Volume II,Issue IV, March 2026
Volume-II, Issue-IV, March, 2026 |
Received: 24.03.2026 | Accepted: 27.03.2026 | ||
Published Online: 31.03.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.2.issue.04W. | |||
পথের
আহ্বান ও মায়ার বাঁধন: বিভূতিভূষণের দৃষ্টিতে জীবন ও মৃত্যু
ড. নয়ন সরকার, স্বাধীন গবেষক, নদীয়া, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ,
ভারত |
The Call of the Path and the Bonds of
Illusion: Life and Death in the Perspective of Bibhutibhushan Dr. Nayan Sarkar, Independent Research Scholar, Nadia, West Bengal, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
The present research article seeks to unveil a new and
deeper layer of meaning in Pather Panchali, the timeless novel by Bibhutibhushan
Bandyopadhyay. While the novel has traditionally been interpreted as a
melancholic narrative set in a rural backdrop, the central argument of this
paper proposes that the “path” (pather) is not merely a physical route
or inert setting; rather, it emerges as an autonomous, conscious, and sovereign
entity. The philosophical foundation of this study rests upon the narrative
seed—“the path chooses the traveler.”
At the outset, the paper demonstrates that this “path,” as
conceived by Bibhutibhushan, is profoundly detached and selective. The primary
condition for responding to its call is complete liberation from worldly
attachments or maya. The study evaluates the disappearance (death) of
characters through this lens of detachment. The deaths of Indir Thakrun and
Durga are not treated as accidental tragedies; instead, they are interpreted as
inevitable consequences of being rejected by the “path” due to their lingering
attachment to decaying material possessions and a desire for static shelter.
Durga’s “box of trinkets” becomes a symbolic representation of worldly
attachment, binding her to the roots of the earth and preventing her from merging
with the larger flow of movement.
Subsequent sections analyze the deaths of Harihar and
Sarbajaya, alongside Apu’s survival, within an existential framework. Drawing
upon critical interpretations, the paper suggests that Sarbajaya’s maternal
affection attempted to confine Apu within a safe and familiar orbit, which
stood in opposition to the free development of his artistic self. Thus, the
sovereignty of the “path” gradually severs all emotional bonds surrounding Apu,
transforming him into an aniket—a rootless, homeless being.
In a comparative literary context, Apu’s great departure is
positioned alongside figures such as Siddhartha from Siddhartha by Hermann
Hesse, and Stephen Dedalus from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James
Joyce. Ultimately, the study concludes that in Bibhutibhushan’s philosophy,
death is not an end but a cosmic transformation. The apparent cruelty of the
“path” reflects a deeper artistic responsibility—one that liberates Apu from
the trivialities of domestic life and transforms him into a traveler on an
eternal and indestructible journey.
Thus, Pather Panchali is not merely a tale of
separation, but an eternal hymn to the triumph over attachment and the onward
movement toward the infinite. | ||
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