Helena Roerich, a visionary philosopher and writer, spent her last years in the serene hills of Kalimpong, where her journey on earth came to a peaceful end. Last week, I had the privilege of visiting her grave, located next to the sacred Durpin Gompa, a site as tranquil and inspiring as her teachings. Her epitaph, a simple yet profound tribute to her life's work, echoes the spiritual depth and intellectual legacy she left behind. Reflecting on her final years in this secluded retreat, one can truly appreciate the profound impact of her wisdom and the tranquillity she sought through her deep connections with the mysteries of the East.
In 1937, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay chronicled the adventures of a Bengali boy named Shankar. This novel was named 'Chander Pahar' (English: 'Mountains of the Moon', as the fiction refers to a range of mountains and not a single standing mountain). 'Chander Pahar' went on to become one of the most loved adventure stories in the Bengali literature. In his lifetime, Bibhutibhushan wrote 16 novels and over 200 short stories. Interestingly, even though most of Bibhutibhushan's works were largely set in rural Bengal; in this particular novel the writer chose the setting of 1909 Africa. Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay (1894-1950) In the story 'Chander Pahar', our protagonist Shankar gets a lucky break to go out from his little riverside village in Bengal to work for the Uganda Railway. Thus begun his sudden and long journey from the mundane to the extraordinary. A roller coaster ride through adventures involving the infamous man eating lions of Tsav...
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