examples throughout the story. His character grows from the time we meet him, a young child about to start school, right to his twenties. Other characters have been duly detailed, such as the characters of Samar and Samaira, the friends that provide context to quite a bit of Balli’s character and drive the story forward. Lastly, the town of Bagdih and the coal mines are an important part of the story, almost like a character telling their story.

Overall, this is a wonderful book and a definite recommendation. The book scores a 4.75/5 for me.

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